Millennium Development Goals

 
 


MDGs and St. Mary's

What are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?


One billion people live on less than $1.00 per day.

At the start of the new millennium, leaders from 19 nations - including the United States - agreed on a plan to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015. Together, they created the MDGs.

1.Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

                            2.Achieve Universal Primary Education

                                3.Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

                            4.Reduce Child Mortality

                                5.Improve Maternal Health

                                6.Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

                            7.Ensure Environmental Sustainability

                                8.Create a Global Partnership



What is St. Mary's Doing?


KIVA Dinners - We held one in June and are planning another before the end of the year.


MDG Conference -Parishioners attended the diocesan MDG conference in September. Presentations were given by our Rector, LeeAnne and our Deacon, Rex.


Last Lent, we used the MDGs to guide our liturgy.


Our vestry has committed 0.7% of our income (about $1400) to eradicating poverty, and our annual auction fundraiser just came up with another $1400!


We are a ONE congregation member




What Can You Do?


If everyone (including our government) gave just 0.7% of their gross income we could achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Some suggestions for donations related to environmental sustainability are:

Episcopal Relief & Development is a good organization - they have programs that offer basic sanitation and clean drinking water.


WaterAid.


Volunteer at Feed My Starving Children


Donate books or volunteer at Books for Africa

World Health Organization Dedicated to Gender


Volunteer with the Minnesota AIDS Project


Watch the movie "A Closer Walk", or “Yesterday” or “A Girl in the Cafe”


Become a micro-lender yourself. Go to www.kiva.org to find out how for as little $25 you can directly improve the self-sufficiency of someone trying to get out of poverty.


A big piece to goal eight is joining our voices with others to agitate our government to do more. You can join two groups (for free):

the ONE movement and the Episcopal Public Policy Network


Check out the Diocesan Environmental Stewardship Commission's.


Reuse, Recyle, Reclaim. Consume less.


Resources


Sites

UN TEC MDG Resource Page Episcopalians for Global Relief E4GR Blog - Updated regularly Episcopal Relief and Development MN Diocese's MDG page Quo Vadimus - Rev. Mike Kinman's Blog Episcopal ONE Campaign
Nets for Life - Maleria Nets The Hunger Site - one click feeds Heifer.Org - Sustainable development gift giving
MDG Monitor - track MDG progress
Free Rice - donate rice while playing a game


Books
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
The Bottom Billion by Paul Clilier
The White Man's Burden by William Easterly
What Can One Person Do? by Sabina Alkire & Edmund Newell


Adult Curricula:
"Eradicating Global Poverty: A Christian Study Guide on Millennium Development Goals" (National Council of Churches)

"Mission & Ministry through the Millenium Development Goals" (Rev. Leon Spencer in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina)


Ideas or suggestions? Send them!