After six months of lockdown, the United Church of Egham monthly charity book sale took place on Friday 25 September. The customers behaved impeccably, the volunteers were awesome and despite a gusty wind, a creditable £1,350 was raised for local charities in one day. £500 will be going to the Runnymede Dementia Carers Support. The next book sale will be on Friday 23 October 10:00-18:00.
Cyangugu is a small strategic frontier town in the south west of Rwanda on the border with The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the southern tip of Lake Kivu, contiguous with the Congolese town of Bukavu which is accessed by two bridges across the Ruzizi river.
Rik Mager is the director of the school. His wife, Caroline, coordinates the feeding programs in the Diocese because of malnutrition in this part of Rwanda. I asked Rik for an update on the program in the light of Covid-19.
“At a new biobank in the Amazon, scientists are working to identify the risks of a new infectious diseases. It’s part of a growing field of science looking at the interactions between human health and environmental change.”
Veterinarian Prof Alessandra Nava is part of a team trying to build up a library of viruses circulating in the Amazon in a bid to forestall a similar outbreak here. Prof Nava said. “We saw it coming. We expected a pandemic like this.”
Across the world a web of scientists – epidemiologists, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, vets – are working on the intersection between human and animal health. “The clearance of forests for crops and livestock . . can negatively impact the environment, creating a cascade of factors that facilitates the emergence and spread of diseases.” Land use change is the most important driver in the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases, which are often triggered by human destruction and exploitation of wildlife-rich habitats.
This fascinating article looks at a number of factors enabling the expansion of disease into new areas. The conclusion is that “We are completely dependent on nature and have made our future vulnerable”. Previously we thought that the consequences of this unfettered development were way in the future. Now we know this is immediate and urgent – and we are all vulnerable. “It’s in moments like this that real change can happen.”
“We must stand together in order to survive,” says Lucy Talgieh a member of Bethlehem City Council. Alongside Wi’am: Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center, Lucy has been working tirelessly for weeks to mitigate the effects ofCoronavirus in Bethlehem She is part of the emergency committee formed to get food and other supplies to people who are unable to move around the city.