Through your efforts, church members have sponsored 43 Year 7 & 8 Glen Taylor School students to the school camp at Kawau Island held later this month. Sponsorship for these students is very much appreciated, and the school’s Principal, Chris Herlihy, sends huge thanks to all!
The Help a Kid to Camp campaign for Glen Taylor School is a request for sponsorship to enable students in this decile 1a school to attend a school camp on Kawau Island in May this year.
You can read all about it on the sponsorship form.
If you want to sponsor a student, then we ask that you:-
The Peace & Social Justice Group will send the sponsorship forms into Glen Taylor School so that sponsors can be matched with a student.
The campaign finishes Friday 7th May, and we ask that all sponsorship donations are made before that date.
Lifewise Merge Café located in Ponsonby near the Auckland Unitarian Church, sent out a call for financial help in March this year. The Café has taken a huge financial hit due to impact of the four Auckland Covid-19 lockdown periods, and was in danger of closing.
Watch:-
or listen:-
Brenda reports that in the Food Parcel Assistance for Glen Taylor School (GTS) during lockdown, in which much of the congregation was involved, a total of $2,370 was donated by us which meant many families in their local communities were helped. The principal of GTS and Clay put together a Sunday Zoom service on 17th May which was much enjoyed.
Continue reading Peace & Social Justice Report – July 2020When asked how we could best help advocate for GTS, the principal suggested we could help ensure the promised upgrade to the school property actually occurs, support an increase in wages for Teacher Aids, and continue to press for an end to child poverty and a reduction in inequality.
Concerning 15 prominent pro-democracy leaders being prosecuted for “organising and taking part in unauthorised assemblies”. These charges are based on the Public Order Ordinance, the provisions and application of which fail to meet international human rights law and standards on the right to peaceful assembly. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has repeatedly expressed concern that the implementation of the Public Order Ordinance may facilitate excessive restrictions to the right to peaceful assembly and called for its review.
Regarding Human Rights defender Patrick Zaki George, asking that he be released from detention as he has been detained solely due to his human rights work and political opinions that he has expressed on social media. Also asking for an independent investigation into allegations of torture and that he be guarantee access to his lawyer and adequate health care. Especially as he is vulnerable to Covid 19.
Expressing concern for prisoners in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, especially in a time of COVID.
Concerning Shaifqul Islam Kajol, a Bangladeshi newspaper editor and photographer, who has not been seen or heard from since the day police registered a case against him and 31 others, under the highly repressive Digital Security Act. He was last seen leaving his newspaper off ice on the evening of 10 March 2020, and his family has not heard of nor seen him since then. The police have denied having him in custody, and his family fears that he could be a victim of enforced disappearance.
Concerning Server Mustafayev, a human rights defender from Crimea, who is currently standing trial before the Southern Region Military Court and facing up to 25 years in jail if convicted. He and two of his co-defendants, Memet Belyalov and Seyran Saliyev, have recently developed the symptoms of a viral respiratory infection (VRI). Despite this, they were brought to the court and forced to spend there several hours, suffering from their medical condition and without food or water, while their hearing was ongoing. They are being denied adequate medical care.
Read below, or download the PDF
Paul Henriques © 16 February 2020
Our Peace and Social Justice (PSJ) sponsorship of the Glen Taylor School, which enables their participation in the Duffy Books in Homes programme, continues to reward us with great satisfaction. The children are thriving with the supplied books. PSJ representatives will attend a role model assembly at the school in March and I’m sure Brenda and Gary will provide more details on that after we’ve been.
Continue reading Peace and Social Justice Group – February 2020 updateAuckland Unitarian Church
1a Ponsonby Road
Grey Lynn
AUCKLAND 1011
www.aucklandunitarian.org.nz
13 August 2019
The Rt Honourable Andrew Little
Minister of Justice
Freepost Parliament
Private Bag 18 888
Parliament Buildings
WELLINGTON 6160
Email copy sent to
a.little@ministers.govt.nz.
Email Copy sent to
The Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister
jacinda.ardern@parliament.govt.nz.
Dear Minister,
We are writing to express our deep concern after hearing of the distress experienced by many of the victims and their supporters at the first hearing of the alleged perpetrator of the March 15 2019 Mosque attacks.
Continue reading Letter to Andrew Little, Minister of Justice, & Reply from the MinistryAs announced in this week’s newsletter, the PSJ Group has prepared a formal comment for government on the proposed gun law changes. Brenda has been the driving force in this and is doing an excellent job. It looks like there will be a truncated select committee process to hear public submissions on the drafting of the bill. However, comments have already been called for by the PM and that is what we will be sending to government at this stage.
Continue reading Proposed Gun Law Changes