The love of God is not restricted by international boundaries and the mission of the Uniting Church extends beyond our national borders. Our international partner churches are best placed to meet the needs of their communities who may be struggling with poverty and lack of access to basic services like healthcare and education.
The International Partnerships and Development Commission supports a number of projects run by some of our international partner churches:
- Sri Lanka: Our partner is the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka. They operate five preschools in the north and east where poverty levels are high as a result of the civil war. The schools are deliberately open to students of different faiths to promote harmony in the community as well as making sure these children do not start behind their peers when they reach primary school.
- Timor Leste (East Timor): Our partner, Lafaek Diak (the Good Crocodile Foundation) is based in the rural east. They are primarily a health clinic however run a range of community development activities. We are committed to supporting the mobile health clinic to make sure remote villages can have check-ups and access to hygiene and sanitation facilities and education.
- West Papua (Indonesia, not Papua New Guinea): We work with the Gereja Kristin Injili di Tanah Papua (GKI church in Papua) and the Black Pearl Network to run English language classes across multiple locations. There is also some support for a women’s hygiene program and a clean water program.
- West Timor: Our partner is the Christian University in Kupang. Support is provided for particular students in need, along with English language training for staff and other academic professional development. These projects are supported directly by the WA Synod, however, we are also connected to the work of UnitingWorld, the Uniting Church in Australia’s international development body. We support their fundraising and advocacy efforts like Lent Event and the Campaign for Australian Aid. UnitingWorld are also members of ACFID, Micah Australia and the ACT Alliance.
As a requirement of the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC), all of our projects need to meet their External Conduct Standards. In fact, any congregation making donations that have an international benefit must comply the External Conduct Standards. To assist with this we request congregations to declare any donations made to international charities each financial year.
COVID-19 UPDATE
During COVID-19, all our partners have had to adapt to the crisis to promote health advice, support access to PPE and basic sanitation and hygiene, plus support access to emergency food supplies due to broken supply lines.
Contact Us
If you have any inquiries about the ACNC requirements or if you wish to donate or hear more about any of our international partner projects please contact the Social Justice Unit:
Geoff Bice
Social Justice Consultant
[email protected]
(08) 9260 9812
Wendy Hendry
Social Justice Officer
[email protected]
(08) 9260 9819
