United Nations Seeks $38 Million To Respond To Lesotho’s Food Crisis

Resource: United Nations News Centre

28 September 2012 – The United Nations today appealed for $38.5 million to help 725,000 people – a third of the population – in the small African country of Lesotho who are affected by a food crisis.

The number of people facing food insecurity in southern African countries has increased dramatically, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Currently over 8 million people in nine countries in the region are vulnerable to food insecurity.

Lesotho has experienced a more than 70 per cent drop in domestic agricultural production, owing to a series of flooding, late rains and early frost, the Office stated. This year’s crop failures follow poor harvests last year, which has increased the vulnerability of many of the country’s poorest farmers.

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One Third Of Lesotho Faces Food Crisis

Resosurce: Agence France-Presse

GENEVA — More than 725,000 people face a food crisis in the tiny southern African nation of Lesotho after successive disastrous harvests cut production by 70 percent, the World Food Programme said Friday.

"Lesotho is facing the devastating effects of two successive crop failures due to drought and late rainfall," WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told reporters in Geneva.

More than one third of the country's nearly two million people were at risk because of the poor harvests, Byrs said, describing the crop deficit as a "catastrophe for this little country".

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Peruvian Doctors Protest For Higher Salaries

Resource: Fox New Latino

Dozens of female doctors with Peru's social security system, known as Essalud, chained themselves to the entrance of the Labor Ministry in this capital as part of a strike headed by their union for the past 28 days to demand higher pay and better working conditions.

The physicians told reporters that they came to the ministry to protest against Labor Minister Jose Villena, whom they accused of making statements against them.

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Pro Mujer Co-Founder Honored

Resource: Pro Mujer Blog

Pro Mujer Co-Founder Carmen Velasco Selected as a 2012 World of Difference Award Recipient by the International Alliance for Women

By Ariel Slaton, Communications and Development Associate

Every year, The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) World of Difference 100 Awards recognizes extraordinary women and men from around the world – leaders of communities, organizations, corporations, regions or countries – who have taken action to support the economic empowerment of women.

We are pleased to announce that this year, Pro Mujer Co-Founder Carmen Velasco was selected as a 2012 TIAW World of Difference 100 Award recipient. Carmen was one of 22 selected in the Non-Profit/NGO category.

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Western North Carolina Mission Trip

Participants,

We are on track for our trip October 4-7.

Let me thank each of you for volunteering for the 2012 Western North Carolina Adult Mission trip. The trip last year was a blast and very rewarding. I expect no less this trip. We have 12 committed to the trip as of now. We can take 4 more if you know of anyone who would like to attend.

I spoke with Mark Hanna last week and he is planning some projects for us similar to last year of installing a tile floor, construction of handicap ramps, repairing a roof, and replacement of underpinning and a window of a mobile home.

Mark has also spoken with the pastor from the First Baptist Church and the Catholic Church in Bryson City. They may have some volunteers to round out the teams.

I have asked Ron Nelson to schedule the commissioning for 10:30 AM on Sunday, September 30.

Thank you,
Dave Spivey

Lesotho: Hunger Emergency Escalates

Resource:  allAfrica

A poor rainy season has led to a dramatic increase in the proportion of Lesotho's population needing humanitarian assistance.

The number of people suffering from hunger in Lesotho has risen sharply this year, according to new findings released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Around 39% of Lesotho's population will need humanitarian assistance during 2012-2013, an increase of 514,000 compared to last year.

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Perú's Fog Catchers Net Water Supplies

Resource:  The Guardian

Sandwiched between the cool ocean currents of the Pacific Ocean and the Andean foothills, Peru's coastal capital is a meteorological anomaly. Lima is the second-largest desert city after Cairo, yet it has a cooler and more humid climate than its subtropical latitude might suggest. Rainfall is extremely low – less than 4cm annually – but humidity can reach 98%.

The city – home to a third of Peruvians, nearly 9 million people – is dependent on three rivers that flow from the Andes, the Rimac, Chillon and Lurin. But as the city continues to expand outwards, up to 150,000 migrants a year swell its peripheries, where there is little or no infrastructure. For these people, water is a scarce resource.

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Additional Information:  Water Advocate

Peruvians Worried After Russians Predict "Devastating Earthquake"

Resource:  Perú This Week

Two Russian scientists have caused commotion among some Peruvians, after claiming Peru would experience a devastating earthquake this Friday.

According to La Republica, Victoria Popova and Lidia Adrianova – self proclaimed UFO experts - said the earthquake would be unlike anything seen by humanity before, and would even be felt in some parts of the United States.

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Western North Carolina Mission Trip

Sharon's Western North Carolina Adult mission trip is October 4 - 7, 2012. We will partner with the Bryson City Presbyterian Church (BCPC) to conduct mission work in and around Bryson City, NC. BCPC has identified families in poverty and with poor health who need assistance with basic repairs to their homes. The group will depart Thursday, October 4 at 12:00 noon and return the afternoon of Sunday, October 7. Anyone can participate, regardless of prior construction experience or skill level. Three slots are open on our team of 16 Sharon volunteers; contact Dave Spivey at spiveys_@msn.com or 704-604-3644 for information.

Join Us!

Interested in hearing about the work of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Perú? Rev. Sara Armstrong and Rusty Edmondson, partnerships and delegations coordinators in Perú, will be at Sharon Church on Sunday, September 16, 2012, for a presentation. Please join us at 9:30 a.m. in the Chapel for a visit with them.

New Horizons 2012

From June 4 to August 31, 2012, the United States and Peru will undertake the joint civil engineering and medical assistance exercise “New Horizons 2012” that will benefit six communities in the Ica and Huancavelica Regions.

The three-month exercise will feature construction of community facilities, a disaster response exercise, and the provision of free medical care to an estimated 30,000 people. New Horizons activities provide assistance to areas in need and advance Peru’s social inclusion goals while also enhancing military and civilian cooperation and disaster response capabilities.

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5 Factors That Brought A Dying Church Back To Life

By J.D. Greear
Create A Sending Culture

In my opinion, creating a sending culture is essential to revitalizing a church. Churches that are revitalized see themselves as communities on mission with God, not as country clubs for Christians.

One very practical thing you can do to encourage this mentality is to send as many people on short-term mission trips as possible. Few things open our eyes to missional living like spending time with missionaries overseas. The more that mentality gets into the bloodstream of the church, the more church members become willing to apply missional principles to their own context.

During our first two years, we sent an inordinate amount of our people and leaders overseas. It cost a lot of money and took up valuable time, but it did two things. First, it raised the level of generosity in our church. Having seen the needs on the field, the people gave. The trips may have cost us a lot of money, but they paid for themselves many times over. Second, it made our people ask themselves if we were laboring to reach our city the same way that missionaries overseas were laboring to reach theirs.

When you create a sending culture in your church, you will likely lose some of your best people to a church plant or a missions assignment. But don’t be afraid; the sending culture creates more leaders to take their place. It has worked for us like the five loaves and two fish: the more we give away, the more is multiplied and given back to us.

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