The first cases of cholera were registered in the region around Lusaka in Zambia back in October 2023. There are now more than 10,000 infected people across the country, and the current situation can be categorised as critical. The Moravian Church is also affected by the epidemic. Herrnhuter Missionshilfe has therefore decided to provide emergency aid through the HMH Emergency Aid Fund. Together with the i4Life clinic in Lusaka, with which HMH has also planned the implementation of a nutritional programme, immediate measures are being implemented to improve the situation. In addition to the necessary medical care, the focus is also on preventing the disease. Donations to the HMH Emergency Aid Fund can be made by bank transfer to DE25 5206 0410 0000 4151 03 (keyword: Cholera Emergency Aid Zambia) or here.

Several lorries full of trees and seedlings arrived at the Atsikana Walani women's project in Malawi at the beginning of February. Together with the local project team, numerous large planting holes were dug in and around the school grounds. The young women put in a lot of effort and energy, but also had a lot of fun, and the first trees were planted and watered by lunchtime. At the same time, the trainees as well as the teachers and staff were taught about the importance of trees in adapting to climate change, their benefits for the environment, for the supply of fruit and also as a source of shadow. The care of the newly planted trees was also explained in detail. Especially in the very barren terrain around the school, where wind, sun and above all heavy rainfall during the rainy season lead to serious soil erosion, trees are essential to protect the soil from erosion and leaching. Many of the seedlings come from one of the two tree nurseries that have been operating in two communities at the Dzaleka refugee camp for almost two years. Over 250 trees and seedlings (of various species) can now grow well during the rainy season and may already bear their first fruit in autumn. All in all, the tree planting campaign was a complete success that will be visible for a long time to come!

In ten Palestinian towns and villages in the Ramallah and Al Birah districts, talks were recently held with local representatives at the initiative of the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center of the worldwide Moravian Church near Ramallah. The aim of these talks was to cooperate in the implementation of the project Promoting Inclusive Communities through Good Citizenship. On behalf of Star Mountain, these discussions were conducted by employees from the Disability Rights Department and the Environment and Development Department. Initial plans were made and concrete agreements have already been reached. The Star Mountain has been leading the way for years in asserting the rights of people with disabilities in Palestinian society and is held in high esteem by many sides (children and young people, parents, neighbourhoods, politicians, cooperation partners). Pictures from Beit Liqya near Ramallah here. Pictures of further encounters here. The talks were sponsored by the german Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GiZ).

After years of support in kindergarten and special schools, the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center SMRC in Palestine is constantly faced with the challenge of organising the subsequent professional development of its protégés. In this context, the Star Mountain recently expressed its thanks and appreciation to the Reef Restaurant in Ramallah for Hassan Qindah's training in the kitchen area. Those responsible praised the social responsibility demonstrated by the restaurant, which led to the young man being given a chance on the primary labour market despite his disability. Photos of Hassan here. Issam Abdelaziz, another youngster, gets his chance at the Arab-Palestinian shopping centre in Ramallah, where he works in customer support. Photos of Issam here. The support centre also expressed its thanks and appreciation to this company. The Waldensian Church in Italy, specifically the Otto per Mille-Fonds, is covering the costs of this training programme.

Mia and Michael Toldam-Korsgård (DK) report from the Moravian Church's Sikonge Mission Hospital in Tanzania (Western Province): "Our health seminars are aimed at vulnerable groups. Every month, women from the Moravian Church go with a team from the hospital to remote villages, where they organise a ›church service with seminar‹ with the aim of providing information about basic health and rights, especially for children and women. We also had guests from our Danish partner hospital, Holbæk Hospital. From there, 20 doctors, nurses and midwives visited us. They were here for eight days to tell us about themselves and to learn from the local healthcare staff. Another large water tank was built, new pipes were laid to supply water to the collection tanks and foundations were poured for the first water tower, which will bring running water to the operating theatre."

The Unity Board Administrator Jørgen Bøytler (DK) recently published the resolutions and declarations of the 44th Unity Synod from 4 to 10 September 2023 in Cape Town after prior consultation with the Synodal Presidium. The 44 synod resolutions and declarations are printed in full in English. At the end there is a list of 30 plus 2 reports from around the world that were submitted to the Synod members and which provide a nice overview of the current situation of the worldwide Moravian Church and its provinces (with statistics!). The resolutions concern structural issues (e.g. five new Mission Provinces or Prospective Mission Areas, new committees), personnel issues (e.g. elections to various committees) and, of course, financial and theological-political issues. Various threats to the unity of the worldwide Moravian Church are also discussed. Several resolutions also deal with matters of mission (e.g. official adoption of the Unity Mission Agreement of 2018). Download the resolutions and declarations here.

The John-Monkou-School (400 children) in Leyldorp, a village 18 kilometres south of Paramaribo in the Wanica district, which has come under the umbrella of the Moravian Church's school foundation in Suriname, recently received a visit from employees of the Tiny Gardens Suriname from the capital Paramaribo. The foundation is committed to promoting organic agriculture and horticulture. Its slogans are, for example: "Grow more with less. | Harvest organic vegetables from your own garden. | Gardens and children need the same things: patience, love and someone who never gives up. | Together for a climate-resilient society in Suriname. | We empower ethnic minorities in the climate crisis." A post from Leyldorp read: "Thank you for being with us at the John Monkou School. Children learn best through their everyday experiences with people they love and trust, and when learning is fun. And the best place for these experiences is outside, in nature." Video from the foundation here. A picture from the visit to Leyldorp here.

On Sunday 28 January at 3 p.m., there was a public guided tour at the Völkerkunde Museum Herrnhut of the exhibition "Talanoa – Zusammenkommen. Das Netzwerk Herrnhut, James Cook und die Ahnengötter Ozeaniens" with Silke Piwko, the Herrnhut site manager. In December 2023, the museum opened a kind of viewing window into the concept of the new permanent exhibition "Talanoa - Zusammenkommen" with the presentation of artefacts from James Cook and his ship's officer James Burney. The exhibition is of missionary relevance because the Cook Islands are at the centre of the World Day of Prayer 2025. Official theme poster with the title Wonderfully Made by the two artists Tarani Napa and Tevairangi Napa here. Description of the image, which was created with reference to Psalm 139:14, also at the location indicated.