Challenge taken up

By Kath Gannaway
UNITING Church parishioners in Healesville and Yarra Glen are challenging global poverty.
It’s ambitious, but they are not doing it alone.
A number of projects are being run as part of the Micah Challenge, a world-wide movement aimed at reducing poverty, disease and illiteracy.
Uniting Church member Bruce Osborn said in 2000 the United Nations countries pledged themselves to eight targets known as the Millennium Development Goals which would halve global poverty, curtail disease and educate children to at lease primary school level.
“The Micah Challenge aims to hold governments to this pledge,” Mr Osborn explained.
Mr Osborn said Australia is lagging behind its agreed target of 0.5 per cent of gross national income to be contributed to the goals.
“When we know that 11 million children die needlessly each year from hunger and disease we must, as a nation and as individuals, do something about it.”
A series of studies, for all members of the community, will be held throughout October, focusing on global poverty and the Australian community’s response to it both as individuals and as a government.
The first seminar titled Who is My Neighbour? will be held on Thursday, 5 October at the Darron Honey Centre in Healesville.
Mr Osborn said one of a number of ways for individuals to play a role was to give to overseas aid programs.
He said members of the Yarra Glen congregation had committed to raising $300 which would pay for a cow for a farmer in West Timor.
Phone 5962 3714 for further information.