Gathered under a banner bearing Psalm 24′s reminder – “The Earth is God’s, and all that is in it” – about 150 people from all parts of the Earth (50 from the south) considered the impact of Canadian mining companies on their communities and offered some signs of what must be done differently… We met in Toronto, Canada, as this country is home to 75 per cent of the world’s mining and mineral exploration companies, and Canadian stock exchanges raise 40 per cent of all mineral exploration capital worldwide…the participants commit to continue the process of reflection and action on resource extraction, and also call upon the Canadian churches, as well as churches globally, to take re sponsibility in speaking out more publicly on the issues and concerns raised during the gathering.” (see list of sponsors at the end) Continue reading
Daily Archives: May 24, 2011
South Sudan’s reliance on NGOs
From PRI’s The World
Podcast
South Sudan is poised to become Africa’s newest nation, but NGOs will still provide basic services to almost 90 percent of the country.
By Matthew Brunwasser, PRI’s The World
A road in South Sudan
Operation Lifeline Sudan, launched by the United Nations in 1989, was one of the biggest humanitarian efforts ever seen. It brought together UN agencies and some 35 non-governmental organizations (NGO).
Decades of civil war ended in 2005, when a peace treaty gave the south defacto autonomy. The former rebel group — the SPLA — has been governing the south ever since. Vassar College Political Scientist Zachariah Mampilly says the situation created an unsustainable relationship between foreign NGOs and the SPLA. Continue reading
