Purpose
Uniting Church Overseas Aid (UCOA) exists to express the Uniting Church's deep commitment to the alleviation of poverty, to community development, and to providing emergency relief. It is a division within the UCA national agency Uniting International Mission (UIM).
Mission
To support and be involved in aid and relief programs run by our overseas Partner Churches. Areas of support include:
- water supply
- health
- food security
- vocational training
- education
- economic empowerment
- emergency relief
See our projects page for more information on each area of work.
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Partner Churches
In seeking to fulfill its mission to serve the poorest of the poor, Uniting Church Overseas Aid works with many partner churches, as well as other independent agencies.
Working Ecumenically
The Uniting Church in Australia is one of 15 member churches of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA). As a member church, the UCA supports the wide range of ecumenical activities conducted by the NCCA. Christian World Service (CWS) is one of five commissions within the NCCA. CWS is responsible for international programs including the Christmas Bowl and various emergency relief appeals. Through its work, UCOA actively supports and promotes the activities of the NCCA and Christian World Service. For more information about the NCCA click here.
In March 2003, Uniting Church Overseas Aid was part of a joint emergency appeal launched by Christian World Service and Muslim Aid Australia that responded to the urgent need for help for the Iraqi people. Through its involvement with joint appeals and through its support of activities such as the Christmas Bowl, UCOA hopes to demonstrate its belief in the importance of ecumenical activities to achieve the common goals of community aid and development activities.
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Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)
UCOA is also a member of the Australian Council For International Development> (ACFID) and is a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct . ACFID is the coordinating body for 90 aid and development bodies within Australia. It administers the Code of Conduct, which commits members to high standards of integrity and accountability. The Code of Conduct sets out for member organizations standards on how organizations are managed, how they communicate to the public and how funds are used. The Code helps to maintain public confidence in how money that is raised in Australia is being used overseas. For more information about the Australian Council for International Development click here.
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Australian Government
AusAID is the Australian government agency for International development. UCOA is one of 52 Australian Non Government Organisations (NGO's) accredited by AusAID. As an accredited NGO, UCOA is able to access AusAID funding through various schemes. As an accredited NGO, donors and the general public can have the confidence that funds are being used in a professional and ethical way, working to deliver quality community aid and development. For more information on AusAID click here>.
History
In the 19th century, the preceding churches of the UCA (Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational) undertook mission work to countries outside Australia. Since those early days, the church has been committed to alleviating poverty and developing the life of local communities in these countries. The church supported activities in areas such as education, health and response to emergency situations. Later, vocational training and community development programs were also supported.
In the early 1980s, the Australian Government made it possible for Non-government organisations (NGOs) to access government overseas aid funds. The Uniting Church was one of the first denominational NGOs to be involved in this scheme. This was seen by the church as a way to extend and enhance our long-term commitment to this area of work.
As well as supporting the development activities of our Partner Churches, we have supported ecumenical development activities through the National Council of Churches in Australia Christian World Service (NCCA-CWS). Uniting Church members and congregations provide a significant proportion of funds to ecumenical overseas aid initiatives such as the Christmas Bowl and ForceTen.
In 1996, the Australian Government introduced a new system of accreditation for NGOs that wished to access government overseas aid funds. In response to these changes, the 2000 Assembly meeting of the UCA authorised the establishment of a separate agency, "Uniting Church Overseas Aid". The formation of this agency facilitated a concentrated focus on and development of overseas aid programs.
In late 2002, a review of International Mission activities of the national church was undertaken. A way was sought that would deal with some issues that had arisen while maintaining and enhancing the positive progress that had been made in various areas.
To achieve the best use of available resources, and to give greater clarity to our overseas partners and to Uniting Church members, the following decisions were made by the March 2003 Assembly Standing Committee:
1. That Uniting Church Overseas Aid (UCOA) no longer be a separate agency, but become a division of Uniting International Mission (UIM).
2. That UCOA be a special division with a divisional mandate approved by the Assembly Standing Committee. In addition, that UCOA have separate financial accounts and a separate 'Project Committee' to determine the projects to be supported and to have oversight of the general operations of the division. This was done to ensure the maintenance of our strong commitment to overseas aid work, and to assure the many donors to UCOA that, in terms of the projects and programs that they have been supporting, no effective change would occur.
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