Payne, David and Betty - A Rocha
Payne main pagePrayer Letter April 2007 (Acrobat pdf format also available - click here)
PLANTING HOPE
Professor Wangari Maathai became headline news three years ago when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – the first African woman ever to be accorded that honour. Last month Betty and I were invited to the launch of her autobiography ‘Unbowed’ in London. We heard Professor Maathai comment on the link the Norwegian Nobel Committee had made between peace, sustainable management of resources and good governance. 30 years ago Professor Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya to address a serious problem with a simple solution: working in communities to plant trees. The problem was that Kenya’s forests were rapidly disappearing, seriously affecting water supplies and the production of electricity from rivers and dams. The Green Belt Movement helps people make critical linkages between the environment, governance, and their quality of life. The movement has empowered people across Africa - especially women and children - to plant millions of trees.
“When people live in harmony with trees,” Professor Maathai said, “it promotes world peace. By starting with the simple step of digging a hole and planting a tree, we plant hope for ourselves and for future generations.” She went on to say that planting trees roots people in the stewardship of their land, and so they are less likely to covet the possessions of others, which leads to conflict. This accords with the Bible’s vision of a peaceful nation, where “everyone will sit under his own vine and under his own fig-tree, and no-one will make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4)
Next month we will be traveling to Kenya to host the A Rocha Leaders Forum, which will be held near A Rocha Kenya’s field study centre at Watamu (on the coast 60 miles north of Mombasa) 16th-23rd April. This is the first time that our international conference will have been held outside Europe in a developing country. It is a great opportunity to experience at first hand the link between environmental degradation and poverty. The 75 people coming together from 22 countries all share A Rocha’s five commitments: we are Christians involved in practical nature conservation, working cross-culturally through the local community and in cooperation with others who share our concern for a sustainable world. David is responsible for coordinating the programme for the week, under the theme “Conservation, Poverty and Hope”.
Being aware of the detrimental effect of air travel, we have thought long and hard about the frequency of A Rocha’s international meetings, and aim this year to make our activities carbon neutral. We are doing this by evaluating our carbon emissions, reducing them wherever we can and then offsetting what we can’t avoid with Climate Stewards
www.climatestewards.org.uk . Even though we’re making more use of internet conference calls, eventually there is really no substitute for face to face meetings for reinforcing the family identity.
We look forward to learning from the Bible Readings to be given by the Rt Rev Zac Niringiye, Bishop of Kampala. Bishop Zac is among those who have taken the initiative to form A Rocha Uganda – the most recent national organization to be established. As leaders in the A Rocha family meet together, we want to discern Christ’s way forward and share ideas for developing and sustaining the work. We believe that this is often most effective when we cooperate with other organizations like the Green Belt Movement, and we will be discussing several partnerships at a global level which are potentially available to A Rocha at this time.
LEADERSHIP
We are greatly encouraged by God’s answer to our prayers for a Chief Executive for A Rocha International, about which we asked you to pray in our August letter. Dr Marie Connett Porceddu took up the appointment of CEO Designate on 1st March. She brings a huge amount of experience in both scientific research and management, holding a PhD in Botany with significant experience in forestry conservation and an MBA in Business Management. Marie is a committed Christian who will bring a wonderful cross-cultural perspective to the post, as she is a national of Italy, the USA and New Zealand, currently lives in Australia and speaks French, Spanish, Italian and German, as well as her native English. For family reasons, Marie will initially remain at her present home in Canberra, and after moving to France with her family will be appointed CEO later this year.
Marie will work closely with Peter Harris and David, taking the responsibility for the strategic and organisational development of A Rocha globally. This will increase our capacity as a team to assist the national organisations – especially those that are establishing their conservation programmes - to find the resources they need and suitable people to lead the work. We are excited about the opportunities that this offers for bringing a Biblical perspective to decision-making about environmental issues at local, national and international levels in many places around the world.
Thank you for your prayerful interest in this work. We are particularly grateful for those churches and friends who support us financially, and praise God that this was just sufficient last year to cover Crosslinks’ commitments in this respect.
With our love
David and Betty y
“Blessed are those… who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night. They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it fruit in season.”
- Psalm 1
Prayer points:
- Thank God for guiding Marie to A Rocha, and pray for her as she gets to know the wider A Rocha family and takes on her new responsibilities.
- Ask God to inspire the teaching and discussions at the A Rocha Leaders Forum, 16th- 23rd April, so that we may discern the His way forward for the whole family of organizations
- Please continue to pray for the future of the Alvor Estuary, adjacent to Cruzinha, the A Rocha Portugal centre. It is still under threat from illegal activities by a property developer. Pray that the meetings being held with local and national authorities will lead to a clear resolution and protection of important habitats in the estuary.