Dear Earth Keeper,
Swim out into the living air between the forest branches,
There is something tangible here.
The air is full, new-made, clean, rich, sweet,
Redolent with the fragrance of eternity, and
Thick with the silence hidden
In a thousand high-low bird notes,
In the kiss-song of cicadas.
You’re flowing through
The openings between things;
That lithe, inquisitive part of you,
Unbound by space or time,
Slips easily into the invitation.
An extract from a place with more answers than questions by John Roff
We send warm greetings.
At the beginning of this month, South African citizens placed their votes at the 2019 General Elections, in the hope to elect representatives that will improve critical issues faced by the country.
Amidst the Climate and Environmental Crises, it has been reported that CO2 levels rose to the highest point in human history, and species extinctions are happening at unprecedented levels. Regionally, we have seen cyclones and flooding hit parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and in South Africa; the rate of unemployment rose to 27.6% with 6.2 million South Africans unemployed. SAFCEI, as a part of the growing concerned civil society, urged newly elected representatives to demonstrate leadership that is ethical and just, and puts the needs of all living beings before corruption and greed.
In more positive news, this month's newsletter has news from our Faith Leader Environment Advocacy Training in Kenya, coverage of our Political Party Public Dialogue on Environment hosted by SAFCEI and partners, and a new campaign against Hilton & Best Western to go cage-free for hens, and egg production.
We share a special report on a gathering of Spiritual Healers who prayed for sacred places with mining-affected communities in Xolobeni; this year's Goldman Environmental Prize winners; and more.
Applications to join our new Faith Leader Environmental Advocacy Training in South Africa in June are now available here. Spaces are available, so please circulate this widely! The closing date for applications is Friday 24 May 2019.
Please SAVE the DATE for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) that will take place on 16th July, in Cape Town. Sinegugu Zukulu from Xolobeni will be our keynote speaker.
Find more events and announcements listed further below in the newsletter.
We wish our Muslim friends and family a peaceful and solemn Ramadan. We wish our Jewish friends and family a joyful Shavuot.
The SAFCEI Team
SAVE THE DATE:
SAFCEI AGM 2019
Join us on the 16th of July in Cape Town for our Annual General Meeting (AGM), with a keynote address by Xolobeni (Amadiba) community activist, Sinegugu Zukulu.
RSVP here by Friday 25 June 2019.
Invite your friends, family, congregation and colleagues - everyone is welcome! We look forward to seeing you there.
FLEAT MOMBASSA
SAFCEI hosted a Faith Leaders Environmental Advocacy Training (FLEAT) follow-up workshop at The Reef Hotel, Mombassa, Kenya from 30th April to 2nd May.
At the workshop, faith leaders were asked to report back on their journey of Earthkeeping since making their commitments on 31st May 2018; discuss energy policies, conduct an Eco-Audit on Energy, Water, and Waste; discuss their experiences on writing for the media; draft a press releases; and meet with Dr. Godffrey Nyongesa Nato, Mombassa County Executive Committee Member for Environment, Waste Management & Energy to discuss the County's plans on Climate Change Adaptation.
The workshop concluded with faith leaders planning the next phase of their FLEAT journey, which will be executed by the elected Steering Committee.
Read more about FLEAT Mombassa 2019 here.
Apply for FLEAT South Africa (25-27 June 2019) here.
POLITICAL PARTY PUBLIC DEBATE
On 25 April 2019, ahead of the South African Elections, a coalition of environmental and social justice groups - which included SAFCEI, Project 90 by 2030, the African Climate Reality Project (ACRP), AIDC-One Million Climate Jobs Campaign, 350Africa.org, and the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) hosted a Political Party Public Manifesto Debate, to identify how each party plans to address the increasing impacts of climate change.
Political Parties were represented by Faiez Jacobs (ANC); Farouk Cassim (COPE); Beverley Schafer (DA); Jeremy Acton (Dagga Party); Jason Sole (Green Party); Shaheed Mahomed (Socialist Workers Party); and Ncedisa Mpemnyama (BLF). The debate was moderated by Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
The debate was centred around a non-partisan analysis – based on a scorecard made by the Action 24 project – of the manifestos of eleven political parties. Questions posed to party representatives covered sustainable and low-carbon energy systems, air quality and health, greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies, fundamental changes needed to address the climate crisis, and climate justice for the poor.
Read more about the Political Party Public Debate here.
Watch the full event YouTube video here.
See the coalition's response to the 2019 South African Election results here.
GLOBAL CAGE-FREE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HILTON & BEST WESTERN
On 9th May, SAFCEI joined 62 major animal protection organisations from around the world to celebrate the overnight success of a global campaign calling on hospitality group, Hilton Worldwide (Hilton) to follow the industry standard and commit to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs worldwide. The campaign – which launched on Wednesday 8 May – also targeted Best Western International Inc. (Best Western) simultaneously, in a bid to end the abuse of chickens worldwide. However, only Hilton has responded to the campaign thus far.
Read about the campaign here.
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