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Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian, called for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims in a nationwide broadcast Mar. 1, following two weeks of bloody clashes that have left hundreds dead. Four days of clashes that began Feb. 20 between Muslims and Christians in the northern city of Kaduna led to the killing of over 1,000 people, according to sources in the health care system. Thousands are homeless, and at least 36 churches and several mosques were destroyed. Property damage is estimated to be over $5 billion US. The city was put under a 24-hour curfew. Obasanjo said, “What we must do now is to return to the fundamental faith that life, all life, is sacred. There is nothing in our culture that even remotely justifies the cynicism with which so many of us today respond to acts of lawlessness and wickedness. We have lost our sense of outrage and moral sensitivity. The casualness with which we react to corruption and other forms of criminal behaviour does not come from religious faith.” On Feb. 29, the Nigerian government suspended the implementation of “sharia” or Islamic law. Last year, several northern Nigerian states had proposed full implementation of that law, which greatly increased religious tensions in the area. The drive to install sharia is blamed for the riots. Northern Nigeria is largely Muslim, and southern Nigeria is largely Christian. – Compass Direct
Mennonite Central Committee is again sponsoring annual bike tours in Canada and the US. To date, the bike tours have raised over $307,000 for MCC. In Manitoba, riders will tour the Whiteshell June 24-25. Cost is $25, and covers lodging, meals, refreshments, mechanical and sag support, first-aid and a wrap-up barbecue. Riders are encouraged to find sponsors to contribute to MCC. For more information, contact Kathy Fast at (204) 261-6381 or e-mail kathy_fast@mennonitecc.ca. MCC B.C. is sponsoring a cyclathon for relief efforts in Uganda. The Okanagan Challenge, held Aug. 4-7, is meant for the true cyclist and covers 400 km. MCC B.C. and supporting churches will provide meals, accommodation, snacks, water and water bottles. Riders will need to provide their own bike, helmet, extra tube, sleeping bag and personal belongings. Registration is $100, which includes a cycling jersey. A minimum of $500 is to be raised by each participant. Registration deadline is June 30. Minimum age is 18. The Fraser Valley Fun Ride will be held Sept. 16, as part of the MCC Festival Auction and Relief Sale. Designed for families, this ride covers 50 km of flat terrain. MCC B.C. will provide water and water bottles and support vehicles. Riders are to bring their own bikes and helmets. Registration is free. A minimum of $50 in sponsorships per cyclist is required. Registration deadline is Aug. 31. For more information on the MCC B.C. cyclathon or the family bike ride, contact Earl Klassen, MCC B.C., Box 2038, Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 3T8, ph. (604) 850-6639 or e-mail empaccounting@mccbc.com. – MCC, MCC BC
Pontanima is a choir made up of members from Bosnia’s major religions: Muslim, Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Jewish. It has performed throughout Bosnia, demonstrating religion can bring people together. Now, Pontanima is planning a US tour Mar. 29 – Apr. 15, including concerts in Mennonite communities in Virginia, Ohio and Indiana. Mennonite Central Committee has given $58,000 to make this tour possible. MCC workers John and Karin Kaufman Wall of North Newton, Kan., sing in the choir and coordinate its activities. “I believe this choir has the power to bring to life dialogue about differences of religion and culture among people,” says John. “This is extremely important in light of the increase of conflicts based on ethnic and religious hatred in the world today.” – MCC
Fair Gains is one of three initiatives of Mennonite Central Committee Alberta’s Employment Development program designed to increase financial literacy of low income people in Calgary. It will help people living below the poverty line build up security through savings and assets. Started in July 1999, the pilot program is encouraging 20 participants, with an average annual income of $15,000, to save $15 to $45 per month for a year. Participants attend regular workshops, peer group meetings and one-to-one consultation sessions. After one year, their savings will be matched at a ratio of $3 for every $1 saved. Those savings must then be used to increase their financial security by purchasing a house, starting a business or furthering education towards a career. A second project, started in December, helps low wage earners pay for apartment rental security deposits. So far, 14 loans, at an average of $457, have been issued. The loans, generally repayable in two years or less, are interest-free if participants take financial-literacy training. The third initiative is aimed primarily towards women living in shelters to help them take control of finances. Expected to start soon, the 10-hour package of financial literacy training will include about 110 women in the first year. All three projects receive funding from non-MCC sources, including United Way, Calgary Homeless Foundation and Royal Bank. – MCC
Arsenic, an invisible poison with no smell or taste, has been found in many wells in southern and eastern Bangladesh. Arsenic is being found at different depths and concentrations, pointing to natural causes rather than human activities. Symptoms of arsenic poisoning take several years to develop. The body can rid itself of small traces of arsenic, but prolonged exposure results in dry, cracked skin on the feet and palms, blackening and spotting of the skin, which can eventually develop into lesions, ulcers, gangrene, respiratory difficulty and cancer. In Noakhali, where Mennonite Central Committee works, an estimated 79% of the wells have arsenic levels higher than the 0.05 mg of arsenic/litre of water standard set by the World Health Organization. MCC has been working to develop a simple, cost-effective treatment system designed for rural areas, including an aluminum-potassium filtration system. Ironically, the wells were developed, many with MCC help and using MCC rower pumps, to replace stream water, which killed 250,000 children a year due to cholera. – MCC
Farmers in Bangladesh grow soybeans for a wide range of markets, thanks to help from Mennonite Central Committee. After 27 years of operation, MCC closed its soybean program in Bangladesh at the end of December 1999, feeling help is no longer needed. MCC began working with soybeans in the early 1970s. Many Bangladeshi were severely malnourished, and soybeans provided protein for people who previously could afford only rice. Rice is grown in the wet season and soybeans in the dry season. However, it took many years of trial and error to find the right variety that could grow well. MCC bought back soybeans through its New Life Seeds program and sold them at reduced rates or gave them away to encourage consumption. Many complained that, when cooked, the bean never softened, wasting precious fuel. After much experimentation, an acceptable cooking method was found involving roasting and crushing the bean before cooking it. In the early 1990s many poultry farmers began using soybeans as chicken feed. In the last couple of years, over 10,000 acres in Bangladesh have been used to grow soybeans, creating thousands of jobs. Currently, 9% of the soybean yield is eaten, 8% is saved for seed, and the rest is sold in the market, primarily to poultry farmers. – MCC
Five Manitoba farmers toured India and Bangladesh for three weeks in January as part of a study tour put on by Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Albert and Hedy Janzen of Arnaud, Man., Marg and Ron Rempel of Ste. Anne, Man. and Frank Plett of Landmark, Man. have all supported food and development programs of Mennonite Central Committee Canada through CFGB. All participants agreed the study tour helped them understand how Canadian food aid benefits the hungry. The group also learned about different cultures and discussed food production challenges with farmers in India and Bangladesh. – Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Christians in northern China are risking fines of up to 5000 yuan (a year’s income) by sheltering starving refugees from North Korea. As many as 3 million people have died in North Korea since 1994. During the winter, over 100,000 Koreans crossed the frozen rivers separating the two countries. Korean border guards were ordered to shoot to kill anyone caught crossing the borders. Once captured, refugees are returned to North Korea, where they are shot or often die in labour camps. Many border town residents are Korean Chinese, of whom at least 200,000 are Christians. In the 1950s, many of North Korea’s Christians fled to South Korea, and religion was brutally repressed in the communist North. With a renewed constitution in the 1990s, religious beliefs are supposedly protected now, and there are an estimated 100,000 Christians underground in North Korea. – Compass Direct
A survey conducted by the Canadian Justice Department found that 67% of Canadians say same-sex couples who have lived together for at least a year should receive the same rights and benefits as common-law couples, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The Foundation for Equal Families, a gay and lesbian rights group, wants 58 federal statutes changed on the grounds that they discriminate against same-sex couples. A Jan. 7 lawsuit launched by the group seeks the right to claim same-sex partners as dependents under the Income Tax Act, to receive survivor benefits from pension plans and to bring partners into Canada under the Immigration Act. – ChristianWeek
Mennonite Central Committee shipped 31 tonnes of meat, 17 tonnes of clothing and 35 tonnes of soap to east Africa earlier this year for distribution to southern Sudan, where 400,000 people are suffering through a famine caused by civil war and drought. The supplies are valued at $435,000. MCC will also participate in two grain shipments valued at $690,000, and provide $29,000 worth of seeds for Sudan. – MCC
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Last modified May 4, 2000.
© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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