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Anglican Relief and Development Fund Responds to East Africa Drought
Pittsburgh, PA – Two new Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF) emergency relief projects are expected to be approved within the week. They will help bring water to school children in Kenya and provide food for those facing famine in Tanzania. Both of these relief projects meet urgent needs caused by drought conditions in East Africa.
The $70,000 grant for the project in Kenya, which will be carried out in cooperation with the Anglican Church in Kenya under the leadership of Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, is expected to provide clean water to 8,000 people in the districts of Baringo and West Pokot. A further 1,050 school children will benefit by receiving supplementary food for three months. Additionally, a $65,000 grant for Tanzania food relief in the Diocese of Tabora is nearing approval.
ARDF also continues to work on another slate of development grants totaling approximately $400,000. These non-emergency grants will be reviewed by ARDF’s Global South Board of Trustees in May. These grant requests, which are typically $20–$50K each, must be under overseas Anglican authority and have measurable results. By using a model of awarding individual grants to specific Anglican groups in the Global South, ARDF can encourage individual dioceses, churches, or even individuals to adopt an entire project, giving a more personal connection than that offered by traditional charitable giving.
Recently, the Rev. John Yates, rector of The Falls Church in northern Virginia, challenged his congregation to support ARDF’s Pakistan Earthquake Relief Project. The grant request of $40,000 was from Global Teams, an Anglican Global Mission Partner agency, for specific relief efforts in the northern part of Pakistan. The Falls Church raised the total amount of $40,000 needed for the grant.
“This kind of inspired response from one parish is exactly what we’re looking for,” said Anglican Communion Network’s ARDF Executive Director, Canon Nancy Norton. “When you partner generous parishioners with effective missionaries in the field, you can accomplish great things for God. We want donor groups to take on the challenge to completely fund a project that really grabs their hearts. Our goal is to create real partnerships between the people who are receiving ARDF grants and the people and parishes who are funding the projects. We anticipate that many of these partnerships will continue beyond just funding a one-time grant.”
“We could not have done this without ARDF,” said The Rev. Kevin Higgins of Global Teams. “I have been encouraged by the responses of so many concerned people, and I hope that this will result in some cases in longer-term interest in this amazing region of northern Pakistan.”
ARDF has now funded 50 development and relief projects to date and disbursed $1.6 million since it began 18 months ago. Churches and individuals may contribute towards specific projects or to the general fund. For more information on Anglican Relief and Development, go to www.anglicanaid.net or contact Canon Nancy Norton at (412) 216–0277 or . Contributions may be sent to ARDF at the Anglican Communion Network, 535 Smithfield Street, Suite 910, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.