Posts Categorized: Advocacy

Connecticut coalition advocates for an improved NAFTA

By Rev. Pamela Lupfer | Joining Hands Campaign Organizer for Trade Justice In addition to working as the Joining Hands campaign organizer for Trade Justice, I have been working with Connecticut Fair Trade Coalition (CT-FTC) for the past three years. In our continuing efforts to reach out to Congressional representatives regarding concerns about the NAFTA… Read more »

The Continuous Struggle for Land Rights in Sri Lanka

By Herman Kumara | Chairperson of Praja Abhilasha, Joining Hands Sri Lanka   Praja Abhilasha (PA), the Joining Hands network in Sri Lanka, in partnership with its member organization the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO), organized a 3-day land rights workshop in April 2017 to bring together land rights campaigners from across the country to… Read more »

Herakles Farms’ Cameroon Land Grab is Losing its Grip

By Joséphine Maidjane Mbara and Jaff Bamenjo | RELUFA, Joining Hands Cameroon The frequency of large scale land acquisitions for agro-industry projects has been exponentially on the rise in most African countries for the past decade. Land deals are always portrayed by investors and government agencies as necessary to improve economic growth and expand local… Read more »

A Call To Action on NAFTA

Submit Public Comments on NAFTA’s Renegotiation By Rev. Pamela Lupfer | Presbyterian Hunger Program   The U.S. Trade Representative is currently accepting public comments on how it should renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  Submit a Public Comment Now! Please demand that any NAFTA replacement deal prioritize the needs of working families and… Read more »

NAFTA Renegotiation: a call for proactive advocacy

By Eileen Schuhmann | Presbyterian Hunger Program Over the past several years, civil society and faith communities have come together to pressure the U.S. Congress and the White House to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement between the U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim nations. Presbyterians have been very engaged in efforts to stop… Read more »

Sand Mining in Sri Lanka Endangers Coral Reefs and Livelihoods

By Herman Kumara | Praja Abhilasha, Joining Hands Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan Government, in partnership with the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), is moving forward with its plans to build a Port City, a business and tourism district that extends the city of Colombo onto a man-made island. The government promises that the Port… Read more »

A New Song: Joining Hands with La Oroya, Peru and Standing Rock, ND

By Rev. Ellie Stock | Joining Hands Peru Partnership, Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy It is a long story… It all began with a song…in Girl Scout Camp…many moons ago…when I was seven,”Land of the Silver Birch, Home of the Beaver“, an adapted Native Canadian tune and Canadian folk song where the singer/story-teller extols the beauty of his homeland—the… Read more »

Amid disaster, Haitians seek change

Hurricane Matthew Raises the Importance of Working Towards Long-term Social Change in Haiti By Cindy Corell | Mission Co-Worker, Joining Hands Haiti Our brothers and sisters here in Haiti are suffering – again, and as they too often do. The effects of Hurricane Matthew of Oct. 4 were horrendous. Most people in the far southwestern… Read more »

Up in Smoke: Report highlights flaws in global carbon trading system

Presbyterian Hunger Program partner Social Action in Nigeria recently published a report Up in Smoke: Gas Flaring, Communities and Carbon Trading in Nigeria. As nations attempt to address the growing challenge of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, impoverished communities in countries like Nigeria stand to lose out. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 established an international system for trading carbon… Read more »