Welcome

ESJG President Hugh Buckham staffing an ESJG FairTrade church stall

Welcome to the ESJG website

Welcome to the website of ESJG - the Ecumenical Social Justice Group operating in the Western Suburbs of the city of Brisbane, Queensland Australia.

We hope that this site proves to be a useful resource for you.

Upcoming Meetings

at 7.30 pm at the Taringa Baptist Church

Sept. 13: Palestine
Oct 11: Sustainability and Recycling
Nov. 8th: Social

Upcoming Fair Trade markets:

18-7 at Anglican Christ Church, Saint Lucia
29-8 at St. Andrews, Indooroopilly

Recycling

One of the aims of the ESJG/WS in 2010 is to work for the environment and sustainability and to push for the legislation and implementation of more and better recycling facilities.

To see our submission to the Brisbane City Council go to 'ESG Current' and 'Environment'.

We'd love to hear from people who can advise us on this topic, including waste management, and inform us about where collection points already exist. Contact Hugh on 38707895 or write to karinsrealbox@yahoo.com. Thank you.

Raffle to support education projects in East Timor and Papua-New Guinea

Quilts for Charity

After so many people got involved in our very enjoyable and successful quilt making last year(see picture of prizes) we will again make quilts in 2010 to raise funds for our projects in PNG (Vajiput school)and East Timor (scholarships).Prizes will be raffled at our November meeting and tickets will go on sale in late September.
Expressions of interest please to karinsrealbox@yahoo.com

Schedule:
April: Planning and design
May/June: first round of sewing
July: second round
August: finishing
September: start of ticket sales
November: draw of raffle prizes

Underlined Text

Subsidies for Schools buying Fair Trade Balls
Ordering new balls …..?

Why not order first class, hand stitched ETIKO fair trade foot, soccer or basket balls?

Too expensive? NO!
The Ecumenical Social Justice Group Western Suburbs will subsidize PVC hand stitched high quality fair trade balls, size 5(Etiko label) for schools to eliminate the price difference between fair trade and other balls for up to 10 balls per school.

Too clumsy? No!
We’ll work out the most suitable and fastest procedure with you.

Doesn’t matter? YES, it does!
It matters to students whether you practice the values you teach and set good examples;

It matters to teachers whether you reinforce the learning goals and inspire your students.

It matters to parents whether you motivate students to live up to higher goals and initiate & reinforce fair trade practices.

It matters to the community whether you model pathways to responsible global citizenship;

It matters to the people who make the balls in Pakistan (all hand stitched balls- fair trade or not- are made there) whether they get a fair pay for their work and can make a decent living or whether they remain stuck in a cycle of deprivation and poverty their work.

So :
Check out the Etiko web site at http://www.gecoz.net.au/ and choose the type of ball you need and send an e-mail to karinsrealbox at yahoo.com to get the ball rolling.

What is fair trade all about?
Fair trade is a movement for ethical trade which offers consumers high quality goods. To producers in develo-ping countries it offers stable and fair prices and thereby helps them to work their way out of the poverty trap. It promotes sustainable practices and aims to eliminate child exploitation.
Fair trade promotes development by putting profits back into the producers’ communities with the building of hospitals, schools etc.. It is promoted by international aid agencies and organizations such as Christian Aid, SERRV International, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Catholic Relief Services, and Caritas International. For further info about Fair Trade see http://www.fta.org.au

The Ecumenical Social Justice Group/Western Suburbs has for the last 15 years promoted various social justice issues across its 20 member parishes. We would also be happy to address students at assembly or in their classes on fair trade and other social justice issues.