Same level of assistance needed for world’s poor as for banks, says church leader

["Franziska Surber" <Franziska.Surber@wcrc.ch>]

World Communion of Reformed Churches  
News Release 
20 September 2010
 
Same level of assistance needed for world’s poor as for banks,
says church leader 
 
The same commitment to overcoming global poverty is needed as
that which was generated in response to the crisis in the banking
sector, a senior church official has told the head of the Swiss
delegation to the UN summit meeting on the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) underway in New York this week. 
 
Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the Geneva-based World
Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), told Switzerland’s Foreign
Minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, that the resources found in 2008
to address the financial crisis surpassed what many thought was
possible at the time. 
 
“We need that same level of commitment from nations like
Switzerland if we are to meet the Millennium Development Goals,”
Nyomi told Calmy-Rey. “How could it be that there is money for a
safety net for the financial crisis but not for the food
crisis?”
 
Nyomi, who is originally from Ghana, made his comments during
discussions between African church leaders and Swiss authorities
on 8 September in Bern, the country’s capital. The encounters
were organized by two Swiss-based non-governmental organizations,
Bread for All and the Lenten Campaign. The objective was for
African voices to be heard prior to the UN High-Level Plenary
Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (20-22 September).
 
In his presentation to Calmy-Rey and representatives of the
Swiss Department for Development Cooperation, Nyomi stressed that
Africans are playing an active role in responding to the needs of
their continent.
 
“Justice demands that Africa is not simply seen as a passive
recipient of donor aid. Churches and other faith-based
organizations are also challenging our own people,” he said. 
 
“In Africa where there are churches in every corner of most
communities, we are well-placed to walk alongside those who have
been suffering,” Nyomi notes. 
 
“Organizations such as the WCRC stand ready to work with all who
are serious about achieving the MDGs objectives of meeting the
food, education and health needs of the poorest and most
vulnerable people.”
 
Acknowledging that monitoring is needed to ensure responsible
use of financial aid, Nyomi says Africans must do their part. 
 
“Unless caring people in every sector make a clear commitment to
economic justice and climate justice, achieving the MDGs by 2015
will be elusive,” says Nyomi. 
 
WCRC was created in June 2010 through a merger of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical
Council (REC). Its 230 member churches representing 80 million
Christians are active worldwide in initiatives supporting
economic, climate and gender justice, cooperation among
Christians of different traditions and interfaith dialogue. 
 
Contact:
Kristine Greenaway
Executive Secretary, Communications
World Communion of Reformed Churches
150 route de Ferney, PO Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2 
Switzerland
tel. +41 22 791 6243
fax +41 22 791 6505
kgr@wcrc.ch
www.wcrc.ch ( http://www.wcrc.ch/ )