CIDA cuts funding to KAIROS...

UGH!!! See link for details. http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/who-we-are/cida-funding-cuts/
See below for my letter to the government... please write too!

Dear Prime Minister Harper, Minister Oda and Ms. Biggs,

It is with great shock and disappointment that I write to you concerning the matter of the recent unexpected and unexplained cessation of CIDA funds to KAIROS Canada. KAIROS is an agency which represents Christian unity and charity throughout the world, through tireless work abroad and here within Canada.

The 2009-2013 KAIROS proposal to CIDA was carefully developed to integrate well with CIDA’s priorities: specifically those dealing with human rights and environmental sustainability. The proposal was approved at every level of CIDA before being declined, by telephone and without explanation, on November 30.

Especially in such difficult economic times, the work of church-based agencies such as KAIROS is imperative to maintaining and increasing levels of social justice for our brothers and sisters around the globe. In the past, Canada has proven to be a most generous country addressing these global concerns, and the work of KAIROS has been celebrated at ecumenical conferences globally. I attended the World Council of Churches 9^th Assembly in 2006 and was proud to be from a country so dedicated to acting compassionately. This termination of a 35-year relationship between CIDA and KAIROS Canada, especially when the public is being told by the government that the economy is improving, will mean the abrupt end of many life-giving projects and programmes around the globe. I would expect that the result of this will have an extremely negative impact on Canada’s reputation. The credibility of our government when our leaders speak of their commitments to issues such as the Millennium Development Goals and at the UN Conference on Climate Change being held in Copenhagen will be lost, as actions speak louder than words. This action to end CIDA funding to KAIROS Canada is deplorable and goes against that which Mr. Harper’s government is aiming to achieve.

I am a supporter of KAIROS and its mission to the world. I have seen their good works around the world, both in person on my many journeys and through the extensive communications distributed. I have benefitted by using the materials offered by KAIROS in teaching youth (through Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada, as well as in the church) about their responsibilities as global citizens. My passion for justice, inspired by KAIROS work, influences my service in the Naval Reserve. I have contributed articles for KAIROS publications, I am a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada (one of KAIROS’s members); I volunteer with and donate to the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (another KAIROS member). My time, energy, skills and money are given to demonstrate my values; I would urge the government to do the same.

I strenuously recommend that the government and CIDA will reverse this horrific decision. This issue does not reflect one’s faith affiliation; rather it is based in one’s affiliation and commitment to the human race and all of creation. A reversal of the decision to cut CIDA funding to KAIROS would demonstrate to Canada and the world that the government takes its role seriously as a global leader.

Yours, as a fellow Canadian,

Lt(N) The Rev. Laura Marie Piotrowicz