What are your priorities at Easter?
Easter is just around the corner. For most of us in Australia the biggest dilemma we will have to grapple with this Easter is how many chocolate eggs and hot cross buns we should eat. Easter will be a time to be thankful for the positive experiences we share with our friends and family and the good quality of life we are lucky to live in Australia.
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Yet, for half the world’s people Easter will be like every other day, an event defined by hunger, struggle and misery. With three billion people around the world still living in extreme poverty on less than $2.50 a day and children accounting for half of the world’s poor, it would be great if we in Australia re-evaluated our priorities this Easter.
This Easter let’s re-evaluate whether cutting $220 million from the AusAid budget last year was immoral. This Easter let’s re-commit ourselves to the UN Millennium Declaration. This Easter let’s contribute our fair share towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal 1 – eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and UN Millennium Development Goal 4 – reducing child mortality. Let’s enjoy a guilt free time this Easter by re-investing in AusAid again.
Elisha McMurray, Reservoir
Grants to boost organ donor numbers
The federal government has made available $473,000 in Community Awareness Grants to support community-based initiatives to boost the number of registered organ donors and applications are now open.
The government has announced that funding is available to support community-based activities that promote awareness of the Australian Organ Donor Register and encourage Australians to register online to save lives.
Only a third of Australians aged 16 years and over have joined the national Register, despite 81 per cent believing that registration is important.
The Australian government invites applications for community-based donor registration drives and supporting activities to be held during DonateLife Week 2017 (Sunday 30 July – Sunday 6 August), or for other targeted community awareness and education activities to promote organ and tissue donation.
Registration of donation decisions has a direct influence on increasing Australia’s donation rate. Nine out of 10 times, families agree to donation proceeding when the deceased is a registered donor, because they are in no doubt of their loved one’s wishes.
Targeted community awareness and education projects play an important role in engaging people on the topic of organ and tissue donation.
The community is an essential partner in helping to normalise organ and tissue donation as part of end-of-life decision-making. The DonateLife Community Awareness Grants recognise the value and impact of community-led initiatives in promoting the benefits of organ and tissue donation and the importance of registering donation decisions.”
In 2016 a record number 1713 lives were saved through the generosity of 503 deceased organ donors and their families and 267 living donors. More than 9000 Australian lives were transformed through the gift of eye and tissue donation.
More than 1400 Australians and their families are waiting for a life-saving transplant.
The DonateLife Community Awareness Grants are provided by the Organ and Tissue Authority as part of its national community awareness and education program. Applications are invited from non-government organisations and professional bodies, including community-based not-for-profit organisations and local government associations.
The closing date for applications is 10:00am AEST Thursday, 27 April 2017. For more information please visit the DonateLife website: www.donatelife.gov.au
