The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tonga is starting to rebuild 116 houses that were destroyed by Cyclone Ian earlier this year. The church’s Tonga Service Centre Manager Howard Niu says they have signed with local contractor Oregon Pacific International to carry out the construction. Mr Niu says the houses will be Read more
More than 18 months after a tsunami caused widespread destruction in the remote Solomon Islands’ Temotu province, more than a hundred families are believed to still be living in temporary shelters. After the disaster struck, almost every affected family was left having to build a shelter for themselves. A permanent housing strategy has been developed Read more
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe says he greatly prefers Chinese aid over that from Western nations because the latter want him to accept homosexuality. Mr Mugabe, said to be a practising Catholic, told a Chinese television interviewer that he resents Western aid because it always depends on conditions like accepting homosexuality. He praised Beijing for being Read more
Aid groups say the 2014 Australian Budget amounts to a broken election promise to the world’s poorest people. The Foreign Aid budget will be cut by 7.9 Billion dollars over five year Extent of cuts to Australian aid to the Pacific unknown Archie Law, executive director, ActionAid Australia says Australia is “not one of the Read more
There’s a growing concern within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea that Australian aid is creating a culture of dependency, if the money ends up in the right place at all. Reuben Mete, who’s Director of the Youth Desk for the church is calling for the aid programme to be resigned. He says Read more
New Zealand has been named the second most giving country in the world, largely thanks to more Kiwis giving up their time to help others. The results of the World Giving Index survey – organised by the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation – reveal that New Zealanders are second only in giving to Americans, and tied Read more
Churches in Europe have welcomed pledges by the European Union to make financial aid for countries conditional on their protection of religious freedom. The European Union contributes aid to many nations of the South Pacific. The Brussels-based Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, said action was needed “given the systematic and increasing Read more
Caritas Director Julianne Hickey says the generosity of New Zealanders will bring joy to the hearts of many, as this year’s Lenten Appeal tops one million dollars for the first time. The Appeal is run by Caritas on behalf of New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops to support the Church’s work of promoting social justice and full Read more
Caritas Internationalis is ramping up its efforts to help the growing number of Syrian families who have fled the conflict in their homeland. “Within Syria, Caritas is distributing food,” Laura Sheahan of Caritas told CNA. “It’s been a little hard in terms of cooked food because it’s difficult to even get fuel in Syria, but Read more
There are signs that Russia is buying support from Pacific nations according to Australia’s parliamentary secretary for Pacific Islands Affairs, Richard Marles. He says there are signs that Russia’s recent aid projects in the Pacific were designed to buy support for its territorial claims in Europe. Russia has made development aid commitments to tiny Tuvalu Read more