Christian Aid News 48

CHRISTIAN AID NEWS Issue 48

Summer 2010

www.christianaid.org.uk

• Join our Supporter Day in October • Haiti, six months on: the struggle for shelter

Central

A MESSAGE OF HOPE Actor Nicholas Hoult reports on our work in Kenya for Christian Aid Week 2010

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‘When we give money to Christian Aid it’s important to understand we’re not building dams, we’re not buying pipes and pumps.We are saving lives, precious lives.’

Pastor Delroy Powell, supporter and fundraiser Christian Aid Week 2010

Simple words that say everything about the difference you make.

Last year Delroy visited Kiambiu slum in Nairobi, Kenya, and saw for himself the real value of pipes, pumps, toilets and showers.

If you live your life amidst open sewers and drink polluted water, the introduction of drains and clean-water points can transform your life. They can

help you to keep clean and avoid lethal disease. They can also tell you that you matter. £10,000 creates drains for 300 families. A simple gift in your Will would go a long way to restoring precious lives. Thanks to supporters’ actions and donations, the community of Kiambiu have renewed belief in

their future. But there are around 200 more slums in Nairobi and many more in the 50 countries where we work.

Please tell us about the difference you want your legacy to make. Phone Kerry in our legacy team on 020 7523 2173 or email ksherlock@christian-aid.org

Sometimes it’s simple to ensure lives have value. Leave a legacy.

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020 7620 4444

CONTENTS Many survivors of Haiti’s earthquake are still living in makeshift shelters

SIX MONTHS AGO the earthquake that rocked Haiti galvanised the world to respond. But building a new Haiti from the rubble of the old is proving a big ask. Simply finding shelter remains a key survival issue. See pages 14 to 17.

The relationship between celebrities and charities can at times be an uneasy one.

But our Christian Aid Week 2010 ambassador, actor Nicholas Hoult, has done sterling work in our cause.

Following his visit to Matopeni in Kenya, he went on radio, television, online and in more than 160 newspapers and magazines to talk about the vital work of Christian Aid. See pages 20-21.

Last issue, we included a paid-for loose insert for a commercial product.

Although we stated that Christian Aid did not endorse the product, we were disappointed to learn, after our earlier checks had revealed nothing, that a complaint against the product had been upheld, which meant the insert should not have run. We apologise to readers.

Finally, if you wish to receive this magazine digitally, go to http://digital can.christianaid.org.uk Roger Fulton, Editor

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REGULARS

F1907

■ 26 EVENTS

■ 4 NEWS From Haiti to Sudan, from India to Guatemala – how Christian Aid is responding around the world… plus other news from the world of Christian Aid

Meet the fundraising stars of Team Poverty

4

■ 28 YOUR CHRISTIAN AID Events and stories from your part of the UK

■ 10 CAMPAIGNS

■ 30 LAST WORD

Join our Supporter Day and lobby of Parliament.

Plus, lifting the lid on football – and tax – secrecy

Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma reflects on happiness and Christian Aid’s work

■ 14 THE BIG PICTURE One striking image…

■ 22 COMMENT

18

Understanding the theology of development

■ 16 FRONTLINE Haiti: six months after the earthquake

The winds of change blowing through Afghanistan

Your feedback

■ 24 LIFE AND SOUL

FEATURES

■ 18 FRONTLINE

■ 23 INPUT

How new partnerships are helping to end poverty Christian Aid News is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

EDITOR’S LETTER

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■ 20 COVER STORY Actor Nicholas Hoult in Matopeni, Kenya

Christian Aid is a Christian organisation that insists the world can and must be swiftly changed to one where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We work globally for profound change that eradicates the causes of poverty, striving to achieve equality, dignity and freedom for all, regardless of faith or nationality.

We are part of a wider movement for social justice.

We provide urgent, practical and effective assistance where need is great, tackling the effects of poverty as well as its root causes.

UK registered charity number 1105851 Company number 5171525 Scotland charity number SC039150 Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 Company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid July 2010.

The acceptance of external advertising does not indicate endorsement.

■ Cover Actor Nicholas Hoult visits the Matopeni slum in Nairobi. Photo: Christian Aid/Lee Thompson ■ Pictures Matthew Gonzalez Noda ■ Sub-editors Sophy Kershaw, Caroline Atkinson ■ Circulation Ben Hayward ■ Design and production Becca Higgins/Circle Publishing, 020 8332 8400 ■ 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 online at www.christianaid.org.uk

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NEWS

FROM BUSKING TO BARN-DANCING, plant sales to bake sales, and bike rides to mobility-scooter racing – the range of your fundraising activities in Christian Aid Week was overwhelming!

Thanking supporters for their efforts – not only in the fundraising events but also in the house-to-house collections throughout the UK – Ruth Ruderham, head of fundraising, said: ‘We’ve been delighted. We know how hard everyone has worked to make this year a success and we’re really grateful.’

For Christian Aid’s new director, Loretta Minghella, this was her first experience at the heart of Christian Aid Week – and she certainly had a memorable few days.

She said: ‘My week started by giving a sermon in my own church for the first time, then on Monday, I was one of the London team collecting money at Waterloo station. On Tuesday I went to the legendary Edinburgh book sale, and on Wednesday I was in Glasgow, selling delicious cakes that the Scotland team had made for other office workers in their building. On Thursday, I joined the directorate team taking part in a penalty shoot-out in InterChurch House.

I then picked up some great clothes in a Christian Aid Week clothes swap… and sampled some more delicious cakes.’

She added: ‘Having previously only witnessed Christian Aid Week from the

NIGER

FUNDS FOR FOOD CRISIS NIGER IS ON the brink of a food emergency that could leave more than half the 14-million population starving and around one million children critically malnourished.

As a consequence of cyclical drought and irregular rainfall leading to poor harvests in 2009, the emerging hunger crisis is expected

The first-ever Scoot for a Hoot, held by the Loughborough group, featured electric wheelchair and mobility scooter trials for supporters unable to join a sponsored walk – and raised £1,500

outside, I could only guess at the work involved. Now I’m actually here, I can see it’s so much more of a challenge than I realised to bring such a huge cross-organisational effort together.’

There was heartfelt thanks also from Edward Kairu, director of Maji na Ufanisi, the Christian Aid partner in Nairobi, Kenya, featured in the Christian Aid Week materials. He said: ‘With your support, we are empowering people to

to affect a staggering eight million people – significantly more than were affected by a similar emergency in the region in 2005. In response to the looming crisis, Christian Aid has sent £100,000 to three partner organisations working in the north of Niger.

Jeremie Ouangrawa, Christian Aid country manager for Niger and Burkino Faso, says: ‘These funds will provide food for the most vulnerable women and children in the coming months, support cereal banks and food distribution, and will also help to set up cash-for-work programmes so

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

TALENTS UNLEASHED FOR CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

improve their own lives, to speak up for their rights, and to take practical steps to reduce illness and ensure they can live with dignity.

‘We work incredibly hard to bring the vision of an end to poverty into being.

I was deeply moved by all your efforts to raise money in Christian Aid Week.

It is genuinely changing lives here. I see it every day.’

See pages 28-29 and www.caweek.org

families can buy cereals and grains.’

UN humanitarian chief John Holmes appealed for urgent international action to cope with the mounting emergency in the eastern Sahel region.

Reports say many families are starting to abandon their home villages and head to the capital Niamey in search of food. Animals are beginning to die, malnutrition is increasing and water is increasingly scarce. Most farmers fear that they will not have seeds to plant before the next harvest in October.

See also www.christianaid.org.uk/ food-crisis

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Art therapy helps earthquake survivors deal with their trauma

HAITI

DOING THE SUMS

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

HISTORICAL VOTE APPROACHES

IT’S SIX MONTHS since the earthquake that devastated Haiti. Christian Aid and its partners have been working to help those affected, but the scale of the task remains immense – see story, pages 14-17 and www.christianaid.org.uk/haiti-appeal

£10 MILLION sum available to

4,758 schools damaged or destroyed

Christian Aid from all Haiti appeal sources

188,383 homes destroyed or partially

2 MILLION people affected by the earthquake

1.5 MILLION displaced people in settlement sites

1,191 spontaneous settlement sites US$5,000 cost of a counsellor for six months to help support those living with HIV in the aftermath of the earthquake US$2,558 to buy all the items necessary to set up a community kitchen in an emergency camp

SUDAN

damaged

US$407 needed to construct a secure shelter for a family of five US$130 cost of one cash distribution for a family affected by the earthquake.

Three distributions are often used, totalling $390 US$100 pays for a painting or sculpture workshop run by partner APROSIFA (above) to help young people deal with their trauma US$22.50 cost of a tarpaulin used to provide a family with emergency shelter.

WITH JUST SIX MONTHS left before southern Sudan votes on whether to remain united with the north of the country or secede to form a new state, support for the final stages of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement remains critical.

The peace deal, signed in 2005, ended two decades of civil war, and set out key milestones in the process, including multi-party elections which took place in April.

But as the January referendum nears, fears remain that it may spark violence across southern Sudan.

‘The international community played a very important role in bringing about the Comprehensive Peace Agreement five years ago,’ says Rocco Blume, senior policy officer for Sudan. ‘They can do this again, working to ensure disputes are resolved with dialogue instead of violence.

‘The last war saw two million die and four million people displaced from their homes. We simply cannot countenance a return to war.’

With many new faces in Parliament, you can make sure your MP is backing the peace process at www. sudanletterwritingcampaign.org

AID REACHES KYRGYZSTAN CLASH REGION MEMBERS OF the ACT Alliance, a global network of church-based development organisations including Christian Aid, are distributing food to areas in Kyrgyzstan worst hit by recent fighting.

The UN estimated that 400,000 people were displaced by the violent clashes in the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Osh on 11 June. It’s feared that about 2,000 people may have died.

Christian Aid partners were able to

deliver 20 tonnes of rice and vegetables sourced from local farmers in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad in the immediate aftermath of the fighting. A further 7,000 family relief packages made up of dry food rations, kitchen utensils and hygiene items were also given out.

As we went to press, ACT members were looking into sourcing at least 5,000 tonnes of food from local producers. Around half a million

people in the Osh area were said to need aid. Christian Aid sent £50K to partner organisation Mehr Shevkhat for their food distribution programme and is contributing further funds for the ACT Alliance response.

‘By using local partners we can identify urgent needs, facilitate impartial distribution and support local producers,’ said Michael Paratharayil, Christian Aid regional emergency manager.

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NEWS

Courtesy of Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Villagers ride their bicycles under an uprooted tree in the cyclone-hit area of India

INDIA

CYCLONE SHELTERS SAVE LIVES IN MAY Cyclone Laila battered India’s Andhra Pradesh coastline, killing 27 and damaging or destroying 25,000 hectares of crops and 2,416 fishing boats. It hit poor farmers, fishermen and dalit labourers particularly hard.

In the past many more people would have died, but thanks to the efforts of Christian Aid partners to prepare vulnerable communities and implement early warning and evacuation systems, thousands of lives were saved.

Some 70,000 people were evacuated to schools, government buildings and cyclone shelters – some of which had been built with donations from Christian Aid supporters following previous

disasters, such as the 2004 tsunami.

‘In past cyclones, we had nowhere to safeguard our families. But during Laila we were sheltered,’ said a spokesman from a shelter management scheme. ‘Thanks to Christian Aid partner the Church’s Auxilliary for Social Action [CASA] we had a safe haven to guard ourselves.’

Having quickly identified the 2,500 families most in need, CASA and another partner the Society for National Integration and Rural Development (SNIRD) distributed food and basic essentials even before government relief could reach them. CASA and SNIRD also started rapidly planning

GUATEMALA

TROPICAL STORM AGATHA crashed into Central America on 29 May, two days before the official start of the hurricane season.

The storm killed about 150 people in hardest-hit Guatemala. Hundreds of thousands across Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were affected by mudslides and flooding.

Huge areas of the newly planted maize crop were destroyed. After last year’s drought, this means there are now

Food shortage fears after tropical storm hits

to get people back on their feet with a four-month programme to help farmers, fisher families and street vendors from dalit communities, who do not receive enough from the government to rebuild their homes.

Christian Aid provided the partners with £50,000 from our emergency funds to start their relief work immediately.

We also received £14,000 from the Isle of Man Overseas Aid Committee.

This is a good example of how Christian Aid partners can make a real difference in poor communities before disaster strikes, and enabling them to respond rapidly after a disaster. www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies

real concerns about food shortages.

Christian Aid partners worked with local authorities in the immediate aftermath to make sure aid reached those who most needed it. The Local Power and Development Collective (CPDL) in Guatemala got local businesses to help provide transport and water. Our response focuses on the four most affected regions of Guatemala and the southern region of Honduras. Partners are giving food

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CHRISTIAN AID IN THE NEWS

Courtesy of Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Christian Aid/LeeThompson

ACTOR NICHOLAS HOULT’S trip (right) to Nairobi, Kenya, as our Christian Aid Week ambassador, gained a huge amount of media coverage, including church press, magazines Bliss, OK!, New and Marie Claire online, The Independent, Daily Star, The Times, First News, and more than 160 local and regional newspapers. In addition, Nicholas spoke about his visit on Sky News and GMTV and gave 23 interviews to regional radio stations.

See also page 20.

Christian Aid’s Blowing the Whistle report on football secrecy (see page 12) also received good media coverage,

SRI LANKA

from a major article in the Sunday Times, to specialist accountancy magazines and regional radio.

Our work in Haiti was highlighted in Scotland’s Sunday Herald newspaper and Saturday Herald magazine.

AID GROUPS UNITE CHRISTIAN AID has joined with 14 other UK-based aid groups to coordinate a rapid response to future emergencies, in the wake of criticism of humanitarian organisations after the Haiti earthquake in January.

The Lancet medical journal accused humanitarian organisations of ‘jostling for position, each claiming that they are doing the most for earthquake survivors’. It described the situation on the ground as ‘chaotic, devastating, and anything but coordinated’.

Now, the 15 aid groups have come together to answer those criticisms and get faster, better help to survivors in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster or rapidly worsening conflict situations, with the launch of the Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA). It includes Oxfam, Save the Children and World Vision,

packages to thousands in affected communities and emergency shelters.

Disease is a major threat. Thousands of wells were contaminated with sea water and sewage, and many water systems destroyed. Our partners are also distributing hygiene kits, blankets, medicines and water or chlorine to sanitise water sources. Another is providing psychological support to indigenous women and children, helping them to overcome the trauma

and between them, the 15 members account for around half of the major non-governmental organisations (NGOs) delivering relief in emergencies.

‘We want to respond quicker and more effectively,’ explained CBHA’s interim director, Sarah Moss, who is also humanitarian manager at Christian Aid. ‘Emergency response is an area that may grow over the next few years but in an environment of restricted or reducing finances.’

Funded by the Department for International Development for two years, to the tune of £8 million, CBHA will allocate money to member agencies within 48 hours of a disaster for relief activities within the first month. Funds will go to the organisations judged to be best-placed to meet particular needs, with the aim of targeting response in the early phase and avoiding duplication.

of the disaster. This is also to tackle the problem of sexual violence, which can occur in emergency shelters.

Partners in Honduras are setting up mobile schools. They will train teachers and local leaders to provide emotional support and lessons for children while the school buildings are being used as shelters. Christian Aid has committed £80,000 to support emergency work in the region. www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies

THE LONG WAIT TO RETURN HOME THE 30-YEAR-LONG Sri Lankan civil war came to an end more than a year ago, yet there are still about 70,000 people living in transit camps waiting to be resettled.

Returnees are often left living in temporary shelter as their houses were either destroyed or badly damaged by the conflict. Many have limited access to medical care, water or education and cannot farm on damaged land, which in many cases can be overgrown and has yet to be cleared of mines. A number of these returnees have faced multiple displacements, not only due to the conflict but also from the tsunami in 2004, and have lost all their belongings.

The generous support given to the Christian Aid Sri Lanka crisis appeal helped our partners assist thousands of families who had to flee their homes during the fighting, by providing support in the welfare camps.They are now helping to rebuild the lives of people returning to devastated land. (More than 40 per cent are women-headed households or people with disabilities from the conflict.)

Today, Christian Aid partners continue to meet the needs of thousands of returnees in the North and Eastern provinces, and those still left in camps.

Rankasamy, 15, lost her father in the conflict and was displaced several times, but thanks to The Refugees Rehabilitation Organisation (TRRO), she is able to go to school. TRRO also provided her mother with the equipment to sell chilli powder and manioc chips. Rankasamy thanks people in the UK who donated to the appeal and asks us to remember the many vulnerable people in Sri Lanka.

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NEWS DRC

Christian Aid/ Heidi Bradner

Mwanso Walimbwa, head of UPKA in Kandolo Village

FIGHTING FOR IN A NATION that has experienced three decades of brutal dictatorship, followed by almost 15 years of war, Christian Aid’s partner organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo live and work against a backdrop of poverty and a legacy of endemic corruption.

A recent armed death threat against Emmanuel Lubala Mugisho, president of leading Congolese human-rights organisation Heritiers de la Justice, brings into sharp focus the enormous risks many of our partners take in the DRC. The violent attack, the latest

incident in a long-established trend of targeting human-rights activists and journalists, happened just a week after the murder of Congolese civil-liberties activist Floribert Chebeya.

‘The often dangerous work of our Congolese partners makes a unique and essential contribution to the country’s fragile state-building process,’ says Jacques Miaglia, Christian Aid’s country manager in the DRC. ‘Organisations such as Heritiers de la Justice are dedicated to helping communities to rebuild their lives and futures through raising

Christian Aid/Tabitha Ross

OUR ROLE IN STONE FRIDAY 12 JUNE marked International Child Labour Day. Christian Aid supports child workers through projects in a number of countries, including Egypt.

Although child labour is illegal in Egypt, the practice continues. Families in the region of El Minia who are short of cash send their boys to the stone quarries, either instead of school, or at weekends and in the holidays. Work in the quarries is hazardous, badly paid and workers’ rights are routinely abused.

Christian Aid partner Wadi el Nil works to promote the rights of stone-quarry workers.

An important part of their work is to support families to get children out of the quarries and back into school. l The next issue of Christian Aid News will include a more in-depth look at this issue.

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R THEIR RIGHTS people’s awareness of their civil and human rights, defending those rights, documenting abuse, and strengthening accountability and transparency at all levels of governance.

‘Christian Aid calls on the UK government, the EU, and other international donors in the DRC to support an independent enquiry into the death of Chebeya.

‘We also want to see those responsible for the attacks against Lubala to be identified and held to account. Such efforts would significantly contribute

towards ending the corrosive and pervasive culture of injustice in the DRC.’ Alongside the work with humanrights movements in the DRC, we also work closely with local organisations to help communities develop the skills and confidence they need to make their voices heard in public life.

One example is the Union Paysanne pour le Progrès (UPKA), a farmers’ movement supported by Christian Aid and DFID, which provides anti-corruption and paralegal training. Helping local Congolese communities to recover from

years of conflict and exploitation, UPKA works in more than 75 villages across the country’s remote Maniema Province.

One local resident and head of a local farmers’ group, Mwanso Walimbwa, says he has learnt how to stand up for his rights and tackle corruption since he and his neighbours were taught about illegal taxation through an innovative scheme run by UPKA. ‘If one of the civil servants asks for money, we say, “No Papa, we know what is legal and not legal” and he runs away.

UPKA taught us how to do that.’

In a country that has been afflicted by misrule and bloody conflict, this counts as a vital step in the journey towards peace and democracy.

AUTHOR BOOSTS AID THE EXPERIENCES OF a Christian Aid supporter who spent several years working as a nurse with the Inuit in the Canadian Arctic are now helping to boost our work with poor communities around the world.

In 1969, adventurous young nurse Anne Mosscrop went to live in a series of isolated villages with no doctors or hospitals, where communication was virtually non-existent.

Anne’s letters home, telling of her experiences dealing with medical demands, emergencies and severe weather, are featured in a new book, Weather Permitting (Austin &

Macauley, £9.99). And the author is donating 50p from every book sold to Christian Aid, which recently received its first ‘royalties cheque’ from Anne, for £100.

Now happily retired, Anne enjoys presenting public slide shows about her many travels – including a wonderful 2002 trip for Christian Aid from Land’s End to John O’Groats in a 1932 Austin Ten. More details of Weather Permitting are at www.austinmacauley.com

CAMPAIGN WIN WILL DELIVER LIFE-SAVING TREATMENT My brother’s been working here for two months, and after a month I followed him.

They needed another boy to work on the brick crusher, and it’s helpful for our family to have extra money Basim, 11

AFTER MONTHS OF CAMPAIGNING through the Stop AIDS Campaign by organisations including Christian Aid, a pioneering initiative is set to remove one of the most significant barriers to treatment for those living with HIV. With costs of life-saving drugs remaining prohibitively high for many governments across the developing world, 58 per cent of those in need of treatment do not currently receive it.

The scheme encourages pharmaceutical companies to ‘pool’ HIV drug patents, enabling other companies to produce affordable versions of existing drugs and to develop new, more appropriate medicines including for

children. In exchange the companies who developed the original treatment receive a fair royalty payment.

The initiative, which has support from the UK government, pharmaceutical giants and US$4.4 million from UNITAID, will begin work in July to persuade companies to hand over their patents.

‘The focus now shifts to the big drug companies,’ says Diarmaid McDonald, Stop AIDS Campaign Coordinator.

‘Companies such as Gilead and Merck showed real leadership within the industry by speaking positively of the patent pool; they must now go beyond words and contribute their patents to the pool.’

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CAMPAIGNS

JOIN US TO LOBBY YOUR MPs

Christian Aid is calling on supporters from all around the UK to join together in London on Wednesday 20 October for a Poverty Over Supporter Day and climate change lobby of Parliament.

Campaigns manager Sarah Spinney outlines what’s in store POVERTY IS AN OUTRAGE against humanity. It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives. Climate change is keeping people poor, and fighting poverty is our top priority. We want to make international development issues and climate change a priority of the new government too.

Join supporters from around the country and Christian Aid’s new director, Loretta Minghella, to find out more about Christian Aid’s vision to end poverty, at a rally and Supporter Day in Methodist Central Hall, London.

Meet with and hear from Christian Aid partners from the global South on the issues that are important to them. Then, equipped with a renewed passion for justice, take their stories directly to your MP as we join the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition in a lobby of Parliament.

Climate change is making poverty worse. Thanks to your efforts, it was raised as an important issue on doorsteps during Christian Aid’s general election campaign. Now, with a coalition

government in place and more than 200 new MPs entering Parliament, we have a unique opportunity to hold them to their promises.

International negotiations on securing a fair global deal on climate change are at a critical stage and the UK government has a vital leadership role to play. The Prime Minister has said that he wants this government to be the greenest ever – both in terms of action at home and internationally.

With 300,000 people dying every year in poor countries because of the effects of climate change, there is no time for delay.

By joining forces with our colleagues from Stop Climate Chaos we aim to send a message to every MP in Parliament that climate change is an urgent issue of public concern.

Book the day off, rally your church group and tell your colleagues.

Wherever you live, be part of Christian Aid’s main event of 2010.

You can register to take part on www. christianaid.org.uk/campaigns

When the doors of opportunity swing open, we must make sure that we are not too indifferent to walk through Rev Jesse Jackson

SEND A MESSAGE TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT Ahead of the lobby in October, you can send an important message to the new government by filling in the postcards you’ll find inside this copy of Christian Aid News.

SEND A POSTCARD: to the PM (enclosed), asking him to take urgent action on climate change. to the Chancellor (enclosed), asking him to take action on tax dodging, which costs developing countries billions of dollars. and to your newly elected local MP about both climate change and tax dodging (order copies from campaigns on 0207 523 2264) or email your MP on our website.

WHAT THE DAY WILL LOOK LIKE 11am-12noon The day will begin with a series of workshops, in three different zones, where supporters can learn, share and equip themselves to help end poverty.

12noon Poverty Over rally with Loretta Minghella and speakers from the global South.

1.30pm onwards Climate lobby of Parliament with the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.

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COALITION UK? WE’LL BE WATCHING YOU Christian Aid’s senior political adviser, Melanie Ward, says the new coalition government in Westminster could take a step in the right direction on issues that we hold dear

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

THE NEW ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition government in the UK presents Christian Aid with opportunities to make progress on the issues that matter most to us.

The coalition agreement, which sets out the government’s priority issues for the next five years, contains specific commitments on international development, climate change and tax avoidance – some of which we asked for in the Christian Aid election manifesto. Thanks to our supporters, many parliamentary candidates received a copy of the manifesto and were asked to support its contents.

On aid, we welcome the coalition agreement to pass a law which will ensure that the UK meets its goal of spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income on overseas aid by 2013. Rich countries made this commitment in 1970, so it’s about time, but as the Labour party is also signed up to support this, the parliamentary bill should not face much opposition.

However, we will be watching to see how the government will define aid – it should be money spent on poverty reduction, not including military items.

Climate change is an interesting area because of the significant differences between the election manifestos of the Conservative and the Liberal Democrat parties. Two important points are picked up in the coalition agreement, including support for the EU to increase its emissions-reduction target to 30 per cent (from 1990 levels) by 2020. Christian Aid has been campaigning for this as a step towards a cut of at least 40 per cent.

Secondly, the coalition promises to

election manifesto promised to ‘crack down on tax havens which allow individuals and corporations to avoid paying taxes to developing countries’. New business secretary Vince Cable has previously spoken out about his support for Christian Aid’s tax campaign, including our two main asks of countryby-country reporting and automatic exchange of information between jurisdictions. We will be holding Mr Cable to account now that he is in a position to deliver on this.

WE WENT BEARING GIFTS AS THE new government settled into Westminster, in May, Christian Aid dropped off ‘welcome gifts’ to cabinet members. Seizing the chance to introduce Ele Ramsey and Laura Christian Aid and our key Trevelyan from our Campaigns team with two of the ‘gifts’ campaign demands, we collected messages from ‘work towards an ambitious global partners on climate change, tax and climate deal’ and ‘explore’ new sources the Gaza blockade and delivered them, of climate financing. Financing to help along with framed photos, to new prime poor countries cope with the impacts of minister David Cameron, deputy prime climate change needs to be additional minister Nick Clegg and senior ministers. to current aid commitments, and this Sending messages on climate change is a crucial area for Christian Aid and were Abdullahi Abdi Ibrahim, who works our partners. We will be pushing the with pastoralist farmers in northern government hard to deliver on this and Kenya and Bangladeshi Nasma Beghum. take a leading global role.

Sandra Kidwingira, of Tax Justice Africa, The Christian Aid election manifesto sent a message explaining that greater helped us to achieve a new statement of global transparency on tax is key to Conservative party policy on tax and tackling global poverty. development, which was a real step Finally, new foreign secretary William forward. The new government pledges Hague received some drawings from to ‘make every effort to tackle tax Palestinian children showing what their avoidance, including detailed life is like under the blockade in Gaza development of Liberal Democrat – and how they dream it could be if the proposals’. The Liberal Democrat blockade came to an end.

Christian Aid News 11

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CAMPAIGNS World Cup contrast: a shack dweller in South Africa framed against the backdrop of a new multi-million Rand stadium

CALLING FOUL ON FINANCIAL SECRECY FOOTBALL HAS COME a long way since the 16th century when Puritan preacher Thomas Eliot fumed against its ‘fury and extreme violence’ and a leading bishop called for ‘this evil game’ to be banned.

By the end of the 19th century, the game was deemed ‘character building’, and numerous church teams were set up, eventually metamorphosing into top-flight clubs such as Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham.

This year, a Christian Aid report was dedicated to the game, a departure that would no doubt have infuriated those who see it as a ‘devilish pastime’.

Initially at least, the report must also have caused even the most diehard football fans among our supporters to raise a quizzical eyebrow.

The message of Blowing the Whistle: Time’s Up for Financial Secrecy, however, far transcends fortunes on and off the pitch. For it draws a link between millions of impassioned football fans in the UK with the poor and powerless

in the developing world. Although their lives are vastly different, both are victims of the same phenomenon – the ruthless use of financial secrecy by business entities to minimise their tax liabilities and accountability.

This secrecy – core to which is the anonymity offered by tax havens – has hidden the financial meltdown of a number of football clubs from view until too late. Stakeholders – club supporters in particular – have been betrayed and the football authorities caught napping.

In the developing world, the same web of secrecy is used by unscrupulous companies to dodge tax. There, its impact is deadly. Companies that indulge in this cost poor countries at least around US$160 billion every year in unpaid taxes. That sum, more than one-and-a-half times the size of the international aid budget, could, if used according to existing spending patterns, save the lives of some 350,000 children under the age of five each year.

To establish the scale of secrecy in

Getty Images

In tune with the World Cup fervour for all things footballrelated, Christian Aid has produced an in-depth analysis of Premiership finances. News editor Andrew Hogg explains that there was a serious point to be made football, Christian Aid tried to find the true owners of every club in the English, Welsh and Scottish leagues, as well as the Irish League in Northern Ireland.

We discovered that a total of 14 English Premier League members and a further four in the Championship League, together with one in the Scottish Premier League, are now based offshore. The locations of ownership of a further English Premier League club, a Championship club and a League One club were impossible to verify.

The research resulted in a new ranking – the Christian Aid Football Secrecy League. Positions reflected the extent of secrecy surrounding the controlling ownership of each club, multiplied by a measure to reflect the number of fans being denied information.

Manchester United is used to winning most trophies that are going. It also tops this new ranking. Although the identities of its apparent owners are seemingly known – the Glazer family from the US – who can be sure? Full details of the

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TAKING THE TAX CAMPAIGN TO THE FTSE 100 Campaigns manager Helen Collinson outlines the next stage in Christian Aid’s campaign to plug the tax-dodging gap that deprives poor countries of more than US$160 billion a year WHETHER YOU’RE EATING breakfast, brushing your teeth, or strolling around a supermarket, you are never far from the products of a FTSE 100 company.

Mindful of their huge influence, Christian Aid is now taking its tax campaign to these top UK companies.

Our aim is to persuade the FTSE 100 to support greater tax transparency internationally. We want them to declare publicly their support for a new accounting standard on country-bycountry reporting. This standard would require all companies to report their profits made and taxes paid in every country where they operate. It would enable developing countries to detect tax dodging more easily and raise revenues they desperately need for health, education, and fighting poverty.

Greater tax transparency would be good for business, too. Tax revenues pay for roads and infrastructure essential to commerce. They create a healthy and educated workforce, and also help to make governments more accountable, political systems more democratic and countries more stable –

all of which would benefit firms trading in developing countries.

FTSE 100 support for country-bycountry reporting would send a strong signal to the International Accounting Standards Board to introduce this new standard. But to persuade some of these powerful companies to get behind our tax campaign may be easier said than done. That’s why we need your help.

As a first step, we invited all FTSE 100 companies to fill in a confidential online survey so that we know where each stands on country-by-country reporting. Some have already responded but many have not. Please go to http://action.christianaid.org.uk/ survey and email a reminder to these companies to fill in our survey.

Later this year we will focus on four ‘household name’ companies in our ‘FTSE Four’ campaign – unleashing our supporters’ consumer power to make a difference, either as an individual or as a member of a church or local group involved. Email campaigns@christianaid.org or phone 020 7523 2264.

TAX HEROES… AND VILLAINS CELEBRITIES INCLUDING comedians Ricky Gervais and Graham Norton were among the nominees for Christian Aid’s Tax Superhero Award this year. We dreamt up the award to highlight the power of good tax practices – such as honest accounting – to change the world for the better.

At present, we estimate that developing countries lose about

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

family’s business empire remain a taxhaven mystery, making the club, thanks to the size of the gate at Old Trafford, the single biggest contributor to football’s financial secrecy in the UK and Ireland.

The report also drew attention to another link between football fans and those enduring extreme poverty. For the changes needed to tackle financial secrecy in football are the same that are required to remove the secrecy that damages developing countries. Three major reforms are needed. l Tax dodging in poor countries could be greatly reduced if companies trading internationally were required to declare the profits made and the tax paid in every country where they operate. That way, tax anomalies could be quickly spotted and investigated.

The same rule, if applied to the owners of football clubs, would enable supporters and football’s ruling bodies to see the size and location of club owners’ assets and liabilities. l Ownership of each company, corporation, trust, partnership, limited liability partnership, charity and other entity created under law should be a matter of public record. l And there should be automatic exchange of information between tax jurisdictions. This would give revenue authorities in poor countries a better chance of discovering the true extent of the taxable profits companies make, as well as of spotting the transfer abroad of monies corruptly acquired.

Such information exchanges could also help the UK tax authorities recover some of the millions in tax that English league clubs alone owe.

Blowing the Whistle went on to look at the impact of tax dodging in the developing world, particularly South Africa, in light of this year’s World Cup. And a Financial Secrecy World Cup highlighted which of the countries in this year’s tournament contribute most to global financial secrecy.

Although published the same day that Gordon Brown resigned as prime minister, the report garnered headlines as far afield as Australia, taking Christian Aid’s tax campaign to new audiences.

The report can be read in full at: www.christianaid. org.uk/images/blowingthe-whistle-caweekreport.pdf

US$160 billion every year as a result of tax dodging by unscrupulous companies trading internationally.

In the end, we chose Eva Joly, a French MEP and former judge, as the winner of this year’s award. ‘Eva Joly has a proud record of championing the vital role that tax revenues play in both rich and poor countries – and also of successfully fighting corruption,’ said Helen Collinson, Christian Aid’s Economic Justice campaign manager.

‘Superman’ (pictured left) received the award on Ms Joly’s behalf. She later told Christian Aid: ‘This award is an encouragement for me to keep on fighting against illicit financial flows.’ www.christianaid.org.uk/ActNow/ trace-the-tax/alternative-tax-awardscreate-a-stir.aspx

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Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

THE BIG PICTURE

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TAKING SHELTER THE CATASTROPHIC EARTHQUAKE that struck Haiti on 12 January devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince, leaving close to half a million dead and nearly 700,000 homeless.

This little boy managed to get out of his house with his parents and three brothers before it collapsed. His sister was trapped inside the rubble and did not survive.

Now, the youngest son of Joel and Gladys Pierre stands in a newly constructed shelter built

by Christian Aid partner Haiti Survie.

Haiti Survie realised that many people were living in very flimsy structures made from whatever wood, plastic and blankets they were able to salvage after the disaster. These more robust structures are designed to tide people over during the rainy season until more permanent homes can be constructed.

It is now exactly six months since the disaster and for those who gave time and money to help it is a good time to take stock of what has been achieved so far and what obstacles still need to be overcome. Sarah Wilson has been back to Haiti to find out. Read her report over the page.

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FRONTLINE Stories from around the world, where Christian Aid and its partners are working to empower people to shape a better future for themselves and their communities

THE STRUGGLE FOR SHELTER Sarah Wilson reports from Haiti ARRIVING IN HAITI, months after the quake, it is striking how many people are still living in tents and makeshift shelters. But while it is very important that better accommodation is found or built for these people, the apparent lack of progress so far needs to be put in the context of other big natural disasters.

Highly developed nations Japan and the US also found reconstruction very challenging in the wake of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 and hurricane Katrina in 2005. In Japan, thousands of people had to live in temporary housing for more than four years. In the US, 100,000 mobile homes that the federal

government procured to accommodate those made homeless in Louisiana were later condemned as unfit for human habitation because of toxic chemicals and vulnerability to mould.

In developing countries, the economic and political obstacles to providing new living quarters for those made homeless are even greater. Following the Asian tsunami in 2004, which affected India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand, there was tremendous pressure to build new homes for people quickly. However some of the agencies that succumbed to such pressure found that the new houses were not properly adapted to the environment and were therefore never even lived in.

In the case of Haiti, the arrival of

the rainy season in March meant that there was an urgent need to provide structures robust enough to withstand the heavy rains, and to move people to higher ground.

Christian Aid partner Haiti Survie identified this need in the crowded Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, where hundreds of families were living in makeshift shelters built out of bits of wood, blankets and plastic sheeting.

As well as providing materials for the community to build more robust

I still have a lot of hope for the people of Haiti.

That hope is what is driving me

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Left: a malnutrition centre run by partner Aprosifa in Port-au-Prince. Above and right: Haiti Survie is trying to move people from unsuitable temporary shelter into more robust, purpose-built accommodation

Haiti photos: Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

tapped. But, on the other hand, if you move large groups of people away from the city, you are likely to be moving them away from their only source of income. That will force people either to undertake a long commute or simply to refuse to live in the new settlement you provide.

wooden structures covered in thick plastic tarpaulins for 110 families, they have also organised distributions of rice and hygiene kits.

When Haiti Survie began construction of the shelters, more people moved to the camp in the hope of receiving help.

The project had only budgeted for 110 shelters and family food rations, so the organisers trained the new arrivals as labourers to help build the shelters, thereby giving them a small income.

Another complication in Haiti is that it is much more expensive and difficult to provide water and sanitation for large groups of people in an urban environment. In the countryside, pit latrines can be dug and water sources such as streams and rivers can be

THE NEXT STEPS It is certainly not impossible to provide both adequate shelter and essential services to people within Port-au-Prince.

Already, water bladders and taps have been provided in some of the urban camps by Norwegian Church Aid, a member of the ACT Alliance, an international network of faith-based charities to which Christian Aid also contributes. In some of the poorer parts of Port-au-Prince, many families now have better water supplies than they did before the earthquake.

In the longer term, however, Christian Aid partners will be trying to bolster economic opportunities in the countryside. An estimated 1.5 million people left the cities where they were living in the immediate aftermath of the quake – taking advantage of buses provided by the Haitian government – to live with their families in parts of the country not affected by the earthquake.

Lack of investment in the rural economy over the past three decades has meant that an average of 75,000

people had been migrating into Port-au-Prince every year. Since 1982, the city’s population has grown from 750,000 to more than 2.5 million.

Since the earthquake, this trend has, in fact, reversed. But many people are again already starting to return to the capital because there is no feasible way for them to earn a living in the country.

Their families, who were dependent on the income they used to send home from the capital, have not only lost that financial support, but now have more mouths to feed as well. Some other Christian Aid partners are providing regular stipends to Haitian families in the countryside.

There is also an initiative to provide training in vocational skills such as plumbing, carpentry and masonry to encourage those who lost their homes in Port-au-Prince to remain in the countryside rather than move back to the city.

Prospery Raymond, Christian Aid’s country manager in Haiti, stresses that Haitian people must be consulted at every stage of the process of rebuilding the country. ‘If Haitians themselves are not involved in reconstruction efforts, it could be a waste of time and money,’ he says. ‘I still have a lot of hope for the people of Haiti. That hope is what is driving me, and is making me think of the future and not the past.’ www.christianaid.org.uk/haiti-appeal

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FRONTLINE

NO MORE COMPROMISES THE STATISTICS ARE TELLING – and damning in their starkness. Just 13 per cent of Afghan females are literate, compared to 43 per cent of men.

Afghanistan has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the world – every half an hour, an Afghan woman dies in childbirth. One in four Afghan children dies before his or her fifth birthday, partly due to maternal ignorance as well as the poor health system. An estimated one in three Afghan women is subject to emotional, physical or sexual abuse.

Christian Aid in Afghanistan is determined to change these miserable statistics.

A number of our local partner organisations provide literacy classes for girls and women. Fifteen-year-old Karmeen, from the remote Ghor province, begged her husband and her parents to let her attend literacy courses run by Christian Aid local partner the Skills, Training and Rehabilitation Society (STARS). Now she can read and write, she says: ‘I would like to become either the head of the women’s council in Ghor, or a parliamentarian. I want to help people – especially women – learn about their rights and how to protect them.’

STARS also trains women in midwifery skills, and teaches pregnant women and new mothers to take better care of themselves and their children. Young mother Nazoko Ahengarani says: ‘I’d never heard about vaccinations before but STARS told me that you can get them for free, and that if you get them then your children will not get diseases such as polio or measles or whooping

cough. It’s good knowing my children are protected from these things now.’

As well as helping to meet immediate needs, Christian Aid partners such as the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) and Afghan Women’s Education Centre (AWEC) work at a national level to ensure that women’s rights are protected under Afghan law.

One such case arose last year, when a new law for Afghanistan’s Shia minority was proposed that would have effectively legalised child marriage and marital rape, among other abuses. AWN and AWEC worked with female MPs such as Sabrina Saqeb and Shinkai Karokhail to fight the draft legislation in parliament.

With legal expertise provided by AWN and AWEC, Saqeb and Karokhail were able to set out how each article violated human rights as enshrined in the Afghan constitution and international law. This enabled them to lobby the Afghan parliament, so that when the new law came up for discussion, they had support for their proposed changes.

While they succeeded in preventing child marriage being legalised, they are still fighting the clause that says that a wife cannot refuse her husband’s demands for sex unless she is ill or menstruating.

Christian Aid believes that it is critical to fight both the immediate daily poverty, and the abuse that women and girls in Afghanistan face, by providing access to education, healthcare and employment.

But it is also critical to set in place a legal framework to protect their rights. As Saqeb says: ‘For the long term this can

Christian Aid/Tabitha Ross

Women and girls in Afghanistan, famously banned from education or leaving the house alone under the Taliban, are still among the poorest and most marginalised human beings on the planet.

Christian Aid communications officer Tabitha Ross reports on how our partners there are working to change this

Learning to read and write has changed Karmeen’s life – and expectations

guarantee not only women’s rights, but also their children’s rights.’

The international community must listen to the people, and especially the women, of Afghanistan to build a safe and secure country. This will not come through military intervention alone. The world must focus on development and political solutions, and women’s rights must not be compromised or sacrificed in any future deal with Taliban leaders.

As Karokhail concludes: ‘If the Taliban are reintegrated into Afghan society, they may want to shut off some opportunities for women – by, for example, closing down the women’s affairs ministry or ending the quota system for women in parliament – but this must not happen.

This is one of the fears that every Afghan woman carries in her heart.’

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WINDS OF CHANGE IN AFGHANISTAN supports the community, providing people with technology and skills to help them increase their income and work their way to a better future.

Local people have harnessed the power of the harsh desert wind using a wind-powered well to transform the ‘120 days of wind’ into water. The well (pictured right) – designed and installed

by RAADA – pumps water from deep underground without anyone having to lift a finger.

‘The wind well is wonderful!’ says Golah Nurzei, head of the women’s shura (village council) in Baz Girha.

‘Before, we used to have to bring water up in a bucket. It took a long time and a lot of hard work and it was still difficult to get enough for all the animals to have a proper drink. But now the wind

powers a mechanism that draws the water up for us. We can water 2,000 animals here now.’

For a free copy of the Resources pack go to www.christianaid.org.uk/harvest

Christian Aid/Tabitha Ross

THE WORK OF A Christian Aid partner in Afghanistan has helped to inspire the resources pack for this year’s Harvest appeal.

The village of Baz Girha lies in remote western Afghanistan. There are no roads nearby and it takes an hour to drive over the rough, desert terrain.

It’s a harsh environment – the winter brings snow and ice, and the locals describe the summertime as ‘120 days of wind’. The people of Baz Girha and its neighbouring villages are isolated and poor, relying on the income they can make from trading their animals, selling sheep and goats’ milk, cheese and butter, or manual labour.

Christian Aid partner the Rehabilitation Association and Agriculture Development for Afghanistan (RAADA)

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COVER STORY

Actor Nicholas Hoult – best known for his role in About a Boy –travelled to Kenya as this year’s ambassador for Christian Aid Week. The trip – especially to Matopeni, the Nairobi slum which Christian Aid is supporting with a new project – left a startling impression on him

ABOUT A SLUM...

NICHOLAS HOULT’S first experience of the slums of Matopeni only had one reference point. ‘The best way of describing the living conditions is that it’s like a music festival where you can’t escape,’ he says, ‘and the toilets never get cleaned and there’s no music.’

As the actor – known for his roles in Clash of the Titans, A Single Man, Skins and About a Boy – admits: ‘That barely does justice to it. You can’t grasp how bad a slum is until you see it in person.’

The scale of poverty in Kenya is vast.

Nearly three-quarters of Kenya’s urban population live in slums, amounting to more than 7.5 million people. There are two million slum inhabitants in Nairobi alone. Matopeni, which translates from Swahili as ‘in the mud’, is one of the

worst affected areas. Small branches of wood cover open sewers, roofs are constructed with corrugated iron and barely stay up during the rainy season, and families have to walk across rough terrain to fetch water, which can cost up to 20 Kenyan shillings (16p).

Christian Aid has committed to give £30,000 to Matopeni to create access to clean water and install working drains.

With the support of Christian Aid’s partner organisation Maji na Ufanisi (MNU), Matopeni will be learning from nearby slum Kiambiu, which Nicholas also visited.

Kiambiu has benefited from the support of MNU in the construction of sanitation blocks, which provide showers and toilets for the community.

The price of around 2p per use pays for the upkeep of the blocks, and for nearby land which will house residents.

The area also organises weekly clean-ups supervised by former gang leader Humphrey Oduor. ‘It was very positive to see just how much people’s lives had improved,’ reflected Nicholas.

‘The work that Humphrey was doing made a big difference to them, as did the blocks. I took part in the clean-ups.

Any kind of physical exertion is tough for me, but in that heat, it was torture.’

Nicholas also visited nearby Usungu village, where our partner organisation UCCS has recently provided 531 households with an earth dam. This put an end to the 8km walk some of them had been making to fetch water. It also

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THE MATOPENI CONNECTION

meant that farmer Makula Katiku, who had faced seven years of drought, can now grow crops to support his family.

At the end of his visit, Nicholas said: ‘The main thing I will take from this trip is the importance of water. It was something I always took for granted back home but now see how valuable it is. If we can raise just a bit of money, I’ve been able to see how it is going straight to these fantastic communities.’ www.caweek.org

On his return, Nicholas talked about his trip on GMTV, Sky News, 23 regional radio stations and in print publications as diverse as The Times, The Daily Record, Bliss magazine and the Wokingham Times.

WHEN WE VISITED Matopeni in Nairobi to meet the Kithuku family, we found a community in desperate need of the water and sanitation facilities that partner Maji na Ufanisi (MNU) hopes to provide. But we also found people whose energy and determination made it clear that a little support would allow them to transform their environment.

Guided by the urgent need to improve conditions within Matopeni, Christian Aid is providing £30,000 for MNU to work with the community.

MNU has been working with community organisation Arise and Shine to understand fully the

community’s needs. A public meeting in April brought together MNU, the community and local government representatives to agree plans for the project. Over the coming months MNU will work with the community to install clean water points and working drains, supporting them to manage these new facilities along with a toilet block funded by the local government, which is nearing completion.

For Mary-Ann Kanini* the project is particularly significant. Living with HIV, she needs clean water in order to take the antiretroviral medicine that prevents her condition from deteriorating. And with her immune system compromised by the virus, water-borne diseases carry additional risks for Mary-Ann (silhouetted, left, with Catherine Kithuku).

Currently, she must buy and carry water from a neighbouring slum. ‘We’ll get clean water, which will reduce typhoid,’ says Mary-Ann. ‘It will help me because when I carry the water I get tired because of my condition.’

And the project will bring benefits for the wider community: ‘Faeces and urine contaminate the water. There is a very high chance of getting diarrhoea and typhoid,’ says Catherine Kithuku. ‘But I think, through Christian Aid, when they bring the change in our community, all those things will have reduced.’

Keep up to date with progress at www.christianaid.org.uk/matopeni * name has been changed

JOSEPH KITHUKU ON 2 JUNE, Joseph Kithuku from Matopeni settlement in Nairobi passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Joseph, who featured on the cover of the spring issue of Christian Aid News, was a source of great inspiration to his daughter Catherine, forgoing a comfortable retirement to ensure his children were well-educated. ‘My parents have inspired us,’ she says.

‘They have taught us to love and forgive other people.’

His children’s determination to improve life for their community is a fitting legacy of a great man. Joseph

Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan

Nicholas Hoult visits the Kithuku family in their home in Matopeni

Christian Aid/Lee Thompson

Christian Aid/Antoinette Powell

In the spring issue of Christian Aid News, we promised to keep readers updated on our commitment to improving conditions for those living in Matopeni slum. Here communications officer Antoinette Powell reports on the progress made so far

will be remembered for the dignified way in which he and his family approached his death.

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COMMENT

As Christian Aid continues to develop its Poverty Over vision, Dr Paula Clifford, head of theology, explores its theological basis. Theology and International Development follows wide consultation with church leaders and others, and will prompt further discussion with partners and faith leaders in the global South WHAT DOES THEOLOGY have to do with international development?

It may come as a surprise to some, but theology is currently very much in demand. A whole range of Christian organisations, not all of them in the development sector, have been talking about the need to make the theological foundations of their work explicit, while our sister agencies in northern Europe are also thinking about how they should be ‘doing’ theology.

In some academic circles there is a similar interest, not least because the work of agencies such as Christian Aid deals with situations that classical theologians could barely have imagined, let alone incorporated into their view of God and his world.

WHY DO WE NEED THEOLOGY? As a Christian organisation accountable to the churches, we should be able to set out clearly the theology that underpins

the work we do. This theology will support and reinforce our conviction that matters such as tax dodging and climate change must be addressed, that advocacy and campaigning are not only important but a gospel imperative, and that the way we work is distinct from that of secular agencies in the same field.

We are, of course, accountable not only to our supporters and donors but to poor people themselves. They, above all, have a right to know where we’re coming from in terms of the beliefs that drive our work.

We also, I believe, need our theology to throw light on what it means, in general, to be a Christian organisation. We are far from having a definitive answer to this, but the discussion has started.

WHAT KIND OF THEOLOGY? So where do you start, given that issues such as HIV, climate change and corporate governance do not have any obvious biblical equivalents? Where do

Christian Aid/Felicia Webb

SHINING A LIGHT ON THE CHRISTIAN IN CHRISTIAN AID you start if you are seeking to give theological expression to more than just a specific issue? These were questions that I have put to a number of different groups of Christian Aid supporters, clergy and academics over the past couple of years. And while the paper that has recently been published inevitably reflects my own preferred theoretical approach, the insights offered by these discussions have played an important part in forming that thinking.

RELATIONSHIPS ARE KEY According to Genesis, there has been a special relationship between God and human beings since creation: we are created in the image of God himself. The Old Testament also describes the covenant relationship between God and his people, a relationship characterised

by God’s faithfulness, love and justice – qualities that people try in turn to bring to that relationship, frequently without success. In the New Testament, particularly in the gospel of John, the ‘new’ covenant is reflected in another special relationship. Christians are invited to share in the relationship of love between God the Father and God the Son. And, of course, God also models

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INPUT relationship – as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What follows from this is that people who enjoy that special relationship with God are also drawn into a special relationship with one another.

This is why the command to love our neighbour is inseparable from loving God. The Swiss theologian Karl Barth, from whom the basis of our relational theology is derived, put it like this: ‘No praise of God is serious, or can be taken seriously, if it is apart from or in addition to the commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”’

The work of international development, stated at its very simplest, is about recognising and addressing forms of unjust relationships and building new ones: between rich and poor, women and men, people and the state, and so on. For example, in the case of HIV, the unjust treatment of women by men is a key cause of the spread of infection; but so too is the injustice done to poorer people by the rich, either in denying them treatment or increasing their vulnerability to illness when nutritious food is placed beyond their means.

These broken relationships can also be seen in terms of abusing basic human rights. In the case of the HIV and AIDS crisis, this includes the denial of the right to life and to health, of the right to education (for example, lack of access to information about HIV prevention) and of the right to freedom from discrimination.

However we choose to express it, relational theology offers hope. Broken relationships can be mended and non-existent relationships (for example involving apathetic rich people and governments) can be brought into being, rights abuses can be remedied.

In a Christian organisation relationships, both internal and external, are also key.

Only by keeping our relationships with one another, our supporters, and our partners and beneficiaries, in good order can we begin to address the big issues of international development effectively.

Theology and International Development by Dr Paula Clifford, with an introduction by the Bishop of Oxford, can be downloaded at www. christianaid.org.uk/ resources/churches/ theology/index.aspx Print copies on request.

Inspired? Enraged?

Send your views to: The Editor, Christian Aid News, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL or email canews@christian-aid.org SPONSOR A FAMILY? I felt I must write after reading the article ‘Down and Out in Nairobi’ by Rachel Stevens, in the spring issue of Christian Aid News. Thank God there is a new project which aims to rebuild lives in Matopeni from the very bottom up.

Is it possible for people in this country to be able to sponsor a particular family in Matopeni? Surely, family by family, we could change their lives for the better, for life, if it were carefully organised. There must be many readers who would be eager to sponsor a family in Matopeni – or elsewhere in the slums of Nairobi. In time, the impact could transform the entire community.

Teresa Barrow Trowbridge, Wiltshire

ENCOURAGING READING I have just read the spring issue of Christian Aid News and must compliment you on such an excellent magazine. It has always been informative but the many positive articles about aid in so many seemingly hopeless situations make encouraging reading for supporters.

I was particularly pleased with the feature ‘Anatomy of a Smear’, about the Live Aid money and am delighted that your efforts to clear the smear have been justified. I was also very interested to read the interview with the new director, Loretta Minghella: she sounds just the right person to follow Dr Mukarji and I would like to offer my assurance of continued support.

Kathleen Fenby Whetstone, Leicestershire

WHERE’S THE ‘P-WORD’?

Enraged? You’re telling me! Last summer, Christian Aid News printed three letters on the subject of population and family planning, all of them excellent. I had high hopes that you would be different from all the other ‘development’ magazines, but, to my great disappointment, you haven’t lived up to that groundbreaking promise, and the ‘p-word’ has hardly been mentioned since, though it is vitally important to all your projects. My

son lives in the Gambia, so I go there often, and have seen the rise in food prices. People moan, but continue to have six to eight children.

Josephine Hanson Saxmundham, Suffolk Editor’s reply: the ongoing debate on this page has not been ignored, and we hope to address this issue in the next edition of Christian Aid News.

YOU ASK, WE REPLY Communications officer Rachel Stevens responds to the question from Teresa Barrow (above, left) Family or child sponsorship schemes can be a very effective way to fundraise, but at Christian Aid we believe there are better ways to help people in poor communities.

Some schemes do benefit whole communities, but being sponsored may strain a family’s relationship with their community. Picking out individuals for special treatment can cause tension and make them feel guilty, or those who haven’t been picked may feel resentful.

At Christian Aid we work with partners who, in turn, help communities to help themselves. When children see their parents and community working together to bring about change they become inspired to get involved too.

Improving their own lives builds people’s self worth and provides far greater opportunities for people to work their way out of poverty.

With the example of Matopeni, we can reach more families through our partner Maji na Ufanisi building one water and sanitation block, which provides clean water and toilet facilities to hundreds of people on a daily basis, than if we work with a series of individual families. MNU also works closely with the Kenyan government to advocate for clean water facilities in Nairobi’s slums. Working at a national policy level has the potential to transform the lives of millions of slum dwellers; more than we could ever achieve on an individual basis.

For an update on Matopeni, see page 21.

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LIFE AND SOUL The way we lead our own lives can have a tangible impact in the fight to end poverty. By ‘doing the right thing’ we show we have a commitment to a sustainable lifestyle that places a high value on helping others

Ken Baker

Rev Norman Shave, vicar of St Mary the Virgin, and Angela Baker

TAKING UP THE PARTNERSHIP CHALLENGE A partnership scheme, in which money raised by churches, business or community groups is supplemented by funds from the European Commission, is proving a big success IN THESE CHALLENGING financial times, how does an ordinary parish church go about raising a daunting sum of money to assist communities in one of the world’s poorest countries?

For the congregation at St Mary the Virgin in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, the answer was easy: to join Christian Aid’s Partnership Scheme and have fundraising as a core part of their church’s vision to ‘make connections with the wider world’.

Angela Baker, one of St Mary’s Christian Aid representatives, says the fit was a good one: ‘Christian Aid’s work in Burkina Faso seemed to be a very good way of making the ongoing connection with the wider world that we were looking for.’

Last year, St Mary’s raised £5,000 for a Burkina Faso project which is run through Christian Aid’s local partner organisation,

ODE. Their giving is helping communities in the north of the country improve the quantity and quality of their food and combat the effects of climate change.

COMMUNITY EFFORT According to Angela, raising the money was ‘surprisingly easy’. What helped was making the fundraising a community effort involving local schools and other churches in the area. She adds: ‘We have decided to support the work of Christian Aid in Burkina Faso again this year, to encourage engagement with the issues of food security, poverty and climate change.’

In 2010 two new projects have been added to the Partnership Scheme, another in Burkina Faso and one in Zimbabwe. All the projects benefit from ‘matching funding’ from the European Commission, which means that for every

£1 raised in the UK at least £4 is sent to our overseas partners. A similar scheme in Scotland is financing a project in Malawi, with matching funding coming from the Scottish government.

It’s not just churches that can get involved. Schools, businesses and other organisations, such as Lions Clubs or Round Tables, could also take up the scheme. A big benefit is that news about progress with the projects is provided four times a year. An important proviso is that Christian Aid is keen that money raised for the scheme is not diverted from existing fundraising efforts.

And for anyone daunted by the challenge, Angela has these words of encouragement: ‘We have found the partnership to be a positive benefit for us, as well as for the people of Burkina Faso. We would say, “Just go for it!”’

More information on the Partnership Scheme is available on the Christian Aid website at www.christianaid.org. uk/partnerships or by contacting Max Khanna – call him on 020 8123 7523 or email him at mkhanna@christian-aid.org

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CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD

2010/11 TOUR DATES ARE: • South Africa – 24 October 2010 and 23 October 2011 • India – 21 November 2010 and 30 October 2011

• Malawi – 23 May 2011 For more information, contact Paul or Lizzie at Skedaddle, on 0191 265

1110, email christianaid@skedaddle. co.uk or visit www.christianaid.org.uk/ getinvolved/supporter-tours.aspx Christian Aid/Harriet Logan

SUPPORTERS CAN HAVE a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to witness our partners’ work to end poverty, by joining one of our Christian Aid tours.

Dates have been announced for the rest of 2010 and for 2011, with tours to South Africa, Malawi and India. These offer an ethical, responsible approach to travel, and a chance to be inspired by our partners and the countries in which they work. They are designed to be sensitive to the country and people visited so each one is unique. You will be guided by experienced locals and travelling with like-minded people.

A Christian Aid partner’s water project in India

BIGGEST EVER WILL AID BOOSTS OUR AID NINE CHARITIES organise it, solicitors make it possible, local voices publicise it and supporters do it. There’s no doubting the success of Will Aid. Each November, around 1,000 solicitor firms agree to write basic Wills and waive their normal fees. Instead, they invite clients to make a donation to the Will Aid charities.

The 2009 campaign was the most widely supported in Will Aid’s history, bringing donations of £1.25 million to be shared by the nine charities. This fantastic effort means that Christian Aid will receive more than £125,000 as its share of Will Aid donations. More than 550 people let the charities know that they had included a charitable gift in their Will – with 75 of them including Christian Aid. If you helped promote it, chose to support our work through your Will, or are a solicitor who helped – thank you!

For 2010, more than 20 Anglican dioceses across England and Wales are helping to promote the campaign. They like the sense of financial stewardship it encourages, and want to support the nine charities – and also hope that people will use their new Wills to remember their local churches as well as

Christian Aid or other favourite causes.

Can you help make this year’s Will Aid even bigger? Do you know a solicitor we could ask to take part? Is your diocese involved, and can we help promote Will Aid with you? Could you make sure your church knows about it? If you can help, contact Kerry Sherlock in our Legacies team, on 020 7523 2173.

been most touched by the 180 people who told us that their passion for justice and faith in our work has inspired them to leave a gift that will continue work that has been important to them. They want their legacy to be a fairer world.’

To discuss the difference your legacy could make, contact Colin Kemp on 020 7523 2173.

THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK

CELEBRATE YOUR GENEROSITY…

THE LAST EDITION of Christian Aid News carried a request for readers to take part in a survey to help us understand what you think about leaving a gift to charity in your Will. We needed to do this, because our legacy income is significantly less than some other development charities.

The survey will help us to understand why and to improve the information we provide to help people consider supporting us through their Will.

We are starting to analyse responses and will try to share the results later.

Thank you to the 547 people who took time to respond.

Colin Kemp, head of legacies, says: ‘Supporters have been generous in the information they have shared. I have

THE APRIL EDITION of Christian Aid News included a leaflet about Celebrate a Life, a way to commemorate someone’s life by making a donation to support work that meant a lot to them. At the time of writing, we have received gifts from £5 to around £3,000, totalling more than £16,000. Some support our general funds, others are for education, health or water-related work.

Supporters give for many reasons, but we know that some of the larger gifts are in response to people having received an inheritance and wanting to celebrate their loved one’s life by bringing hope and opportunity to others. To find out more, contact Kerry Sherlock on 020 7523 2173.

Christian Aid News 25

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EVENTS We work with some of the world’s poorest communities.

They face huge challenges every day, so why don’t you challenge yourself? Have fun while fighting poverty: join one of our events or do your own fundraising

Christian Aid

CHRISTIAN AID’S TEAM POVERTY runners have already completed three marathons this year and aim to raise more than £55,000.

Ten amazing runners crossed the finish line at the inaugural Brighton Marathon on 18 April. Runner Andy Ray said afterwards, while enjoying his snack at the celebratory reception: ‘I knew it would be a challenge, but I was up for it!’

A week later, fuelled by jelly babies, 19 superstars completed the London Marathon. After a gruelling 26.2 miles they were able to put their feet into a foot-spa and get a massage at the

GIVING POVERTY THE RUNAROUND Come and join Team Poverty!

CHRISTIAN AID BELIEVES that anyone who takes part in one of our runs, treks or bike rides is 100 per cent dedicated!

Not only because they want to help us eradicate poverty, but because they throw everything into training and fundraising. That’s why Team Poverty has been launched – as a platform to highlight the amazing things that people are doing across the country and so that Christian Aid can be your best friend on the journey through your training and fundraising.

To find out why you should become

part of Team Poverty visit www. christianaid.org.uk/events

Christian Aid/Adrian Arbib

Christian Aid celebratory reception.

One runner said: ‘It’s the lady doing the massage who really deserves a medal’ Finally, nine runners took part in the Edinburgh Marathon on 23 May – one of the fastest marathon courses in the UK, which meant a personal best for lots of runners!

Christian Aid thinks that you all deserve medals for putting so much into fundraising and training – thank you!

Are you a runner? Then why not give poverty the run-around and join Team Poverty in the BUPA Great North Run – the world’s biggest and friendliest half marathon on Sunday 19th September 2010. To secure your place visit www. christianaid.org/running

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• STOP PRESS: Fancy taking part in a new challenge?

Try the London to Luxembourg bike ride. See advert on page 32 •

YOU DON’T NEED BRAINS, BUT IT HELPS

Fighting for the poor, step by step

Between the 13 and 19 September 2010, people all across the UK will be getting quizzical at home, work, school or in the pub for this year’s Quizaid extravaganza.

We’re looking to raise more than £230,000 for some of the poorest communities, so why not get together with family, friends or colleagues to hold a quiz? Put your brain to the test and register for your free fundraising pack with questions and answers at www.christianaid.org.uk/quizaid

Over the past month, more than 1,000 walkers have taken part in sponsored walks across the UK for Christian Aid to raise money to fight poverty around the world.

This included more than 350 people who crossed the Forth Bridge in Scotland, 200 people who walked around the racecourse at Newton Abbot, Devon, 150 people walking along Bede’s Way between Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, and 500 people who circled the city of London. Thank you to all who took part. It is estimated that an amazing £100,000 will be raised from these sponsored walks alone!

Why not fight poverty step by step by taking part in a Christian Aid sponsored walk? Christian Aid has more than 60 sponsored walks across the UK every year. To find out more about a sponsored walk near you, email: walks@christian-aid.org or visit www.christianaid.org.uk/walks

Q

Christian Aid

Christian Aid/Adrian Arbib

Q

Friday 26 March saw thousands of people across the country eating soup for lunch, to help fight global poverty and injustice. So far more than £60,000 has been raised and it’s hoped this total will top £180,000.

Christian Aid

Christian Aid/Adrian Arbib

Super soupers lead to super results

CAN TREK STARS BEAT THE TIDE?

• STOP

2010 in Devon and Dorset. This 24-mile trek is well worth it, as the views along the south coast are amazing. Or if you fancy a bit of an adrenalin-pumping challenge, set off at midnight and trek for 12 hours in the Holy Island Midnight Marathon on the 18-19 September 2010. You’ve got one aim – to reach the magical island of Lindisfarne before the tide comes in.

With our newly launched Team Poverty UK treks, the choices for getting fit are

endless – visit www.christianaid.org/ trekking to find out more.

Christian Aid/ Kevin Leighton

THIRTEEN MEMBERS of Team Poverty went back 2,000 years in time, trekking 25 miles alongside the remaining sections of Hadrian’s Wall in our Weekend Trek from 2-4 July. There was plenty of history to get their teeth into when they looked round Birdoswald Roman Fort – and the cakes in the coffee shop went down a storm too!

If you want to go back even further in time, why not take part in the Jurassic Coast Weekend Trek on 17-19 September

PRESS: Date for your diary for next year – Friday 25 March 2011: The Super Soup Lunch • Christian Aid News 27

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AROUND NORTH ENGLAND

What a week that was!

All across the northern region, you’ve been going to sometimes extraordinary lengths to raise funds for Christian Aid Week.

Here are just some of the highlights

The Coast2Coast cyclists arrive at the end of their trek

Christian Aid/Lucy Keane

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK has, once again, brought out the amazing ways that you find to raise money. That spirit was epitomised by the five Christian Aid staff and volunteers from the North West and North East who completed a 155-mile, five-day ‘Coast2Coast’ bike ride, from Whitehaven to Sunderland.

Other riders joined them en route and they also helped local supporters doing house-to-house collecting in Keswick and Penrith. They experienced fantastic hospitality from 13 different families, met up with a town crier, one school and two youth groups, drank their way through three coffee mornings, munched through two lunches, one curry night and lots of cake – and raised more than £1,500.

CHURCHGOERS IN Whalley Range, Manchester, decided to make the house-to-house collection part of their church fellowship and commitment to each other. One group of members delivered 3,000 envelopes, and, during Christian Aid Week, a team of mostly Caribbean pensioners met up each night and went collecting together.

‘It was good fun, and we had a laugh,’ says organiser Mark Avis. ‘We collected more than £1,000. Doing it this way is good for Christian Aid and good for church fellowship and commitment.’

SUE BURSTON, a vicar’s wife from Wooler in Northumberland, was one of the group of supporters who visited Kenya in preparation for Christian Aid Week. Sue turned the experience into a

renewed enthusiasm for her fundraising work. As well as organising the local house-to-house collections, Sue spent Christian Aid Week running the annual charity shop on Wooler High Street, which this year brought in more than £6,000.

JUST BEFORE Christian Aid Week the Barnard Castle Christian Aid committee arranged a concert in the Methodist Church, with the talented Teesdale Youth Choir who a few years ago won the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year award.

Donations and refreshments raised £250.

SCARBOROUGH CHRISTIAN AID group organised lots of events during the week, including a fair, a sponsored walk, and a concert. They also continued their 30-year-old tradition of holding a cake stall in a local department store.

Members of the different churches in the area baked cakes each day to be sold in Boyes Store, raising more than £800.

IN YORKSHIRE, THREE MINISTERS from the Selby and Snaith Methodist Circuit motorcycled round all 19 of their churches in a day, stopping for prayer in each one. They covered 67 miles and hope to have raised £1,000.

ONE HUGE SCARBOROUGH star was 14-year-old Imogen Allen who produced the Truly Scrumptious recipe book, which has raised £400 to date. Imogen was interviewed on Radio York about how she put together the cookbook, which included recipes from the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu and children’s author GP Taylor, from Cloughton. Imogen’s efforts were also written about in the Scarborough Evening News.

THE VILLAGES OF Haxby and Wigginton in North Yorkshire were taken over by 182 scarecrows for the weekend, and people paid to follow one of five trails, answering questions about the scarecrows, and helping to raise £3,200.

THE YORKSHIRE OFFICE also received a £20 note in the post with a letter saying the donation was from a neighbour in Meltham, near Holmfirth. The lady is 100 years old and as she is rather deaf, had failed to hear the collector call!

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AROUND SCOTLAND

Great feats of fundraising You’ve done it again! Thanks to your hours of hard work, hundreds of thousands of pounds are coming in from Christian Aid Week 2010. Here are some of the fundraising highlights WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS! The pre-Christian Aid Week road shows started the ball rolling. At our first ever Fort William road show, supporters and ministers from across the highlands were inspired by tales from Kenya.

In Thurso and District, youngsters from Watten Sunday Club raised £334 with an ingenious idea – handing out empty Smarties tubes to churchgoers on Mothering Sunday and asking them to fill them with 20p pieces by May. In Motherwell, a Christian Aid group took inspiration from a popular TV programme to organise 20 Come Dine With Me events. Residents of Abbeyfield Care Home raised £110 at the first one.

In Edinburgh, the St Andrew’s and St George’s West book sale raised more than £108,000. This year’s patron, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder RA, generously presented the sale with three pictures, while actor John Shedden made a striking appearance as JM Barrie to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Scots writer. On 11 May there was a commemoration of the Scottish Reformation, 450 years ago. The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Cardinal and the Bishop of Edinburgh addressed the sale, and Dr Harry Reid, historian, author and member of the congregation, presented a signed copy of his 2009 history of the Reformation.

At Morningside United Church, organisers delayed their annual Holy Corner Book Sale by a week as their building was used as a polling station – volunteer booksellers were also sponsored, which helped bring the total raised to about £8,500.

The ‘secret’ gardens at Blackhill, Lhanbryde were opened to the public,

who enjoyed the 350 species of rhododendron planted by curator John Christie’s great-uncle.

And, as we went to press, Sia Van den Bremt and three friends from St Andrew’s Church of Scotland in Brussels were warming up to power walk a 20k race in the Belgian capital.

CASH OF THE TITANS Christian Aid’s new abseiling challenge, the Titan Crane Abseil, saw 17 daredevils free-fall abseil their way down 46 metres of the crane in Clydebank, near Glasgow on Sunday 2 May. Together they are set to raise an amazing £4,000 for our work.

ONE LONG WALK AND ONE LONG RIDE Remember freelance shepherd Arthur Cross? He is now halfway round Scotland’s coast on his bike with Ian King. Sponsor them at www.justgiving. com/christianaidscottishcoastaltour Meanwhile Father Simon Tibbs, assistant curate at Old Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, is putting his feet up after walking 350 miles from the Scottish capital to Walsingham, raising money for his church and Christian Aid as he went. See www.fathersimon.org Thank you to those who have sent in money already. Please keep it coming.

And are you holding a thank-you event for your collectors? We can offer a Christian Aid speaker. Please contact the Glasgow office on 0141 221 7475 or email glasgow@christian-aid.org Finally, would you like to hold a Tesco collection in Christian Aid Week 2011?

Please contact your local Christian Aid office by the end of August if you would like to be included.

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AROUND SOUTH AND WEST

Christian Aid/Adrian Wells

Walk of life for those in dire straits

This Christian Aid Week saw hundreds of supporters stretching their legs in the glorious Devon and Dorset countryside to raise vital funds for the developing world

FEW CHRISTIAN AID WEEK events have as much thoroughbred status as the sponsored walk around Newton Abbot Racecourse – and despite a chilly, rainy day, this year’s 43rd staging of this incredible event (above) once again lived up to expectations.

On Saturday 8 May more than 200 people braved the drizzle to walk 10 miles around the racecourse, swelling the £350,000 raised during the four decades the walk has been held.

The walk was pioneered by Sydney Williams, a dedicated Christian Aid supporter, now in his eighties. Following his retirement this year, the new Action Group was keen to see the walk continue to grow by raising more funds and engaging the local community.

Ruth Ruderham, head of fundraising for Christian Aid, took part and commented: ‘It was wonderful to see so many local people pulling together to support those in the

TEATIME FOR 200 BRISTOL UNIVERSITY first-year student Alex Berridge (left) decided to use her culinary talents to support Christian Aid, so she invited the other students in her hall of residence to a Mad Hatter’s tea party. She enlisted the help of Lizzie Bush, gap year volunteer in our Bristol office, and some of her friends, who baked through the night to create a seemingly

world’s poorest communities. I hope everyone realises what a difference it makes and that every penny raised has and will save lives.’

At the same time, further east along the coast, more than 200 walkers from Poole and Bournemouth congregated on the promenade and walked up to 12 miles for Christian Aid. This sponsored walk has been taking place for 16 years and consistently sees supporters raise in excess of £15,000. One regular keen not to miss out was 97-year-old Lily Milner, who attends Poole Methodist Church. Lily has taken part in the walk every year and she was walking this year too. Could she be the oldest participant in a Christian Aid sponsored walk?

If you’d like further details on how you can fundraise for Christian Aid in your area, please contact Helen (events fundraising officer for the South West) at hburgess@ christian-aid.org.

TEAM CHANGES

IT MAY NOT have attracted as much publicity as Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad or the new coalition cabinet, but there have been some important changes in the Christian Aid teams in our West and South West regions.

Susan Barry received her ‘international call-up’, moving to our London office to become Christian Aid’s communications and information officer for Haiti; whilst Martin Parkes, Elizabeth Perry and Ruth Davey have all moved on to take up new challenges.

We are delighted to welcome two new regional coordinators in our Bristol office: Gill Alexander (above, left, Bristol & Somerset) and Anna Potts (above, right, Wiltshire).

We are recruiting a new regional coordinator for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, in our Southampton office, and Laura McAdam is now full-time covering Cornwall and Devon.

YOUR LOCAL OFFICES

never-ending selection of cakes and biscuits.

What began as a small afternoon gathering quickly spiralled into a feast, with nearly 200 students attending and raising more than £400. The dinner hall was transformed into an Alice in Wonderland grotto with over-sized playing cards decorating the walls and cushions and rugs for lounging on the floor.

Meanwhile, Hazel Short from Larkhall in Bath rose at the crack of dawn every day during Christian Aid Week to bake cakes, biscuits, pizzas, crumbles and other goodies, which were snapped up by her colleagues at the school where she works, raising £145.

BRISTOL OFFICE (Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire) 57 High Street, Thornbury, Bristol BS35 2AP Tel: 01454 415923 west@christian-aid.org SOUTHAMPTON OFFICE (Channel Isles, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight) 106 Shirley High Street, Southampton SO16 4FB Tel: 02380 706969 southwest@christian-aid.org

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AROUND THE SOUTH EAST Regional news and events in Beds, Berks, Bucks, Herts and Oxon

Fundraising? All it takes is one great idea

EVENTS 13-19 SEPTEMBER Quizaid Q

Q

Register for your free fundraising pack. For more information, see page 27.

Dave Bird

WEDNESDAY 20 OCTOBER Supporter Day and lobby of Parliament 11am-4pm, Methodist Central Hall, Westminster.

See story on page 10.

For information about travel options to London contact Amy Merone on 01865 246818 or email amerone@christian-aid.org

Raising money is often much easier on the back of a novel idea, as these three recent examples show DURING CHRISTIAN AID WEEK, 77 students at Oxford University raised more than £1,000 by giving up their creature comforts to take part in ‘Our Choice, Their Necessity’. The event was designed to get them thinking about the 1.4 billion people who live in extreme poverty.

Participants undertook a challenge to live on just 97p ($1.50) a day, for two days.

Many people pooled their funds and ate together, while others went it alone, surviving mostly on toast!

Ordinands from St Stephen’s House made a particularly bold statement, serving a formal dinner to their fellow students, and sitting among them with

Anne and Chris Shepherd on their Three Piers challenge

empty plates while everyone else ate. Participants gave the money they would otherwise have spent, and asked for donations from friends.

FOLLOWING THE HAITI earthquake, Ann and Derek Bird from Harpenden held a series of ‘Hats on for Haiti’ events. They decorated their home with pictures of headgear and interesting nuggets about the history of hats, and invited people to wear hats to the events.

More than £1,350 was raised over four Mad Hatters’ tea parties, and the hats ranged from a solar-powered cap to two bonnets worn by sisters who had inherited them from their great grandmother.

MOTHER-AND-SON Ann and Chris Shepherd from Watford undertook their own Three Piers Challenge. Despite rain,

a great many pebbles and an injured knee, they walked all the way from Bognor Pier to Brighton Pier via Worthing Pier over two days, and raised more than £1,000.

These three ventures all raised tidy sums for our work.

Is there a fundraising idea that you could develop to follow in their footsteps?

THURSDAY 18 NOVEMBER Christian Aid in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory speaker panel 7-9pm, venue tbc, Oxford.

Speakers include Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford and Dr Paula Clifford, head of theology, Christian Aid. Find out more about Christian Aid’s work here and in Lebanon.

For more information, contact Amy, as above.

CHRISTIAN AID IN ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY (IOPT) IS YOUR CHURCH or Christian Aid group interested in learning more about our work in IOPT? Would you like to know what life is currently like for people in Gaza and what Christian Aid is doing to help? Amy in the Oxford office would be happy to come along and speak to your group. For more information, or to book a date, contact Amy on 01865 246818, or email amerone@christian-aid.org …AND IN TAJIKISTAN! Amy will be travelling to Tajikistan in September. If you would like her to give a talk in your area about our partners’ work there, please contact her.

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AROUND WALES

Christian Aid/Branwen Niclas

Well done, Wales!

Serving up bacon butties in Chwilog

THE COMMITMENT OF SUPPORTERS in Wales was evident once again this year during Christian Aid Week, with a mixture of traditional and innovative events.

Bring and Buy and the Welsh Churches of Cardiff hope that they can break last year’s record total of £2,537 with their Ffair Wanwyn (Spring Fair).

• THE BORE BRECHDAN BACWN (bacon sandwich morning), in the small community of Chwilog, on the Lleyn Peninsular brings together villagers and the surrounding community for a sandwich, cuppa and chat, for only £2!

Organiser Rev Aled Davies said: ‘We are given bacon by the local butcher, and women from the village do the cooking and serving. We even run a takeaway service for those who can’t make it!’

• AFTERNOON TEA and a talk on our work in Ghana, by Christian Aid’s country manager Heidrun Kippenberger, drew a large crowd to the Methodist Church in Rhos on Sea. Also a sell-out was the annual Sankey Evening, at St Thomas’ Chapel, Denbigh, featuring the hymns of Sankey and Moody.

• LLANISHEN PLANT SALE is now in its 31st year and attracts people from all over Cardiff. Once again the entrance hall of the Baptist Church and the pavement outside were overflowing with colourful flowers, shrubs and plants. Thanks to the hard work of Beryl Bissett and her team, the event raised more than £2,500.

• FOLLOWING THEIR CHRISTIAN AID WEEK service, the local committee in Buckley, North Wales, held a Kenyan Supper, with supporters tucking into foods from this year’s featured country.

• COFFEE MORNINGS featured in many Christian Aid Week plans around Wales.

The Penmaenmawr committee raised over £1,700 at their Coffee Morning/

• AROUND 40 PEOPLE enjoyed the scenery around Llangorse Lake during the annual Brecon Beacons Walk, while the pupils of Cowbridge School organised their third annual walk in support of Christian Aid. Sixty people walked from Cowbridge to Pendoylan in the Vale of Glamorgan and raised £1,720.

Among our youngest walkers were Gruffydd Llywelyn, eight, and his sister Crisial, six, who joined supporters in Llandysul to walk through the pretty valley of Cwm Tyweli. So far, Gruffydd and Crisial have raised more than £80.

• NOVELTY EVENTS included a teddy bears’ picnic at Brynhyfryd Methodist Church, Swansea; a fancy-dress street collection on the Penrhys estate in the Rhondda Valleys; and a table-top sale run by a mother-and-toddler group in Cardiff.

ONE POOR COMMUNITY REACHES OUT TO OTHERS THE PENRHYS ESTATE is situated on a hillside overlooking the Rhondda valleys. Created in the late 1960s, with the building of nearly 1,000 council homes, it was, at the time, the largest public-sector housing venture in Wales.

But within a few years the estate had gained a poor reputation, beset by high unemployment, debt, alcohol and drug problems, crime and low educational achievements.

By the late ‘80s its name was so bad, that people refused to move there, and many homes were boarded up.

By the turn of the century much of the estate had been demolished and today the community is less than a third of its original size.

Established in 1991, the Penrhys Partnership set itself a challenging priority of ‘enabling Penrhys to become a community to which people wish to belong’.

Llanfair Uniting Church, supported by eight different denominations, has played a major part in establishing that sense of community. Under the inspired leadership of Rev John Morgans and his wife Nora, Llanfair has, from the outset, actively promoted and supported the work of Christian Aid, helping to create a sense of solidarity and empathy between Penrhys and impoverished communities around the world. Christian Aid Week activities in Penrhys have regularly raised around £2,000 annually towards Christian Aid. This year once again the small but dedicated team, led by local Christian Aid organiser and church worker Sharon Rees, held their ‘Rich man, Poor man supper’, makeover sessions with the children, sponsored hair colouring and the popular fancy-dress street collection!

Said Sharon, ‘Although the village population is down to under 800 people, with many people out of work, we still get a lot of support for Christian Aid.’

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EVENTS IN NORTH ENGLAND North West Diary Dates Tuesday 6 July– Tuesday 31 August Music for a Summer Evening 8pm, Hawkshead Parish Church.

The 43rd season of concerts in this beautiful setting takes place every Tuesday in July and August. Free admission with collection for Christian Aid and other charities.

7.30pm, Trinity Methodist and URC Church, Cheadle • Wednesday 15 September, 7.30pm, Priory Hall, Lancaster • Thursday 16 September, 7.30pm, Workington, venue to be confirmed If you would like to attend one of these workshops, please contact the Warrington office, as before.

August–October Supermarket bucket collections • 11-12 August, Tesco Extra, Stockport • 18-19 August,Tesco, Litherland and Whitehaven • 19 August, Tesco Extra, Chorley • 22-23 September, Tesco, Millom and Macclesfield Hibel Road • 2-3 October, Ikea, Warrington If you would like to volunteer to help, or for information on how to organise a collection at one of your local supermarkets, please contact the Warrington office on 01925 573769 or email warrington@christian-aid. org.

We will also be planning for the lobby of Parliament on 20 October (see story on page 10). We’re hoping to lay on coaches, so if you want to go, please contact: Lindsey in the Yorkshire office on 01132 444764 or email lpearson@christian-aid.org; Dave Hardman in the Warrington office on 01925 573769 or email dhardman@ christian-aid.org; Judith Sadler in the Newcastle office, on 0191 228 0115 or email jsadler@christian-aid.org

monday 13 september– thursday 16 september Your vote was only the start of it A workshop to learn more about Christian Aid’s fight to end poverty. The evening will include updates on the climate change and tax campaigns, information on upcoming key campaigning moments, plus practical ways to campaign and get others involved. There willalso be a chance to network with other local campaigners.

• Monday 13 September, 7.30pm, Holy Trinity, Formby • Tuesday 14 September,

Monday 18 October Volunteer speaker/preacher/ teacher day This meeting, to be held in Preston, will look at Advent and Christmas materials.

For more information, contact the Warrington office, as before.

Yorkshire Region Saturday 25 September Afternoon tea/coffee 1-4pm, Christchurch Coffee Centre, The Grove, Ilkley.

For more information, contact Jenny Lawson on 01943 604407.

Saturday 2 October Concert 7.30pm, Thirsk Town Hall.

For more information, contact Paul Rathbone, on 01845 523347 or email paul2 rathbone@btinternet.com

Wednesday 6 October Autumn coffee morning 10.30am-12noon, Palm Court Hotel, St Nicholas Cliff, Scarborough.

For more information, contact David Bridge on 01723 362091 or email davidgarnerbridge@ googlemail.com Saturday 9 October A Transport of Delight: A Concert of Songs by Flanders and Swann 7.30pm, Sewerby Methodist Church, Sewerby, Bridlington.

For more information, contact Janet Padwick on 01262 673831 or email janet@padwickbrid. orangehome.co.uk North East Diary Dates Third Tuesday of each month Christian Aid North East campaigns group 8-9.30pm, The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Join people passionate about campaigning on behalf of the world’s poorest people.

For details, contact the Newcastle office on 0191 228 0115 or email newcastle@ christian-aid.org Sunday 25 July Jazz & Jam 3.30-7pm, Auckland Castle.

Celebrate the work of Christian Aid in the North East and around the world.

Meet Christian Aid’s new director, Loretta Minghella, and explore the beautiful castle and grounds. Bring a picnic and we’ll provide music, bubbly and cake.

We will finish with a short service at which Rt Revd Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, will give the address.

For more information, contact the Newcastle office.

Sunday 22 August Platform2 ‘Change your World’ photography exhibition An exhibition created and run as part of the Blyth Beach Festival by young Platform2 volunteers who want to expose the scandals of poverty and injustice. It will focus on climate change, trade/tax injustice and sustainability.

For more information, contact Lizzie Spencer, as before SUNDAY 26 SEPTEMBER Guisborough Circuit Walk A 22-mile walk (with shorter options) around the boundary of the ancient parish of Guisborough.

Varied route with wonderful views, crossing North York Moors and Eston Hills.

For more information, contact the Newcastle office on 0191 228 0115, or email Alwyn Jones on alwyn. jones3@ntlworld.com Saturday 9 October Voices in Harmony 7pm, St. George’s Church, Cullercoats.

A concert with the Newcastle Male Chorus and the Gloucestershire Police Male Choir.

For more details, contact the Newcastle office, as before.

Late October/Early November Volunteer training day A chance to look at Christian Aid resources, hear new stories and share hints and tips for getting our message across to all age groups.

To register interest, contact Sarah Moon on 0191 228 0115, or email newcastle@ christian-aid.org

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Christian Aid/Keryn Irvin e Christian Aid/Helen Pope Christian Aid/Claire Asto n Christian Aid/Claire Aston

Main picture: Father Simon Tibbs. Inset, from top, the Titan Crane abseil, Abbeyfield Care Home, Motherwell does Come Dine With Me, and browsing at the St Andrew’s and St George’s West book sale, Edinburgh

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND ENDORSES TAX JUSTICE CAMPAIGN Kathy Galloway, head of Christian Aid Scotland, reports on a major new supporter for our campaign to close the tax loopholes that hurt poor countries PEOPLE IN BRITAIN like to moan about taxes. Deep down, however, we know we depend on them for the wide range of public services that are essential for a functioning and stable society.

But there’s one aspect of taxation that has been called ‘the ugliest chapter in global economic affairs since slavery’* – and that’s the manner in which businesses, in particular multinational corporations, shift billions of pounds of profits between jurisdictions to reduce, or even dodge, their tax bill.

What makes this a matter of concern is the impact such tax dodging has on the global economy. It is shameful that companies which make large profits from the resources of poor countries, should be dodging paying fair taxes – especially in poor countries where the tax base is very small and millions live on subsistence incomes. So it’s good news that the Church of Scotland has embraced Christian Aid’s tax campaign, making the following decisions at its General Assembly in May: ● to recognise the importance of taxation in developing countries in ensuring sustainable development finance and building accountability between state and citizen

● to instruct the Church and Society Council to raise with HM Government the concern about negative impacts of tax evasion and avoidance, estimated to cost developing countries US$160bn a year ● to welcome a commitment from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, supported by the UK government, to include a country-by-country reporting standard in their Guidelines for Multinational Corporations by the end of

2010 and seek to see this extended to an international binding standard for all multinational companies.

Rev Ian Galloway, convener of the Church and Society Council, said: ‘The poor of the world need champions who will stand in the face of economic and political powers. We need to be counted in that confrontation.’ *by Raymond Baker, in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, June 2007.

EVENTS IN SCOTLAND THURSDAY 19 AUGUST Festival of Politics 11am, Scottish Parliament.

Climate change: spiritual causes, moral consequences and ethical dilemmas. With Kathy Galloway, Alistair McIntosh and Michael Northcott.

For more information, see www.festivalofpolitics.org. uk or ring the Edinburgh office on 0131 220 1254.

SATURDAY 21 AUGUST Falkirk Canal walk 2-5pm, Falkirk Canal.

Walk along the canal to the Falkirk Wheel. Restricted numbers apply.

For details, contact Andrew Prentice on 01324 628946 or email andrewprentice007@ btinternet.com SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER Walk the Line 1.30pm, Deeside.

A sponsored walk, jog or cycle along the old Deeside railway line. From Cults to

Cuter and return, from Cuter to Cults and return, or even just the one way.

For more information, contact Maureen Taylor on 01224 861677.

MONDAY 20 SEPTEMBER –FRIDAY 8 OCTOBER Christian Aid Road Shows Find out how Christian Aid is campaigning to end poverty, and how you can get involved. Jedburgh; Tain; Haddington; Pitlochry; Largs.

Dates to be confirmed.

See www.christianaid.org. uk/scotland, call 0141 221 7475 or email glasgow@ christian-aid.org THURSDAY 23 SEPTEMBER –SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER Take One Action Film Festival Filmhouse (Edinburgh) and Glasgow Film Theatre.

Films to inspire campaigning.

For more information, see www.takeoneaction.org. uk or contact the Edinburgh office, as before.

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LAST WORD A reflection on playing a part in the fight against poverty, and living life in the wider family of Christian Aid

THE HAPPY FACE OF AID

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez Noda

Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma has lived with HIV for 21 years, and for the past 12 she has been a leading voice at Christian Aid challenging the stigma of the disease. In April she was named on the Happy List, the Independent on Sunday’s collection of 100 people who make Britain a better place. Here Winnie offers her response to the accolade and gives an insight into the ceaseless work she does for us

I WAS IN UGANDA in April, unable to fly out because of the volcanic ash chaos, when I received an interesting email from a friend. He was congratulating me on making the Happy List, in the Independent on Sunday. He said he was pleasantly surprised to open the newspaper to find my face beaming right back at him and my photo next to that of Colin Firth, the movie star! I responded to my friend’s email and asked: ‘What is the Happy List?’

Thanks to the media team at Christian Aid and the nominating panel at the Independent on Sunday, I ended up on this year’s List. The Happy List is compiled to counteract the endless lists of the most beautiful celebrities, the richest people or the ones with the best hair. It is a list that celebrates different values, and names people who give back, who volunteer their skills and time, and who make Britain a better, more balanced, happier country. It is a privilege to be in the company of so

many amazing people, even if it is just on paper.

In June I was privileged also to speak at a briefing at the United Nations in New York on Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: The AIDS Factor. The meeting coincided with the annual General Assembly AIDS Review. It is an important activity in the lead-up to the Millennium Development Goals Summit, particularly in terms of conveying key messages on how the response to AIDS is closely interlinked with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

HIV is still an important issue and unfortunately it is going to be with us for many years. The vision to control and possibly eradicate it is riddled with many challenges – economic, social and political. Other subtle challenges such as HIV fatigue are even more difficult to address, but we cannot give up. There is too much at stake – 33.4 million people living with HIV, many needing treatment

and not getting it, and many millions more particularly vulnerable to being infected.

As we prepare for one of the most important events in the HIV calendar it is important to refocus our efforts on the real challenges. The International AIDS Conference (IAC), which takes place every other year, is being held in Vienna, Austria, this month.

Christian Aid’s goals at the Vienna conference will be threefold: to continue to support faith leaders and faith-based organisations effectively to overcome the stigma and discrimination linked to HIV; to re-assert the fundamental role people living with HIV should play in faith-based responses to the pandemic; and finally, to draw attention to the need to address human-rights issues related to HIV, such as criminalisation of HIV transmission and gender-based violence.

The theme for this year’s IAC is appropriately themed – Rights here, Right now.

30 Christian Aid News

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This money can save lives. When a disaster such as the Asian tsunami strikes, people lose their livelihoods as well as their loved ones.

Christian Aid funds vital new equipment, training and loans to help women such as those pictured here to restart their businesses.

And it doesn’t cost much to help – just two new credit-card accounts would pay for a pack with everything needed to set up a small business selling fish, so call 0800 002 006 to apply today.

18.9

% APR

typical/variable

l

0% on purchases and balance transfers*, fixed until six months after account opening.

l

A balance transfer fee of 3% of the transfer value is applicable during promotional rate periods only (minimum £5).

For an instant decision, phone

Double donation if you apply before the end of July

CHRISTIAN AID INTRODUCES OUR CREDIT CARD

Introducing a Christian Aid credit card from The Co-operative Bank that can help to bring lasting change to those in need. Every time an account is opened, The Co-operative Bank gives Christian Aid £15. A further £2.50 is donated when the new card is used within six months, and then 25p for every £100 spent on the card for all other purchases.

0800 002 006

or apply online at co-operativebank.co.uk/christianaid

*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. and are subject to status. Credit Card applicants must be aged 18 or over, a UK resident and have a minimum annual gross income of £10,000 or more. The bank reserves the right to decline any application or offer a card that differs from those advertised. Interest rates are correct at time of going to press 06/10. The Co-operative Bank p.l.c. (Registered No. 990937), Head Office, P.O. Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M60 4EP. The Co-operative Bank is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (No. 121885), subscribes to the Lending Code, is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service and is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading (No. 006110). Calls may be monitored or recorded for security and training purposes. Christian Aid UK registered charity no. 1105851, Company no.

5171525, Scotland charity no. SC039150, Northern Ireland charity no. XR94639, Company no. NI059154.

Provided by The Co-operative Bank

MKT9644 06/10

Our climate is changing: extremes of flooding and drought are threatening the survival of some of the world’s poorest people. Now you can do something to combat climate change and raise money for Christian Aid at the same time.

Switch to Ecotricity

and Christian Aid will receive £40 for its work helping poor communities adapt to climate change.

CHRISTIAN AID INTRODUCES ECOTRICITY

FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE SWITCH TO ECOTRICITY

You will also receive four energy-saving light bulbs, which can save you up to £36 per year. If your business, school or church switches, Ecotricity will donate up to £150 to Christian Aid.

To make a difference, call free on

08000 302 302

and quote ‘Christian Aid’ or visit www.ecotricity.co.uk/christian-aid

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