|PIC1|After the end of World War 2, the Christmas Bowl began as a unique way for churches to work together, uniting and inspiring others to bring hope in a volatile and unstable world. On the 50th anniversary of the Christmas Bowl, vital humanitarian relief work was carried out in Papua New Guinea, Kosovo and East Timor. In the Christmas Bowl's 60th year, the priority remains assisting people who suffer from extreme poverty and ongoing conflict, such as in Burma, Sudan, Zimbabwe and more than a dozen other countries.
The photograph on this year's Christmas Bowl materials depicts six South-Sudanese girls who live in the Dereig camp for Internally Displaced People. They are hurrying to attend a school established by the church-based Darfur Emergency Response Operation, which the Christmas Bowl supports. This Operation assists children and families like these girls by providing essential services such as food, shelter, education, health, psychological counselling, and community empowerment to overcome one of the most horrific civil wars of all time.
Khayida, a member of the Dereig camp community centre who fled her home village and now lives in Dereig camp, expresses a sense of joy about the new community centres and opportunities that are becoming a reality. She says, "I'm very happy with the opening of the new centre, which has been built for us…We, the old women, are like the trunk of a tree, the others are like the branches. Here we as old people are allowed to provide the youngsters with knowledge."
Sudan is just one of the places in which the Christmas Bowl provides assistance. With partnerships around the world, it seeks to encourage a spirit of giving and togetherness so that we as Australian's can realise that even sharing a small gift can make a significant difference.
As Amina from the Dereig camp considers the last several years of hard times, she says "much has changed and I now thank God that I have learnt all these things." We thank you for allowing the Christmas Bowl to continue this work overseas and in Australia and celebrate the lives it has improved over the last 60 years.
For further comment from the Executive Director, please contact Edwyn Shiell, Marketing & Communication Coordinator, on 0402 254 968.
For more information about act for peace and the Christmas Bowl, please go to www.actforpeace.org.au.