Campaigns & Events
What's happening now!

(18/7/07)

A memo from the desk of: Denis Goldberg, Hon. President, Community H.E.A.R.T.

Subject: UBUBELE* PSYCHOTHERAPY RESOURCE AND TRAINING CENTRE
(*means kindness, and also “the nourishing breast”)

Need: Support - please remember: many little streams make a mighty river
Ububele’s therapeutic nursery school for fifty at-risk children is Ububele’s heart. Its pulse drives Ububele’s daily life. It provides a vital link to the community. It provides opportunities for observation and non-invasive learning for lay counselors. Positive early childhood experiences are the most significant predictor of mental health in later life. Ububele therefore has an Early Childhood and Parents Division and Group Work and Training Divisions, each informing the work of the whole programme. Ububele is realizing in practice South Africa’s commitment to the Rights of Children especially the rights to safety and security and health care which must include psycho-social support. [See picture at end]
People with HIV and AIDS are a focus group for Ububele’s involvement in mental health programmes. Many traumatized woman and children, often orphans in child-headed families, need support from trained counselors. This too is Ububele’s field of action. Ububele provides direct support to and training for lay and professional counselors working in such areas.
Keys to Ububele’s approach developed over six years are:
• Well trained lay counselors are highly effective in providing counseling and support within their own community provided that there is professional supervision and a referral facility such as Ububele.
• Group work is more cost effective and equally therapeutically effective as individual work.
• The use of local languages in group counseling and in therapy sessions is vitally important for the individual receiving therapy and for therapists to understand the knowledge systems and healing practices within specific cultures and language groups.
Ububele Resource and Training Centre is based in Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, South Africa. There is still a huge gap in the quantity and quality of counseling services in disadvantaged communities like ‘Alex.’ Ububele trains psychotherapists, lay counselors and community counselors working in disadvantaged areas. A Community Liaison Officer is developing structural links with the Alex community with an estimated population of 328,579 people and 94,618 households.
Ububele maintains clinical, research and partnership links with the University of the Witwatersrand’s Department of Psychology. It also maintains associations with University College, London, and with the family research section of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa. It is currently working with the Anna Freud Centre in London, which specialises in early childhood counseling and therapy.
Tony Hamburger and his wife Hillary are the co-founders of Ububele. Both are clinical psychologists each with 30 years experience in clinical practice and in community involvement and training. Tony is the overall clinical supervisor and business leader. The Administrator is Jake Matlhong, a trained teacher, a practicing theologian, a trained counselor and he has fifteen years’ experience in business administration.
Ububele has eight full time clinical and training staff, five part time staff, as well as interns and volunteers. It has a formal governance structure made up of a Board of Trustees, and a community liaison committee. Ububele has initiated the process of accreditation of its training programmes with the South African Qualifications Authority.
The focus in all Ububele’s programmes is to strengthen the capacity of individual counselors and counseling organisations working in disadvantaged areas.
Ububele is challenged to maintain its existing services, and to develop new and specialised responses and interventions. It must sustain itself and develop its capacity to meet the growing local demand. There is also an increasing and unmet demand for counseling services throughout Southern Africa. This regional challenge is fueled by the HIV and AIDS pandemic which constitutes a substantial social and economic problem. This offers opportunities for intellectual exchange within the region, and that should lead to improved responses and better services, informed by research. The goal is to establish a regional professional psychotherapeutic and counseling network for psycho-social support.
.
Ububele has the free use of a building with 2000 square metres of office and lecture/conference space. Ububele currently needs about £110000 a year to maintain its activities. It is registered in South Africa as a public benefit organisation with tax exemption.
Community Heart has visited the project, and we have examined their annual reports. We recommend that Ububele should be widely supported. We propose a monthly donation by banker’s order of £5.00. We also urge you to sign a Gift Aid Certificate which enables the Receiver of Revenue to pay the taxes on your donation to our charity.
Of course we would like you to be as generous as you wish to be: we will happily accept larger donations, whether monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly, or as single gifts. Please remember to sign a Gift Aid Certificate so that we can receive the taxes on your gifts. We shall send you annual statements of your contributions and Ububele’s Annual Reports and Financial Statements will be available on our website.

Please inscribe me as a FRIEND OF UBUBELE

I wish to contribute to the education and training of lay and professional counselors for traumatised children and adults where such resources are not available in poverty stricken depressed areas of South Africa.
My regular contribution will be £10 £8 £5 or ‘other amount’ per month/quarter/ or yearly.

See Bankers Order Form below on page 4. Please fill in your name and address, the amount of your regular contribution and all the rest of the details. Print out the form [print page 4]. Sign the form in 2 places. Please send the completed form to us by post.

For other ways of donating see: http://www.community-heart.org.uk and click on DONATE

1. Choose how you wish to donate - off line or online
2. Fill in your name and address
3. Fill in the amount of your donation £120 £96 £60 or ‘other amount’
4. Fill in the remaining details and sign the form twice if required
5. Send us the form by post or where appropriate make your contribution online

Community H.E.A.R.T. UK Registered Charity No. 1052817
3/5 St John Street
Manchester M3 4DN
Tel: 0161 254 7505
Fax: 0161 254 7515

Graduation
Ceremony

Kindergarten

To know more about us:
look up www.community-heart.org.uk
See also www.ububele.org.za

 

World Day for Safety and Health at Work. 24/04/07

Celebrated on 28 April, the World Day for Safety and Helth at Work is an international campaign to promote safe, healthy, and decent work. It is also a day the world's trade union movement has long associated with commemorating victims of occupational accidents and disease. See more on www.ilo.org/safework/safeday.

 

International - Rally for dignity (Saturday 10 March 2007 – Trafalgar Square – 1pm to 4pm)
12/02/2007

UNISON supports the Dignity! Period. campaign being organised by ACTSA which focuses on the health needs of Zimbabwean women, in particular the need for basic affordable essential sanitary wear – now unaffordable due to the country’s economic collapse. A speaker from Zimbabwe made a big impression on members when she spoke at national delegate conference last year.

The demonstration seeks to celebrate International Women’s Day and at the same time bring further attention to the plight of Zimbabwean women.

More info available at: Dignity! Period. Campaign and www.actsa.org.

Contact: Gary Willis (0207 551 1214; g.willis@unison.co.uk)
 

MPs must debate Middle East crisis (11/8/06)

A coalition of high-profile organisations is demanding an immediate recall of Parliament to discuss the deepening crisis in the Middle East.

UNISON, Oxfam, War on Want and Crisis Action are among the signatories of an open letter to the government, to be published in The Guardian and The Scotsman tomorrow.

It is the coalition’s third open letter urging the UK government to hasten a ceasefire, since hostilities began between Israel and Hezbollah.

The letter talks of the "worsening humanitarian crisis" in which one million people – a quarter of the Lebanese population – have been forced to leave their homes.

“While the diplomatic wrangling goes on, more than 1,000 people have died,” it says, “and many thousands more seek shelter wherever they can, living in fear of the next attack."

MPs from all parties are calling for a return to Parliament to discuss the crisis. And to delay any longer, the letter says, "would be irresponsible.”

The signatories urge the government "to recall Parliament now and maximise pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to stop all military action immediately.”

Air strikes continued in both Lebanon and northern Israel this week, with fatalities on both sides.

At the UN, diplomats are stepping up their efforts to agree on a resolution to end the month-long war. Foreign secretary Margaret Beckett is in New York, saying she will "reinforce Britain's efforts to reach agreement".


Wednesday, July 12, 2006
   

The Jamaica Star is reporting the murder of two young women earlier this week is the result of a "murder of passion," involving the women who were possibly lesbians and one of their ex-boyfriends who may have been unhappy with their relationship.
The bodies of 20-year-old Candice Williams and Phoebe Myrie, 22, were found dumped in a pit at a home they shared in Taylor Land, Bull Bay, last week Wednesday.
As a result, police are now on the hunt for the father of the one-year-old child of Candice Williams, Dwayne Lewis, who is wanted for questioning in the matter.
Police who were on the scene when the bodies were found, say the evidence found at the scene, suggested that the killer might have been angered by their suspected lesbian relationship.
"From yuh see di lesbian DVD whe di man throw in di pit, yuh know seh di lesbian ting have something to do with the murders ... The assailant bun up mattress an fling weh sheet, so it obvious," said an officer, who was at the scene when the bodies were taken from the pit.
Police confirm that an lesbian DVD case, sheets, and a pillow were found in the pit along with the bodies of the young women. A burnt mattress was also found in the yard of the house.

 

Colombian Police Shoot Dead Student Union Activist

On September 22nd 2005 students at the University of Valle in the city of Cali held a peaceful protest on their campus to draw attention to the fact that the authorities had cut-off the drinking water supply to the nearby poor neighbourhood of Villa Gorgona. In the late afternoon Colombian riot police moved into the campus in tanks and fired tear gas at the students in an attempt to break up the protest. The police subsequently opened fire on the students with live rounds and at approximately 7pm shot and killed 21-year-old chemistry student and student union activist Jhony Silva Aranjuren. Psychology student German Perdomo was also shot and is currently in intensive care.
This most recent crime is only the latest in a series of attacks against Colombian students. Some examples of the many other cases include:
On September 15th the Colombian Army attacked a student protest at the University of Tolima indiscriminately shooting at the students. Eight students were taken away by the military and have not yet been released – their whereabouts are unclear.
On 9th September Colombian riot police entered the University of Francisco de Paula Santander in the city of Cucuta. The police fired tear gas and violently beat various students including a secondary school student who was visiting the university. During this incident the riot police also attacked the 11-year-old son of a worker in the university cafeteria. The child was stripped naked by the police and then brutally beaten whilst other officers filmed and photographed the incident.
On September 7th the homes of various University of Tolima students were raided by the Colombian police at 4am. Two of those targeted, Diana Moreno and German Acosta, were taken away by the police and, though they have not been charged with any crime, they remain in detention.
On August 17th members of the Colombian Navy kidnapped a leader of the student union at the University of Cartagena. Edgar de Jesus Avendano Perez was forced into a car that subsequently passed unhindered through various police checkpoints before reaching the outskirts of the city of Cartagena where he was tortured and threatened with execution.
On July 27th police officers in the city of Riohacha murdered student leader Jahir Estrada Mendoza of the University of Riohacha. The police, who have not been investigated or punished in any way, then dressed his corpse in military fatigues and attempted to present him as a guerrilla killed in combat.
On May 1st riot police beat to death 15-year-old Nicolas Neira during the May Day march in the Colombian capital Bogotá.
Please e-mail a letter of protest to the Colombian Government about the ongoing attacks against Colombian students by the security forces. A sample letter is below (please add in a specific mention of at least one of the above cases) and should be e-mailed to:
Vice-President Francisco Santos on fsantos@presidencia.gov.co and buzon1@presidencia.gov.co Colombian Ambassador in the UK Alfonso Lopez Caballero on mail@colombianembassy.co.uk

Dear Vice-President Santos/Ambassador,
I write to you to demand that the Colombian security forces end their constant attacks against the Colombian student movement. It is completely unacceptable for the Colombian police to murder students engaged in peaceful protests, as has happened on at least three occasions in recent months.
I call on you to act to ensure that those officers responsible are punished and that these crimes are not allowed to remain in impunity as has been the case on so many other occasions in Colombia.
I also insist that those students who are currently being held in detention without charge are either charged with a crime (backed by credible evidence) or released immediately.
The Colombian Government should understand that the international community will not stay silent as you continue to regularly violate the human rights of the Colombian people be they students, trade unionists, human rights defenders or any other innocent civilian.


Time running out for action on poverty

(8/9/05) The world is breaking its promise to the poor and millions will die needlessly unless swift action is taken to boost aid, reduce poverty, and end conflict the UN has warned.
A week before the largest-ever summit of UN members in New York, to assess progress on meeting the millennium development goals (MDGs) agreed five years ago, the UN has issued its annual Human Development Report, which details the human costs of missing agreed global targets for lifting people out of extreme poverty.
“The millennium declaration was a solemn pledge to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty,” said the report’s chief author Kevin Watkins.
“The MDGs are a promissory note, written by 189 governments to the world’s poor people. That note falls due in less than 10 years time, and without the required investment and political will, it will come back stamped 'insufficient funds',” he said.
The MDGs include pledges to halve extreme poverty, reduce child deaths by two thirds and achieve universal primary education by 2015.
The report cites a lack of funds and political will and shows that that while there has been substantial overall progress globally, many individual countries are actually falling further behind on their agreed goals.
Failure to meet the promises of the millenium declaration will result in 380 million more people living in extreme poverty, and an extra 41 million children dying over the next decade, warns the report.
Extreme inequality is blocking progress towards the MDGs and wider human development goals, according to the report which spotlights the scale of the international wealth divide. The poorest 40% of the world’s population, 2.5 billion people, live on only £1 day, and account for 5% of all global income.
18 countries, with a total of 460 million people, have moved backwards on the Human Development Index (HDI), a compendium of key indicators such as income, life expectancy and education, since 1990.
“I urge member states to heed this timely message, and to use next week’s summit to launch us on a global effort to make this vision a reality,” said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
UNISON is part of the Make Poverty History campaign to put pressure on the governments of the G8 countries to bring about progress on trade, aid and debt.
The union is urging people to take part in a mass lobby of parliament on 2 November 2005, calling on the government to respect poor countries’ right to decide on trade policies to help end poverty and protect their environment.
 

AFRICA FLOWERS T SHIRTS AND WHITE BAND DAY 2
White Band Day 2 on 10 September 2005 will remind world leaders, meeting at the UN Summit in New York, that the world is still watching and waiting for them to Make Poverty History.
Please carry on campaigning by wearing your white band. To get a white band, glow in the dark band or other Make Poverty History merchandise including a new range of 'Africa Flower' Make Poverty History T-shirts and exclusive Make Poverty History T shirts by fashion designer Katharine Hamnet , please click here
http://shop.sandbag.uk.com/MakePovertyHistory/Store/DisplayAllCategories.html
Many thanks for your continued support for the campaign, there are still many opportunities in 2005 when world leaders can take steps to Make Poverty History, so please help us keep the pressure on.
Oxfam

Trade unionists receive death threats
Appeal started: May 2003

On 18 March, Raquel Galvis received a phone call warning her that if she came across a paramilitary checkpoint she would be killed. The caller identified himself as a member of the AUC, the army-backed paramilitary organization United Self-Defence Groups of Colombia. Raquel Galvis is a member of the Teachers Association of Arauca (ASEDAR). 

The next day Jaime Ernesto Carrillo, president of ASEDAR, received a written death threat which said "Take care of your children or you won't see them again". The death threat was pushed under the door of his house and was brought to his attention as he attended a meeting with AI delegates. There have been a series of paramilitary death threats against trade unionists, peasant farmer leaders and human rights defenders in the department of Arauca in recent months.

The most recent threats follow mass arrests and detentions in November 2002 in the municipality of Saravena when around 2,000 people were rounded up by the security forces and forced into the local sports stadium where they were questioned before being released. Eighty-five people, including trade unionists, civic and youth leaders were detained. They were reportedly filmed and paraded before the press as members of the armed opposition groups, the ELN and the FARC. They were prevented from seeing their lawyers until the next day. These and other similar mass arrests carried out in Arauca and other parts of the country in recent months are part of security force operations in which representatives of the Office of the Attorney General have been involved. These agents often sign arrest and search warrants in situ, relying on the suspicions of the security forces or informers and not on the basis of legal investigations.

AI is concerned that trade unionists and other human rights defenders in the department of Arauca are facing a coordinated military-paramilitary strategy to label them and their organizations as subversive, thereby exposing them to arbitrary judicial proceedings and risk of violent attack by paramilitary groups.

Please write, expressing fear for the safety of ASEDAR and other trade unionists and human rights defenders in Arauca and calling on the government to take decisive action to guarantee their safety.

Send appeals to: Señor Presidente Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Palacio de Nariño, Carrera 8 No.7-26, Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia. Fax: + 57 1 342 0592 

The National Hazards Conference

The 2003 National Hazards Conference takes place in London on Friday 5 - Sunday 7 September. UNISON is one of the main sponsors of the conference and by far the largest number of safety reps and safety officers in attendance each year are UNISON members.

The National Hazards Conference presents a great opportunity to meet other people who are interested in health and safety, many with years of experience. It is the leading annual event for trade union safety reps and safety officers. With a vast selection of workshops, plus information meetings and plenaries, there is something for everyone.

Further information and booking details have been sent out to all branch health and safety officers and is also available on the web at: <http://www.hazardscampaign.org.uk/>

Stronger in UNISON

Unison's Business & Environment unit has launched a new recruitment campaign, Stronger in UNISON. If you recruit a new member to UNISON you win a bonus of £10. Recruit more members and get a bonus of £5 for each additional member. Every recruiter's name goes into a draw and at the close of the campaign there will be three winners:

• Ist prize - £700 holiday voucher
• 2nd prize - £500 voucher
• 3rd prize - £400 voucher
• £100 for the top recruiter of the year.

Every new recruit makes the union stronger. With more members we have more negotiating strength and can achieve better pay and conditions for everyone.

In unionised workplaces earnings are around 8% higher and they are 20% more likely to have equal opportunities policies in place.

Find out more here

'Stop the War' Demonstration - 15 February

UNISON expects that the demonstration on 15th February against the war on Iraq, will be very big - the police are estimating around 400,000 people. We have received information that it will not be possible for the police to direct the UNISON banners to a pre-organised point, however the Stop the War organisers will try to ensure that the UNISON banners are together. The UNISON national banner will be at the Embankment starting point of the march from 11:00am. We encourage all the branch, regional, self-organised groups and other UNISON banners, and individual members to assemble behind the national bannre. Embankment tube station will be closed so Temple is nearest. The march needs stewards, and anyone wishing to volunteer should contact the following e-mail: office@stopwar.org.uk.

Contact: Kursad Kahramanoglu on 020 7551 1379 or e-mail k.kahramanoglu.co.uk

General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)


The GATS will be a major campaign issue for UNISON in the coming months. We have already responded to the Government's consultation paper and a copy of this can be seen on the UNISON website. But we have a programme of action planned.

We are holding a seminar for NEC members and key activists on Tuesday 11 March.
Friends of the Earth, the World Development Movement and People for the Planet are organising a local day of action on Thursday 13 March. Branches are urged to contact Bev Duckworth at WDM (020 7737 6215) for details and to join in the activities.
There will be a GATS campaign folder on the UNISON website, with information on the key issues for UNISON members.
We will be producing material for branches on GATS and the public services.
There will be a conference fringe meeting on GATS, with high profile speakers.
We will campaign with other trade unions and NGOs to highlight the impact of GATS on UK Services and those of developing countries.
Contact: Dick Barry on 020 7551 1529 or email d.barry@unison.co.uk

Anti-Racism Event: Manchester 26th April 2003

Recent editions of News from the General Secretary have sought to consult branches on likely support amongst member for attending an event (march, rally or concert) in Manchester. The number of branches responding so far has been disappointing.

To ensure we organise the right type of event that will mobilise maximum support, branches who have not yet responded to this consultation are asked to advise the National Office of the following by 18 February 2003:

• How many of your members/friends/families can you guarantee attending?
• Would you be able to organise your own transport?
• Would you prefer to travel with other branches and/or your region?
• Would your branch be prepared to make a donation to help with the costs?
• Please email this information urgently to 26April@unison.co.uk and remember to include the name of your branch.

Once we have finalised the details of the event we will distribute publicity material to all branches.

Contact: Wilf Sullivan on 020 7551 1398 or email 26April@unison.co.uk