Networking to help people
I want to thank Pas a Pas for linking me with a partner who has encouraged me in my work with people with disabilities. He is Mr Robert Scott of the Global Campaign against Epilepsy. They want to work with health and development workers interested in epilepsy (see page 16).
I am a social worker with the vocational centre for the disabled. It is called CEPHAG and is a community rehabilitation programme for people with disabilities. We have workshops producing shoes and orthopaedic aids. All our walking equipment is made here. We have helped over 100 people with crutches, wooden legs, walking sticks and other equipment. We also make tricycles, so our centre holds a lot of potential and we would like to co-operate with other partners working in this area.
N’sekazi Ndongala Dele, CEPHAG, c/o Centre d’Acceuil Missionaire, BP 1041, Bangui, Central African Republic.
GM crops – a Christian view
I write in response to the Footsteps issue on Biodiversity. As a Christian, there are very fundamental issues at stake when we consider the role of GM crops in development. Indeed, should they be happening at all?
God created the world and saw that it was good. He told mankind, through Adam, to take care of his creation – a job which unfortunately we have not been too good at. He was proud of the beauty of the flowers and birds that he made – greater than anything that mankind has or will ever produce! When we manipulate genes in an artificial way, we are fiddling with the very building blocks of life itself and, in my opinion, in a very real way – playing God! None of us knows what may be in store as a consequence.
Alastair Taylor, Technical Advisor, Kulika Charitable Trust (Uganda), Box 11330, Kampala, Uganda.
Fire warning
Having read the article about the sawdust stove in Issue 46 we feel it is important to add a warning. Last year there was a fire caused by this sort of stove in Koboko in Uganda. The stove produces a great heat which can easily result in thatched roofs catching fire. Several people died and babies were burnt. There was much damage to furniture and other houses. The local government punished those living in the house where the fire started. The same situation occurred in Ingbokolo in RD Congo during the hot, dry season.
The solution is not to ban these stoves, but rather to find a safe solution. We recommend fixing a sheet of some fireproof material, such as metal or old corrugated iron, about a metre above the stove, to prevent the heat from rising to a thatched roof.
Malisi Ng’ota Abetaka, s/c Ongiergiu Nyai Bernard, PO Box 332, Arua, Uganda.
Preventing violence against women
We are launching a project to unite people interested in opposing violence against women, and who want to share their experiences and contribute to producing a strategy which could be used by all countries. It is called SOS Femmes Violées – Femmes Battues. We have made use of the ‘advocacy cycle’ from Footsteps 45 in our planning. We plan to use electronic communication to link people.
We have opened a website and welcome opinions concerning this issue: www.ifrance.com/sosprog. Our e-mail address is: sosprog@yahoo.fr
Tété Enyon Guemadji-Gbedemah, Co-ordinator of ASSICCA.
Preparing for retirement
The idea of ‘retirement’ simply means to stop working, either willingly or through necessity. In the Bible we read that: ‘There is a time and season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest’ (Eccl 3:1-2).
Likewise there should be ‘A time to work and a time to retire’. Many workers with a regular job, only begin to think of retirement when it is just a few years away. However it is good to plan for retirement and how to use the extra time well. With no further income there will still be financial needs. Ideally workers should try and save, but this is often very difficult. Alternatively people should consider some other way of raising a small income after retirement and make time to plan for this.
No-one should believe they are essential. All of us should plan to leave work as we reach retirement age – including politicians and heads of state!
Thomas Ayan, PO Box 2981, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria.
Drugs kill
We recently launched a quarterly leaflet called Au Secours (Help), on the subject of drugs. The first issue was called Drugs Kill and printed in French and English. We can provide copies to anyone interested. We would also appreciate more information about the fight against drugs.
Erasthon Bengehya, Co-ordinator CECL, BP 384, Cyangugu, Rwanda. E-mail: info bukavu@bushnet.net