Realizing Full Potential in Bolivia

Amid unusually cool and rainy weather, the CLWR Andean Team is meeting in Santa Cruz, Bolivia on April 27th and 28th.  The primary agenda for the meeting is to discuss progress in results to date within the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-supported program in Bolivia and Peru.  An action plan is being developed to ensure the full potential of the project is realized before March 31, 2013(the end date of the current project), and to discuss the project currently being prepared for CIDA.

On Sunday the 29th, Abdon Aguillon (Latin America Program Manager), Fernando Gamon (Andean Region Program Coordinator) and Elaine Peters (Program Director) will travel to Sucre and Potosi to visit two partners, and the municipal leaders and community members involved in their respective project areas.   We are all hopeful that the project visits will move forward as planned given that yesterday the National Government decreed a national holiday for Monday.

Elaine Peters

Program Director

The people in the photo are from left to right back row – Lilian Chavez, Guadalupe Perez Aponte, Judith Torrejon, Elaine Peters
Front Row – Abdon Aguillon, Fernando Gamon (CLWR Photo-E.Peters)

Augusta Victoria Hospital continues to provide essential health care

Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, CEO of AVH, with board members and hospital staff. CLWR/R.Granke

The semi-annual board meeting of the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) finished today in East Jerusalem. The board is chaired by Reverend Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, and president of the Lutheran World Federation.

It has been my pleasure to serve as a Canadian board member for the past 10 years. At this meeting we received updates from Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, CEO of AVH. We learned about the many capital projects taking place at AVH. The hospital continues to undergo significant transformations, all aimed at improving the quality of care at AVH and providing essential specialized health services to Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza.

A key initiative which will receive considerable focus in the next few years is the development of an Elder and Palliative Care Pavilion that will be constructed on the Mount of Olives, just behind the hospital. The new pavilion will provide space for 120 patients receiving geriatric and palliative services. This includes skilled nursing, dementia and rehabilitation programming that will eventually feature outpatient support facilities. It is anticipated that the inpatient part will employ about 300 trained personnel. This type of care is not readily available in Palestine today.

It is gratifying to see the growth and development of AVH that has occurred in recent years. The hospital today has an annual budget of $23 million USD and is the primary specialized health care facility providing cancer care treatment for Palestinians.

During the next year, the AVH will undergo an accreditation that will confirm that it operates on the most stringent international health standards. CLWR is very proud to support the life-saving work of the Augusta Victoria Hospital, together with partners from around the world.

Robert Granke, CLWR executive director

Employment Training for Palestinian Women

A classroom for training Palestinian women in computer technology. CLWR/R. Granke

For many years, CLWR has supported the Vocational Training program of the Lutheran World Federation in Palestine. Since 1950, thousands of Palestinian young people have graduated from the Vocational Training Program (VTP) and are gainfully employed with jobs in the trades throughout the West Bank.

Recently, the VTP has taken steps to place a greater emphasis on the training of women. The aim is to provide relevant market related training to women and enable women to secure jobs that will improve their lives and the quality of life for their families.

A new training center has opened in Ramallah, West Bank. It is located in the middle of this growing city, which is the economic and political hub of Palestine. Classes have begun in courses

Yousef Shalian, director of the Vocational Training Program and Thaer Marrabeh, director of the Vocational Training Centre in Ramallah. CLWR/R. Granke

geared to the interests of women and the needs of the labor market. Courses in technical aspects of computers are equipping women to look for administrative jobs and support the growing business sector in Palestine.

Other courses in craft production are planned. Research is also taking place to develop curriculum that will expand into non-traditional skills for women. A new VTP strategic plan has been developed which provides for an expansion of female trainees and new course development.

CLWR is very proud to support the VTP. We rejoice in the opportunity to support the growth of the Palestinian economy through vocational training. This program is critical to the establishment of a vibrant private sector that serves as a foundation for peace and stability in the region.

They Said We Wouldn’t Survive

Lord of All Lutheran Church in Strathmore, Alberta. Photo: T.Brook

Lord of All Lutheran Church in Strathmore, Alberta began life as a double wide trailer hauled in from the BC mountains. Pastor Dawn Nelson told me the congregation wasn’t given much of a chance to survive. But today it has a modern sanctuaryin a new building, busy fellowship hall and a full calendar of activities for an active and growing congregation.

I was welcomed warmly and enthusiastically. The congregation and its members have a real heart for mission and demonstrate it through their interest in CLWR activities and their generous gifts.

Today I was able to tell them there were many Doubting Thomases like Thomas in today’s gospel. These people need to see Jesus’ wounds before they will believe. Today, one important way this can happen is if Jesus is seen to be alive in his followers. We can show that Jesus is alive and ever present among us by how we reach out and touch the lives of others who are suffering injustice and poverty; by how we respond in ways that bring hope to those who need hope the most. This congregation does that through CLWR.

I also had fun with the nineteen children who came forward for Children’s Time. We talked about mosquito nets and how a simple $10 net purchased with the pennies that no one thinks are worth anything anymore, saved lives of children like them.

It was a great visit and cupcakes with the post service coffee. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Tom Brook

CLWR Community Relations Director

Arts and Fitness for Palestinian Youth

On April 11^th I travelled to Bethlehem to meet with the Reverend Mitri Raheb, President of the Diyar Consortium. Rev. Raheb is also pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.

Theatre at Dar Al-Kalima College in Bethlehem. Photo: R. Granke

More than one year ago, CLWR received an unexpected donation of one million dollars from Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Calgary, which was designated to support two initiatives in Bethlehem. The first was to complete the interior of a theatre at Dar Al-Kalima College in Bethlehem (seating, sound system, etc.) The theatre serves as a lecture hall and arts venue with seating for 180+ people. It is now complete and looks wonderful. It is a modern theatre, which will serve the needs of Palestinian youth for many years to come. What a great way to invest in the arts in Palestine and provide opportunities for young people to pursue their interests and perhaps careers in the arts!

The second and more significant activity in terms of expenditures is the construction of a new sports auditorium or gym, which will be available to students in both the college and nearby high school.

This facility will be the largest indoor sports facility in the West Bank and not only provide a state of the art venue for sports recreation for the students, but also a venue for national Palestinian sports teams, including soccer, basketball and volleyball. There will be seating for 300 spectators.

West Bank gym under construction. Photo: R. Granke

The gym is to be inaugurated November 30, 2012 with Robert Granke and other Canadian officials attending. At this moment the foundation and basic infrastructure is completed and the roof will be installed within the next month, followed by the finishing of the interior.

There remains significant needs for funding of a change room facility, equipment and other interior supports. CLWR has committed to working with Rev Raheb to fundraise for the additional $500,000 required to complete the project. While the gym will be functional in the initial phase, we aim to have the full package in place by early fall such that a grand opening can occur in late November with all aspects completed.

These facilities are essential to the quality of life of Palestinians generally and especially for young people in Palestine. The gym will not only provide an opportunity for physical fitness but also promote healthy social interaction amongst Palestinians and countries in the region, while the theatre will enable further development of the arts in Palestine. It is a pleasure for CLWR to be a part of these ventures and work with Rev Raheb and his colleagues.

Robert Granke

CLWR Executive Director

“Stay with me, watch and pray”

Maunday Thursday services in Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem. April 5, 2012. CLWR/R.Granke

On the holiest night of the year, we gathered for worship in the old city of Jerusalem. Throughout the service, we worshipped in 3 languages, Arabic, English and German. Our prayers, in more languages than I could understand or count.

The theme of the service was simple and clear…stay with me, watch and pray. So were the words of Jesus to his disciples then, and to us today. The followers of Jesus at that time were challenged to be alert and stay with the plan. This of course is our story today as well.

This evening, as we processed through the old city of Jerusalem, amid the cars on narrow streets, loud music and people watching our group of 100 as we made our way to the garden of Gethsemane, there were those who watched, who prayed and sought to stay alert to God’s plan for us and for humanity. Not easy to do when there are so many distractions.

We sang, “O Lord hear our prayer”, “Dona nobis pacem”, and “Lord, listen to your children praying”.  Some took note, some even joined the procession. Even in the land called ‘holy’ one cannot assume a rightful place and the attention of the local inhabitants.

We lit candles in the garden, reminding us of Jesus, the light of the world. We heard scripture, mainly from the Gospel of Matthew, and were reminded of what took place in the garden, where “even the olive trees cried for their Lord”.

What a gift to be a part of such a gathering of believers in such a holy place, on this holiest of nights. We gather Friday, 6:30 am on the Via Dolorosa. The night is short, but profound.

Robert Granke,

CLWR Executive Director

Greetings from Jerusalem

I arrived today in Jerusalem for an extended period during which it will be my privilege to participate in a variety of religious and professional activities.

Olive trees along the wall of the old city in Jerusalem.

During Holy Week, I will be worshiping with the English-speaking congregation, The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Old City Jerusalem.

Maundy Thursday will be like no other for me. At 4:30 pm there will be a multi language Eucharistic service in the main sanctuary at Redeemer. After the service we process while singing Lenten hymns to Gethsemane for a short service of prayer, song and readings.

6:30 am Good Friday there will be a joint Anglican-Lutheran Way of the Cross beginning at station one on the Via Dolorosa, ending at Redeemer Lutheran Church.

On Easter Sunday, there will be a sunrise service at 5:30 am on the Mount of Olives, east of the Augusta Victoria Hospital, followed by Easter Brunch outdoors behind the home of Mark and Susanne Brown. Mark is the LWF rep in the Middle East. Then at 9:00 am, there is a traditional Easter service in Arabic and English at Redeemer, with the Reverend Bishop Younan, preaching.

All of this is bound to be wonderful and enriching! In the coming days and weeks, I will be happy to share my observations from these experiences and information as well as stories of the important service work of the Lutheran World Federation here in the region. This will include the LWF Augusta Victoria Hospital and the LWF Vocational Training Program.

May God bless this time together, to the glory of God!

Robert Granke

CLWR Executive Director

What an experience it’s been

July 18, 2011

“The last concert of the tour took place at the JL Zwane Training & Development Centre (Gugulethu, Cape Town) and featured a joint concert with the Fezeka Choir.  The Fezeka Choir is a high school choir, and the concert was supported by many community friends and family. The choirs had spent the afternoon practising together and shared a meal prior to the concert.  Many email addresses were exchanged following the concert – evidence good friendships had been established. 

Helping hands and new friendships made

July 15, 2011

“What a day We Care day was! The choir visited the Siyabonga Helping Hands – an after school/community program (supported by one of the member churches of LUCSA). The Siyabonga Helping Hands children’s choir sang for the SCC (you’ve never heard kids sing with this level of volume and energy!) and the SCC sang for the Siyabonga Helping Hands children.

SCC member with a new friend at Siyabonga Helping Hands, South Africa

“The SCC also presented the We Care kits they brought with them to South Africa. I had the opportunity to explain to the children what was inside the kits and the relationship of CLWR & the choir. We then all enjoyed sandwiches together and an hour of play on the playground. It was wonderful to see the Siyabonga Helping Hands children take the hand of the SCC children and share traditional games common to both groups such as skipping, rhythm games, and circle ball games. A few also enjoyed the use of their new-found SCC friend’s digital camera to take pictures of each other and then view them together. At the end, when the kits were given to the Siyabonga Helping Hands children as they left, it was lovely watching them  dig into their We Care bag and shriek over the items they discovered inside. A few adults from the villages were there as well and appeared just as happy as the children to discover the items in the We Care bags  – such as the plush toy.

“It was a happy and moving sight to watch them walk back to their village with We Care bags in

Enjoying their We Care kits!

hand and huge smiles on their faces. As we passed some children on the road, I rolled down the window, Rev Mathe (General Secretary of LUCSA) turned up the African music in the van, and the children along the side of the road danced to the music with We Care bags in hand.

The evening featured a concert by the SCC at the Hillside Lutheran Church where admission fees further supported the Siyabonga Helping Hands Center and where I was able to briefly share the work of CLWR and its relationship to the partners (SCC, LUCSA & ELCSA) supporting the choir tour and shipment CLWR will make to the region.” – Irma

It’s We Care day!

July 14, 2011

The Saskatoon Children's Choir packed lots of We Care kits!

“Today is We Care Day for the SCC in South Africa!  They have been carrying the We Care kits in their bags, eagerly anticipating this day. This will be their opportunity to give to children in the Siyabonga Centre the school resources they have generated and brought with them as a token of the larger donation provided to CLWR’s We Care program.

“The day will include a visit to the Siyabonga Helping Hands at the Esigodini Centre, and then a concert this evening at the Hayfields Lutheran Church – the church that directly supports this centre (and member of the Lutheran Communion in South Africa – LUCSA).” – Irma