Global Ministries Of The United Methodist Church example essay topic

the devastation of aids in africa A driving force behind the recent U.N. Resolution 1261 (1999) unanimously adopted by the U.N. Security Council on August 25, is O lara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Armed Conflict to the United Nations. The resolutions which: condemns the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction and forced displacement, recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in violation of international law and attacks on places that usually have a significant presence of children such as schools and hospitals- and calls on all parties concerned to put an end to such practices was championed by Mr. Otunnu, a native of Uganda and past president of the UN Security Council. Since the beginning of his three-year appointment in 1979, he has traveled extensively, sometimes venturing into war zones to plea the cause of children. "I seek to be in touch with every organization and group whose activity and actions have an impact on children and war", he said. An issue which the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church has focused on for many years, "the targeting of children in warfare" was a topic of discussion at Global Gathering II, a GBGM-sponsored event of United Methodists. Attendees heard Graca Michel Mandela, who was commissioned by the U.N. to produce the "United Nations Study on The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children (1995), give an impassioned speech on the plight of children in war situations.

She expressed appreciation for work the church has done and urged continued advocacy in this regard. GBGM has proceeded accordingly and placed special emphasis on children of Africa through the Unite Methodist Bishops' Initiative of "Hope for the Children of Africa". An extension of this initiative is "Missioners of Hope", a new category of missionaries assigned by GBGM to work exclusively with children in crisis throughout the continent. Among components of the "missioners" program is the care and counseling of children traumatized by war.

An area of need singled out by Mr. Otunnu, counseling, he said, is also needed for families of these children. Among other specific needs he lifted were health care workers and and teachers for the children. Vision of Global Ministries has already placed some 58 "Missioners of Hope" in these areas. The majority of the "missioners" are native Africans, some of whom have lived through the very drama that the children they are to serve are experiencing. This familiarity, along with knowledge of language and culture, enables them to more readily serve these children and bring renewed hope to their lives.