December 2005

Message Of Hope And The Launch Of An Exciting New Initiative

Nersi Salehi, Managing Director of Pro Enviro writes about the launch of a new initiative to support the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières, and shows how you can help in his annual Christmas message.

I wish for all of our subscribers and readers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year...BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...But, lets not forget those who are not so merry or happy and offer some support to make the world a more compassionate and sustainable place for all and I mean all! Pro Enviro is actively trying to work towards this aim so please read on.

Once again the season of festivities is upon us. The streets are jammed with people franticly looking for a gift for their families and friends. The radio broadcasts new statistics on the size and the level of the increase in the seasonal retail sales figures. Is it going to be another record high? Will Marks and Spencer turn the corner this Christmas? Will the new invigorated stock market continue to grow? Is it all sustainable?!

I believe this is a time of the year, more so than any other, when we should think of others who are less fortunate and try to help alleviate some of their pain and misery.

Whether it is the message of the brotherhood of man or loving thy neighbour these concepts all share one central theme and that is we are "One" and made of the same star dust matter. I believe that the pain and suffering of the people of one part of the world must be felt and then shared by all of us if there is a chance of one day finding a way to alleviate such pain. What ever the cause of the pain; natural disasters such as the devastating effects of the Boxing Day Tsunami in South East Asia, the earthquake in Kashmir or the plague of locust in Niger; or whether these are caused by the thoughtlessness or greed of man; the wars in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, unless we first try to feel the pain and then actively work toward addressing the cause rather than the symptoms, we will fail to create a real and lasting peace.

There are a number of voluntary and aid agencies around the world that are tirelessly, frantically and altruistically working to alleviate some of the symptoms rather than the cause of many of the man made or natural disasters. However, unless the international community as a whole act collectively and systematically to address some of the injustices that sit at the heart of these conflicts and misfortunes, then the pain will linger on.

We at Pro Enviro have decided to do our own little bit to add to this collective voice and action. We are pleased to offer support to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) who have been selected by the staff at Pro Enviro as the recipient of all our internal and external fund raising activities in 2006. I call this initiative: "Taking a small step towards creating a Sustainable and Just Future".

We believe MSF, as a leading independent organisation for emergency medical aid has provided the most effective relief operations and projects to the victims of war, natural disasters and epidemics irrespective of race, religion or political affiliation during 2005.

Rather than sending Christmas cards we have donated the equivalent cost to MSF. We introduced this initiative 10 years ago to help promote a more sustainable Christmas greeting option which is to wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year in the most eco-friendly way while helping MSF to cure some of the pain which we all share around the world. I hope you agree with me that there are more sustainable and just ways to be merry and happy and earth friendly it just needs a bit of thought.

You too can do your bit and what's more is how easy it is! We have affiliated with Amazon in the UK to donate 5% of the total of any purchases you make to MSF. All you have to do is click here and everything is done automatically. To get you started with some gift ideas why not look at the categories below?

Books

DVDs

David Attenborough

Hot 100!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope you will support MSF through our new initiative.

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