Christian Aid News 33 - Autumn 2006

‘A body blow to the world’s poor’ Why the collapse of the trade talks spells disaster for farmers struggling to grow their way out of poverty

■ Norman Kember on keeping his faith and hope alive in Iraq ■ Special report: how Christian Aid is helping women to build a better life

■ Enclosed: Christian Aid’s annual review Issue 33

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Autumn 2006

www.christianaid.org.uk 2/8/06 14:26:22

Christian Aid/Adrian Arbib

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By raising much-needed funds, the Christian Aid credit cards can help to tackle the causes of poverty and injustice.

For example, the money raised could provide seeds to cultivate sunflowers which can be pressed into oil and sold, generating an income for a farmer like Antonio Sugar in Mozambique.

The scheme is very simple. The Co-operative Bank will give Christian Aid: ● £15 as soon as you open your account ● a further £2.50 when your card is used within the first six months ● 25p for every £100 you spend on the card or transfer to it.

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For the Advantage Platinum card and Standard credit card, a balance transfer fee of 2% of transfer value is applicable during promotional rate periods only (minimum of £5, maximum of £100).

Applicants must be UK residents. *Excludes balance transfers from other credit cards issued by The Co-operative Bank. Credit facilities are provided by The Co-operative Bank p.l.c. (Registered No. 990937), Head Office, P.O. Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP and are subject to status and are available to UK residents aged 18 years or over. The Bank reserves the right to decline any application or offer a card product that differs from those advertised. Interest rates are correct at time of going to press 07/06. Calls may be monitored or recorded for security and training purposes.

The Co-operative Bank is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (No. 121885), subscribes to the Banking Code, is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service and is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading (No. 006110). Christian Aid Registered Charity No: 258003

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CAN33 harvest ad

26/7/06

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Page 1

Help to change a broken world.

Encourage your church to bring a harvest to some of the world’s poorest communities.

Free harvest resources contain everything you need to encourage your church to campaign for change and to give to make a difference. Make a commitment as a church and as individuals to take action by signing a poster and individual wallet cards. Order one leader’s pack and enough Gift Aid envelopes and wallet cards for everyone in your church.

To order, call 08080 005 005, or visit www.surefish.co.uk/harvest For materials in Welsh please call 029 2084 4646

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Editor’s letter

≤

An audio version of this issue is available. Call 08700 787 788 for details

■ 16 SPECIAL REPORT REGULARS

FEATURES

■ 4 NEWS Stories from the around the world

■ 8 LIVING IN LIMBO Even for the ‘forgotten people’ of Burma, life goes on in the refugee camps that dot the Thai border

■ 12 CAMPAIGN Christian Aid supporters warm up for a march on the Treasury ■ 14 REFLECTION Norman Kember on what his time as a hostage in Iraq meant to him ■ 24 OPINION Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell urges says it’s time to reform the World Bank and IMF. ■ 26 DO THE RIGHT THING Cutting carbon emissions... a salad that counts food miles... Present Aid launch… and a must-see movie ■ 28 INPUT Your letters and emails

■ 10 COVER STORY Five years after the talks began, 12 months after the promises of G8, the development round of trade talks collapse. John McGhie explains what it all means.

■ 16 SPECIAL REPORT: WORKING WITH WOMEN Stories from around the world on some of the work Christian Aid is supporting that is helping women build a better life for themselves and their families.

■ 22 FIRST PERSON: AN AMAZON DIARY Actor Kris Marshall reports on a trip he made to see work that is being done to help communities in the Bolivian rainforest

■ 29 EVENTS Where to go and what to see ■ 30 FINAL WORD With Lemar, plus a legacy of hope’

4

Picture: Christian Aid/Amanda Farrant

QUIETLY, AWAY from the tumult that has engulfed the Middle East, an event occurred that took away the collective breath of everyone working to eradicate poverty. This was the collapse last month of the trade talks, with delegates from the G6 nations failing to agree on a fair trade formula that would enable the world’s poorest nations to grow their way out of poverty, rather than just rely on handouts.

No bomb fell, no one was killed or hurt – yet the shockwave from this event will sweep around the globe and shatter the hopes and aspirations of the poor.

On page 10 campaigns editor John McGhie explains how the unthinkable happened, and reports on the shameful implications of the collapse.

In the face of such setbacks, those who work for or support a development charity such as Christian Aid, need to show their persistence and determination not to give up. But sometimes it’s the small victories that inspire you. In a special feature on the particular struggles facing women in some of the world’s poorest communities, we report on some battles that are being fought and won to change lives for the better. See pages 16-21.

Also away from the media spotlight, Ramani Leathard reports, on page 8, of the plight of refugees from Burma – a largely forgotten people, living out their lives in the limbo of a camp on the Thai border.

Finally, in another packed issue of Christian Aid News – which I hope will provide stimulating and informative reading – I’d like to draw your attention to a contribution on page 14 by long-serving Christian Aid supporter Norman Kember on his experiences as a hostage in Iraq. Nearly six months on from regaining his freedom he writes about his time in captivity and the effect it had on him. It makes fascinating reading.

Roger Fulton, editor

Contents Autumn 2006 Issue 33

8

12

22

Christian Aid works with the world’s poorest people in more than 50 countries, regardless of race or faith. We tackle the causes and consequences of poverty and injustice.

We are part of ACT International, the ecumenical relief network.

■ Cover Drying rice in Ghana where growers are struggling to sell their crops due to cheap US imports. Picture: Christian Aid/Penny Tweedie ■ Pictures Robin Prime ■ Subeditor Louise Parfitt ■ Design & production David Lloyd/Circle Publishing, 020 8332 2907 ■ Circulation Ben Haywood ■ Christian Aid head office 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL ■ Tel 020 7620 4444 ■ Fax 020 7620 0719 ■ Email info@christian-aid.org ■ Stay in touch with us online > News, campaigns and resources www.christianaid.org.uk ■ Christian and ethical service provider www.surefish.co.uk ■ Children and schools www.globalgang.org.uk ■ Our campaigning and student website www.pressureworks.org

Christian Aid News

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Humanitarian crisis in Middle East ■ Grand Designs news christian aid

Appeal launched for Lebanon and Gaza ORGANISATIONS supported by Christian Aid are at the forefront of efforts to stem the humanitarian crises unfolding in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza.

Following the launch last month of Christian Aid’s Middle East crisis appeal, which raised more than £100,000 in just a few days, immediate grants were made to help provide food, water, medicine and shelter to some of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflicts.

As well as responding to urgent short-term needs, Christian Aid’s partner organisations will also be heavily involved in medium and long-term reconstruction.

Among initial grants were £38,000 to the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union to help buy food and

medicine for 2,500 people, many of whom are disabled and have fled the conflict areas.

A further £20,000 went to the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee, which works in the Gaza Strip, to buy water storage tanks for 500 families (around 3,500 people in total). Israeli military incursions into Gaza have badly damaged the water-pumping infrastructure and water is only available intermittently.

Speaking from Beirut, Christian Aid emergencies editor Dominic Nutt said: ‘The situation is extremely fluid at the moment, particularly in Lebanon. People are fleeing the fighting. The UN estimates that 900,000 people have already moved. These people need food, blankets, medicine and water.’

In Israel, where many people in northern towns have been sheltering in bomb shelters, our Israeli partner organisations are closely monitoring the situation to see how needs can be met.

Christian Aid has more than 50 years’ experience working in the Middle East. Our partners in Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are well placed to identify the long-term needs of those affected by the current crisis. People will need a lot of help in rebuilding their lives As Christian Aid News went to press, fighting was continuing. For up-to-date information, and to donate to the crisis appeal, please go to www.christianaid.org.uk

Right: women and children flee the village of Srifa near Tyre in southern Lebanon

Wheely well done!

Picture: Christian Aid/Steven Buckley

A GROUP of intrepid Christian Aid cyclists completed a three-day 186-mile coast-to-coast ride from Whitehaven to Whitby across the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, and raised around £9,000.

The 15 cyclists were led by Ben Humphries, Christian Aid’s coordinator for Cumbria and Lancashire, who said: ‘We had to exert ourselves for a few days but it was good to remind ourselves that people all over the world have to work harder than this every day just to survive.’

Another participant, Christian Aid’s intranet project manager Steven Buckley added: ‘The ride took place on some of the hottest days of the year. The roads were melting and so were we! But it was worth it – the scenery was fantastic. We averaged 6.5 hours each day in the saddle – not accounting for essential tea and cake stops.’

The group are already mulling over something even more adventurous for next year.

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WORLD OF AID igns Live ■ Zimbabwe visit ■ Director honoured ■A Floral gold Snapshots of some of the work and issues facing organisations supported by Christian Aid JAVA Following May’s earthquake that left 200,000 people homeless, Christian Aid is supporting the Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) – part of the Christian Foundation for Public Health – which is providing bamboo shelters for people until they can rebuild their houses. YEU also continues to distribute food and other essentials.

EAST AFRICA Amid fears that the region may experience further water shortages in September, Christian Aid is supporting partner organisation Northern Aid in a large project in Kenya to de-silt existing dams and build new ones with money raised through the £1.8 million emergency appeal.

Picture: AP/EMPICS/Mohammed Zaatari

Director honoured by university international health and shares many common areas of interest and values with Dr Mukarji. The award recognises his ‘major

Picture courtesy Press and Journal

CHRISTIAN AID’S director, Dr Daleep Mukarji, received an honorary degree (Doctor of Laws) from Aberdeen University last month.

Dr Mukarji was proposed for the honour for his work in India on health, development and poverty eradication. He was also recognised for his contribution to the Trade Justice Movement and the Make Poverty History coalition.

The university has a growing reputation in

contribution in advocacy in exposing the scandal of poverty and developing programmes aimed at social justice, trade justice, and eradication of poverty.’

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Dr Mukarji urged students to join the fight against poverty. ‘Remember – as you dream about your future and your hopes for yourself – to have a vision that includes what kind of world you would like to see.’

SRI LANKA A recent outbreak of violence is slowing down tsunami reconstruction work in the north and east of the country. Rehabilitation work, particularly house reconstruction, by local groups funded by Christian Aid has been affected because of the increased tension. Christian Aid is urging the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to return to the negotiating table.

BURUNDI Lack of rainfall and the spread of plant diseases are causing a drastic decline in agricultural production, threatening the rehabilitation of thousands of refugees who have returned from Tanzania following the end of the civil war.

Christian Aid is working with four local organisations that are distributing seeds to more than 400 families. Beneficiaries also receive tools, goats and training in agricultural techniques.

SUDAN Agencies working in Darfur, including Christian Aid, are calling for more funding and more troops for the peacekeeping force in the region. In July major donors pledged US$200 million, which was supposed to fund the African Union (AU) force until the end of the year. However, the AU now claims it may be forced to leave at the end of September unless further resources materialise. There are fears for the security of two million displaced persons if there is no international force on the ground.

Christian Aid News

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news christian aid

A global grand design their own environment.

Visitors will get a feel for life in Honduras, Central America, where people are dealing with deforestation, and preparing for hurricanes. Bangladesh and Indonesia are spotlighted in the Asia section, which will look at the implication of rising sea levels and flooding. In the Africa section the focus is on preparing for drought and the food crisis in Kenya and Malawi.

The fourth display focuses on the UK and Christian Aid’s campaign to encourage the public to take action on climate change, by reducing their own carbon emissions, making their homes more environmentally friendly and campaigning for more government action to stop global warming. ● The exhibition will also

Tribute to Mary

HIV garden wins gold

LIFE-LONG Christian Aid supporter, Mary Grimbaldeston, has died peacefully aged 84.

Mary became interested in famine relief in the 1950s and was involved with Christian Aid from its start, organising fundraising events in Gosport. When she and her husband Bill moved to Weymouth, she took an active role right up until the time of her death.

CHRISTIAN AID has once again scooped a Royal Horticultural Society gold medal in the show garden category at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show last month. The Wish You Were Here..? garden was designed by Claire Whitehouse (pictured right with Novlet Reid from Jamaica Aids Support for Life) to highlight our HIV education and prevention work in Jamaica.

A constant stream of visitors strolled around the garden and up to 2,000 plant lists were handed out to keen gardeners wanting to grow some of the more exotic specimens, such as plumbago and oleander.

In 2004, Christian Aid’s Senegalese garden, also designed by Claire, won the Tudor Rose prize for the best garden overall, as well as a gold medal. ‘It is fantastic that the judges have again recognised Claire’s brilliant vision and attention to detail,’ said project manager Karen Hedges.

give visitors the chance to do some early Christimas shopping using gifts from the latest Present Aid catalogue, including tree saplings, disaster survival kits and solar panels.

For more information contact www.christianaid. org.uk/ecohome from September.

Above: An artist’s impression of Diarmuid Gavin’s garden display

Book tickets for Grand Designs Live (6-8 October 2006, NEC Birmingham) in advance and save £6 on the normal ticket price (£10 instead of £16, and kids go free), by calling 0870 166 0437 or visit www.granddesignslive. com Please quote CADS1 when ordering.

Win tickets to Grand Designs Live Grand Designs Live NEC will attract more than 400 of the best-quality exhibitors from the homes and gardens sectors, as well as experts such as garden designer Diarmuid Gavin and interior designer Naomi Cleaver.

Grand Designs Live NEC will follow an easy-to-navigate four-shows-under-one roof format with GRANDInteriors, GRANDBuild, GRANDGardens and GRANDKitchens+Bathrooms. These are complemented by the Design Shopping Arcade where visitors can buy designer home accessories usually unavailable on the high street.

For your chance to win one of ten pairs of tickets to this year’s Grand Designs Live NEC show, simply answer the following question: How many show sections make up Grand Designs Live?

Send your answer to: Grand Designs Live competition, Christian Aid News, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL, by midnight on 15 September.

The senders of the first 10 correct entries drawn after that date will win the tickets!

Picture: Christian Aid/David Rose

6

AWARD-WINNING garden designer Diarmuid Gavin is to work with Christian Aid on a dramatic feature at the Grand Designs Live show at the Birmingham NEC from 6-8 October.

Diarmuid’s Global Garden, sponsored by Christian Aid, will transport visitors to a ‘global green village’ aimed at raising awareness of the impact of climate change in some of the world’s poorest communities, and offer some eco tips for homes and gardens in the UK. Grand Designs Live is based on the hit Channel 4 series, presented by Kevin McCloud who explained: ‘Sustainability has moved from being a fringe issue to something that touches every aspect of our lives.’

The home and garden will feature four separate displays showing how different communities are dealing with the consequences of climate change and protecting

Christian Aid News

p06-07 News.indd 2

4/8/06 14:55:18

TALK BACK THE THINGS THEY SAY

Zimbabwe – ‘a country waiting to smile’ created a significant amount of publicity for Christian Aid in the press and on local radio.

The six were impressed with the difference the projects are making to people’s lives. Clive Ferguson from AquAid (pictured below operating a water pump) said that

‘the country just seems to be sad – as if waiting for something to put a smile back on the landscape.’

But where communities are benefiting from the expertise of Christian Aid’s partners and the generosity of supporters like AquAid, the people are not without hope.

‘Whether you’re a gardener suffering with unpredictable weather, a parent worried for your child’s future, someone concerned about drought and famine in Africa, or a nature-lover watching our native species disappear, “I Count” is an opportunity for us all to come together and make our voices heard.’

Ashok Sinha, director of Stop Climate Chaos, announcing the rally in Trafalgar Square on 4 November. See page 13 Picture: Christian Aid/Sian Curry

Picture: Christian Aid/David Rose

SIX WORKERS from AquAid, a company that has donated more than £1.7 million to Christian Aid, have returned from a visit to Zimbabwe to see for themselves the type of projects the firm’s donations help to support.

Zimbabwe used to be known as the breadbasket of southern Africa, but its people are now struggling with an economic crisis, many years of drought and a high HIV-infection rate. This year Christian Aid is providing a total of £340,484 to help fund projects in Zimbabwe, including water and farming schemes.

The AquAid group met four of the organisations supported by Christian Aid in the country. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches showed them villages where tanks that collect rainwater from rooftops mean women no longer have to trek long distances to fetch water.

They visited gardens, set up with the help of the Dabane Trust, where food grown gives people an extra meal a day. Zimpro took the group to a school where the children grow vegetables to supplement their diets. And they talked to farmers, trained

by Christian Care, who are now teaching their neighbours ways to conserve water and nutrients and produce much bigger yields.

The AquAid group captured their thoughts in an online diary whilst in Zimbabwe, and have also

‘There is now an overriding imperative to walk more lightly upon the earth and we need to make lifestyle decisions in that light. Making selfish choices such as flying on holiday or buying a large car are a symptom of sin.’

The Bishop of London, Rt Rev Richard Chartres, quoted in The Sunday Times on the weekend 2.1 million Brits headed to the airports for the start of the school holidays.

Better late than never A CHRISTIAN AID supporter from Sheffield has sent in the cash he raised in a sponsored night hike 21 years ago, with a little bit extra added for inflation. The delay was caused by the then 15-year-old Stuart Jenkinson deciding that the £4 earned by hiking for 25 miles through darkness on 29 June 1985 was best spent on a pellet gun.

‘I know, it wasn’t big and it certainly wasn’t clever’, a rather more mature Stuart wrote in an apologetic letter to Christian Aid. ‘So, I think it is time I put things right.’

Stuart enclosed a cheque for £20 and the original sponsorship form (right), on which family members promised to give him ‘10p max’ if he completed the hike.

‘I was rummaging through an old box of knick-knacks that I had taken with me from my parents’ house when I moved out and found my old sponsorship form,’ he explained.

‘Looking at this gave me a sense of guilt, though to be honest it also brought a wry smile to my face.’

As it did to ours, Stuart.

Thank you.

‘Capitalism is perverse – if you are rich you get looked after but if you are poor, you die.’

Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan president, at a summit of ten South American countries, which pledged to cut poverty.

THE THINGS WE SAY ‘Poor countries desperately needed a fair trade deal so that they could grow out of poverty and not rely on hand-outs. This tawdry squabbling at the rich world’s high table has now put paid to that. It is a disgraceful outcome of which leaders of the European Union and America should be ashamed. It is no good flicking a few crumbs of comfort via aid and debt relief with one hand, while the other is slowly squeezing the economic life-blood out of poor countries.’

Dr Claire Melamed, Christian Aid’s senior trade analyst, on the rich countries’ failure to reach agreement on trade talks.

See page 10.

THE THINGS YOU SAY ‘All of us, in our everyday lives, are responsible for the emissions which cause global warming. We do not have to wait for government legislation before making changes to our own lifestyles to reduce emissions.’

Christian Aid News reader M G Harrison, responds to The climate of poverty issue. See page 28.

Christian Aid News

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4/8/06 14:55:25

news christian aid

A global grand design their own environment.

Visitors will get a feel for life in Honduras, Central America, where people are dealing with deforestation, and preparing for hurricanes. Bangladesh and Indonesia are spotlighted in the Asia section, which will look at the implication of rising sea levels and flooding. In the Africa section the focus is on preparing for drought and the food crisis in Kenya and Malawi.

The fourth display focuses on the UK and Christian Aid’s campaign to encourage the public to take action on climate change, by reducing their own carbon emissions, making their homes more environmentally friendly and campaigning for more government action to stop global warming. ● The exhibition will also

Tribute to Mary

HIV garden wins gold

LIFE-LONG Christian Aid supporter, Mary Grimbaldeston, has died peacefully aged 84.

Mary became interested in famine relief in the 1950s and was involved with Christian Aid from its start, organising fundraising events in Gosport. When she and her husband Bill moved to Weymouth, she took an active role right up until the time of her death.

CHRISTIAN AID has once again scooped a Royal Horticultural Society gold medal in the show garden category at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show last month. The Wish You Were Here..? garden was designed by Claire Whitehouse (pictured right with Novlet Reid from Jamaica Aids Support for Life) to highlight our HIV education and prevention work in Jamaica.

A constant stream of visitors strolled around the garden and up to 2,000 plant lists were handed out to keen gardeners wanting to grow some of the more exotic specimens, such as plumbago and oleander.

In 2004, Christian Aid’s Senegalese garden, also designed by Claire, won the Tudor Rose prize for the best garden overall, as well as a gold medal. ‘It is fantastic that the judges have again recognised Claire’s brilliant vision and attention to detail,’ said project manager Karen Hedges.

give visitors the chance to do some early Christimas shopping using gifts from the latest Present Aid catalogue, including tree saplings, disaster survival kits and solar panels.

For more information contact www.christianaid. org.uk/ecohome from September.

Above: An artist’s impression of Diarmuid Gavin’s garden display

Book tickets for Grand Designs Live (6-8 October 2006, NEC Birmingham) in advance and save £6 on the normal ticket price (£10 instead of £16, and kids go free), by calling 0870 166 0437 or visit www.granddesignslive. com Please quote CADS1 when ordering.

Win tickets to Grand Designs Live Grand Designs Live NEC will attract more than 400 of the best-quality exhibitors from the homes and gardens sectors, as well as experts such as garden designer Diarmuid Gavin and interior designer Naomi Cleaver.

Grand Designs Live NEC will follow an easy-to-navigate four-shows-under-one roof format with GRANDInteriors, GRANDBuild, GRANDGardens and GRANDKitchens+Bathrooms. These are complemented by the Design Shopping Arcade where visitors can buy designer home accessories usually unavailable on the high street.

For your chance to win one of ten pairs of tickets to this year’s Grand Designs Live NEC show, simply answer the following question: How many show sections make up Grand Designs Live?

Send your answer to: Grand Designs Live competition, Christian Aid News, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL, by midnight on 15 September.

The senders of the first 10 correct entries drawn after that date will win the tickets!

Picture: Christian Aid/David Rose

6

AWARD-WINNING garden designer Diarmuid Gavin is to work with Christian Aid on a dramatic feature at the Grand Designs Live show at the Birmingham NEC from 6-8 October.

Diarmuid’s Global Garden, sponsored by Christian Aid, will transport visitors to a ‘global green village’ aimed at raising awareness of the impact of climate change in some of the world’s poorest communities, and offer some eco tips for homes and gardens in the UK. Grand Designs Live is based on the hit Channel 4 series, presented by Kevin McCloud who explained: ‘Sustainability has moved from being a fringe issue to something that touches every aspect of our lives.’

The home and garden will feature four separate displays showing how different communities are dealing with the consequences of climate change and protecting

Christian Aid News

p06-07 News.indd 2

2/8/06 15:16:38

TALK BACK THE THINGS THEY SAY

Zimbabwe – ‘a country waiting to smile’ created a significant amount of publicity for Christian Aid in the press and on local radio.

The six were impressed with the difference the projects are making to people’s lives. Clive Ferguson from AquAid (pictured below operating a water pump) said that

‘the country just seems to be sad – as if waiting for something to put a smile back on the landscape.’

But where communities are benefiting from the expertise of Christian Aid’s partners and the generosity of supporters like AquAid, the people are not without hope.

‘Whether you’re a gardener suffering with unpredictable weather, a parent worried for your child’s future, someone concerned about drought and famine in Africa, or a nature-lover watching our native species disappear, “I Count” is an opportunity for us all to come together and make our voices heard.’

Ashok Sinha, director of Stop Climate Chaos, announcing the rally in Trafalgar Square on 4 November. See page 13 Picture: Christian Aid/Sian Curry

Picture: Christian Aid/David Rose

SIX WORKERS from AquAid, a company that has donated more than £1.7 million to Christian Aid, have returned from a visit to Zimbabwe to see for themselves the type of projects the firm’s donations help to support.

Zimbabwe used to be known as the breadbasket of southern Africa, but its people are now struggling with an economic crisis, many years of drought and a high HIV-infection rate. This year Christian Aid is providing a total of £340,484 to help fund projects in Zimbabwe, including water and farming schemes.

The AquAid group met four of the organisations supported by Christian Aid in the country. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches showed them villages where tanks that collect rainwater from rooftops mean women no longer have to trek long distances to fetch water.

They visited gardens, set up with the help of the Dabane Trust, where food grown gives people an extra meal a day. Zimpro took the group to a school where the children grow vegetables to supplement their diets. And they talked to farmers, trained

by Christian Care, who are now teaching their neighbours ways to conserve water and nutrients and produce much bigger yields.

The AquAid group captured their thoughts in an online diary whilst in Zimbabwe, and have also

‘There is now an overriding imperative to walk more lightly upon the earth and we need to make lifestyle decisions in that light. Making selfish choices such as flying on holiday or buying a large car are a symptom of sin.’

The Bishop of London, Rt Rev Richard Chartres, quoted in The Sunday Times on the weekend 2.1 million Brits headed to the airports for the start of the school holidays.

Better late than never A CHRISTIAN AID supporter from Sheffield has sent in the cash he raised in a sponsored night hike 21 years ago, with a little bit extra added for inflation. The delay was caused by the then 15-year-old Stuart Jenkinson deciding that the £4 earned by hiking for 25 miles through darkness on 29 June 1985 was best spent on a pellet gun.

‘I know, it wasn’t big and it certainly wasn’t clever’, a rather more mature Stuart wrote in an apologetic letter to Christian Aid. ‘So, I think it is time I put things right.’

Stuart enclosed a cheque for £20 and the original sponsorship form (right), on which family members promised to give him ‘10p max’ if he completed the hike.

‘I was rummaging through an old box of knick-knacks that I had taken with me from my parents’ house when I moved out and found my old sponsorship form,’ he explained.

‘Looking at this gave me a sense of guilt, though to be honest it also brought a wry smile to my face.’

As it did to ours, Stuart.

Thank you.

‘Capitalism is perverse – if you are rich you get looked after but if you are poor, you die.’

Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan president, at a summit of ten South American countries, which pledged to cut poverty.

THE THINGS WE SAY ‘Poor countries desperately needed a fair trade deal so that they could grow out of poverty and not rely on hand-outs. This tawdry squabbling at the rich world’s high table has now put paid to that. It is a disgraceful outcome of which leaders of the European Union and America should be ashamed. It is no good flicking a few crumbs of comfort via aid and debt relief with one hand, while the other is slowly squeezing the economic life-blood out of poor countries.’

Dr Claire Melamed, Christian Aid’s senior trade analyst, on the rich countries’ failure to reach agreement on trade talks.

See page 10.

THE THINGS YOU SAY ‘All of us, in our everyday lives, are responsible for the emissions which cause global warming. We do not have to wait for government legislation before making changes to our own lifestyles to reduce emissions.’

Christian Aid News reader M G Harrison, responds to The climate of poverty issue. See page 28.

Christian Aid News

p06-07 News.indd 3

7

2/8/06 15:16:45

Refugees: an uncertain future

Living

in limbo Ramani Leathard finds out how life goes on for thousands of ‘forgotten people’ – Burmese refugees stranded indefinitely in a vast camp on the Thailand border ae La is a cacophony of sounds, a place buzzing with vibrancy and life.

Children make their way to school and play in the sandy playground, ice-cream vendors honk their horns from ancient tricycles and choruses echo from the Bible college, while a mullah’s call to prayer can be heard from a nearby mosque. Close by, a family busily prepares for a wedding celebration. One could easily believe this is a typical Burmese town going about its daily life.

Yet Mae La is the largest Burmese refugee camp along the Thai-Burmese border. It is home to more than 46,000 Burmese

M

8

refugees, largely from the Karen ethnic minority. It lies about 60km north of the town of Mae Sot in central west Thailand, forming a long, thin swathe of land between the main highway and a steep limestone hill ridge, which runs parallel to the road and the border.

And it has been in existence for more than 20 years.

In Burma, human rights abuses are widespread. Murder and rape, the destruction of homes, crops and food, forced relocation and the burning of entire villages, extortion and forced labour are all routine.

These are tactics used by the State Peace and Development Committee (SPDC) to separate

ethnic nationality armies from popular support. There are also growing concerns about the recent shift of government to Pyinmana to which the civilian population has no access. This has contributed to the increase in the refugee population along the Thai border, estimated by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to be around 158,000. An average of 1,000 new refugees a month continues to cross the border into Thailand. The latest estimates from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an organisation supported by Christian Aid, show at least 540,000 internally displaced people within

Christian Aid News

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Pictures: Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan

eastern Burma, many of whom are living in areas near the Thai border.

Against this backdrop TBBC has been providing assistance to the village-style camps along the length of the border. Apart from basic relief, it also provides education and skills training through the provision of school supplies for teachers and pupils.

But in the long term, TBBC aims to ensure that refugees can return home in safety.

Many of the refugees in Mae La do not enjoy the freedom to move around the country or travel to work. Camp life is basic, but the inhabitants aspire to do more than merely survive. While some live

with the hope that democracy will return to Burma enabling them to return home to rebuild their lives, others look for chances to resettle in a third country aided by the UNHCR and other organisations.

All strive to live as full a life as possible and ensure their rights as human beings are respected.

These refugees are a ‘forgotten people’ according to Jack Dunford, TBBC’s executive director. ‘Twenty years is a long time in anyone’s life,’ he says. ‘It is certainly a long time to be a refugee. So much has been achieved in managing to sustain lives and hopes over such a long period of time, and yet there is nothing to celebrate while tens of thousands of people still face an uncertain future.’

Saw Wa Do is a teacher at the Bible college. He fled persecution 15 years ago so that he could continue with his studies. He says: ‘TBBC have sustained us during our time here. Without their assistance in the form of food, shelter, bamboo thatch, school buildings and the important advocacy work they carry out, we would have been a people without hope. However, donations and aid, while important, can tend to paralyse and make us too dependent. As a people we like to be independent and are keen to be self-sufficient and retain our dignity. TBBC recognises this and has worked with us and for us.’

Daw Le Le Win, chairperson of the Karen Women’s Organisation in Mae La, campaigns on behalf of Karen women in the camp.

She has been involved in developing literacy programmes and work schemes, countering violence against women and rape, as well as offering advice. She says: ‘We have much to give; we can be strong and, like other women around the world, become beacons of light in our own community.’

Nine-year-old Wa Moo Paw’s perspective is very different – she was born in Mae La camp. She says: ‘For me this is home. I have not known anything else. I know that my parents had to flee from their home in Burma because of

By the numbers There are more than six million Karen living in Burma – seven per cent o f the population. Millions of Karen also live across the border in Thailand.

The Karen National Union (KNU) has fought for autonomy from Burma for decades. After Burma was granted independence in 1948, the Karen soon became the largest of 20 minority groups seeking independence. After a sustained campaign against the KNU and other ethnic groups in 1984, the first group of refugees fled into Thailand. It is estimated that there are 150,000 internally displaced Karen people in eastern Burma, and 156,000 refugees, the majority of whom are Karen, living in camps on the Thai side of the border.

the fighting there. So it must have been sad for them.’

Wa Moo is caught between her parents’ desire to return to the world they left behind and her own aspirations for the future. She dreams of becoming a teacher, but doesn’t know whether her life, like that of so many here, will be lived in this one small corner of limbo.

Above left: Daw Le Le win with some young refugees in Mae La Above right: A hairdresser at work in her ‘salon’.

■ TBBC, formerly known as BBC, was set up in 1984.

Christian Aid began supporting the organisation the following year. The grant allocation for 2006/07 is £611,000 (with funds from DfID) with a 10 per cent increase planned for 2007/08.

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Trade talks crisis

‘Naked self-interest has trampled over any sense of justice’

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WHAT A difference a year makes.

Let me take you back to the heady days of 2005 when a promise of better things for Africa and the poor world hung in the air as clear as the music and rhetoric echoing out into a warm July evening in Hyde Park.

If the Live8 concert represented the apogee of ordinary people’s desire to see justice for the impoverished world, then the G8 summit in Edinburgh later raised the stakes for world leaders who lined up to promise more aid and debt relief.

The consensus is they did OK on debt relief, albeit in a limited way, and could have done better on aid.

But it was always trade that was going to be the Big One; the real engine of change for the world that would allow poor people to drive themselves out of poverty.

However, the G8 considered

that trade was too difficult to deal with and so shunted the issue off to the specialists who were ordered to come up with an agreement when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) convened in Hong Kong six months on.

But the question of achieving anything resembling a level playing field in trade rules proved much too difficult for the WTO as well. Vested interests ran deeper than anyone imagined. The question had to be deferred again.

A series of increasingly crisisladen meetings were held in the run up to this year’s G8 in St Petersburg. Surely a whole year would allow some simplification of issues, especially after world leaders had once more declared how important getting a deal on trade had become.

The backroom boys and girls ran themselves ragged trying to find a

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Twelve months after the hype and hope of last year’s G8, poor countries are still facing trade rules that are rigged against them

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Picture: Christian Aid/Mary Grant

Campaigns editor John McGhie explains why the collapse of the trade talks is nothing short of a disaster for the world’s poor

way through the vested interests.

To no avail. St Petersburg couldn’t crack it either. The excuse was that minds were elsewhere due to the unfolding horror in the Middle East. But in reality the intransigence among the rich trading blocs had become so deep that it wouldn’t have mattered if the leaders had talked of nothing but trade for the entire three-day summit.

So, all eyes back on the trade specialists. A meeting of the G6 group of nations was convened in Geneva immediately after the G8 during the dog days of July.

Now the US could talk trade turkey direct to the European Union.

Japan, Australia, India and Brazil were at the feast to represent the other rich blocs.

Trade cognoscenti were feeling quietly confident. The EU had offered up more cuts to its farming

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Farmers in the developing world will lose livelihoods and their families will have misery piled on despair as a direct consequence of not being able to sell their goods

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subsidies, the rest had pitched in with slightly revised offers.

All that was required was an equal trimming back of domestic subsidies from the United States.

It wouldn’t be the greatest agreement that the developing world could have wished for, but it would be a start.

Then the bombshell. Instead of arriving to bless the tacit agreements and commit herself to the requisite rowing back on subsidies, US negotiator Susan Schwab turned up on day two of the meeting spitting fire. It was apparently the EU and the others who had to make more cuts, not the US at all. Stunned disbelief and a collapse of talks.

In the immediate aftermath it has become clear that this is an extremely grave matter. All negotiators love a brink but this time it looks as if they’ve stepped

right into it. Civil society groups are sometimes overly fond of using the word ‘disaster’ but the collapse of these trade talks are indeed a disaster.

Why? Because five years after the Doha Round started (named after the first meeting-place in Doha, Qatar) and 12 months after the hype and hope of last year’s G8, poor countries are still facing trade rules that are rigged against them; that protect the rich world and allow the poor to be shafted.

Most of the developing world’s population consists of poor farmers. They rely on being able to grow enough food for themselves to live off. For all other needs – needs that we take for granted such as clothing, education, health, housing – they need to be able to sell their surplus produce.

At the moment in far too many cases, people are unable to sell their goods because the same items – cotton or rice or tomatoes – are on sale for a cheaper price.

Cheaper even though they have come all the way across the world from the US or Europe. Why? Because the governments of the EU and US insist on paying billion of dollars to their farmers to subsidise cotton or rice or tomatoes, and because as a result of years of subsidies rich world farmers have improved technologies that mean that poor farmers just can’t compete.

It is this system – that everyone recognises as corrupt and rotten – that is still in place as a result of Susan Schwab’s 11th hour change of mind. Farmers in the developing world will lose livelihoods and their families will have misery piled on despair as a direct consequence of not being able to sell their goods. That is why these trade talks mattered and why we have said publicly that their failure as a whole – not the final few crumbs that were left on the table at the last minute – represent a body blow to the world’s poor.

So what now? The WTO itself is badly discredited. If it cannot achieve its main organisational purpose what is the point of it

Above left: Cotton farmers in Mali, such as Soumalia Diabate, 21, are unable to get a good price for their crop as the market is flooded with cheap US imports

existing? Will it simply become an increasingly discredited international trade court where countries dump their trade disputes? If so, it is likely to have a lot of work. The absence of an international agreement makes it far more likely that powerful states will flex their economic muscles by erecting trade barriers. Poor countries already face these kind of protectionist barriers, but the lack of a WTO accord now means that rich blocs will increasingly face up to one another over ever higher trade barriers.

And trade war is really in no one’s interests. Like the conflict in the Middle East, it is the poor and vulnerable who get hit the hardest and who end up hurting the most. So it will be small economies like many of those in sub-Saharan Africa who will suffer.

Even if trade peace is maintained, the outlook is grim for the poorer nations. It is true that the Least Developed Nations still have access to European markets for any goods except arms, but what about the rest of the rich world?

America seems intent on reintroducing bilateral trade talks.

This is not a happy prospect.

If poor countries have a tough time maintaining their economic interests within the WTO where there is some sort of safety in numbers, imagine the one-sidedness of talks between, say, the US and Lesotho.

It may not come to this. It is just conceivable that sense will prevail and the main players in the WTO will finally realise they have more to lose than gain without an agreement. If they do come, kicking and struggling, to an agreement, it will not be because they are interested in the welfare of poor nations but because they fear a trade war would harm their interests.

It is shameful that that the Doha Round – billed as the trade round for development – should come to this squalid end where naked self-interest has trampled over any sense of justice.

What a difference a year makes.

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2/8/06 14:36:01

Campaigns

Stop paying for poverty!

Pictures: London: Christian Aid/Amanda Farrant. Bristol: Christian Aid/Julian Camilleri

Campaigns officer Jenny Dawkins reports on the next step – or steps – in Christian Aid’s The beat goes on campaign

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ON 14 SEPTEMBER, Christian Aid is going on the march. From all corners of the UK, we will come together to stride past Her Majesty’s Treasury, demanding that it stops paying for poverty.

Singer Ronan Keating, actor Pete Postlethwaite and actress Adjoa Andoh will be there to rally the crowd as Christian Aid’s The beat goes on campaign reaches this powerful climax.

Pete Postlethwaite says: ‘I witnessed the incredible show of support from Christian Aid supporters in Edinburgh last year and it was overwhelming… so, let’s get out there again and make our voices heard loud and clear.’

The message to the UK government is plain: stop paying for practices which make poor people poorer. Some £450 million of UK taxpayers’ money a year goes to two huge and unaccountable global institutions – the World Bank and IMF. These two powerful financial organisations use conditions attached to loans and aid to push poor countries into accepting free-trade policies – the very opposite of what, last year, the UK government said should happen. Christian Aid insists that these organisations must reform and stop imposing damaging

conditions on their aid and that the UK government should cut this funding until they do.

Summertime... and the campaigning spirit is high For thousands of campaigners, this journey began with a beat, rattle and cymbal crash on 8 July.

In more than 130 cities, towns and villages, people drummed out the trade justice message on pots, pans, bins and tins.

Jenny Reeve, 19, who took part in the 140-strong Ipswich event, says: ‘It was great to see such a mixture of people out in support of trade justice. Everyone enjoyed drumming and we made a huge noise to attract passers-by – but more importantly, I hope our local contribution showed the strength of feeling among old and young.’

MPs and dignitaries witnessed events, and each person who drummed – more than 8,000 so far, with more names coming in as Christian Aid News went to press – signed their names to a petition to ensure that the government heard the demand. The event took place exactly a year after the historic announcements from the 2005 G8 summit, when the world’s eight richest nations decided that

Taking it to the top When? 14 September, 12noon.

Where? Meet at Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, near the Imperial War Museum, London (nearest tube Lambeth North/Waterloo) What do I need to bring? Yourself Where can I find more information? www.pressureworks.org/ dosomething or call 08700 787 788

poor countries could choose their own economic policies to trade their way out of poverty. The nationwide noise on 8 July 2006 highlighted the reality that the World Bank and IMF still refuse to grant poor countries this freedom.

Play your part

Above: Drummers at an event in Lewisham, London.

Right: The Bristol event was a real family affair

Each UK taxpayer pays £15.72 to the World Bank and IMF a year through their taxes. Campaigners are issuing ‘invoices with a difference’ to the Treasury asking that this proportion of their money be redirected so that it helps, rather than hurts, the poor.

Farmers in poor countries need their governments to be able to support them. With this invoice we’re inviting campaigners to say that taxpayers’ money shouldn’t go to the World Bank and IMF whilst they continue to bully poor

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Climate campaign rally

countries into cutting this support.

Moira Elliot of Belfast, says: ‘I was stunned when I found out how much taxpayers’ money goes to these two organisations.’

So, send your own invoice now, (visit www.pressureworks.org or order an invoice from 08700 787 788) then, on 14 September, join us to swell the crowds on the march in London. Paul Brannen,

Christian Aid’s new head of campaigns, says: ‘Gordon Brown and Hilary Benn leave for crucial World Bank and IMF meetings just five days after our march.

The poorest people in the world, whose lives are most affected by their policies, will never have a chance to be at these meetings.

On 14 September we will stand in solidarity with them.’

IN NOVEMBER, the world’s governments will meet in Nairobi to discuss progress on climate change. A massive I Count rally is planned for Trafalgar Square on 4 November – one week ahead of the talks – organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, of which Christian Aid is a member. Together, we are demanding that the UK government sets a carbon budget for the UK to reduce our emissions and to help poor countries to adapt to the already inevitable changes in the climate.

We’d love to see supporters there. Arrive at Trafalgar Square, preferably in a low-carbon way, by 1pm. There’ll be speakers, music and the chance to take action. Events are happening around the capital beforehand, including an ecumenical service in St Martin’s in the Fields. For more information about the day visit www.christianaid.org.uk If you can’t make the rally you can write to Tony Blair. Visit www.pressureworks.org to find out how. We can help prevent climate chaos, but we must act now.

To take action to stop climate chaos, join Christian Aid’s campaign mailing list call 020 7523 2225 or visit www.christianaid.org.uk Christian Aid News

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2/8/06 14:38:03

Reflection

Faith, hope and charity…

My Iraq legacy Enjoying his freedom since his release in March, former Iraq hostage Norman Kember reflects on how his kidnap ordeal has affected his belief in peace, his faith and his outlook on giving

Professor Norman Kember, a Christian Aid supporter for more than 40 years, a lifelong pacifist and pioneer of radiotherapy in cancer treatment, became a reluctant household name when, on a visit to Iraq last November as a member of a Christian peacemaking team, he was kidnapped along with two Canadians and an American, and his picture posted on the internet by his captors (below).

Prof Kember, 74, from north London, and his Canadian colleagues James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden were held hostage for 118 days, before being released when the SAS stormed a house where they were being held. Their American friend, Tom Fox, was not so lucky. He was brutally murdered by the kidnappers.

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If God does answer prayer he does it through the agency of the intelligence services and the SAS!

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Kidnap drama

I AM EMBARRASSED at having achieved a degree of fame (notoriety?) not for what I have done but for what was done to me.

Yes, I made the decision to go to Iraq as a member of a Christian peacemaker delegation, but nine such groups had been to Iraq already without such an incident.

I went to Baghdad partly to meet Iraqi people, to offer friendship and to reassure them that many in Britain were still opposed to the occupation, and partly to prove that, at 74, I was not past taking adventures in my faith.

Unfortunately I only had three days of meeting local people before the kidnap. I met with workers at the power station who were pleased to encounter Westerners, and also visited young people and their priest at the St Mari church. Once in captivity our contacts were limited to the three ‘minders’, the men who took charge of us in rotation, and the one man with some authority in the insurgent group. He alone had moderate fluency in English.

So I am hardly an expert on Iraq!

Before and during our captivity we were aware that the people of Iraq are living in bleak times. There are many physical shortages that make living tiresome but fundamental problems were a shortage of security and a surplus of fear.

The publicity that our captivity produced has had some unexpected results. It has given speakers on peace issues, including myself, many opportunities to talk about our views of Christian peacemaking.

This is not the place to argue the finer points of the biblical basis of non-violent peacemaking, although it always surprises me that Christians do not celebrate the many occasions of non-violent victories as examples of good peacemaking. Martin Luther King is often praised in words but not followed in practice. Christian thinkers appear to prefer to seek ways to revive tired old doctrines such as ‘a just war’ in attempts to adapt them to modern pre-emptive warfare. They should use their moral imagination to apply Jesus’ radical teaching and example to modern conflict situations.

In the weeks since I returned home. I continue to learn of occasions when discussions of non-violence became possible, for example, a seminary in Prague held regular prayers for the captives but the principal was able to introduce Christians from eastern Europe to the biblical basis of non-violence, a topic which they had never encountered before.

When the director of Christian Aid, Dr Daleep Mukharji, came to our church during Christian Aid Week I asked him what proportion of Christian Aid funds is spent on emergencies and development projects resulting from human conflicts. He replied: something around 50 per cent. So considering the money we give, about one half would be saved if war was abolished in the rest of the world as it has been in western Europe.

A pipe dream? Any reduction of violence allows people to live their normal lives and benefit from

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Picture: Christian Aid/Steven Buckley

Christian Aid produces a wide range of resources for prayer and reflection.

Call 020 7523 2225 or visit www.christianaid.org.uk

development aid. So I can argue that to give to Christian Aid and not seek for the development of non-violent methods of resolving conflicts is, in essence, wasting half the money given or collected.

Some supporters might contend that the task of Christian Aid is to reduce and remove the causes of conflict, ie poverty and injustice.

We are dealing, however, with a vicious cycle in which armed conflict and deprivation fuel each other. I am grateful that some of the money I give to Christian Aid goes to support the campaign against small arms and that some goes on conflict resolution work in war zones since it means that the rest of my giving can be used more constructively. Long may Christian Aid be involved in such work.

How has my faith been affected by my experiences in Baghdad?

My faith in the supportive fellowship of the church has been

enhanced, but God remained largely veiled during those months of captivity. We captives generally kept to a pattern of daily worship and study (we endeavoured to recall the biblical passages with sufficient accuracy), and the most faithful in devotion was Tom Fox. We knew people were praying for us but there is evidently no simple relationship between prayer and its answer. Why were only three of the four captives released? As I said in a letter to the Baghdad Squadron of the Special Air Services – if God does answer prayer he does it through the agency of the intelligence services and the SAS! One general question is worth asking. Why did this particular misfortune evoke such a wide-ranging response when many Christians take risks for their faith in situations at home and abroad? The secular media certainly gave unprecedented coverage to the kidnap and to the

release and are still chasing me for interviews.

During the period of captivity my wife had letters and cards of support, not only from the UK but from many other countries. I have discovered that the Muslim community made great efforts to explain to fellow believers, including our captors, that the kidnap of Christian peacemakers was against the teaching and best interests of the Muslim faith.

Prayers and vigils arranged by Christians were attended by Muslims and people of other faiths. There have been many instances of meetings between Christians and Muslims since. Our captivity has opened opportunities for contacts between the faiths and I hope that these links will be maintained. Anything that advances understanding between faiths must be worthwhile.

Once again God uses the weak to achieve his purposes!

Above: Professor Norman Kember pictured earlier this summer relaxing on a family visit to Upway in Dorset

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special report: work with women

Bridging the gender gap Around the world, some 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty and this number continues to rise as the gap between rich and poor widens.

Women and girls frequently bear the brunt of this hardship as they are often marginalised, even within their own communities, often facing additional constraints linked to conservative social attitudes, male-dominated cultures and religious systems.

Women perform two-thirds of the world’s work, yet earn one-tenth of the world’s income; they are two-thirds of the world’s illiterate and own less than one-hundreth of the world’s property.

Christian Aid is committed to helping such women by supporting the work of local and community organisations that enable them to gain the skills and abilities to protect, rebuild and improve the quality of their lives. From India, Bangladesh, Angola and Egypt, here are some of their stories.

The heroines of Bangalore

INDIA

THE WOMAN WITH the beautiful Julia Roberts smile will not give her name. But she talks openly about how her father sold her into marriage with a man who put her into a brothel, how her mother threatened to sell her children and how she was forced into prostitution.

And although her new husband of only eight months does not know about her past as a sex

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worker, she is public and proud about her work as an HIV educator with the sex workers’ collective Vijaya Mahila Sangha (VMS), a group supported by Christian Aid, in the IT boomtown of Bangalore, south India.

Here, in India’s equivalent of Silicon Valley, hundreds of sex workers like her are the heroines in India’s fight to stem the spread of HIV. Because of them,

thousands of lives are being saved. But as one arm of government recognises their vital role, another threatens to drive them underground with new laws that will criminalise them and their clients.

India has 5.7 million HIV-positive people – more than any other country in the world, including South Africa. Poverty, migration and women’s powerlessness all

Picture: Christian Aid/Heidi Bradner

Sarah Stewart meets the women who are in the forefront of India’s fight against the spread of HIV

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fuel the spread of the virus, with consequences so terrible they are hard to contemplate.

Ironically, it is sex workers – the most despised members of society – who are turning HIV around. An essential part of the government’s anti-AIDS strategy, they use and give out condoms; they insist that their clients use them; and they work with brothel owners to encourage safe sex. In Bangalore,

says Gita, a former sex worker and a founder of VMS, three-quarters of sex workers now use condoms.

Every day, Lakshmi, an HIV educator with VMS, goes out onto the streets in the noisy, congested neighbourhoods around Bangalore’s central bus station.

She takes packets of condoms and a sex-education book and visits the sex workers she has come to know. ‘At first, it is hard. Only after

Above: Manjula, right, an HIV educator for VMS, meets sex worker Beena on her ‘patch’ near the bus depot in Banglalore

five or six conversations do they understand about HIV,’ she says.

‘And they say to me, “it’s OK if we get AIDS. We have to die anyway, some day.” ‘But I say to them, “Once, I felt as you do. But you need to think of your health. Just using a condom can keep you from this terrible virus.”’

Semeda Steves, Christian Aid’s continued on page 18 Christian Aid News

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and anywhere women can quickly, illicitly, earn enough to buy food.

And with the end of these women’s control over their livelihoods will come an end to any consistent HIV prevention.

Scrambling to survive, women’s ability to insist on condom use will disappear – and with it a key part of India’s drive to stop the spread of HIV.

Below: Gita and Ranjani, the founders of VMS. Below: Manjula visits Beena at home to continue her counselling

ANGOLA

■ VMS is one of four organisations that make up the innovative Milan project, a comprehensive HIV programme supported by Christian Aid with £43,000 of funding last year. Together these four organisations provide every crucial aspect of HIV prevention and treatment, from education to condoms to treatment and support groups.

Pictures: India: Christian Aid/Heidi Bradner. Angola: Christian Aid/Adrian Arbib

HIV specialist in India, adds: ‘If a single sex worker is educated and uses condoms, in turn she is protecting hundreds of men. And it is not only they who are saved, it is also their wives and children.’

A conspiracy of cruelty drives these women into prostitution.

Early marriage; husbands who drink and do not work; families who reject them; wages so low that they cannot put food on the table. Yet they continue to bear the enormous responsibility of supporting children and parents.

Beena was married at 11. The wedding photo still hangs on the wall of her house, her wistful, childlike face gazing out of the frame. After she gave birth to her third child, her husband left.

Only after the birth of her fourth child, with her second husband, who also left her, did she turn to sex work.

For two years she has been the sole breadwinner for her four children, her mother and herself.

She had no one else. Somehow, she thinks from her first husband, she became HIV-positive.

There is a desperate look on Beena’s face as she sits on the floor of VMS’ one-room office. She is trembling and her eyes brim with tears. She is overwhelmed with fear for the future: the prospect that she might become too ill to take care of her children.

‘I just want to live for another ten years so that the eldest [now nine] can take over my responsibility,’ she says.

She is also adamant that she will not have sex with clients without protection. ‘I have a duty not to pass on HIV,’ she says. ‘I am “spoiled” but I will never allow anyone else to be spoiled too.’

According to India’s legal experts, proposed amendments to India’s Immoral Traffic Prevention Act will make the lives of women such as Beena even more precarious. The Lawyer’s Collective, a group of human rights lawyers which works with VMS, says that making it illegal to be the client of a sex worker, or to run a brothel, will drive sex work underground – out of the brothels where there is at least some safety and access to condoms, and into parks, under buses and bushes

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ANGOLA

Hope grows amid the slums Sian Curry reports on how a new education project is helping women in Luanda to improve their health and their lives WHEN ALICE first started teaching cookery, she held her classes in the shade of an old acacia tree, and her young students learnt to bake cakes by burying them in the embers of a dying fire.

The dusty yard in the Angolan capital, Luanda, where Alice used to teach is still there. But her lessons now take place in a large round classroom building, complete with chairs, blackboards and proper stoves.

Alice works for the Angolan Congregational Church (IECA) in Luanda’s overcrowded slums.

Thousands of families fled here during Angola’s 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002. Those who escaped the fighting built shelter wherever they could, and the poorest families now live crammed into single-room shacks with no running water, sanitation or drainage. The slum streets reek of sewage, and young children play barefoot among rotting piles of litter and stagnant water. Living in such filth, at least one in four children will die before its fifth

birthday. There are no jobs here, and what little hope there is lies in such pockets of order as IECA’s new teaching centre.

The centre, built with funds from Christian Aid, offers a respite from the teeming streets and now hundreds of young women pass through its doors, taking classes in literacy, numeracy, cookery and nutrition, health and hygiene, handicrafts and midwifery.

Arlinda is one former student.

Like Alice and thousands of others, she fled to Luanda to escape the fighting in her home town. For the first year, Arlinda, her husband and three young daughters slept on the floor of a nearby church, with dozens of other homeless families.

After enrolling at IECA’s centre, Arlinda learnt to make woven baskets and colourful canvas bags, which she now sells, earning enough to rent a two-room house.

Arlinda’s is just one of hundreds of success stories here: Natalia has learnt to read and write, and can now help her children with their schoolwork; Evalina has re-trained

Above: IECA’s centre enabled women such as Eunice (right) to learn cookery skills that can help them to earn money of their own

as a midwife; Tabita learnt about the main childhood illnesses, and went on to save the lives of her two young children when they developed malaria; Eunice learnt cookery and now earns a living selling cakes from her home.

And their hope is spreading.

Arlinda is one of several former IECA students who have gone on to set up backyard schools of their own, helping other young women catch up on the education they missed during the war years, and learn how to make the most of what little they have.

Today, in small backyards, in the shade of trees and under makeshift shelters, dozens of women are passing on their knowledge. Alice can’t hide her pride. She had always hoped that some of her students would go on to set up schools of their own. ‘We want to be like a family,’ she explains, ‘with more and more links in the chain.’

■ Christian Aid has been supporting IECA’s development work since 1997. This year we will provide more than £70,000 to help run the training centre and to support poor families returning home to rural areas.

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special report: work with women

BANGLADESH

EGYPT

‘I wanted to fly like a bird’

Pictures: Egypt: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian. Bangladesh: Christian Aid/Amanda Farrant

Sarah Malian discovers the power of education in Egypt

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SITTING WITH her hands clenched in her lap, 13-year-old Sheyma’s eyes glance nervously around the makeshift room that serves as a classroom. Shafts of sunlight streaming through the shutters pick out suspended dust particles – the debris from nearby stone quarries worked by the children of this fishing community on the banks of the Nile.

‘I wanted to be educated, so I could read books, to read the Qu’ran and pray,’ says Sheyma.

‘Why shouldn’t I be educated like other girls? Why are boys better than us?’

Sheyma wasn’t able to go to the local government-run school because she had no birth certificate, making registration impossible. She would have joined the 56 per cent of Egyptian women who are illiterate.

But literacy classes and seminars, run for local fishing families by Christian Aid partner organisation Better Life, gave Sheyma the opportunity to get the

education that would otherwise have eluded her.

‘It would make me so sad seeing my friends going to school everyday and when I saw them reading their books I would weep and say “Why can’t that be me?”’

When Better Life started the classes Sheyma could barely write her name, but now she wants to be a teacher so she can pass on all she has learnt. Complementary seminars on women’s health and female genital mutilation (FGM) have also taught her the importance of women being empowered to ‘change their family’s mentality’.

Like so many young women in Egypt, Sheyma has undergone FGM – a practice carried out on a staggering 97 per cent of the female population and associated with infections, complications in childbirth and even death.

She now hopes to pass on the message of the problems associated with FGM. ‘Some girls have died of [FGM] in this village

and others bled for a while. One of my friends has been bleeding for a long time and has become very weak… I hope she survives.’

It may be too late for Sheyma but she is adamant her daughters won’t face the same fate she did.

Education has given her a new outlook on life – and better prospects of coping with the future. ‘The happiest thing that has happened to me is that I am now educated and can read and write.

My speech is stronger and I have opinions in the classroom. When I started learning to read I wanted to fly like a bird.’

Above: Sheyma, aged 13, attends literacy classes and seminars on FGM

■ Better Life Association for Comprehensive Development was set up in 1995 to work with Egypt’s most marginalised communities, and education is a key element of its work.

Christian Aid is supporting Better Life’s work with fishing communities and their families. In 2005/2006, we gave £23,936 towards funding this work.

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The water ladies Behind pretty images of women balancing pots of water on heads and hips as they walk along dusty roads in Bangladesh, lie stories of hardship, says Amanda Farrant

BANGLADESH

IMAGINE WALKING for up to three or fours hours in the searing heat or through torrential rain with a heavy pot full of water balanced on the head, another on one hip and perhaps a baby on the other. For millions of women in Bangladesh, this is an exhausting and time-consuming daily necessity.

Arati Hembrom knows the routine only too well. Until recently, her indigenous adivasis community in Nandapur, a village in north-west Bangladesh, did not have their own supply of clean drinking water. Their status as an ethnic minority community meant that they always came bottom of the list for any local government water-supply funding. Arati had to walk up to three kilometres twice a day to wells to fetch the eight litres of water her family needs (and that’s in addition to the several kilometres she walks every day to get to the fields or rice mills where she works as a casual labourer for just 30p plus 1.5 kg of rice a day).

‘The distance was just one of the problems,’ Arati explains. ‘The other was that the tubewells are privately owned. Sometimes the owners got very angry if people gathered there to get water.

Sometimes they made us pay for it – as much as 30 taka (30p) per family. We sometimes had to draw our water from the irrigation canals or use pond water.’

Access to clean, safe drinking water is still a problem facing at least 25 per cent of Bangladesh’s poor and burgeoning population.

Women – traditionally the collectors, distributors and preservers of water – bear most of the burden from this water crisis, which creates health problems, family tensions,

financial troubles and inequality.

Last year, an organisation Christian Aid supports, the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), along with the Alternative Movement for Resources and Freedom, began a groundbreaking drinking water project in five geographically diverse areas of Bangladesh.

Working with local partners to help the most poor and marginalised, they are encouraging communities to set up pani parishad, or water councils, in order to enable them to get clean, safe water, not just as a need but as a right. Women must make up at least 50 per cent of each water council’s membership.

Through the water councils, communities unite to decide upon the best water options for their unique social and geographical situation. Arati’s pani parishad decided a tubewell of their own would be best for their circumstances. Since BCAS’s local partner, ASUS, helped them install their tubewell in the village, families are noticeably healthier, men have started fetching water, the community is working together, and women have up to four hours a day extra time on their hands. Some use it to get extra food and income by growing vegetables and raising livestock. Others, like Arati, say it has had other important impacts on family life.

‘When my husband got home and he didn’t have anything to drink, he’d start beating me, breaking the pitchers and shouting a lot. Not having a safe source of water nearby created real tensions and violence in our family… Now, my husband does homestead gardening instead.’

Top: Arati is one of many women who have benefitted from access to clean, safe drinking water Above: water is still carried in traditional pitchers

■ Christian Aid began funding the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) last year and is providing £35,000 to support its water projects in the country. As well as helping with local communities, BCAS has a long track record in the field of climate change research.

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Kris Marshall’s Bolivian diary

Logging on to Amazon Actor Kris Marshall, star of BBC1’s My Family, travelled to the Bolivian rainforest to see how Christian Aid is helping poor communities affected by deforestation. Here are some excerpts from his diary SUNDAY

TUESDAY

The first thing I learn on this trip is that even getting to the Bolivian rainforest takes ages. Two eight-hour flights, one of them overnight, just to get to Santa Cruz. That’s before another flight, a four-hour car journey and three ferry rides tomorrow. I’m feeling guilty about the air miles already…

But I’m here for a good reason.

I’m looking at how quickly the rainforest is disappearing, due to incursions by cattle ranchers, and to see the work Christian Aid is supporting to help protect the rainforest as well as the poor families who live in it.

We reach Puerto San Borja. It’s the most impoverished place we have been so far. It’s by the river, and initially it looks idyllic. But then I peer into one of households – no sanitation, no water, no electricity.

In the rainy season, the place must be like a quagmire.

Pictures: Christian Aid/Richard Smith

MONDAY

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The first thing I do when I arrive in San Ignacio de Moxos is visit the Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado (CIPCA), Christian Aid’s local partner organisation. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America, and some of its poorest families live in rainforest communities.

One of the women who lives here, Elsa Semo, has had a harrowing time. She has lost four children to one disease or another, in ways which would have been unthinkable in the UK. Her children were buried in a local plot of land, which the los ganaderos (cattle ranchers) came and built over.

CIPCA is helping represent people like Elsa in disputes with los ganaderos. It’s an invaluable form of legal aid. Elsa just wants to be able to go to the cemetery to lay flowers on her children’s graves.

WEDNESDAY This was an amazing day. I travelled up to Santa Ana to meet

Malaquia Rosel and his family.

He made Ray Mears, the BBC2 explorer, look like a big softie – calmly swatting mosquitoes with his machete. We canoed up the Amazon for two hours, and I saw where Malaquia, with seeds and training from CIPCA, had grown mango, papaya, cocoa and 650 mahogany trees. He told me the mahogany would be like an inheritance for his grandchildren – not to mention the help he was giving the rainforest, too.

THURSDAY CIPCA have also helped Malaquia and countless other families in rural communities with gifts brought through the Present Aid catalogue – You Add, We Multiply in action. Two and half years ago, this community was given 20 ewes. It has bred more than 250 sheep and returned 20 ewes to CIPCA for another community.

With the money they earn through breeding and selling sheep, they can afford to send their children

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can: first person

“

We canoed up the Amazon for two hours, and I saw where Malaquia had grown mango, papaya, cocoa and 650 mahogany trees

“

to school. Not bad for a Christmas gift. Now I know why Mum gave me a ram last year! Malaquia’s daughter Sara taught me how to herd sheep. I need some practice.

FRIDAY Visited a class full of kids at the local school. While there, taught them how to make the perfect

paper aeroplane. Then I got in a five-seater plane for a bird’s eye look at the deforestation of the rainforests. I just can’t believe the difference between where trees have been cut down and where they exist. It really brings it home.

I’m just glad CIPCA, and Christian Aid, are around to do something about the rainforest’s future.

Upon his return Kris embarked on a series of media interviews to publicise the programmes he observed, including features for The Daily Mail, Daily Record, Church Times and Birmingham Post. He also made a half-hour TV film for The Community Channel

Above: Kris paddles up the Amazon with Malaquia From left: tending a grave with Elsa; Malaquia’s daughter Sara gave Kris a lesson in herding sheep; the kids splashing in the Amazon looked fun – but this was also their sanitation point; Kris joins some young inhabitants in the classroom and outside Christian Aid News

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Opinion

‘We should not just spend more; we should spend more wisely, too’ Christian Aid is used to telling the politicians of the day what they should be doing to fight poverty, inequality and injustice. But do our words fall on deaf ears? We’ve asked three party political heavyweights to comment on some of the issues that concern us – and you. Hopefully, future editions of Christian Aid News will bring you the opinions of Conservative leader David Cameron and Labour’s ‘heir apparent’ Gordon Brown. But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell was the first to respond. Here’s what he had to say

‘Poverty fetters; ignorance hampers; disease incapacitates; privilege oppresses; war terrorises.

To attack these is to be the champion of freedom.’

These words featured in a Liberal election pamphlet in 1929.

They are classic liberal sentiments and are as true today as when they were first written.

Poverty and its associated ills are mutually reinforcing elements.

As the UN concluded last year, these problems are also interconnected with the challenges of addressing security and human rights issues that, together, deprive their victims of the opportunity to live their lives in security. Without that security there is no true liberty.

I have always been an internationalist. I lead a political party that does not see national boundaries as the point at which care for one’s fellow men and women should cease. Compassion and humanity should compel us to seek for others the kind of rights and security that so many of us in the developed world take for granted. That is why I am committed to Britain playing a full and proper role in tackling the

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problems experienced in the developing world.

The causes of poverty are manifold and complex. Each requires its own solution, although the problems are often interlinked.

For the HIV pandemic, education and contraception must be provided for prevention, and drugs for the control of a virus that wreaks economic havoc as well as human tragedy.

For climate change, international action against carbon emissions is necessary to halt and reverse the scourge of drought and famine which hits hardest those who have least.

Developed countries can and should do more to break the cycle of poverty in which so many of the world’s poor are trapped. To play a leading role in tackling this, Britain must contribute more. I am committed to increasing the proportion of Britain’s aid contribution to 0.7 per cent of total GNP by 2011. But we should not just spend more; we should spend more wisely, too.

Bilateral aid is a valuable way for Britain to contribute. We should aim to do so in a planned and predictable way, ensuring

consistency and efficiency. To alleviate need on the scale necessary, we require multilateral, coordinated action from the international community. We should remain committed to working with others through the EU, the Commonwealth and the UN. We must also use our influence as a member of the IMF and the World Bank to encourage best practice from them. The IMF and the World Bank take a lead on international development planning and finance, but they have attracted a great deal of criticism. These institutions loan money to developing countries on the condition that they implement economic reforms, which may often be ill-suited to the needs of a particular country and its communities. These institutions should do more to involve civil society – projects and programmes that do this are significantly more likely to deliver their planned outcomes.

The reforms often aim to promote liberalisation and privatisation. Opening up developing economies to the global market should ultimately

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Picture: Christian Aid/Martin Gordon

Do you agree with Sir Menzies Campbell? Write to the Editor, Christian Aid News, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT or email canews@christian-aid.org If you would like to discuss this article online, visit www.surefish.co.uk

allow them to become self-sustaining. However, it is important that liberalisation takes place alongside institutional and government reform, so that it is not imposed too quickly, opening countries prematurely to enormous flows of capital which they are ill-equipped to handle.

I welcome recent moves to cancel debt for some of the world’s most indebted countries. However, we must accept that for many other developing countries the repayments on existing loans impose an excessive burden on future generations.

We should start with a review of the IMF and the World Bank. I believe that they would benefit from reform of their governance and accountability. Steps must be taken to ensure that these organisations are able to engage more effectively at ground level, working with governments, NGOs

and civil society to ensure that local solutions are found to tackle local problems.

It is also important that where money is provided, it should go hand-in-hand with assurances to the lenders that there will be reforms to promote good governance and long-term planning. States with corrupt governments, a weak judiciary or the absence of the rule of law, are very often the states most in need of money. They are also the most likely to abuse it. It is therefore good practice for the financial institutions to encourage governments to reform their structures, ensuring accountability for the way the money is spent.

Where those structures are in place we should consider moving away from loans and towards a system of grants, especially to support the promotion of health and education. This should be

considered as part of a review of the World Bank’s future policies and structure. Spending on these areas is the key to building a healthy and skilled workforce for the future. Increasingly, we should see aid as a long-term investment, which will reduce future demand for financial assistance.

Above all else, the work that we do with developing countries should aim to set them on a course to self-reliance. By encouraging responsible government and long-term economic and social planning, we can help people in all countries to take control over their destiny, to enjoy prosperity and to have choices. This is a message that Christian Aid itself has promoted very effectively.

This approach would create true liberty and freedom, and that is the kind of world that we should strive to live in.

Above: An argument for reform? Rice growers from the village of Nyariga, northern Ghana, thresh rice by hand following the closure of rice mills in the area after the government withdrew support from the rice sector under pressure from the IMF Christian Aid News

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Do theing right th

Does carbon offsetting really work?

Are fashionable carbon offsetting schemes, such as tree planting, just a way of easing our conscience while we continue to push up carbon emissions, or a genuine contribution to solving the problem of climate change? Kati Dshedshorov reports

Picture: William Campbell/Still Pictures

CARBON OFFSETTING, carbon footprints – these phrases are becoming the buzzwords for our climatically changing times.

If you take a long-haul flight, drive a gas-guzzling car or even leave the TV on standby, you’re contributing to increased carbon emissions; you’re leaving a bigger carbon footprint on the world.

For the carbon-conscious consumer, more and more decisions now seem to come with a carbon-cost factor.

So can we really erase our carbon footprint?

One option being offered by an increasing number of specialist companies is to ‘offset’ the carbon you put into the atmosphere by paying a fee that’s then invested in clean energy or tree planting in the developing world. The theory is that you displace each tonne of carbon you’re responsible for by contributing towards saving one elsewhere.

Of course, as with every

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seemingly simple idea, on closer examination, it’s not quite that simple. The fundamental truth of carbon is that once it’s taken out of the ground as a fossil fuel and put into the atmosphere through burning, you can’t get it back into the ground.

Planting trees is a short-term solution because when trees die and decompose they release all absorbed carbon back into the atmosphere.

Each citizen in the UK produces an average of 9.51 tonnes of CO2 a year, so none of us can immediately eliminate our carbon footprint however much we may wish to do so. Offsetting is a useful way of raising awareness about how much carbon we pump into the atmosphere and a means of funding important clean development projects in poor countries.

And while tree-planting may not be the answer to removing carbon from the atmosphere, there are other good reasons for

planting trees. These include preventing soil erosion, and providing habitats for animals and microclimates for encouraging more rainfall.

Other offsetting schemes, aimed at preventing further carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere, include: ■ renewable energy from wind, solar, tidal and wave, geothermal and micro-hydro power generation ■ bio-energy using agricultural and animal waste products for fuel ■ efficiency projects aimed at conserving energy ■ greenhouse gas capture

technologies used by petrochemical and manufacturing plants.

Here’s what ‘the experts’ say: Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid’s climate and development analyst: ‘Once you’ve put a tonne of carbon into the atmosphere, it’s there for 100 years, so the idea that you can simply pay to take it away is erroneous.

But offsetting can provide much-needed money to invest in renewable energy and clean development in poor countries to help ensure

Web links www.cdmgoldstandard.org – The Gold Standard for premium quality carbon credits that are committed to implementing the Kyoto protocol in the spirit of true and long-term emission reductions and sustainable development. www.atmosfair.com – carbon offsetting for air travellers; the money goes to solar, hydropower, biomass or energy-efficiency projects. www.myclimate.org – supports carbon offset projects that lead to a direct reduction of greenhouse gases. www.fern.org – Forests Environment Resources Network. Ideas and initiatives.

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Going green Consider internet shopping and home delivery to help reduce vehicle mileage

world eating

Quacking gifts!

Kate Wills serves up a salad that’s miles better for the planet

Gorey movie IF YOU ONLY see one film this year, make it An Inconvenient Truth (released 15 September).

Since losing the Presidential election in 2000, Al Gore has been engaged in a quixotic lecture tour, bringing the issue of climate change to the attention of a decidedly sceptical US public. And he’s been making inroads.

The film cleverly interweaves his slide-show presentation, which sets out clearly the facts on climate change, and the story of his quest to shake a complacent US to its foundations.

Gore is passionate about the terrifying prospect of unbridled climate change.

The film is an absolute must – truly frightening, at times moving, but with a clear message: act now and we can avoid catastrophe! that as they develop, people in countries that are currently not great emitters of carbon don’t become so. Right now we must reduce our emissions rapidly. Offsetting is a last resort.’

Jutta Kill, climate campaigner of Forests and the European Union Resources Network (FERN): ‘Tree plantations as carbon offsets are misleading and a fake climate fix, the 21st century version of medieval indulgences. People who give money to tree-planting “offset” schemes feel that they have done their bit. If we want to address climate change we must curb our carbon footprint first of all.’

Charlie Kronick, policy officer at Greenpeace: ‘If you are

Picture: Christian Aid/Robin Prime

poor country. Last year’s most popular gifts, from life-giving taps to income-generating THE AUTUMN/WINTER goats and soil-fertilising Present Aid catalogue is worms, are all still on offer. now available. This year, You can even buy your loved it’s stuffed with even more one a latrine, if you are extraordinary presents to feeling flush. The money you solve all your Christmas and spend goes directly to where birthday present shopping it’s most needed. Order your dilemmas. Ducks, woolless sheep and piglets will delight catalogue today on 0845 friends and family at the same 3300 500 or use the enclosed time as helping someone in a resources insert.

considering carbon offsetting don’t go for monoculture tree plantations. They are not reliable: you can’t keep track of what the benefit is and you can’t measure the effect.

Locally generated renewable energy makes people think about their energy consumption.’

Summer is a perfect time to celebrate the bounty of our own gardens, allotments and local farmers. It’s also the perfect time to start watching our food miles.

Food miles are a way of measuring the distance your food travels from field to plate – including the ones we clock up to shop for food. This travel, by road and plane, significantly impacts on carbon dioxide emissions that are contributing to climate change. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recently reported that food miles rose by 15 per cent between 1992 and 2002.

■ Ingredients (try to buy organic wherever possible) 700g small new potatoes 450g shelled fresh broad beans 450g fresh garden peas 450g fresh cut green beans handful chives 300g organic mayonnaise 4 spring onions dash olive oil 1 lemon (optional) salt and pepper

■ Method 1

2

3

Jim Peacock of the Carbon Neutral Company: ‘Carbon offsetting is not a silver bullet for climate change, but it is part of a range of options.

It helps re-price carbon and the real impact of climate change, and this encourages businesses and individuals to look at how they can reduce their impacts at source whilst allowing them to take immediate action on unavoidable emissions.’

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5

6 7

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Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until they are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam the broad beans, peas and green beans until cooked but still al dente.

Drain the potatoes. When cool enough to handle, cut the larger ones in half or quarters.

Chop up the chives, add to the mayonnaise and mix well. (You could stir in some crème fraîche or yoghurt as well.)

Put the potatoes, beans and peas in a mixing bowl and season. Add a dash of olive oil, then stir in the mayonnaise mix. Taste – you may want to add a dash of lemon juice.

Sprinkle spring onions on the top.

Serve just warm or, if you’re not eating straight away, refrigerate and return the salad to room temperature before eating.

Works as a starter or main course, delicious with smoked fish.

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Inpuatil

Inspired? Enraged? Send your views to the editor.

Christian Aid News, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT or email canews@christian-aid.org

your m

Let’s all do our bit I was pleased to read that Christian Aid is making climate change a major focus of its work. However, we should never lose sight of the fact that all of us, in our everyday lives, are responsible for the emissions which cause global warming.

We do not have to wait for government legislation before making changes to our own lifestyles to reduce emissions.

We can run smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and walk, cycle or use public transport whenever possible. We can take short-haul holidays, rather than long-haul ones.

We can install low-energy lighting and energy-efficient electrical equipment in our homes. Please encourage all Christian Aid supporters not just to condemn global warming, but to take positive action by changing their own lifestyles.

M G Harrison, Guernsey

Welcome shift Christian Aid’s shift of emphasis towards climate change is very welcome. I’m sure this is right, and your special feature (The climate of poverty, issue 32) makes disturbing reading. There is an aspect of this which is not mentioned, however.

When President Bush cut off funding to UNFPA, that organisation estimated that there would be 20 million unintended pregnancies, 800,000 unsafe abortions and 80,000 maternal and infant deaths a year as a result. This level of abortions, and the large number of abandoned children around the world, suggests that a great number of people would be glad to make the same decisions about family size that we in the developed world make routinely. This would directly help them out of poverty. So why should they not be

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Warming to the ideas?

Should Christian Aid’ be getting involved in ‘political’ issues such as climate change (The climate of poverty, issue 32), and campaigning to change the systems and policies that keep the poor impoverished?

Here is a selection of your views.

enabled to make these decisions? Other charities do this work, and I am not suggesting that CA should duplicate it, but it would be nice to see that it had an awareness of the problem.

Roger Plenty, Stroud

Battle you can’t win I am a crop scientist with many years’ experience working in Africa. I found your climate change story utterly unconvincing.

Undoubtedly the world is getting warmer and human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuel, is contributing to that. However this trend has to be seen in the context of a world climate that has always changed and a human history where our species has always had to adapt to such changes.

You could be right that the net effect of human-induced climate change is negative for the developing world but it is far from certain that this is so.

However much pressure you put on the UK government and however much pressure the UK government manages to put on other governments, it will make very little difference in the end. The world has finite stocks of oil and natural gas. It is already too late to prevent it, we can only delay it. And we, the West, are in no moral position to prevent Asian countries expanding their use of fossil fuel as they industrialise.

So please Christian Aid, you have entered a battle that you cannot win, you are

misrepresenting the truth and over-simplifying the science.

Protesting against poverty is valid. Channelling resources to the poor is valid.

Challenging our government and the international institutions better to serve the poor is valid. Helping poor people better to cope with the weather variations which they have long endured is valid.

But global warming and climate change are not your business. Leave them alone.

Neil Fisher, Edinburgh

Adding to misery Catastrophes and tragedies in much of sub-Saharan Africa are made more severe by natural disasters such as drought. So I believe you are far too reticent about focusing on the principal cause of much of the misery in that continent – namely appalling governance. Continual warfare, endemic corruption, dictatorships, nepotism and tribal conflict have destroyed much of that continent’s infrastructure (and agriculture) – infrastructure that could have helped to alleviate many natural afflictions.

In the last 50 years, Africa has had several Marshall Plan equivalents and yet conditions are worse than ever. Indeed, many studies suggest that aid has encouraged bad governance and the misuse of funds. It is because aid organisations are so unwilling to condemn bad governance – indeed, rarely refer to it as having anything

to do with the problems – that so many citizens are unwilling to donate funds that the evidence shows will allow further spending on arms, Mercedes etc.

Peter White, Maidenhead Babatunde Olugboji, Africa policy and advocacy manager, replies: Christian Aid recognises corruption as a major governance issue in Africa and other parts of the world, including Europe. It is a global driver of bad governance, and we do speak out against it, in addition to employing other mechanisms – advocacy, lobbying, etc – to raise awareness both in the UK and through our overseas partners about both its supply (bribe-giving) and demand (bribe-taking) sides.

Policies…

Does A J Harrow (Input, issue 32) understand the connections between politics, policies and systems designed to enforce policies, one wonders? From my own experience as a collector, the put-offs are religious and political parties, not sane policy. There are, however, different ways to ‘challenge and change the systems that favour the rich and powerful over the poor’ (Jeff Williams, Reflection, issue 31). The Marxist way is to challenge and change the rich by uniting public opinion against them. The Christian way is to work at presenting the truth – by means of explanation,

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Events justification, and for most of us, practical example – so that the opinions of the rich can be challenged and changed. Jeff’s ‘what has to be done’ is not to threaten the rich and powerful en masse, it is to approach influential people (or their wives?) as friends, and to convert them.

Dave Taylor, Malvern

…or politics I am one of the people A J Harrow refers to in his excellent letter: I have stopped giving to Christian Aid because of its increasingly political agenda.

The latest Christian Aid News now adds climate change to that agenda.

The work with partner organisations on the ground is a fantastic model. I have enormous respect for that.

But how do I make donations to support this work, without my money being used to support political campaigns that I may or may not agree with?

Martin Haigh, London SW1

■ 3 September Walk the Line Aberdeen Sponsored walk along the old Deeside Railway Line – an annual fundraising event organised by the Aberdeen Christian Aid committee.

Contact Jean Rutherford on 01224 480654 or Marjorie Clark 01738 643982, or email mclark@christian-aid.org ■ 9 September Drumming event Porthmadog A drumming procession through the streets of Porthmadog to raise awareness of trade justice before Gordon Brown heads for the IMF meeting. Organised by the local Christian Aid committee, the churches, the youth group and the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Contact Anna Jane Evans on 01248 353574 or email aevans@christian-aid.org ■ 9-29 September, 20 October-28 November ‘Every time I see the sea…’

– life after the tsunami The multimedia exhibition documenting the challenges of rebuilding Sri Lankan and Indian communities devastated by the tsunami.

■ 9-15 September Bristol Cathedral ■ 16-29 September Swindon Designer Outlet Centre Contact Helen Harrison, hharris@christian-aid.org ■ 20 October-28 November Worcester Cathedral Contact Jill Smith on 0121 200 2283, or email jsmith@christian-aid.org

■ 22-24 September Swords into Ploughshares Arts and Flower Festival Crediton Methodist Church Flower displays based on Christian Aid stories of water, agriculture and conflict resolution. Songs from Martin Nicholls.

Contact Martin Nicholls on 01395 222304 ■ 22 September-28 October Harvest of Hope Martin Nicholls and his guests present his new show, Harvest of Hope, inspired by their encounters visiting Christian Aid partners in Senegal.

■ 22 September Crediton Methodist Church Contact Penny Haynes on 01202 840764, or email phaynes@christian-aid.org ■ 20 October St Christopher’s Church, Farnborough Contact Madeleine Brand on 01329 281486 ■ 28 October St Matthais Church, Torquay Contact Martin Nicholls on 01395 222304 ■ 29 September Faith, folk and Fairtrade 8pm Kingdown School, Woodcock Road, Warminster Music from Gareth Davies-Jones and Rob Halligan. Plus Fairtrade refreshments and Traidcraft stalls.

Contact Helen Hemingway 01985 841471 ■ 14 October How fair are Fairtrade flowers?

Central Baptist Church, Southampton Southampton Make Poverty History Group discussion day at Central Baptist Church, Southampton.

Contact Penny Haynes on 01202 840764, or email phaynes@christian-aid.org

■ 14-15 October Reactivate 06 Chantmarle, Dorset Christian Aid’s conference for 20-30s.

Hear from Esther Niyobuhungiro from CEFORMI, an organisation supported

by Christian Aid in Rwanda.

Contact Susan Barry on 02380 220819, or email sbarry@christian-aid.org ■ 17-18 October Tools of Change for Rwanda Esther Niyobuhungiro talks about her work in Rwanda.

■ 17 October 12.30pm Trinity URC, Billingshurst 7.30pm Folkestone URC ■ 18 October 7.30pm Bognor Methodist Church Contact Holly Ellson on 01273 470504 21 October One World Week Party St Boniface Church, Chandlers Ford, Hampshire An evening of Fairtrade food and drink, presentations and discussions.

Contact Brian Ridsdale on 02380 267192 or Penny Haynes on 01202 840764, or email phaynes@christian-aid.org ■ 10 November Sing for Your Supper 7.30pm Holy Cross Church, Timperley An evening of food and entertainment.

Contact Doris Robinson on 0161 973 2882 ■ 10-12 November The Point Weekend Yardley Hastings, just outside Northampton A residential weekend to transform student reps into a cohesive and informed development strike force!

Contact Caroline Mead on 0121 233 0724, or email camead@christian-aid.org

■ 22 September Justice Junction Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, Lee High Road, London SE12 Party against poverty with young people from across London.

Featuring Quench, DJ Andy Hunter and many more. Tickets £4 in advance, £5 on the door.

Contact David Muir on 020 7654 5338 or 020 7654 5332, or email justicejunction@christian-aid.org

Picture: Christian Aid/Tim A Hetherington

Charles Abugre, head of global advocacy, replies: Christian Aid appreciates hugely the support that people like Martin have given to our work over the years, without which we simply would be unable to support the world’s poorest people or root out poverty and injustice. We do so by directly supporting poor people and their organisations to take advantage of opportunities to improve their lives. We also do so by tackling, in our different ways and contexts, those structures, policies and systems which keep people poor and disadvantaged. If this is what Martin calls ‘political’ we are convinced that they are aims worthy of his continued support.

■ 2 September From river source to heart of the city A 30-mile sponsored walk along the River Irwell, in aid of Christian Aid, starting near Bacup and finishing at Sacred Trinity Church, Salford. Organised by the Salford Deanery.

Contact Henry Martin on 0161 792 1208, Andy Salmon on 0161 834 2041 or Ian Collier on 01925 241222, or email icollier@christian-aid.org

visit www.christianaid.org/aboutca for regular updates of events around the country

Christian Aid News

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Final Word

A LEGACY OF HOPE

On song RnB star Lemar, pictured here on a visit to Ethiopia, bares his soul to Christian Aid News If your house was on fire, what item would you save?

There’s a photograph of my mum that would have to come out. And then my Apple computer because that’s got everything on it.

If you could swap places with anyone in history, who would it be?

It would either be Muhammad Ali or Martin Luther King. Probably Martin Luther King, just so that I could recite that speech.

If you had one wish, what would it be?

It would be that there was noone in the world dying from lack of food or water. My second wish is that my mum was still around.

What kind of animal would you like to be?

I’d be an eagle. I’d like to know what it would feel like to fly.

Picture: Christian Aid/Richard Smith

What book or song do you most wish you’d written?

I’m not a big book person, and so I’ll say Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye.

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If you could be shipwrecked with anyone, who would it be?

My family and friends.

What thing would you most like to change about the world?

The poverty in so many countries in the world.

Make Poverty History!

Have you ever met an angel?

I have met loads. Sometimes, people believe in angels. Sometimes, you get messages through people, or people behave like angels.

When they’re unselfish, and do things out the goodness of their hearts, that’s kind of angelic.

Everyone has the capacity in themselves to be like an angel.

What miracle would you most like to perform?

To provide an endless supply of food and water everywhere.

What or who has made you laugh today?

My friend Terry Brown always makes me laugh.

What’s your favourite food?

Chicken! Any type of chicken. I’ll eat it.

Who would you like to make a saint?

Pops. [Lemar’s father David]. He’s the most passionate and generous person that I know.

St David has a nice ring to it...

Interview John McKie

Lemar is often described as the UK’s foremost RnB singer. With 1.5 million album sales, he has won two BRIT and two Music of Black Origin (Mobo) awards. Last year, he visited two Christian Aid projects in Addis Ababa and Lalibela, Ethiopia. A new single It’s Not That Easy will be released on 4 September.

It is taken from his third album, The Truth About Love, featuring contributions from Joss Stone and Mica Paris, which is released on 11 September. Lemar will also be touring the UK this autumn.

Help create opportunity by remembering Christian Aid in your will ‘In the beginning we never thought we would accomplish so much,’ says Jesimone Vazques from Honduras, who is a member of women’s community group Caracol (meaning little snail). ‘But once you solve one problem you look for the next thing to fix.’

Thanks to support from Christian Aid’s partner organisation The Alternative Community Marketing Network, Caracol has grown from a women’s empowerment group to an organic coffee-growing business. It also produces organic fertiliser from the coffee husks.

You can help create more opportunities for poor communities to find their own way to overcome obstacles by remembering Christian Aid in your will.

Legacies are a valuable source of income for Christian Aid, and because the income cannot be planned for it is seen as additional funds that can be used where the need is greatest. It is also very useful for long-term project funding.

During November 2006, Will Aid offers you the opportunity to have your will professionally drawn up by a solicitor, but the fee you pay will be donated to help some of the UK’s best-loved charities.

This is a great way to update an existing will or write one for the first time and help many thousands of people in need.

‘We have more opportunities now, through our group, which mean we are able to get our children some education,’ explains Jesimone.

For more information on how to include Christian Aid in a new or existing will, contact Colin Kemp on 020 7523 2173 or email ckemp@christian-aid.org

Christian Aid News

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and electricity bills, best deal on your gas the get you s let It e. ndent servic £300 over a year, and ple, yet clever, indepe You could save up to e. tim e sam the at Switch and Give is a sim of a better life changes their energy nities have the chance for every person that £20 to up s get and help poor commu Aid s, Christian you, and the world. y at no extra cost. Plu naid. A better deal for tia ris /ch om e.c switch to green energ giv it switchand d.) ll 0800 074 0743 or vis y suppliers in Irelan supplier this way. Ca not available for energ is e vic ser on ris pa com e Giv (The Switch and

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A very good reason to make your WILL in November

A Will Aid solicitor will draw up a basic Will and won’t charge a fee – instead you can choose to make a donation* to the Will Aid charities and help families in need around the world. * Suggested donation is £75 for a single Will or £110 for a pair of mirror Wills

Find a local participating solicitor at www.willaid.org.uk 0870 60 60 239 All money raised by Will Aid supports the work of Christian Aid and eight other leading charities

The Will Aid initiative does not run in the Republic of Ireland

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