Over the past year we have grown our income in a crowded and competitive market. We have had to absorb some cuts to our funding from DFAT as part of the Government’s austerity measures. We want to thank those supporters, including our President, who advocated strenuously on our behalf to reduce the severity of those cuts. It has also been a busy year as we have steadily prepared for our five yearly re-accreditation with DFAT, and welcomed an expanded membership.
We exist to serve the poor, and we want to do that in the best way we can. With this in mind, we continued to strengthen our development programs in 2015. We received a strongly positive evaluation of our work in Solomon Islands, we reported on the progress of our maternal and child health work in Kenya and Ethiopia, and we wound up our longterm program in Lesotho after having made real and lasting change.
This year is remembered for the large number of humanitarian emergencies.
The frequency and intensity of emergency situations led us to utilise our Rapid Response Emergency Fund. This enables us to respond quickly when we need to, ahead of the fundraising through specific appeals. It also enables us to contribute to emergencies that don’t make the headlines, for example, the massive floods in Mozambique in February.
In 2015, we have continued to strengthen our relationships with Anglican communities both here and abroad. We appreciate the relationships we have with all our partners, and value the recent opportunity to engage more deeply with Anglican churches. Nils von Kalm, our Church and Community Engagement Officer, has taken the lead on these relationships and we welcome him into our team.
In December, we will reach the end of our current Strategic Plan. We will be taking the opportunity to reflect deeply on our mission, and have already begun to discern future directions. One thing that won’t change is that we see Anglican Overseas Aid as an important ministry of the Church, and we thank God for his ongoing blessing of our work.
We would like to thank our President, Archbishop Philip, for his strong personal interest in our work, his guidance, and his advocacy on behalf of Anglican Overseas Aid. We also wish to acknowledge our board members and staff who have contributed their time and expertise, and for their continued dedication and support. Finally, we would like to thank those who not only support us financially, but pray for our organisation and the communities where we work.