As the Anglican Communion’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jarvis works to create partnerships between churches and UN teams as they respond to conflict, climate change and forced movement of people. Jarvis has also facilitated church-led peacemaking in South Sudan and Mozambique. Throughout it all, she’s seen nothing that compares to the power of people coming back together after conflict, and ultimately, coming back to faith through Jesus.

This resource will be available for download or send a subscription request to receive it as a free daily email message throughout Lent.

https://alongsidehope.org/lent2026/

On March 7, the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer is also presenting this online Lenten lecture

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Charged by two durable solar panels installed on the roof of a clinic, the hardy and portable solar suitcase unit opens to reveal a high-capacity lithium battery, four high powered medical LED lights, two chargeable head lamps, a foetal doppler, USB and 12V charging ports, and rechargeable batteries with charger. These provide medical attendants with the tools they need to ensure every birth is illuminated, and phones are charged to make emergency referrals, especially at night.

Solar suitcases were the subject of a presentation at St. Bartholomew, Rockcliffe by Alongside Hope Board member, Bob Orr, at a “soup supper” followed by choral Evensong. Visitors to St. Bartholomew’s Christmas bazaar in November were able to see a solar suitcase and hear accounts of how it had improved maternal health care.

In October, Will Postma, executive director of Alongside Hope, visited parishes in Ottawa with a solar suitcase to demonstrate how they work.  At St. Helen’s, Orleans, he explained how they include training materials for local practitioners and information to install and maintain the equipment.  He described the immense difference the suitcases make in rural communities. Expectant mothers now know they can safely give birth in the dark and are more likely to seek health care.

Bart Dickinson, Alongside Hope’s planning, monitoring & evaluation coordinator, attended an event at St. James, Carleton Place, to explain how midwives could attend mothers and provide safe deliveries at all hours using the equipment each suitcase contains. Felice Parthun, a previous practicing Canadian midwife who attended the presentation, commented on how useful such an innovation could be.

Other local parishes chose to support this project through their outreach budgets.  Alongside Hope’s Wild Ride campaign also benefitted the Solar Suitcase project. This saw 23 teams and 56 people across Canada cycle, walk, swim, make blankets, or bake muffins. Their combined efforts nationwide raised $61,440 towards the total.

Across Canada, more than $321,000 was raised, including $150,000 in matching funds donated by a generous anonymous donor. As a result of efforts in Ottawa and across Canada, 49 nursing stations in Mozambique and Madagascar are now able to provide round the clock maternal health care to their community members.

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At Muripotana Health Centre in Nampula, midwife Ancha Amido Abdala used to begin every night shift in darkness, with no lights, no power, and no possibility of admitting patients after dark. That changed in 2022, when Alongside Hope and partner EHALE installed a Solar Suitcase – a bright yellow, wall‑mounted box powered by solar panels. Inside, it holds LED lights, a fetal Doppler, headlamps, phone chargers and a thermometer.

Abdala says it made an immediate difference. “There was no way to handle medical materials in the dark,” she recalls. After lighting went live, women began coming to the clinic at night; births increased, and transparency improved because the patients’ companions could follow procedures clearly.

“I gave birth at night,” said one new mother. “I felt very happy because I could see what the nurse was doing.” In districts with installations, night‑time births rose by about 17 percent, and more than 80,000 babies have been safely delivered since 2016, thanks to the installation of 80 Solar Suitcases across the province. The suitcases are made by We Care Solar.

Goal is eight more solar suitcases

Now in 2025, the Wild Ride aims to raise $52,000 – enough for eight more solar suitcases. Thanks to a generous donor, all funds will be matched until Oct. 31, 2025. So, for every solar suitcase that is funded, another will be added.

The Wild Ride is part of a larger initiative to provide 35 Solar Suitcases in Mozambique and 14 Solar Suitcases in Madagascar. The Coming Alongside Hope with Light project has a total budget of $320,000. All donations will be matched, up to $150,000, so $170,000 needs to be raised to ensure all 49 suitcases will be installed.

The Wild Ride has attracted fundraisers of all kinds from coast to coast. A veteran cyclist of the Wild Ride, Bishop Lynne McNaughton of the Diocese of Kootenay is ditching her bike this year in favour of walking 200 km. “I walk a fast 2 km up into the orchards near my house, a steep climb up onto the ‘bench’ where I can see a stunning view of Okanagan Lake. One Saturday at the end of the summer I’m inviting people to join me for a 5 or 10 km walk in a forest park in Kelowna.” She was inspired to get involved when seeing the Solar Suitcase demonstration at General Synod. “The suitcases are a brilliant design, portable and practical. They meet such a crucial need. I love walking and walk anyway so why not make that walk count for joining God in God’s work of mending the world.”

Jasmine Sandham, a parish rep at St. Paul’s, Thunder Bay, also has a personal motivation. “My mom’s pregnancy with my younger sister was highly complicated. And if they had to deliver her in darkness, both probably would have died.”

Also a veteran Wild Ride participant, this year Sandham is organizing a six-hour art bee. “I join every year because I feel that it’s a good way to get my church involved in an amazing project along with the rest of the Anglican Church of Canada,” she says. St. Paul’s is one of nine parishes in the Thunder Bay North Shore Deanery walking for the Wild Ride, and in honour of Archbishop Anne Germond’s ministry.

These efforts will make a big difference for midwives like Abdala. The Solar Suitcase is a tool that transforms the quality of care. She explains that even during suturing, the room is bright enough to explain and demonstrate each step to women and their companions. In one emergency, the light made it possible to resuscitate a preterm baby that wasn’t crying and begin immediate skin‑to‑skin contact with the mother.

That visibility builds trust. “At first, community members didn’t always respect me,” Abdala says. “But when they saw what I could do with the Solar Suitcase, attitudes changed. Now almost everyone respects my work.”

Even clinics that already have inconsistent grid power benefit from the solar backup. Abdala adds, “I ask that this be provided to other centres – even those connected to the grid – because electricity alone isn’t always enough.”

How to Help

It’s not too late to join the Wild Ride and help provide clinics with renewable energy in Mozambique and Madagascar! The Wild Ride continues until the end of October and anyone can take part – a group or an individual. Walk, cycle, knit, bake, paddle, pray, sing – choose any activity you enjoy. Register as an individual or as a team and help us raise funds for eight solar suitcases – which will become 16 with a matching gift!

Register today at AlongsideHope.com/Wild-Ride. And if you have any questions or need help, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Kim Umbach at kumbach@alongsidehope.org

Can’t join the Wild Ride this year? You can still help provide solar energy in Mozambique and Madagascar. Give at alongsidehope.org/wild-ride.

With files from Lucinda Congolo, Mozambique Country Director for We Care Solar

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In April, Alongside Hope launched its new Resilience Fund in response to the devastating cuts to international aid by the U.S. and other governments. The fund was created to provide support for many of its partners and programs that have lost funding from other sources. Soon after the launch, a donor offered to anonymously match all donations made to the Resilience Fund by June 30, 2025, up to $250,000.

“I couldn’t believe the timing of the call,” said Carolyn Cummins, director of fundraising and supporter relations for Alongside Hope (formerly the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund). She was about to introduce the fund at the House of Bishops at their meeting in Niagara, Ont. “It was very exciting to be able to tell them about our donor’s incredible generosity.”

While a quarter of a million dollars is a larger gift than most supporters can make, the anonymous donor was quick to point out that every gift is important, regardless of size. “If we all give what we can, Jesus multiples it like the loaves and fishes.”

A program is underway with Village Health Works (VHW) in Burundi, a longtime partner of Alongside Hope. The USAID cuts resulted in a nearly $1 million shortfall in medication for HIV, tuberculous and malaria, including a $677,000 gap in treatments to prevent malnutrition in children. (VHW) is responding with an adaptive, locally driven solution to prevent a catastrophe, by launching DuhindukeNut, a locally run Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) production in Kigutu, Burundi. The supplement is a dense peanut butter-like product, made from peanuts, soy and dairy, and enriched with critical nutrients.

“Our goal is to build a community-owned, scalable production model that not only meets VHW’s internal demand but also creates jobs, supports local farmers, and lays the groundwork for national provision of RUTF,” VHW says in their submission to Alongside Hope.

“The name DuhindukeNut comes from the Kirundi word ‘Duhinduke,’ meaning ‘Let’s transform.’ It reflects our belief that solving malnutrition in Burundi requires a shift – from dependence on imported aid to locally owned, sustainable solutions. ‘Nut’ refers to the nutritional products at the heart of this initiative. The name captures both our purpose and our approach: transforming lives through food, community leadership and innovation.”

Click here to give online or by phone at 1-866-308-7973. Or you can mail a cheque to Alongside Hope, 80 Hayden Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4Y 3G2. Please indicate “Resilience Fund” in the memo.

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Acknowledging the mutual threat of climate change, the working group began by challenging local parishes to plant trees, while supporting tree planting in Uganda. This twinning relationship and the opportunity for local action caught the imagination of Anglicans here.  This year alone, 410 native species trees were planted in the diocese and over 23,000 trees in Uganda.

Sourced from local tree nurseries, red maples, black spruce, sugar maples and basswood seedlings were planted in the diocese. Through a generous donation from Christ Church Cathedral, we were able to distribute trees while encouraging recipients to donate funds in support of St. Jude Family Projects, a PWRDF partner in Uganda. We are extremely grateful to all who made donations, and to our parish contacts who facilitated the distribution and to all who planted trees in their gardens and neighbourhoods.

St. Jude Family Projects in Uganda distributed a variety of native and fruit-bearing species. Among the native trees are Faidherbia albida (Musita/Nsabya), known for its ability to improve soil fertility and provide shade and fodder; Markhamia lutea (Musambya), valued for timber, medicinal uses, and shade; Maesopsis eminii (Musizi), a fast-growing tree used for timber and soil improvement; and Albizia coriaria (Musisa), another important nitrogen-fixing species. Additionally, recipients requested and received fruit trees such as jackfruit, mango, avocado, guava, papaya, and banana.

By partnering with PWRDF/Alongside Hope these native trees will count towards the Communion Forest, a Lambeth Conference global initiative from 2022 dedicated to “renewing the life of the earth across the Anglican Communion and beyond” by forest protection, tree growing and ecosystem restoration.

The program was highlighted at St Stephen’s Church and the Alongside/PWRDF Meet Our Partners event in November.  Many thanks to St. Stephen’s for hosting, to their amazing cooking crew, Basic Kneads Bakery who donated the bread, and all who attended.

Walking alongside our partner in Uganda we have made a difference in our community and indeed the world. Thank you for inspiring hope for a sustainable future for all.

The post Branches of Hope project celebrates success — 24,000 trees planted in Uganda and Ottawa appeared first on Perspective.

The working group was hosting two people from Zimbabwean partner TSURO (Towards Sustainable Use of Resources Organization) Trust, and St. Stephen’s went all out preparing a wonderful meal that included Zimbabwean dishes. After dinner Roseline Mukonoweshuro and Farai Gumisai took the large group who attended the event on a slide-show tour of their numerous innovative agricultural projects in the Chimanimani mountains in the in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe.

Due to climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation, people in their area are facing many challenges, including food insecurity. They are susceptible to weather events and natural disasters.

Gumisai described the devastating effects of a 2019 cyclone which caused flooding and landslides that destroyed the village, fields, orchards and washed all their crops away. Cyclones are more frequent now. “We must come together to mitigate the effects of climate change,” he said.

The TSURO Trust is working to improve conditions with project funded by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the Government of Canada, and supported by PWRDF that uses nature-based solutions to improve biodiversity and strengthen climate resilient livelihoods.

• Conservation agriculture techniques such as minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing soil cover, and maximizing crop diversity.
• Assisted natural regeneration and enrichment planting such as incorporating fruit trees, indigenous trees, and fodder crops into farmers’ fields and household areas in conjunction with wider landscape rehabilitation through tree planting and natural restoration processes.
• Improved water management including use of structures to control soil erosion, farm level water harvest technologies and water conveyance systems. This includes the construction of four solar-powered boreholes. Solar panels are mounted above a borehole well to provide the power needed for a pump to extract water. A narrow shaft drilled approximately 60-80 metres into the water table by a rig, and the water flows from a raised tank of 10,000 litres into pipes that supply water to households for domestic use and livestock watering.
• Improved livestock and range management such as community planned grazing, improved fodder crops and improved crop-livestock systems. This includes distribution of heifers to farmers.

A biodiverse landscape enables community members to build more resilient livelihoods.

• Use of nature-based solutions in agricultural production and improved marketing to enable higher income earnings.
• New or improved agro-ecosystem activities including non-timber forest products such as fruit, nuts and honey; and production and marketing of fuel-efficient stoves to foster resilient livelihoods. Two initiatives include fish ponds stocked with tilapia and demonstration sites teaching farmers how to grow mushrooms.

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