SAFCEI is multi-faith organisation committed to increasing awareness, understanding, and action-taking on eco-justice, sustainable living and climate change by faith leaders and their communities in Southern Africa.
We emphasize the spiritual, moral and ethical imperative to care for the Earth and the community of all life. We pursue eco-justice, speaking out on issues like climate change, and promote and encourage action. Faith communities can provide ehtical leadership in a world wounded by rampant exploitation. We support faith communities in fulfilling their environmental and socio-economic responsibilities.
These are a few of our projects:
Anti-Nuclear Campaign – In 2014, SAFCEI launched its anti-nuclear campaign. Have a look at our GivenGain campaign to raise funds fo legal action. We encourage you to support us through letters, petitions, in the media, or by supporting our statements or joining our #NukeVigil in Cape Town, Pretoria or digitally!
Earth Keeper Movement building– What’s an Earth Keeper? An Earth Keeper is any individual who has connected their faith or spirituality to caring for the Earth, who celebrates the beauty of God’s creation, experiences life as sacred and wants to act for a just and compassionate world. SAFCEI promotes the growth of a movement of people of faith committed to this vision. At SAFCEI we are part of this movement and we manage a separate website as a platform for the Earth Keeper community to interconnect and grow. Visit www.earthkeeper.org.za
Eco-congregations Programme – Eco-congregations are local faith communities committed to living at peace with the earth in response to the wisdom of the sacred texts and faith traditions. Their actions help to strengthen and deepen the appreciation and compassion for all life. Get a taste of their stories and ideas on the Earth Keeper website.
Eco-Audit Programme – SAFCEI is looking for local energy champions. Could you and your congregation be one? In 2012, SAFCEI started the Energy 100 Programme, an action-learning project. It aimed to have 100 faith congregations responding to the challenge of climate change through taking practical energy related action in their congregation. This has now been expanded to include auditing of waste, water, land use and biodiversity.
One Web of Life (OWL) – Compelled by the Golden Rule[2] to “treat all others as you’d like to be treated yourself”, OWL aims to encourage people of faith to think consciously about their relationship with all the creatures with whom we share the Earth. The programme currently focuses on the well-being of farmed animals as well as the impact of the agricultural industry on climate change and the limited resources of our planet.
Energy & Climate Change Programme – Our very own energy & climate change specialist, Liz McDaid, heads up this programme, engaging with government and faith communities to find healthy energy solutions together that help to prevent climate change.
Faith Leader Environmental Advocacy Training (FLEAT) – The Faith Leaders Environmental Advocacy Training Programme (FLEAT) is building a network of faith leaders for change across Southern Africa. We aim to empower faith leaders to make a positive difference in their communities. Watch video
We Have Faith (WHF) – Act Now for Climate Justice! Through the We Have Faith campaign we hope to empower faith communities in the SADC region around climate adaptation. We foresee that climate change will have a great impact on the African content, with imminent droughts, flooding, erratic rainfall, temperature changes and loss of biodiversity.
Anti-Fracking Programme – Since its founding in 2005, SAFCEI identified the need for a shift to earth friendly energy sources as a priority. Understanding the complex issues around Climate Change, renewable energy solutions and unbundling the vested interests of the fossil fuel multi-nationals requires solid science. SAFCEI’s science advisor, Dr Stefan Cramer works from Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo region to help strengthen understanding of these issues amongst faith communities as well as offering a well- grounded technical response to the fracking debate. Visit our dedicated website: www.frackingsa.org
Food Security – Food and life are gifts from God. As co-workers with God and custodians of God’s creation, we have a duty to sustain life and the abundance thereof, ensuring the just distribution of God’s bounty so that all may enjoy sufficient food and health. Although SAFCEI does not run a specific Food Security Programme, we perceive it to be integrally connected to all environmental concerns, the well-being of people and planet.
Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC) – SAFCEI supports SWC which is a small big-hearted NGO assisting the community of the Pondoland Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape, South Africa to decide for themselves the type of development they want.