CEO Jane Edge marks 10-year celebration of Miracles Day
Stories | July 13, 2022 | Author: Jane Edge, CEO, CBM Australia
On the day of this life-changing yearly event (this year on Thursday, 18 August), we broadcast our 10th Miracles Day live with our partners and 33 Christian radio stations around Australia. On this day, and in the lead-up, we give every Australian the chance to restore someone’s sight for just $33.
This year, the continued impact of COVID-19 means more people in countries like the Philippines and Nepal cannot afford the cataract surgery they need to see again. Funds raised in the lead-up to, and on Miracles Day itself, will help us provide urgently-needed surgeries in not only Nepal and the Philippines but in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and beyond.
In many ways, our current experience of living with the COVID-19 pandemic is everyday life for the vast majority of the world’s people. In the places where CBM Australia works, fears we might be feeling now – that we’re not welcome in some areas, that there may not be enough beds if we’re sick, that community cohesion may unravel, that thousands of jobs will be lost, that an invisible sickness is moving amongst us – are part of everyday life… every single day.
We have a taste of how fragile society truly is, and yet we, and countless others here in Australia, now have the most potent experience to deepen our sense of empathy and understanding. And I hope to gain a greater awareness of how we are each part of the solution.
The World Bank estimates that COVID-19 will push over 70 million people into extreme poverty. With the worst-case scenario, this increases to 100 million – erasing 30 years of progress in the fight against poverty. And the evidence that disability is a cause and consequence of poverty is well established.
Already, 80 per cent of people with disabilities live in stark poverty. So many of these people face stigma, violence and discrimination. They have less access to health care, rehabilitation and assistive technologies and less access to education, work and suitable living environments.
Throughout these difficult times, CBM and our generous supporters have remained committed to our goal of transforming the lives of more than five million people each year by tackling poverty and exclusion. We focus on supporting people with disabilities, their families and communities through our advocacy, partnerships and programs.
As a Christian organisation, CBM Australia stands for inclusion, compassion and justice. Now, these themes guide us more than ever as we work alongside people with disabilities through COVID-19 and beyond.
For 115 years internationally and more than 45 years in Australia, we have provided proven health, medical care and rehabilitation programs.
Having seen first-hand poor people being given the chance to undergo cataract surgery and being there at the moment they see again, I can say it truly is a Miracle.
Once a year, every year, for the last decade, amazing people like you have stepped up and done something wonderful.
We are helping the most vulnerable people on earth by making hundreds of thousands of Miracles possible!
A $33 donation can give the gift of sight on this tenth anniversary of Miracles Day.
Blessings,
Jane Edge, CEO, CBM Australia
https://www.cbm.org.au/stories/ceo-jane-edge-10-year-celebration-miracles-day
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