Minutes November 2021 | Ravenswood United

Hope Comes in the Form of a Vaccine

Give the ultimate gift—the gift of life.

Credit: © UNICEF/UN0402670

Published On: October 22, 2021 Nov. 28, 2021

For many of us these days, hope comes in the form of a vaccine. And Giving Tuesday on November 30―just around the corner from Hope Sunday―is a good time to share it. The COVID-19 crisis won’t end for anyone until it ends for everyone. And in some parts of the world, no end is in sight.

Our Mission & Service partner ACT Alliance reports that out of all the vaccines administered around the world, less than 2 percent reached Africa and less than 7 percent reached South America. Many countries in the Global South and East won’t even be able to start a vaccine program until 2022. If this continues, these countries won’t reach vaccination goals until 2024…if ever.

Your gifts through Mission & Service continue to contribute food and relief items to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling the distribution of personal protective equipment, and supporting programs to prevent and control the spread of the disease. Through the United Church’s Gifts with Vision, we are offering an opportunity to give the ultimate gift―the gift of life. For just $25, you can save a life by providing a full vaccination to someone in the world who needs one.

Together we can make a difference. If you are planning to make a special charitable gift this Giving Tuesday, please consider offering the gift of full vaccination. And thank you for faithfully giving through Mission & Service. Your ongoing support truly does help save lives. Give the ultimate gift—the gift of life.

No Way to Treat a Child: Obaida’s Story

The first time he was detained by Israeli military forces, Obaida was only 14.

Obaida was on his way to the store when he was arrested.

Credit: DCIP/Matthew Cassel

Published On: October 22, 2021 Nov. 21, 2021

Military violence exposes children to unimaginable brutality.

“I was on my way to the store when they arrested me,” Obaida, a Palestinian child from Al-Arroub refugee camp, says to the camera. “When they took me for interrogation, they bound my hands in plastic cords. They used two of them so that I couldn’t move my hands at all. My eyes were covered in a thick blindfold that also covered my nose and made it hard to breathe.”

He is talking about the first time he was detained by Israeli military forces. Obaida was only 14.

Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip have lived under Israeli occupation since 1967. Anyone―including children―can be arrested without a warrant if there is suspicion that a “security offence” has been committed.

According to The United Church of Canada’s mission partner Defense for Children International‒Palestine (DCIP), Israeli forces detain and prosecute around 700 Palestinian children every year. Thirteen thousand Palestinian children have been detained by Israeli forces and held in military detention facilities since 2000. Israel is the only country in the world that routinely convicts children in military courts―which are known to lack fair trial guarantees.

On May 17, 2021, just a month shy of his 18th birthday, Obaida was tragically killed. He was one of the 67 children who were killed by Israeli forces during an 11-day military assault on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian children, like all children, deserve a childhood that is free of violence. Your Mission & Service gifts support DCIP in defending and promoting the rights of children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Thank you for helping to provide a safe and just future for all children.

A Second Chance

“Without the support that I regularly get here, I don’t know where I’d be.”

Chance at home in Hope Terrace

Credit: Bissell Centre

Published On: October 22, 2021 Nov. 14, 2021

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, one in five Canadians experience mental health problems. Your Mission & Service gifts help.

In his own words, Chance shares how the mental health support he received through the Bissell Centre―an organization supported through your Mission & Service gifts―helped him change his life.

“My name is Chance. I’m 25 years old and live at Hope Terrace, a permanent supportive home that is run by the Bissell Centre. I have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder—a type of brain injury with no cure—so I need help with things like coping with my emotions, keeping appointments, and cooking.

“Before I moved into the Hope Terrace residence, life was frustrating and stressful. I used to live at my grandmother’s house, along with my mom and four other family members. When everyone was home it was chaos, which made it even harder to manage my emotions—even happy emotions were too much at times.

“Mom and I knew I needed help, but we didn’t have money and we didn’t know where to start. So, a few years ago, I tagged along with my friend to Bissell Centre’s Easter meal. He was getting help from Bissell and seemed to like it enough. Maybe I could get help too?

“It was at that very meal that I first heard about Bissell’s mental health resources and the Hope Terrace house.

“When I was invited to move into Hope Terrace a few months later, Mom and I both agreed it would be a good decision. I finally felt some hope. Maybe life doesn’t have to be so hard all the time? Maybe I could have a better life?

“The staff here help me with the things that overwhelm me most—like budgeting, cooking, and dealing with my emotions. They are awesome! They’re really good, kind people—they’re my family.

“Without the support that I regularly get here, I don’t know where I’d be.”

Thank you for your generosity through Mission & Service.

A Step Toward Peace

“The grinding equipment helped me increase my income by 40 percent.”

Leila presses carob paste thanks to new grinding equipment provided by Mission & Service partner the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees.

Credit: DSPR

Published On: October 21, 2021 Nov. 7, 2021

One of the things we can do to promote peace is share what we have to ensure that everyone has enough. That’s why your generosity through Mission & Service supports economic development programs that offer things like micro-loans and business training and support to purchase equipment.

Leila Basheer is a 46-year-old mother of five who lives in a village in the northwestern part of the West Bank in Palestine. Leila’s husband is in poor health, which makes it hard to get by. Since she was a child, Leila has been preserving carob paste, which helps with upset stomach. Four years ago, as her family struggled, she had the idea to sell her carob paste. But processing it by hand is labour-intensive so she turned to DSPR―the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees―for help.

“As I made some profit from local sales, I decided to expand. DSPR helped me out with buying grinding equipment that facilitated making carob paste enormously,” she says.

The outcome is amazing. Not only can Leila produce high-quality paste but her income has also grown. “The grinding equipment helped me increase my income by 40 percent. I look forward to buying a second grinding machine, this time to produce tomato paste,” says Leila.

Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to complex systems of control. These systems of control include physical barriers like the Separation Wall, checkpoints, and roadblocks, and bureaucratic ones like permits and closure of areas. These restrict Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement. The Israeli occupation has confiscated thousands of dunums (1 dunum = 1,000 square metres) of land from Palestinian farmers to build illegal settlements, bypass roads, and build the Separation Wall. Moreover, the checkpoints, roadblocks, and crop destruction create extreme challenges for farmers attempting to reach their land and their markets.

Every step we take to support families like Leila’s brings us a step closer to peace and justice. Thank you for your generosity through Mission & Service.