CopProjects2010

Project

Approved

Description

Hotham Mission: Outer Eastern Asylum Seeker Support Network (OEASSN)

$3000

Kids Hope

$1000

Kids Hope is a World Vision program aimed at creating a positive impact in the lives of vulnerable Australian children and their families. It is a mentoring program built on a partnership between local churches and primary schools, where a caring adult from a church spends one hour each week with a child. ONE CHILD, ONE HOUR, ONE CHURCH, ONE SCHOOL. After a couple of years of planning, recruiting, training and patiently waiting for the right time to start it was with much excitement and a little bit of nervousness that seven volunteers from our congregation began mentoring at Highvale Primary School last term. Although most mentors have only met 5 or 6 times with their child there are already many stories to be told as relationships and trust begin to grow. Each mentor also has a prayer partner from our congregation who prays for them and their child as they meet and throughout the week. The money donated from COP will pay the 2010 annual affiliation fee to World Vision who provide support, newsletters, monthly resources and training updates for mentors. It will also help set up a “resource box” of games, art materials and activities to do during the mentoring hour at the school, for mentors to use.

Frontier Services

$3870

Friends of Ermera

$5500

Kenya Outreach Group

$3130

Friends of Baguia

$3000

When visiting the sub-district of Baguia in East Timor in September 2009, Judy and Meagan Lowe and Jane Hart from the GWUC congregation were asked to help the people in a number of ways. A high priority was the funding of teacher salaries at the small mountain school of Osafulari. This school is currently entirely staffed by voluntary teachers and receives no government funding. A teacher’s salary is approximately USD $100 per month and we were asked to fund salaries for the 3 teachers. The people of Baguia see education as a key way to provide their children with pathways to jobs and new opportunities, contributing to the rebuilding of their nation. In East Timor 46% of adults have had no schooling at all, so lack of education and unemployment are two of the biggest problems facing the country. Meagan was able to share the news of this funding with other teachers in Baguia during a trip in July 2010; this was met with much gratitude, as they are all keen to see this small under-resourced school receive a helping hand.

Cheryl Emms

$500

With the devastating earthquakes that have struck the Yushu Qinghai region in western China, there is an ongoing need for physical therapists to treat individuals, provide training for the caregivers and help identify suitable resources to assist the local staff. This is a region with many minority groups living on a low income under difficult conditions. Cheryl is planning to serve in China from early 2011 for a term of 6 to 12 months in partnership with Serving in Mission (SIM). Her primary activity will be volunteering as a physiotherapist with ongoing opportunities to build relationships with the families affected and the community she will be living in. SIM as an organization interviews and rigorously reviews candidates for their suitability to serve in an independent situation. A regional mentor is available for support. There is a period of preparation including an orientation course with SIM to equip Cheryl practically, culturally and spiritually to work in another culture as part of a diverse team. Cheryl will be responsible for funding ALL expenses including the cost to attend the orientation course in Sydney (AUD2500), documentation costs, travel and living expenses while she is in China (approx.AUD8000 for 6mths to AUD12000 for a year). We are seeking a COP donation of $0 to $1000 to assist Cheryl in her mission to serve others.