Australians spent $8billion on beauty products, $14.1 billion on alcohol and $9.5 billion on gadgets last financial year. That being the case, it’s sometimes hard to imagine exactly what we have in common with our neighbours in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, many of whom spend up to three or four hours a day gathering water to drink.
The answer is simple. Like you and I, mothers in South Sudan are anxious that their newborns will thrive. Fathers in Zimbabwe want to be able to provide a living for their families and watch with pride as their children attend school, knowing they’ll grow up to have choices about employment.
And like people everywhere, from Australia to Sri Lanka, we all want to know there’s hope for the future.
We have more in common than we imagine.
UnitingWorld’s Everything In Common Gift Catalogue captures a vision for a world where we share what we have so that people everywhere live healthy, safe and full lives. This year the catalogue includes gifts in North India that help prevent child trafficking ($35), beehives in Zimbabwe that create income for families and communities ($40) and scholarships for women that will help create lasting change in Pacific communities ($30).
Rumbidzai, a young widow living in a small village in northern Zimbabwe, is already benefitting from the buzz created by projects created by Everything In Common. She’s part of a community livelihood group established by UnitingWorld’s partner the Methodist Development and Relief Agency and participates in activities including beekeeping and raising chickens. With honey selling at around US$4 a litre, for example, the groups have seen a steady growth in household income.
“I’m so happy my children are able to go to school.” Rumbidzai says. “I want them to know they are not disadvantaged just because their father died. And I want other women to know that they too can have a voice.”
Cath Taylor