Trash to Cash: Plateau Project Northern Nigeria
Last Sunday was a really powerful reminder of the part we can all play in caring for God’s creation. Becky Ingelmalls preached brilliantly into the ‘WHY’ of Creation Care- make sure you listen back on the podcast HERE
Our Trash to Cash Project
Over the next 3 years we are partnering with Tearfund to support the Plateau State region in Northern Nigeria where the effects of waste and climate change are causing major environmental and social issues. By turning ‘Trash to Cash’ we can create a circular economy to help bring this region out of poverty!
This Easter we were able to send Tearfund a gift of £10,000 for our first year of funding. This money was given by you through a variety of Kerith giving streams. The majority came through our tithes from our Building Fund plus monies given through fund-raising events and sponsorship activities. We have pledged a further £10,000 for the next two years and we would love you to be creative in thinking about any personal sponsorship event that you can run to raise money and awareness of this opportunity.
Tearfund is working in partnership with churches in Plateau State in a range of ways to help them protect their communities from the devastating effects of poor waste management and climate change. They do this through waste management initiatives. One example of converting ‘trash to cash’ is an initiative that makes briquettes from waste groundnut shells and rice husks as an alternative to using wood for fuel. This provides a new 'green' income stream for households .
Our Kerith support over the next two years will help to pilot these waste initiatives and will contribute to other community initiatives to improve the environment, such as tree planting, improved water sanitation and climate smart training for farmers.
We know that the challenges faced from waste and climate change need tackling in a range of ways across communities! Other initiatives include
Training in recycling
Litter picking teams
Water, sanitation and hygiene training
Building six public toilets
Distribution of climate resilient seeds to farmers
Establishing self- help groups such as Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs)
Drawing local churches together to pray and act together in support of transforming the local community with these initiatives
SO What are we going to do as a church to raise the funds?
Host a ‘Forever Fashion’ event on Saturday 28 September – the opposite of ‘fast fashion’ – a chance to browse, swap, share and purchase great quality preloved items and hear an inspirational talk on fashion from Jennifer Sturrock fashion designer & theologian . Save the date – more details and tickets available soon!
You too can raise money through hosting your own event or sale – cake sale? Plant sale? Garage sale ? Let us know via info@kerith.church
Love running? Litter picking? Staying silent for a day? Talk to us about how you can raise funds for Trash to Cash on your sponsored challenge…
