Communications is working hard on our next issue to be delivered to our readers in March. Our focus is on the environment and how ECW women in their work are committed to taking care of this wonderful creation God has given to us. If you know of an ECW supported environmental project that should be shared with our readers, please submit to vpinformationcommunication@ecwnational.org.
As an example of the informative and inspirational environmental articles we are receiving, please read an excerpt of an article submitted by the ECW President, Chris DeWitt of the Diocese of Springfield. The entire article will be available in the next issue of the Communique.
The Board members of the ECW Diocese of Springfield (Ohio?) were very much moved by the plight of the women and children in the war torn region of Chad. Their support of The Solar Cooker project allowed women and children to feed families in a safe environment while creating a livelihood for the women living in the camps.
This issue is devoted to the environment, however, we encourage you as always to submit articles on any worthy project supported by ECW.
Safe and Solar
Diocese of Springfield Outreach for Project 2009-2010
Thousands of Sudanese refugees fleeing the Darfur genocide are finding safety in their temporary new homes in the refugee camps of Chad. But that safety vanishes beyond the camp boundaries.
Women and girls, traditionally charged with the task of collecting firewood, risk being attacked and beaten when they venture out looking for the fuel they need to cook their meals.
The Solar Cooker Project offers a solution. Run by Jewish World Watch, the project equips families in the Iridimi, Touloum and Oure Cassoni camps in Chad with cardboard-and-tinfoil contraptions that harness the sun's power for cooking and purifying their drinking water. Food takes longer to prepare using solar cookers than it would on an open fire, but women no longer have to spend hours foraging for wood. And because solar cookers don't have to be tended like a fire does, women are freed up to do other things. The project is also creating a livelihood for the women living in the camps who are trained to build the solar cookers.
Our ECW Board adopts a project each year for the Diocese. Our aim is to inform the Diocese about the project and to promote and contribute to the project by combining our efforts and our resources.
The Board members of the Diocese of Springfield were very much moved by the plight of the women and children in the war-torn region of Chad. There was very little in the news then and now - even though the war and its atrocities continue.
The Solar Cooker project was one of our projects for the year 2009 - 2010. The second project was the Remembering Heart Fund for a local hospital. We set a combined goal of $10,000.00 for the year. Both projects touched the hearts and purses of the people in our Diocese. We exceeded our goal and raised nearly $14,000.00. We were able to send approximately $11,000 to the Solar Cooker Project and approximately $3000.00 to the Remembering Hearts Fund.
Submitted by Chris DeWitt, President
Diocese of Springfield ECW
For more information about this project, visit www.solarcookerproject.org
