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Bringing Awareness of Extreme Poverty & the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to New Englanders








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Bonnie N. Davis
NEIDEEP Organizer
WRITER/ACTIVIST
WEARS WHITE
WRISTBAND DAILY


Fight World Hunger


But What Can I Do?
*Join the Millennium Campaign & the ONE Campaign (links below)

*Learn about the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
(See them Scrolling on bottom).

*Spread awareness by using your voice to speak to friends, co-workers, family, faith communities, students & teachers

*Wear Your White Wristband!

*Get Your News from BBC or NPR

*Call members of your
US & State Senators & Congress - tell them you expect them to support the initiatives of the MDG.

Why me?
We are the generation
that can end extreme poverty.
We have everything -
the resources, the technology -
but do we have the will?

Be Active & Do The Following:
Join the Millennium Campaign

Join the ONE Campaign

Subscribe to Sojourners Online newsletter about faith, politics and culture

Sign the Micah Call and join other Christians in the fight against poverty

Check out Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation & Subscribe to Their Free on-line Newsletter


Check Out These Sites
Amnesty International - Save Darfur. Check out Instant Karma"

The UN Millennium Development Goals

Heifer International - Teaching the World to "Fish"

BeadForLife - Ugandan Women Making a Difference

Oxfam - Teaching Agriculture & Fair Trade

Look at the "Eight Ways to Change The World" photo exhibition

Thich Nhat Hanh's practice of mindfulness reaches across religious, spiritual, & political backgrounds by helping us resist & transform the speed & violence of our modern society.

Think You Have it Bad? See How Rich You Are on the Global Rich List

Charity Navigator - Your Guide to Intelligent Giving. This is America's independent charity evaluator - many charities use zero to 10% of your donation for administrative purposes.

Charities that Rock
& Heal the World
Along With Heifer, Bead & Oxfam, Donations to these Charities go Where Needed & Don't get eaten up in Administrative Costs


United Methodist Committee on Relief sends 100% of your Donation to Provide Assistance Around the World. They had the 1st Helicopters in New Orleans to rescue & drop supplies after Katrina.

Episcopal Relief & Development Responds to Human Suffering Around the World, Provides Disaster Assistance, Helps People Climb Out of Poverty and are Committed to the MDG!

Salvation Army International - Working Globally to Transform the World in over a 100 countries.

The Salvation Army Stands by it's Promise of Doing the Most good with your Contributions - Working Locally & Nationally to Help Others

American Jewish World Service is an International Development Organization Helping Hundreds of Thousands of People in Africa, Asia & the Americas Move Beyond Poverty, Illiteracy, Disaster, & War.

MAZON allocates donations from the Jewish Community to Prevent & Alleviate Hunger among People of all Faiths & Backgrounds in the USA & Around the Globe

Lutheran World Relief Works with Partners in 35 Countries to Combat the Causes of Poverty and the Dignity it Robs from People’s Lives, Advocating Fair Trade that Helps Farming Families Earn a Better Income.

The Sudan
Sudan Reeves - Research, Analysis & Advocacy

Save Darfur

Darfur: Genocide We Can Stop


Interesting Organizations
& Programs

Bono implemeted DATA
(Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa


Engineering Ministries International

The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

The Seacoast NAACP is the Dynamic Chapter that has Been Fighting Injustice Since 1909 - They Know that Injustice & Poverty are linked

The National Catholic Rural Life Conference is an organization grounded in a spiritual tradition bringing together the Church with care of community and creation.

The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) Provides Grants to Programs Addressing Hunger


Must Read
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs

What Can One Person Do: faith to heal a broken world -- Sabina Alkire & Edmund Newell


...these, too...
Lallie Llyod's "Eradicating Global Poverty-A Christian Study Guide on the Millennium Development Goals" can be purchased here!

Beth Maynard's excellent U2 sermons blog

Global Voices Online



Sunglasses on an Icon?

"Christ's example is being demeaned by the church if they ignore the new leprosy, which is AIDS. The church is the sleeping giant here. If it wakes up to what's really going on in the rest of the world, it has a real role to play. If it doesn't, it will be irrelevant."
- Bono


Cool Stuff
Bono Quotes


Check Out the Archives
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Monday, February 08, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction." Bill Gates
With the earthquake in Haiti only four weeks in the past and news channels focused on other current events, the situation in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas remains dire.

As the poorest country in the western hemisphere and only 700 miles from America’s border, Haiti’s history is one of political turmoil and devastating natural disasters. In the past few years, 4 major hurricanes brought over a million refugees from the rural communities into the city hoping for work. Although record donations help bring emergency relief to the 3 million victims of this catastrophic disaster, many needs remain unfulfilled.

“Right now they are concerned with the medical treatment for the worst of the old and the young. So many hospitals collapsed. People survived the earthquake and are still dying because there’s not enough help,” said Gessie Gelin, a Haitian Living in central Maine. “There’s not enough tents for everyone, but day-by-day, things are coming in. China’s been a big help.”

With the Haitian government in shambles, many agencies find it difficult to deliver aid to the world’s neediest people. Since government approval means delays, donated containers of food, clothes and shelters potentially sit at port, rotting in the tropical heat.

Several charities, including Christian denominations and Jewish World Service, work with the United Nations (and Red Cross) to pool resources and purchase necessary shelters, food, water and medications at reduced prices so a greater number receives aid.

The Roman Catholic Church has a rich history in Haiti, spanning several centuries. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has people on the ground in Haiti working to distribute emergency aid, even though the Haitian Archbishop and many priests died in the earthquake.

“It calls us to understand that nature happens. We need to respond with love and understanding. We’re working with Catholic Relief Services and the Diocese of Maine. You can put a special envelope in the basket for Haiti or write a check,” said the Rev. Phil Tracy, pastor of the Corpus Christi Parish in central Maine. His concern is for the immediate relief and spiritual needs in Haiti as well as for eventually building a strong and educated future for Haitians. All money donated for Haitian relief in the parish will go to CRS.

The Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) are also present in Haiti, supplying tents as well as other aid. Donate to ERD on-line, through any Episcopal church or through the Diocese, with 100% of your donation going to people in need.

When helicopters with UMCOR rescued people from the tops of buildings in New Orleans in the days after Hurricane Katrina, many thought it was a Marine reserve unit. However, UMCOR stands for the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Donate to UMCOR, for Haiti, with 100% of your donation going to people in need, at any Methodist church.

Just 5 minutes before the quake, Rev. Sam Dixon and Rev. Clint Rabb, UMCOR leaders, walked into the lobby of the Hotel Montana in Port-Au-Prince to discuss serious problems with health care in Haiti. Although rescued, they died of injuries. As people around the world mourn their loss, Methodists hurry to put together health kits to aid Haitians.

These simple kits (find complete list on the UMCOR website), consisting of a comb, washcloth, hand towel, nail file, Band-Aids, toothbrush, etc., help restore a small bit of dignity to disaster victims. Contact your local Methodist church to see if your youth group or school can help gather these items.

Come across religious differences and help our neighbor through one of these organizations, or donate to UNICEF or the Red Cross for immediate aid. Check out Charity Navigator - Your Guide to Intelligent Giving. to learn about charities. In the coming months and years, you can help to rebuild a sustainable Haiti. For now, lives need saving.
Peace,
Bonnie
|
NEIDEEP at 10:49 AM

STAND UP Against Poverty

173,045,325
People Stood Up & Took Action
Against Poverty Worldwide
between Oct. 16 - 18, 2009!
They gathered at
over 3,000 events in
more than 120 countries.


116,993,629
People Stood Up & Took Action
Against Poverty Worldwide
between Oct. 17 - 19, 2008!
That is almost 2% of the
total world population!

43,716,440
People Stood Up
Against Poverty
Worldwide
between Oct. 16 & 17, 2007!
Were You One of Them?

23,542,614
People Stood Up
Against Poverty
Worldwide
on Oct. 15, 2006!
Bless Them All!

"Be the Change You Want to See In the World."
Gandhi


Upcoming Events
Send Me Your Events!!!

October 17, 2009
NEIDEEP Interfaith Service & Conference
at Fairfield United Methodist Church, 10am to 2pm, including potluck lunch

Join people of all faiths
Discover the role of women in
ending local & global poverty
Location - FUMC, 33 Rt. 201, Fairfield, Maine
Just off I-95, Exit 133 This event is in conjunction with
Stand Up & is Free

E-mail me for more information


Post Your MDG, Peace, Justice or Poverty
Event Here


Have a U2charist at your Church
& Spread Awareness of the MDG
Through a Service that Rocks!
Contact the Rev. Paige Blair
to Set it Up!


*

Got Questions About Extreme Poverty?
Want to Get Involved?
Post an Event?
Be on the Mailing List?

E-mail Me
and we'll talk.

*

About NEIDEEP


The Rev. Dr. Paige Blair
Episcopal Priest
&
Bonnie N. Davis
Buddhist

First NEIDEEP Conference

Our First Meeting took place in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA on 2/21/06.

The day began with an Interfaith Service.

Sister True Virtue, who at the time was the Abbess of the Green Mountain Dharma Center, teaching in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing, led a meditation, centering & grounding the more than 80 participants for the rest of the day.

Local Christians including The Rev. Dr. Paige of St. George's Episcopal Chuch (York Harbor), Pastor Sharon Miesel of York-Ogunquit United Methodist Church (UMC) & Pastor Sue Kingman of Sanford Unitarian Universalist Church (UUC) also took part in the Interfaith Service.

Iman Ibrahim Sayer, Boston Dialogue Foundation, did a transforming reading from the Koran in Arabic.

Rabbi David Mark, Temple Israel in Portsmouth, blew the Shofar, made from Ram's Horn, reminding us that it is made from the same material as our fingernails & that the work before us must be done with our hands.

The Rt. Rev. Peter Weaver, presiding bishop of the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church (NEUMC)was also serving the Worldwide head the United Methodist's at the time of the conference. He spoke about trips to Africa, meeting with religious leaders to speak with President Bush, & attending the Transatlantic Forum on Global Poverty in London prior to the 2005 G8 Summit.

Jan Schrock, Senior Advisor of Heifer International at the time, is the daughter of Dan West, Heifer's founder, spoke about Heifer's interaction with communities, helping them plan their futures.

Lallie Lloyd, Episcopalian's for Global Reconciliation (E4GR), spoke about her book - "Eradicating Global Poverty - A Christian Study Guide on the MDG." Margaret Udahogora, of Rwanda, spoke about educating orphans from her country, also reminding us of Africa's beauty. Suzanne Bowman, talked about BeadforLife - Ugandan women (many HIV/AIDS positive) making beads and jewelry for two years and now supporting 170 families.

NAACP, Salvation Army and United Way attended as guests with clergy and other participants. Program stressed MDG, trade issues, & activisim.
Millennium Campaign Pledge & ONE Declaration were signed - "No Excuses" White Wristbands were handed out with resource guides. By setting the example of working together across potitical, cultural, spiritual & religious boundaries, we can make an amazing difference.
Interfaith Communities
Can Heal the World!

A second round of NEIDEEP is planned for October 2008. Activating New England will make a difference in ending extreme poverty. After all, we hosted a memorable tea party that changed the course of history.


One of My Favorite Books

Contemporary religious literature & an excellent introduction to the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh & engaging Buddhism.

by Thich Nhat Hanh





Prayer for the Millennium Goals


In a world where so many go hungry,
Let us make the fruits of creation available for all.
In a world where one billion of our brothers and sisters do not have safe drinking water,
Let us help the waters run clear.
In a world where so many die so young,
And so many mothers die in childbirth,
And so many families are ravaged by disease,
Let us bring health and healing.

In a world where women carry such heavy burdens,
Let us recognize and restore the rights of all.
Let us join together, with a new sense of global community,
A new awareness of our need for one another,
And for this fragile planet,
To meet the clear challenge of the Millennium Goals,
To bring hope as substantial as bread,
To make human dignity as visible as wheat in the fields.




Special thanks to
The Rev. Mike Kinman
for his assistance on how to set up a cool blog!

Check Out His Page
Rev. Mike


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