CHRISTIAN AID NEWS Issue 49
Autumn 2010
www.christianaid.org.uk
Central
NOTHING TO EAT BUT WEEDS West Africa’s food crisis has left 10 million people on the brink of starvation
20.10. 2010
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CONTENTS A precarious pulley system was the only way of delivering aid over the swollen Indus river in Pakistan
EDITOR’S LETTER
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REGULARS
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Q 24 LIFE AND SOUL Let Present Aid help your Christmas giving… and farewell to the life and soul of Christian Aid in York!
Q 4 THE BIG PICTURE One striking image…
Q 6 COVER STORY Turning the spotlight on the food crisis that is engulfing west Africa.
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Q 8 NEWS
Q 12 CAMPAIGNS Join the Rev Jesse Jackson at our Supporter Day and lobby of Parliament. Plus, help us to enlist the help of the FTSE 4 to continue our tax campaign
Q 26 EVENTS We’re up for the challenge of beating poverty. Are you?
Q 28 YOUR CHRISTIAN AID
From the floods in Pakistan and India, to preparing for the future in Sudan
Events and stories from your part of the UK
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Q 30 LAST WORD Paul Valentin on the case for development aid
FEATURES Q 14 POVERTY OVER
Q 21 COMMENT
Did the meaning of poverty get lost in translation?
Is population a growing problem? Discuss
Q 16 FRONTLINE
Q 23 INPUT Your feedback
Christian Aid News is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper
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IT’S FAIR TO SAY that every edition of Christian Aid News is about poverty, so this issue is no exception. Our mission, after all, is to see poverty eradicated. Hardly an issue goes by where we’re not drawing your attention to the most extreme form of poverty – the struggle for survival of people caught up in a natural disaster or civil conflict. In this edition, that is embodied in the food crisis overwhelming west Africa and the devastating floods in Pakistan, disasters in which your response to our emergency appeals has been unceasingly generous. But for this issue, coinciding with the publication of a new Christian Aid report, Poverty: We’re All in This Together, we’ve asked our writers to go under the skin of what we mean by poverty, to look at some of the issues that keep people poor and at ways in which Christian Aid and its partners are working to redress that balance. Talk of empowerment brings us to civil rights activist Rev Jesse Jackson, who will be addressing Christian Aid supporters at our special event in Westminster on 20 October. Will you be there? See Campaigns, page 12. Roger Fulton, Editor
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How Christian Aid and its partners are helping people to help themselves
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 October 2010. The acceptance of external advertising does not indicate endorsement. If you wish to receive this magazine digitally, go to http://digitalcan.christianaid.org.uk
Q Cover Nothing to eat but weeds: the food crisis in Niger. Photo: Christian Aid/Mike Goldwater Q Pictures Joseph Cabon, Matthew Gonzalez Noda Q Sub-editors Bettina Vine, Sophy Kershaw Q Circulation Ben Hayward Q Design and production Becca Higgins/Circle Publishing, 020 8332 8400 Q Christian Aid head office 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL Q Tel 020 7620 4444 Q Fax 020 7620 0719 Q Email info@christian-aid.org Q Stay in touch online at www.christianaid.org.uk
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THE BIG PICTURE
A COUNTRY IN DESPAIR TRIBAL CHIEF Bubacar Maman holds his arms aloft in despair after his entire animal stock has been wiped out by the current drought in Niger. His people have been reduced to picking weeds and tree leaves for themselves and their animals to eat. ‘We are starving,’ he says. ‘We have been going this way for two years. Many villages have been abandoned and the grain stores are completely empty, nothing but dust.’ Two of Bubacar’s oldest friends committed suicide after all of their animals died. ‘They were no longer able to feed their families and they just could not see any kind of future,’ he says quietly.
Christian Aid/Mike Goldwater
Over the page Emma Pomfret reports on an almost-forgotten food crisis.
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COVER STORY
SAHEL: A REGION TORMENTED BY HUNGER
More than 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are on the brink of starvation. Africa editor Emma Pomfret reports on a plight that grows more desperate each day TWO SUCCESSIVE YEARS of crippling drought and failed harvests combined with late, infrequent rains this year have left the arid Sahel region of West Africa teetering on the brink of a food crisis even more severe than the 2005 famine. On the desolate outskirts of Niger’s low-rise capital Niamey, families from the north of the country are living in makeshift tents, desperately looking for food and water. Just 150 miles northeast, in the sun-baked town of Abala, camel, cow and goat carcasses litter the roadsides in ever-increasing numbers. Despite basic foodstuffs being available in local markets, spiralling global and local food prices combined with long-term endemic poverty mean they are unaffordable for many of the most vulnerable groups. A staggering 10 million people are now facing extreme hunger across Niger, Mauritania, Chad, Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso. In Niger alone, more than seven
million people – half the country’s population – risk going hungry, at least 400,000 young children are facing acute malnourishment, and millions of households are now being forced to eat one tiny meal a day of nutrient-deficient weeds or tree leaves to survive. Vital cottage industries such as weaving and textiles have collapsed, and thousands of dusty, empty grain stores serve as a stark reminder that even emergency food reserves have been exhausted. Rather than attending school, thousands of children are forced to work as manual labourers in the fields of rich landowners instead, being paid the equivalent of just £1.30 for a full day’s toil from 6am to 5pm. With worsening wind and soil erosion and rising annual temperatures, the scale of the crisis is worse than in 2005. The next harvest is not expected until late October, and analysts believe that it will yield only 50 per cent of what would be expected in a year of good rainfall.
Ironically, instead of relieving the situation, recent heavy rains in the Sahel have caused severe flooding across west and central Africa and threaten to worsen the food crisis. Up to 200,000 have been left homeless in Niger, where more than 30,000 animals have died. Carcasses have been seen floating near water points, spreading further fears of outbreaks of waterborne diseases. About 105,000 people are affected in Burkina Faso and thousands more in Mali. Northern Chad has recorded its heaviest rainfall in 50 years. The torrential rains have aggravated the lack of food for communities,’ says Cristina Ruiz, Christian Aid’s regional emergency manager. Colonel Abdul Karim Goukoye, the military government official responsible for the relief effort in Niger, told Christian Aid that the situation in his country has reached desperate levels, with £32m desperately needed to plug the funding shortfall.
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LIFE ON A KNIFE EDGE
HOW YOUR DONATIONS CHANGE LIVES SINCE THE LAST food crisis in 2005, Christian Aid and our local alliance partners have sent funds to provide food and medical aid, set up and support cereal banks and food distribution, and pay for cash-for-work. Early humanitarian assessments indicate that the communities we have been working with over the past few years have been less adversely affected by the current food shortages. Christian Aid has now launched an emergency appeal to provide immediate help for the people facing the prospect of severe food shortages in the region. The Band Aid Trust has recently provided a grant to Christian Aid to implement a large-scale comprehensive nutritional feeding programme, which will support children experiencing acute malnutrition in Niger. This scheme is providing essential food and medicines for 17 feeding centres in Tahoua, the most affected region of Niger. At least 5,000 of the most vulnerable children in the region will be given a complete and varied diet for six months, allowing them to fully regain their health. To donate to the west Africa food crisis appeal, call 0845 700 0300, or go to www.christianaid.org.uk/west-africa
Christian Aid/Mike Goldwater
Mother-of-three Ramot Ali with the bitter weeds that are all her family have to eat
Christian Aid/Mike Goldwater
Young mother Basira cradles her three-month-old baby who she has not been able to breast-feed since birth
AMIDST THE SWIRLING red dust and brightly coloured headscarves, four hundred women and their severely malnourished babies and children sit motionless in the eerie midday silence, patiently waiting for basic medical treatment and emergency food rations. Young mother Basira Gada, 17, stares blankly into the shimmering heat as she cradles her tiny three-month-old daughter, Bourja, who weighs just 2.5 kg. Basira has not been able to breastfeed baby Bourja since birth because she simply wasn’t able to find enough food to nourish herself during most of the pregnancy. Today neither Basira nor Bourja have eaten for more than 24 hours, but Basira says that the gruelling 5km walk from her remote home to the open-air feeding centre and clinic at Guidan Ider village is the only chance she has to save her child. ‘My husband has left for Mauritania to try to find work as a casual labourer and earn money to support us,’ she whispers, her eyes fixed on the hard, dry ground beneath her feet. ‘I miss him a lot. I would like him with me now because I am frightened for our baby.’ Sadly Basira’s story is by no means unique and, though it is hard to believe, the families attending this feeding centre – one of five run by Christian Aid’s local Niger partner HEKS – are the lucky ones. Doctor Mahamadou Mamoudou, 40, who works full-time at the Guidan Ider emergency clinic, says that 80 per cent
of the children he has treated recently are severely malnourished. ‘They are already very weak when they arrive, which can lead to malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory problems among other ailments. ‘This year is very bad. On average we have 40 new cases every day and have to turn many others away which is heartbreaking.’ It costs just £2 a day to feed a child and an average of £3 for basic medication. Thanks to your generosity so far, seven feeding centres dealing with thousands of children are being run by Christian Aid and HEKS, with funding to keep them open until February 2011, at least. Meanwhile, in nearby Zantaram village, just 5km west, painfully thin mother-of-three, Ramot Ali, 20, has been boiling bitter weeds and tree leaves for over an hour, sprinkling the grinds of one or two peanuts in an attempt to eliminate the bitter aftertaste. Ramot has three young children under five, and her family has had nothing else to eat for six days. Her husband went out at the crack of dawn to find casual work in neighboring villages but, like yesterday and the day before, he came back with nothing, looking emaciated and exhausted. ‘If you blow at him he will fall over,’ she says, shrugging her shoulders. ‘We just have to survive the best way we can, but I have never seen things this bad in my lifetime.’
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NEWS
PAKISTAN FLOODS: AID FOR A NATION UNDER WATER PAKISTAN
Reuters/Andrees Latif/courtesy www.alertnet.org
CHRISTIAN AID SUPPORTERS and partners have rallied to support survivors of the Pakistan floods disaster, described by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as the worst he had ever seen. The magnitude of this year’s monsoon floods in Pakistan was unprecedented. In the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the equivalent of 10 years rainfall fell in just one week, sweeping through the length of the country, demolishing entire villages, roads and bridges and ruining fields, crops and livestock. Of the staggering 20 million people affected nearly nine million are children. The death toll stands at more than 1,700, with fears this figure will rise as water-borne diseases break out. At its height a fifth of Pakistan was
underwater, and a million homes were destroyed. Several million people remain homeless. In the immediate aftermath, through its ACT Alliance partners, Christian Aid helped fund the distribution of food and essential household supplies to 12,000 families, tents and plastic sheets to 3,500 flood-affected families and hygiene kits and hygiene education to 8,000 families. Mobile health clinics provided medicines and supplies to 54,000 flood-affected families. Shah Jehan, from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is grateful for the food packages distributed by Christian Aid’s ACT Alliance partner, Church World Service, but is nonetheless worried about the future for his 14 family members. He said: ‘Our biggest problem is that there is no work left. How do we earn money? We do not want to be dependent on NGOs [nongovernmental organisations] forever.’
The floods in Pakistan are part of a global string of extreme weather-related events, along with the drought and floods in west Africa and the heatwave and forest fires in Russia, which threaten food security. Agriculture is the core of Pakistan's economy and a major source of employment in the impoverished country. The floods which wiped out more than a million livestock and ruined 3.6 million hectares of farmland caused food prices to skyrocket and created a desperate need to find a way to help people earn a living and start producing from the land again. Christian Aid has been working with local partners in the north to make the most of this autumn’s planting season. Local communities are being paid to clean debris from the fields and plant agricultural crops, thereby regenerating local markets. In Sindh, the worst-affected province in southern Pakistan, vouchers have
I lost my husband in the earthquake, and I was living in a shelter with my son. This has now been destroyed as the half the land under it was washed away Mehr Nisar, flood survivor in Balakot, Pakistan
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Main picture: survivors wade through floodwater. Inset below: a precarious line over the Indus river was the only way of delivering aid to one remote region
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O You can still help us respond to the devastating floods in Pakistan. Call 08080 004004 or go to www. christianaid.org.uk/pakistan
INDIA
TEN MILLION HIT BY INDIA FLOODS Villagers try to rescue one of their cattle from the flood waters in Uttar Pradesh
Christian Aid/PGVS
been distributed to 2,500 small-scale farmers to exchange for agricultural products. Women were especially targeted and given smaller seed packs for growing around their homes. Cash grants have also been provided to shop owners whose shops and cattle were destroyed in the floods so they can start to generate income for themselves again. Christian Aid will also be channelling funds raised by Britain’s Disaster Emergency Committee. The DEC said the UK public’s generosity was astounding, with donations increasing week by week, belying donor fatigue. Growing awareness of the sheer scale of the disaster has seen the public continue to respond to the needs of people in dire need of help. More than £50m has been raised, which is being given to 13 humanitarian agencies, including Christian Aid, to continue their work in Pakistan. In addition, more than £2.5million has been raised through the Christian Aid appeal alone. Fundraising initiatives have shown how incredibly supportive the general public has been for this appeal. Five-year-old Megan Stuart from Glasgow raised £150 for the DEC Floods Appeal after baking cakes with her two-year-old sister and selling them to friends and neighbours. Megan was mesmerised by television images of an elderly Pakistani lady being lifted into a rescue boat, and told her mother, Grace, that they must do something to help. There is a tradition of raising money for the developing world in the Stuart family – Megan's grandfather Jack is the Christian Aid Week organiser at Lansdown Church, Glasgow. Meilyr Tomos, a young man with Down’s syndrome, has raised more than £400 for our Pakistan floods appeal by playing the keyboards at the Churches Together tent during the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Christian Aid has also received £75,000 from the Scottish Government towards its emergency work in Pakistan.
CHRISTIAN AID HAS LAUNCHED an online appeal for the people recently hit by devastating floods in India. More than 800,000 people have had their villages submerged by severe flooding in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. More than 30,000 people have taken shelter in government-run relief camps while thousands have fled to local schools and community centres for safety. About 150 villages are marooned, cut off from all relief efforts. The flooding, which began at the end of August, is the result of heavy rainfall in Nepal, which caused the river Ghaghra to burst its banks, a steep rise in water levels in rivers throughout Uttar Pradesh, and has affected up to 10 million people, with vast areas of agricultural land under water. Christian Aid has sent £50,000 to our partner Poorvanchal Gramin Vikas Sansthan. Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, Christian Aid’s regional emergency manager for South Asia, said: ‘The disaster in Uttar Pradesh has not gained the attention needed to scale up the necessary emergency response from the government and international community. ‘We are very concerned for those
affected by the floods, many of whom are from the dalit communities, India’s oppressed class, who have nothing to depend upon during an emergency situation other than relief assistance from the government and humanitarian agencies. ‘Christian Aid and its partners are already responding by delivering food and other relief supplies to the worst-affected communities. The local partners have long experience of acting quickly in humanitarian emergencies.’ Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state and nearly 40 per cent of its 140 million people live below the poverty line. Many are from the dalit communities, formerly known as untouchables. Exclusion based on caste and religion is rampant in the state. Most are landless labourers and small-scale farmers who work on land belonging to people from upper castes, which leads to exploitation by the landowners. The destruction of crops in the field means they will not have any work for months to come. To donate, go to www.christianaid. org.uk/india-floods O Why India still needs our development support, see Frontline, page 18
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Christian Aid supports the Episcopal Church of Sudan’s education work, including the Sunday School in Wau
SUDAN
ChristianAid/Antoinette Powell
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SUDAN REFERENDUM PROMPTS CONCERN OVER MIGRANTS THREE MONTHS REMAIN until Sudan’s historic referendum, which could see the birth of a new state if southern Sudan votes to separate from the north. The January referendum is the culmination of a peace process started in 2005 to end two decades of civil war. But as the referendum date draws closer, questions about the border between northern and southern Sudan must be addressed urgently. People who are still displaced in northern Sudan will want clear assurances regarding citizenship and their security if they stay.
Although some may remain, Christian Aid partner the Sudan Council of Churches believes hundreds of thousands are likely to return to southern Sudan following the vote. With the south’s essential services such as schools and hospitals already overstretched, investment is desperately needed. Peter Bay, principal of the Mundri Relief and Development Association’s teacher training institute, which gets funding from Christian Aid, says: ‘Education is needed for the south to develop. We need educated people –
teachers, doctors, health workers.’ Work with communities to ensure that people vote in an informed and peaceful way continues to be important. Martin Miyama, who is chair of a local peace-building committee supported by Christian Aid partner Hope Agency for Relief and Development, will be talking to communities in Bahr el Ghazal state. ‘People thought the election in April could not be peaceful, but it was,’ he says. ‘This referendum can be peaceful, if people really understand that they cannot gain anything from any conflict.’
ALARM AS COAL FUNDING HITS RECORD HIGH CHRISTIAN AID has criticised a record high of US$4.4 billion in World Bank funding for coal power stations – a 40fold increase over the past five years. Bank lending to coal-fuelled power projects significantly exceeds its financing of new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, which stood at US$3,128 billion in 2009. ‘This analysis reveals incoherence at
the heart of the World Bank’s thinking about energy,’ said Dr Alison Doig, Christian Aid’s senior adviser on climate change. ‘At the same time as it is seeking to gain control of billions which will be channelled to developing countries to help them cope with global warming, the Bank is still lending staggeringly large and growing sums to finance coal-fired power. ‘Coal is the dirtiest of all the fossil fuels
– the one which most exacerbates the climate crisis. By financing the building of coal power stations, the Bank is locking countries in to coal use for the next 40 to 50 years. ‘Christian Aid hopes that the World Bank’s new energy strategy, which it is currently preparing and which will guide its lending for the next decade, will fundamentally change its approach.’
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MATOPENI: WORK STARTS ON NEW DRAINS FOLLOWING CHRISTIAN AID Week 2010, Kenyan organisation Maji na Ufanisi (MNU) has begun work with the Matopeni community to construct new drains and install clean water points. Having campaigned for many years to secure funding for the project, members of the community were keen to get involved as soon as work started. After identifying a location to store building materials, they negotiated to use the space with the site owner. This is already helping work progress rapidly as workers do not have to transport materials from outside Matopeni. Work to prepare the site began on 24 July with 75 community members joining staff from MNU to remove rubbish, ‘flying toilets’ – plastic bags used to dispose of faeces – and other waste from the existing drain, which will be upgraded by the project. Just two days later work began to construct the new drains. A foremen, masons and unskilled labourers have been employed from within the community, ensuring that residents feel the new services really belong to them. Jeremiah, aged 14, says: ‘I feel good because people will not throw toilet paper and flying toilets.’
TAX CAN BE AMAZING
Christian Aid/Keegan Duigenan
KENYA
AT THIS YEAR’S GREENBELT festival, Christian Aid welcomed festivalgoers to its very own Tax Maze. The
BURMA
MBE FOR PARTNER SALLY THOMPSON, deputy director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), visited London in July to receive an MBE from the Queen for her 20 years’ work with displaced people from Burma. TBBC is a consortium of 12 international non-governmental agencies, including Christian Aid, which has provided food and shelter to refugees on the Thailand-Burma border for the past 25 years. ‘This is great recognition for
maze helped demonstrate why tax is important for development, how tax dodging is carried out and let visitors make their own choices about where they pay tax. At the end of the maze visitors were asked to send a message to Unilever, Vodafone, Intercontinental Hotels Group and TUI Travel asking them to support our call for greater financial transparency. In just four days around 400 video messages were recorded and more than 3,000 postcards were completed, calling on these firms to support Christian Aid’s campaign. See Campaigns, page 12
everyone who has been helping refugees to live their lives in dignity although they have been forced to flee their homes,’ said Sally. Nine camps along the border are home to 145,000 Burmese refugees who have fled ongoing violence and human-rights abuses in east Burma. Uniquely, food and shelter provided by TBBC is managed and distributed in the camps by residents. TBBC also helps refugees to become more self-reliant by encouraging them to grow their own food and develop skills such as weaving, agriculture and small business management. O Read more about TBBC’s work on page 19 and watch an interview with Sally Thompson on http://tiny. cc/x9nbq
Aid focus switches to long-term support HAITI HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people in Haiti are still living with the effects of January’s terrifying earthquake. The challenge of daily life is tough, and their journey to recovery will be a long one. Having responded to the immediate needs of survivors, Christian Aid partners’ focus is evolving into longer term support for affected communities. Thousands of families left their damaged homes in Port-au-Prince,
travelling to find sanctuary in the villages where they’d grown up. But these rural areas lack infrastructure or economic activity, and opportunities are limited. So one of the ways Christian Aid is making a meaningful impact on the lives of those we work with is by helping people find ways of making a living, far beyond the economic hustle and bustle of Port-au-Prince. Partners are providing tools and training to help people establish small, sustainable businesses. People will be given the expertise to run successful
businesses from fruit processing plants to fishing to rearing chickens and farming. Work is also beginning on creating hurricane-proof housing for families, using locally trained labour and allowing the communities themselves to decide on the design and structure of the houses. Your money continues to make a difference to those who need it most. Reconstruction will take time, but our partners are working to ensure that the effects are sustained. For further updates, go to www. christianaid.org.uk/haiti-appeal
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CAN WE STILL STOP CLIMATE CHANGE? climate change up to 2012, followed by a goal of an annual US$100bn fund from 2020. However, at recent UN meetings many developing countries have questioned whether this is enough action to stop climate chaos, and whether any of these commitments will ever be delivered. The next round of UN climate change negotiations take place in November in Cancun, Mexico, with a further round in South Africa in December 2011, leaving just one year to reach a deal. In spring 2012 – 20 years on from the original Rio Earth Summit where climate change first became a global issue – world leaders will return to Rio to discuss how we can achieve a low-carbon global economy. There are opportunities for a robust climate change deal to be put in place by 2012, but it will require strong, ongoing public support to push government to make the commitments needed to get it through. This is why Christian Aid, with our partners, continues to tell the politicians that it is time for climate justice. In addition we will continue to test our new coalition government on its commitment to tackling climate change – see the story above right on company reporting.
O For more on the science of climate change, see the latest Time for Climate Justice briefing paper, Warning Signs: The Science and Impacts of Climate Change, at www.christianaid.org.uk/ resources/policy/climate_change.aspx O To keep up to date on our climate change campaign, order our new campaigners’ pack Time for Climate Justice, by calling 020 7523 2264, or emailing campaigns@christian-aid.org
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THE START OF 2010 brought a lot of questions over the science of climate change. Climate sceptics fed the media stories that put questions in the public mind over whether to trust the predictions of climate change. However, after several reviews of the sceptics’ claims, the science of climate change has held up to scrutiny. Meanwhile Christian Aid partners in the south struggle to respond to climate change. What the climate science is predicting is that devastating images like those we have seen from the floods in Pakistan, the growing famine in West Africa and the forest fires in Russia are going to occur more frequently. There is still time to stop the impact of climate change from worsening, but the time frame is becoming ever urgent. The current climate agreement – the Kyoto Protocol first commitment period – runs out at the end of 2012, and we still don’t have a global agreement to replace it. On the surface, the controversial Copenhagen Accord brokered by the USA and China at last year’s UN negotiations promises action. The countries which have signed up to the Accord have agreed to keep global warming below 2°C, and there are pledges of short-term funds to help developing countries respond to
Christian Aid/Mohammadur Rahman
CAMPAIGNS
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FTSE 4: WILL THEY HELP US TRACE THE TAX?
Christian Aid/Tim Bryan
COMPANY REPORTING – MAKE IT HAPPEN
IN 2007 CHRISTIAN AID research showed that UK-listed companies were responsible for 12-15 per cent of global carbon emissions. Fuelled with this information, more than 60,000 of you took action and together we campaigned for company reporting to be included in the Climate Change Act. The outcome of the campaign is that the environment secretary Caroline Spelman has to report to parliament by 1 December on whether reporting will be made mandatory. The Climate Change Act was a huge success and that was down to your campaigning. Take action at www.christianaid. org.uk/spelman
WASHING POWDER, mobile phones, package holidays and hotel rooms are not normally associated with fighting global poverty. But as products of four leading UK companies, there is a connection. s UNILEVER sells food and household products to 160 million people a day. s VODAFONE is a leading telecommunications company with 427 million subscribers. s TUI TRAVEL sells 30 million holidays a year (including Thomson and First Choice). s INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP owns 4,400 hotels worldwide (including Holiday Inn). All four are in the FTSE 100 list of top UK companies with operations in many countries, including some of the poorest. As leading multinationals, these companies have the power to help us create a more just and transparent global tax system. At present, poor countries are thought to be losing more through tax dodging than they receive in aid. Christian Aid is not accusing these four companies of tax dodging. Nor are we asking them to change the way they do business as individual companies. We are simply calling on them to support publicly a new
international accounting standard which would require companies to report on their profits made and taxes paid in every country where they operate. This would up the pressure on the International Accounting Standards Board to introduce such a standard and make it easier for developing countries to detect tax dodging. Please help us persuade the FTSE 4 companies to back our campaign for greater tax transparency. Please send the enclosed postcards to the four companies. To order more postcards please call 0870 0787 788 quoting reference number F1924.. Better still, encourage your church or local group to join our local actions. For each of the four companies, we are promoting a different action: s UNILEVER: collect packaging from Unilever products that will be presented to the company s VODAFONE: text messaging s TUI TRAVEL: send holiday snaps and postcards to the company s IHG: local stunts outside Holiday Inns. More details of how to get involved with our local actions are available in our new Trace the Tax campaigners’ pack. To order these, and for more information, call 020 7523 2264 or email campaigns@christian-aid.org
20.10 2010: BE INSPIRED, BE ACTIVE, CREATE CHANGE Veteran civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson (left) is coming to speak to Christian Aid supporters at a special rally and lobby in Westminster on 20 October. Will you be there to Do Justice at the Gate? Campaigns officer Laura Trevelyan bristles with anticipation THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE and events that inspired me to become a campaigner but I will always remember the outrage I felt when I learnt of segregation in America and the respect I felt for the people who fought this injustice. Many people and places have stayed with me – Martin Luther King Jr, Little Rock, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Atlanta, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and all the nameless people who stood up and declared ‘we will overcome’. So imagine my excitement when Rev Jackson accepted Christian Aid’s
invitation to address supporters at our Do Justice at the Gate event in London on Wednesday 20 October 2010. There are very few chances we get to hear from the people who have inspired us (sadly, I will never meet a suffragette!), but on that day I and hundreds of other Christian Aid supporters will hear from Rev Jackson, our new director Loretta Minghella and partners from India and Zambia. We will then take our passion for a just world straight to our MPs as we lobby parliament calling on our representatives to tackle climate change
and tax dodging. At the same time we will also thank them for protecting the international aid budget. By speaking out, people have created change – segregation has ended, apartheid is gone and the Wall came down – but global poverty still remains. Join us as we refuse to be silent. Together we can change our world. To register for the day, call 020 7523 2264 or visit www.christianaid.org/ october. Many regions are arranging coaches to London. For details, contact your local Christian Aid office.
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How poverty became lost in translation A new Christian Aid report, Poverty: We’re All in This Together, looks at why a broader understanding of poverty is needed if the world is to achieve the ambitions of the Millennium Development Goals. News editor Andrew Hogg explains HEADS OF STATE who gathered in New York in September to grapple with the battle against poverty, were forced to engage in a lot of soul-searching. The summit was convened to debate why the Millennium Declaration of 2000, in which United Nations member states unanimously pledged to free ‘the entire human race from want’, was faltering on a number of key fronts. At issue were the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), milestones to be met by 2015, which include 21 targets and 60 progress indicators. The MDG yardstick for success is the halving of various facets of extreme poverty in the next five years. While important breakthroughs were trumpeted – the halving of extreme income poverty is on track for 2015, along with gender parity in primary, secondary and tertiary education, and access to safe drinking water – delegates were forced to admit that progress on others has been much tardier. Among the goals and targets showing scant improvement are access to sanitation, access to HIV treatment, use of contraception, cutting the under-five child mortality rate and dramatically reducing maternal mortality. Lack of resources was, as ever, the assembly’s clarion cry, with governments chided for failing to deliver on their funding promises. However, a Christian Aid report published on the eve of the summit, Poverty: We’re All in This Together, posits a rather broader explanation. It illustrates the way that Christian Aid works to eradicate poverty by empowering poor communities in various parts of the world through its
support for local partner organisations. Examples include the land reform movement in India, and organisations challenging the stigma surrounding HIV in Sierra Leone. Also highlighted is the work Christian Aid partners have carried out in Malawi to build disaster-resilient communities, in Kenya to provide cheap, sustainable power to villages and in Nicaragua to support farmers battling climate change. Primarily, the report, a sequel to Poverty Over, the 2009 treatise which set out Christian Aid’s vision that eradicating global poverty is achievable if the right tactics are employed, identifies flaws in the understanding of poverty as the key obstacle to making the Declaration a reality. Report author Alex Cobham, Christian Aid’s chief policy adviser, says the flaws were implicit in the MDGs from the outset. ‘Poverty is not simply a lack of income, or other material attributes such as housing, food, access to fresh water or consumer goods. Such needs are, of course, fundamental symptoms of what it is like to be poor, but poverty itself has far wider dimensions,’ he explains. ‘It’s a lack of opportunity, a lack of power over one’s own life and prospects, a lack of human dignity. ‘Addressing poverty cannot simply limit itself to treating the symptoms. Sustainable progress will only be made when the systemic and structural causes of poverty are challenged. ‘With the MDGs focusing primarily on seeking to reduce (but not eradicate) the want of some of humankind’s most basic needs, the Declaration’s ambition was lost or weakened. ‘An emphasis on empowering those in poverty was
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Christian Aid/Caroline Ward
A literacy group for women in Khartoum. Women and girls are especially marginalised when it comes to literacy in Sudan, where the female literacy rate is 30 per cent at best
translated, somehow, into telling poor countries what their priorities should be; an emphasis on the powerful meeting their responsibilities was translated, somehow, into mechanisms that largely exempted rich countries from accountability for their critical part in determining the global structures and systems that fuel poverty.’
efforts to combat poverty are adjusted to reflect this. O The third aspect is democratic and participatory governance. Where the Declaration clearly emphasises the need for citizens to be engaged and have power in the development process, the practical application of the MDGs framework has failed to deliver this.
Christian Aid believes that there are three key aspects to this lost ambition. O First, the emphasis in the MDGs on issues of inequality, and, above all, gender inequality, has been inadequate. In one simple example, twice as many women as men live on less than a dollar a day – the most basic determinant of extreme income poverty. This is not by chance, but is the result of known and predictable power dynamics. O The second aspect is sustainability. In 2000, a broadly shared understanding and recognition of the full importance for development of climate change and wider environmental sustainability was arguably lacking. It is vital that global
This analysis of the structural causes of poverty reflects Christian Aid’s approach to international development which is based on relational theology. This has a twofold origin: the statement in Genesis that we are made in God’s image, and the covenant relationship between God and his people in the Old Testament, both of which are developed in Jesus’ teaching in St John’s Gospel, which talks of a ‘oneness’ between the Father, the Son and those who believe in him. The causes of poverty can be seen as having their roots in unjust behaviour of humans and the breaking of some of the relationships that link us together – relationships such as those between rich
and poor, men and women, and people and the state. The challenge is to enable such relationships to be repaired, and, once restored, monitored to ensure their future good order. We are therefore calling on all who share our vision of Poverty Over to commit themselves to supporting two major actions during the next five years. O First, we must use our understanding of the shortcomings of the MDG process to demand key changes now, which can drive better outcomes by 2015. O Second, on the basis of the same analysis, we must work to ensure not only that a successor to the MDGs is in place after 2015, but that – crucially – it reflects the true ambition of the Declaration, recognising WE’RE AL L that a lack of power is integral ATCHHRISIS TOGETIN HER TIAN AID REPORT to poverty. To download a copy of the report, go to www. christianaid.org.uk/ images/were-all-in-thistogether.pdf
Over the page: Frontline looks further at how Christian Aid works with its partners on empowerment Christian Aid News 15
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FRONTLINE Residents in the Egyptian village of El Gawley have set up their own community kindergarten
Christian Aid/Tabitha Ross
Over the next five pages, Christian Aid writers report on how the battle against poverty is being waged in Egypt, India and on the Thailand/Burma border. Here, partners are working to empower people to shape a better future for themselves and their communities
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EGYPT
GIVING THE POOR A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING Tabitha Ross, Christian Aid’s Middle East communications officer, reports on how our Egypt partners are helping the country’s poor to work their own way out of poverty cent of women in Egypt are subjected to FGM, where a woman’s clitoris and sometimes labia are surgically removed. The process is traumatic and fraught with health risks. After Bless’s awareness-raising courses, the practice has been entirely wiped out in El Gawley. One mother, Manal, had already subjected her eldest daughter to the practice before she attended Bless’s classes. ‘The Muslim and Christian religious leaders came to the health Father Yohanna, a Coptic priest from El Gawley
Christian Aid/Tabitha Ross
THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS and the pyramids is a beautiful country with a rich sense of history. It is also a country where 20 per cent of the population live below the poverty line – some 16 million of Egypt’s 80 million inhabitants live in severe poverty. Christian Aid’s mission is to eradicate poverty, and that’s exactly what our four Egyptian partner organisations are working to do. Although they work with different groups – predominantly farming communities, fishing communities, and the workers of Egypt’s limestone quarries – all of them are giving Egypt’s poor the confidence and skills to work their own way out of poverty. Father Yohanna is a Coptic priest from the village of El Gawley, in southern Egypt. One of Christian Aid’s partner organisations, Coptic Orthodox Church Bless, worked in El Gawley from 2001 to 2008. Father Yohanna explained that when Bless first came to the village, ‘they said to us, “if we give a poor person assistance he will remain poor and ask for more help. So we want to give you a different way of doing things, a different way of thinking.” And that is what we got from Bless.’ The results have been transformative, in every area. Take farming. Joseph Tawfeeq has only a small patch of land, but has increased his income through membership of Bless’s village farmers’ association. The association taught the farmers how to grow green beans and wheat at the same time on the same piece of land, and brought them together to pool their green beans crop for export. Alone, Joseph could never have exported beans to Europe, but as part of the association, he has increased his income fivefold. Or take female genital mutilation (FGM). UNICEF estimates that 96 per
If we want to end poverty, we must support people to work together to make their voices heard education classes and told us that FGM is not a religious tradition but a cultural practice and that there is nothing in the Bible or the Quran about it. I attended the meetings and that was it – I decided not to do this to my younger daughters.’ Now Manal is an activist, working with others to eradicate the practice in neighbouring villages. There are many examples of how the inhabitants of El Gawley have taken their development into their own hands – demanding adult literacy classes from
the government, setting up a community kindergarten and after-school support classes, running vocational training and small loans programmes for women. Perhaps one of the best overall results has been the strengthening of Muslim-Christian relationships. Because people of both faiths work together on the projects, and the benefits are shared by all, Bless’s work often has the effect of bringing communities together. And in Egypt, where MuslimChristian relationships have sometimes been extremely bad and have occasionally broken out into violence, this is critical for long-term peace and security. Bless only works in a community for seven years, during which time it gets the local people to take full responsibility for the projects. Then, when Bless leaves, the village association is able to carry on the work themselves, leaving the organisation free to take its benefits to more villages every year without an increase in resources. Other partners that I visited in Egypt also do not give handouts, but work with people to claim their right to live a dignified and prosperous life. Better Life works with farming and fishing communities around El Minia in central Egypt. One village successfully lobbied the government to build a health centre, after rights training from Better Life. In the same region, Wadi el Nil targets the workers from the local stone quarries, where work is hazardous and badly paid, teaching them how to claim their rights. They have reached 15,000 of the 20,000 workers, getting many of them to unite and unionise. Poverty isn’t just an accident, or an unhappy fact of life. It comes from people being excluded from decisionmaking, from having the power over their own lives taken away by ignorance, fear or by those who seek to keep power for themselves. If we want to end poverty, we must support people to work together to make their voices heard. In Egypt our inspiring partners are doing just that.
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FRONTLINE INDIA
A FIGHT FOR DIGNITY, EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Anand Kumar, Christian Aid’s India representative, examines why development assistance to India remains crucial, despite the country’s giant strides in economic growth INDIA TODAY IS A RISING GIANT, an energy-hungry nuclear power with increasing global influence; its billionaires feature in the Forbes ranking of the world’s richest people. It is no longer perceived as a country of snake-charmers or Bollywood dreams but as the destination for multinationals to outsource jobs and services. Is it any wonder then that the world is knocking at India’s door to establish trade links? After all, that’s what drew Prime Minister David Cameron to visit this summer, accompanied by a huge entourage of business and industry leaders. The story of India’s growth has captured the world’s imagination. It is no great surprise then that voices are raised, questioning why the UK Department for International Development (DFID) should continue to provide development assistance to India. After all, you might argue, India can afford to take care of its own poor. At first glance, this is a fair question, but the answer needs careful inspection to truly understand the nature of India’s ‘magical growth’ and to see the reality of life here with a keener eye. India is a nation of stunning contradictions. Today, it has 51 billionaires, who have a combined net worth approximating to 31 per cent of our GDP. But according to DFID, up to 900 million Indians live on less than US$2 a day – this is more than the total population of Europe. Recent reports from Asian Development Bank indicate that the rich and upper middle class constitute just 0.46 per cent of India’s population, whereas the poor constitute 75 per cent (825 million) and the rest are lower middle class. A recent study by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative found that there are more poor people in eight
states of India than in 25 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, India has the largest number of people living in absolute poverty in the world and the largest number of illiterate people. Nearly half our children are malnourished and too many of them do not live to see their first birthday, dying from preventable causes. In India, however, the challenge of tackling poverty means getting to the heart of the reasons why people are poor. The simple and hard reason is that the vast majority of poor people are poor because they have been locked out of the benefits of India’s miracle precisely because of who they are – their caste, ethnicity, religion, gender and disability. Almost three-quarters of India’s population belong to socially excluded groups such as tribals and dalits, and face particular discrimination in accessing education, health and livelihood opportunities, with women among these excluded groups facing the worst forms of discrimination and exploitation. The high poverty rate among socially excluded groups is not an issue of income poverty alone, but is intrinsically linked with deep-rooted social systems and practices that keep certain people permanently poor and excluded. For the fairer distribution of wealth and rights in India, we must address these structural causes of poverty and break the shackles of
If India does not meet the Millennium Development Goals then the collective attempt by the UN and the rest of the world to reduce poverty will flounder
Nearly half of India’s children are malnourished
discrimination and exclusion. This is why Christian Aid works in India with local partners to ensure that socially excluded people have the capacity, knowledge and skills to access and assert their rights confidently. The Indian Constitution guarantees specific rights and entitlements for the most socially excluded groups and there are various government programmes targeted at them. Unfortunately, however, these well-intentioned programmes do not adequately reach the most marginalised people. So, through networks and campaigns, our partners are persuading policymakers to bring about changes that benefit the most excluded, not just the wealthy. For example, they are helping dalits to fight against the dehumanising practice of manual scavenging and to restore human dignity. Christian Aid recognises DFID’s continued commitment to supporting
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BURMA
A FORGOTTEN CRISIS
Christian Aid/Antoinette Powell
For refugees from the conflict in Burma, poverty is absolute. Arriving with nothing, they need everything. Amanda Farrant, communications officer for Asia, explains how a Christian Aid partner helps them to shape a new life
civil society in India and its focus on assisting the Indian government to improve the impact of policies and services on India’s poorest people. We are proud to be part of an Indian consortium that is managing DFID’s Poorest Areas Civil Society programme, which seeks to reduce the welfare gap between socially excluded people and the general population and to help socially excluded groups claim their rights and entitlements. We also receive funding from DFID’s INGO Partnership Agreement Programme, which is helping to support our partners working to empower dalits and tribals across India. For me, the imperative for our continued commitment is more urgent and compelling than ever. The widening gap between rich and poor is placing a serious strain on several Indian states and we could see the emergence of social tensions, even violent struggles.
The world needs India to be a stable democracy and trade partner but if the disparities between rich and poor are not addressed then the repercussions will be serious for us all. And if India does not meet the Millennium Development Goals then the collective attempt by the UN and the rest of the world to reduce poverty will flounder. But the most compelling reason of all is that the structures of discrimination and poverty rob people of their human dignity, freedom and justice. Christian Aid has worked in India for a long time and we remain committed to challenging the unjust structures that keep people poor and to helping the marginalised claim their rights and reach their potential, regardless of who they are or what they believe. For Christian Aid and our partners in India, the stakes couldn’t be higher – a hope for the future to get dignity, equity and social justice.
FOR MOST OF US, Thailand is an exotic holiday destination. For hundreds of thousands of Burmese ethnic nationality people, it offers a different escape. In the summer of 2009, Kayroh, a young rice farmer of Karenni ethnic nationality, made the dangerous and clandestine crossing from his homeland in Burma into Thailand. In fear for his life, he had been forced to leave behind his wife and two small children. Kayroh soon discovered what life is like as one of the 15.2 million refugees in the world today who have fled their homelands under threat of violence and persecution. Conflict continues to be a major driver of displacement around the world with half of the world’s refugees in Asia. The UNHCR report that the number of people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution rose to 43.3 million in 2009, the highest number since the mid-1990s. While 15.2 million are refugees who have fled across borders, 27.1 million internally displaced people often continue to live in fear inside their own countries. For years, 27-year-old Kayroh had farmed rice in a small village in eastern Burma’s Karenni state, trying to stay out of the way of the powerful Burmese military which regularly patrolled the area. In early 2009, he was wrongly accused of belonging to one of the many ethnic nationality armies that have been fighting the government military for decades. A wanted man, Kayroh’s life became a living nightmare. ‘In my village I was too scared to go anywhere and I had to hide all the time.’ After several months, he was helped across the border into Thailand where he found refuge in one of nine camps that
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FRONTLINE
THIS CHRISTMAS, HELP FAMILIES LIKE KAYROH’S If your church would like to help people in need around the world this Christmas, order your free poster, Christmas decoration prayer cards and giving envelopes by calling 0870 078 7788 or ordering online at www.christianaid.org. uk/christmas-appeal. Also available for download at www. christianaid.org.uk/christmas-appeal are worship and children’s resources, a four-minute film which gives an insight into life as a refugee on the ThailandBurma border, and a ready-made church magazine article giving an update on Christian Aid’s work with those displaced by the earthquake in Haiti. Join with us this Christmas to help families all over the world who will spend Christmas far from home.
THE LONGEST WAR The civil conflict in Burma is the world’s longest running internal conflict. Burma’s 130 ethnic nationality groups have largely been denied the right to take decisions about their status, governance, society, identity, resources, livelihoods and environment since independence in 1948. This has resulted in six decades of fighting between powerful Burmese military forces and a host of ethnic nationality armies that have used the jungle as their shield.
programme and build and repair shelters. It has also helped train refugees in techniques to grow vegetables in confined spaces. But TBBC recognises that it is important to reduce all refugees’ dependence on international aid. It is trying to help refugees find innovative ways to earn money in the camps, to supplement their diets and to develop skills that they can one day take back to Burma or take to another country if they are resettled. For refugees such as Kayroh, this support is crucial. ‘We think it would be good to grow our own food here so we can have vegetables to eat. ‘We want our children to be healthy and to be educated. We want to have a way to support ourselves too. ’ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
a monthly ration of rice, fish paste, chilli, oil and nutritional supplements for the children. ‘Here, I feel more free,’ said Kayroh. ‘I can sit when I want to sit, stand when I want to stand and walk when I want to walk.’ But life as a refugee, especially for those new to the camps, is still a struggle. Thailand is not a signatory to the UN Convention relating to the status of refugees and thus avoids any duty under international law to grant refugees rights to work, to healthcare or education. After more than 25 years providing provisions for refugees in the camps, TBBC now hopes to expand its livelihood programmes. The consortium already helps thousands of refugees to manage the camps themselves, weave sarongs for a clothing distribution
Christian Aid/Amanda Farrant
have been operating in the border region for more than 25 years. With support from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an alliance of 12 international NGOs including Christian Aid, Kayroh was given food, clothing and shelter while he anxiously waited for his wife Rhaimae and their children to follow him on the same traumatic journey. Much to his relief they were all reunited in late 2009. ‘As refugees, we can’t leave the camp. But at least we have escaped the violence of the Burmese army.’ Today, 145,000 Burmese refugees live in the nine camps along the ThailandBurma border. Without the support of TBBC, they simply would not be able to survive. But it’s still the tip of the iceberg. TBBC estimates that at least 500,000 people have been displaced as a result of persecution, forced labour and violence in eastern Burma. Aside from those refugees who have opted for the safe refuge of the camps, many of the migrant workers have fled Burma for similar reasons and up to two million face the risk of deportation as illegal migrants in Thailand and other southeast Asian countries. Shortly after Rhaimae’s arrival, the family were able to move into a newly repaired bamboo shelter that had been vacated by long-term refugees who had been selected for a formal resettlement programme in new host countries. Kayroh and Rhaimae could now receive
Kayroh and his family now live in a bamboo shelter in a camp on the Thailand-Burma border
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COMMENT
POPULATION: A GROWING PROBLEM?
In the ongoing debate over poverty one particular issue has become the elephant in the room: population. In the letters column in this magazine – including this edition – many supporters have aired differing opinions on whether overpopulation should be directly addressed by organisations such as Christian Aid. So, is it now time to confront the issue? Here, policy and campaigns journalist Rachel Baird gets round the table to broach this complex subject in a conversation with four of Christian Aid’s senior officers
Christian Aid/Mohammadur Rahman
RACHEL BAIRD (RB): Does Christian Aid agree that there is a population problem in developing countries? ALEX COBHAM (AC), chief policy adviser: Phrases such as ‘population problem’ are sometimes used as shorthand for the idea that population growth in developing countries is at the root of poverty or climate change. Population is part of these complex problems but it is not the problem. For Christian Aid, the problem is poverty – that is, of people lacking basic economic, social, political and personal power over their own lives. High rates of population growth can and do exacerbate poverty. There is evidence that when women get pregnant very young, when they have unintended pregnancies and when they have very large numbers of children, then they and their families are less likely to move out of poverty. We also know from our work that in some countries, their rapidly growing populations can damage the natural environment – for instance, the forests, topsoil and fresh water on which people depend. But for some couples living in poverty, it makes complete sense to have, say, seven children. The children
can contribute to the family’s income from a fairly young age and they represent some sort of ‘social security’ for their parents’ old age. Furthermore, the couple may justifiably expect some of their children to die very young, which may also influence the number of sons and daughters they want. Christian Aid passionately believes that it is for people themselves to decide how many children to have. The alternative is that governments start interfering in people’s private lives, as happened for instance in China and India, with the one-child policy and forced sterilisation. PAUL VALENTIN (PV), international director: We also know that many poor women have more children than they want because they lack the power to control their fertility. Across the world, an estimated 215 million women have an ‘unmet need’ for contraception, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a respected American body researching sexual and reproductive health. They are in a relationship or sexually active and want to avoid or postpone pregnancy but are not using modern contraception. The reasons for this include women’s concerns about side-effects, beliefs
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COMMENT
that they are not at risk of pregnancy, problems with paying for contraception and opposition from their partners. Many women simply do not know that contraception is an option, or where and how to get it. To help reduce poverty, it’s important that women who want to postpone or avoid pregnancy have the means, knowledge and confidence to do so, and the health services they need to help them have safe pregnancies and healthy children. There is clear evidence that, across the world, women who have had a secondary education have fewer children than those who do not. Part of the answer is improving reproductive health services, which include contraception and care for pregnant women and their children. Another part is improving the education and upholding the rights of women in societies where they suffer violence, discrimination and inequality with men. NINA O’FARRELL, head of the HIV Unit: For many women in developing countries, pregnancy has a huge impact on their health. Some 529,000 die as a result of complications in childbirth each year and 10 million suffer injury, infection or disease as a result of pregnancy and
childbirth. Fewer unwanted pregnancies will ultimately result in fewer women dying or suffering injury as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. But most important of all is the unmet rights of women to control their own bodies and to exercise choice over when, how and with whom they have sex. The links between sex, reproductive health, pregnancy and HIV transmission are often overlooked. Unwanted sex and gender-based violence significantly increase the likelihood of HIV transmission but for many women, the threat of violence stops them trying to negotiate sex on their terms, including how they space their pregnancies and whether they use a condom. DR PAULA CLIFFORD (PC), head of theology: A theological perspective that might be relevant here is that all people are equal in the sight of God. This should inform how we behave towards one another and characterise our relationships. Our good relationships with one another reflect the rights and responsibilities that we owe one another, whether between men and women or parents and children. I suggest that our rights and freedoms include the right to have children or not,
We know that many poor women have more children than they want because they lack the power to control their fertility and also that children’s rights to a decent life may outweigh their parents’ rights to large families. Theologically, this is part of what it means to love one another. That love could also mean giving up the ‘power’ to have children, so that there are fewer children without power themselves. Special care for women and children, particularly in cultures where they are marginalised, echoes the Biblical model and particularly the example of Jesus. RB: So what is Christian Aid doing to give women greater control over their reproductive lives? PV: We fund many different partner organisations which work on women’s rights, education, livelihoods and equality. We also have partners working to improve primary health services of the sort which can provide reproductive healthcare for women, men and their
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INPUT children. For example, I visited a maternal health clinic in Afghanistan where women can come for prenatal check-ups and for safe delivery by a qualified midwife; it fills a huge gap in basic health services and acts as a springboard for wider services. Another dimension is that by working with faith leaders on HIV, we have created space within faith communities and churches to talk about human sexuality. It is a tentative first step but also potentially an enormously important one. Unless we talk about these issues, we won’t get very far. It is a challenge for us to continue to build on it while ensuring that we will not be perceived to be promoting ‘Western agendas’. RB: What about population and climate change – where does Christian Aid stand on that? AC: It’s true that growth in the world’s population tends to increase the emissions that cause the problem of climate change, but we should remember that a person in a rich country does vastly more damage that someone in a developing country. In Malawi, for instance, an average person causes emissions equivalent to 0.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to figures compiled by the World Resources Institute. In the UK, the figure is 10.7 tonnes – more than 20 times as much. For Bangladesh, the figure is 0.7 tonnes; for Haiti, it is 0.8 tonnes; for India it is 1.7 tonnes and for China, 5.5 tonnes. That is just over half as much as in the UK and less than a quarter as much as in the US, where average annual emissions per person are 23.5 tonnes. On top of that, the already unsustainable rate at which we are using the planet’s resources threatens us all in the long run – but as Christian Aid sees in an increasing number of the countries where we work, it is the poorest who are hit hardest because they have least power to adapt. So it makes me angry to hear people suggest that population growth in poor countries is causing climate change, as if somehow the poor were imposing it on the rich – when the truth is basically the exact opposite. O See Input (right) for more of your views on this subject.
Inspired? Enraged? Send your views to: The Editor, Christian Aid News, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL or email canews@christian-aid.org OUT OF CONTROL I thought it grimly ironic that your correspondent Josephine Hanson (Input, Issue 48) thinks Gambians have too many children – something she knows about because she ‘goes there often’. It was an apt, if unintended, illustration of the fact that the issue is much more one of global resource distribution than absolute resource levels. Perhaps she should think about cancelling one or two of the trips and donating the money to you. I very much hope Christian Aid is not going to start advocating population-control policies. There could not be anything more un-Christian, and I for one will not continue to support you if that happens. Patrick Hanley Lancashire
FOOD FOR THOUGHT As a former midwife and lactation consultant with experience of working in Pakistan, I must comment on Josephine Hanson’s letter (Input, Issue 48). In developing countries, the size of a family is often not a matter of choice – it is related to poverty and infant mortality, and these issues are affected by how babies are fed. Breastfeeding keeps children alive and healthy, and protects mothers’ health in several ways, not least by delaying the return to fertility. It also keeps expenditure on food low. The Millennium Development Goals, designed to address global poverty and ill-health, are more likely to be reached if breastfeeding is protected, with any necessary artificial substitution strictly monitored. Readers may ask why normal infant feeding needs such protection? It is because breastfeeding is undermined by the activities of the baby-food industry, in contravention of the World Health Organization Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. In developing countries, babies are 10 times more likely to die if bottle-fed. Unicef calculates that 1.5 million such deaths could be averted each year by
reversing the decline in breastfeeding. Breastfeeding for at least two years helps delay the next pregnancy, particularly important where contraceptives are unavailable. However, early curtailment of breastfeeding can lead to birth intervals of less than three years, increasing both infant and maternal health risks. Attempts to reduce family size and population must address these matters. Alison Blenkinsop (author of Fit to Bust, a Comic Treasure Chest, sold in aid of Baby Milk Action)
P FOR POVERTY I agree with the points made by Josephine Hanson (Input, Issue 48). When I went to work in India in the 1940s, the couples around me usually had about 10 children, of whom nine, sadly, died. By the time I left, in the 1980s, they still liked to have 10 children, but nine of them lived. Where will they find land to cultivate, jobs to do, food to eat? Where will they live? I’m all in favour of medical facilities and relief for the poor, but the world has too many people, and the desire to have many children must be combated in every possible way. It is no longer an option to ‘be fruitful and multiply’, nor to say, with the Tamils, ‘a child has two hands to work and only one mouth.’ By every possible method of propaganda (not force!), and every free offer of family planning (with persuasion), the world’s attitude must be changed. Name and address supplied
ABOUT A SLUM I’m sure I share all our readers’ dismay about the slums of Nairobi. But is this enough? Where is the righteous Christian anger that millions of people live like this in 2010? We carved up the country in our interests in the last century, but Kenya has been independent since 1963. It is twice as large as Britain: why should there not be a fairer distribution of the land in the people’s interest? Dave Fleming Northampton
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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
GIVE SOMETHING UNEXPECTED THIS CHRISTMAS PRESENT AID, the charity gift scheme from Christian Aid, is launching a range of exciting new gifts for Christmas. Each gift represents a donation to Christian Aid and will change the lives of families living in poverty around the world. Present Aid is a unique gift that means so much to so many. GIVE TOGETHER Included in the new gifts for 2010 are four group gifts. Club together in your school, church, workplace or with friends and family and make a big difference to the lives of families living in poverty around the world. You could provide a gift to enable a child in Haiti to return
to school (£100) or provide a sturdy bamboo shelter for a Burmese refugee family (£230). Group gifts are a great way to get your community involved in fundraising and each group who purchases a gift from Present Aid will receive a special certificate of thanks. GIVE SOMETHING NEW If you’re struggling with gift ideas this Christmas why not chose a gift with a difference? New life-changing gifts include a flood rescue kit to help families to survive the worst (£22); an art workshop for children in Haiti (£69); and business skills training for three women in Mali (£13.50). You can make Christmas
giving even easier and shop online at www.presentaid.org This year you can find special gifts online that you won’t find in the printed catalogue! GIVE SOMETHING, WHATEVER YOUR BUDGET Present Aid gifts start from as little as £7, perfect stocking fillers. You could buy wriggling worms (£7), life-saving mosquito nets (£15) or fruit trees (£11) and much more.
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THE ART OF AID This year’s Present Aid gifts include an art workshop for children in Haiti (main picture) and a flood rescue kit (inset, below)
CHRISTIAN AID SUPPORTER and Pershore-based artist Timothy Vivian has generously donated his original artwork to Christian Aid. In April and May Timothy displayed many of his paintings in a retrospective exhibition at Worcester Cathedral. An auction was held and more than £3,600 was raised for Christian Aid. The remaining paintings are available to view and purchase online at www.timothyvivian.co.uk. All money raised from the sales will be given to Christian Aid. So, as well as owning an original, beautiful artwork, buyers will know that their contribution will make a huge difference in alleviating poverty. The style of Timothy’s work has been inspired by his travels and scenes of nature. He says, ‘Over the years I
have been painting, I have developed a technique of extreme looseness, aiming at abstraction, but never achieving it. It is like embarking on an adventure; a searching into unknown areas of reality. I find the experience exciting. I offer my works as a celebration of God’s visual creation and human construction.’ For more information, visit Timothy’s website or contact Christian Aid’s West Midlands Unit on 0121 200 2283.
Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda
CHAIRMAN JOHN WALKS INTO THE SUNSET
GIVE RIGHT UP UNTIL CHRISTMAS DAY Having a last-minute gift panic? Don’t worry! You can now buy Present Aid gifts online right up until Christmas Day and send a Present Aid e-card. GIVE AND GET A LITTLE BACK As a very special thank you for your support this year, if you spend £50 or more with Present Aid, you will receive a 2011 calendar absolutely FREE! The calendar features images from our projects around the world and includes key dates for your diary. The inspiring 2011 calendar can also be purchased separately for £4.75. O See www.presentaid.org
CHRISTMAS IN YORK will be quieter in future, with the retirement of Christian Aid’s area chairman, John Eckersley. John has been a stalwart of Christian Aid in the city for more than 30 years, initially helping at the Christian Aid Week shop, and becoming the chair of the York Christian Aid Group five years ago. He threw himself into the role with enormous energy, organising the distribution of Christian Aid Week resources and encouraging others to get involved. In the past five years the York committee has raised more than £140,000 from Christian Aid Week alone – nearly £30,000 a year. On Christmas Eve 2008 he got permission to carol sing and collect for the whole day at York station – and persuaded different church and school groups to commit to an hour slot each, raising £750. He’ll be back at York again this Christmas Eve for a final guest performance. Before retiring, John was a geography teacher and he has written
a number of books of walks with proceeds going to Christian Aid. He wrote the first in 1996 and they have raised more than £33,000 for Christian Aid. His sixth volume, Alphabet Walks, was published in April – 26 walks in East Yorkshire, all visiting a place with an unusual name. But although John and his wife Nancy are moving away from the area, their fundraising won’t stop. Next year, the couple are planning to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats, to raise more funds for Christian Aid. ‘John’s enthusiasm and commitment to Christian Aid has never ceased to amaze me,’ says regional coordinator Stephanie Cooper. ‘He’s one of a kind. When the phone rang and it was John on the other end of the line, I’d wonder what crazy scheme he’d be getting me involved in this time. John has arranged so many attention-catching and thought-provoking events in the York area to raise funds, and we’re really going to miss him.’
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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
HADRIAN’S WALL WEEKEND TREK
Christian Aid
A WINDSWEPT Hadrian’s Wall saw 12 intrepid Team Poverty trekkers do their best to walk all over poverty on 2 July. Two friends celebrated birthdays they will never forget on the trek and earmarked the 20th year of their friendship too. Trekking the wall was a great adventure and raised crucial funds which help support Christian Aid’s work around the globe. You can watch footage of this year’s trek and register to take part in next year’s at www.christianaid.org.uk/trekking
2,000 years of history, 25 miles of effort and 20 years of friendship THE BIG CHRISTMAS SING, 10-12 DECEMBER Can you hit the high notes? Every note sung, including the flat, squeaky and distorted ones, will help Christian Aid fight poverty. Discover hidden karaoke talents among your work colleagues, friends and family, create a judging panel among your bosses or just harmonise together in your local church – every Big Christmas Sing held will help raise more than £175,000 for Christian Aid. MOBO award-winning artist Beverley Knight (inset) said: ‘I had a great time at The Big Christmas Sing last year. I wish you the best for 2010 and urge people to get involved – it’s good for the soul!’ To register for your free fundraising pack, visit www.christianaid.org.uk/bigsing
Meet our Events Fundraising Team THE EVENTS FUNDRAISING TEAM organise and support fundraising events here at Christian Aid. Over the past year we have grown and developed by improving current fundraising activities and making sure that you have everything that you need to raise money to help eradicate poverty – and can have fun doing it! You can meet us, the areas that are covered, why we do what we do – and how we get our fundraising kicks – by reading our profiles at www. christianaid.org.uk/getinvolved/ events/why-us/index.aspx
My Christian Aid WE HAVE LAUNCHED My Christian Aid, a bespoke DVD-Rom fundraising pack that will really boost your fundraising efforts. From bake sales to golf days, the resource can be tailored to ensure your fundraiser reaches its full potential.
Christian Aid
SING BIG FOR CHRISTIAN AID
The 1st Cobham Girl Guide group and 1st Stoke D’Abernon Brownies raised more than £800 for Christian Aid by holding a sponsored swim and a miniature water Olympics. Using this pack, you can host your own fundraising activity. To register for your free pack, visit www.christian-aid.org/yourway
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SAY ‘ON YOUR TANDEM’
TO POVERTY
LONDON TO PARIS BIKE RIDE
20-24 JUL LONDON TO PARIS BIKE RIDE
Friday 25 March 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/super-soup-lunch
10 APR BRIGHTON MARATHON Sunday 10 April 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/running
17 APR VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON Sunday 17 April 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/running
15 MAY BUPA GREAT MANCHESTER RUN Sunday 15 May 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/running
22 MAY EDINBURGH MARATHON Sunday 22 May 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/running
18-19 JUN OFFA’S DYKE MIDNIGHT MARATHON 18-19 June 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/trekking
GET INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT by running 5K with hundreds of Santa Clauses all raising money for Christian Aid. These jolly runs take place at various venues in December, including Liverpool, Edinburgh, Southampton and London. Each runner will receive a free Santa suit to wear as well as fundraising support from the Events Fundraising Team. To find out more and to register, visit www. christianaid.org.uk/running
20-24 July 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/cycling
17-18 SEPT HOLY ISLAND MIDNIGHT MARATHON 17-18 September 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/trekking
12-18 SEPT QUIZAID 12-18 September 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/quizaid
9-11 SEPT JURASSIC COAST WEEKEND TREK 9-11 September 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/trekking
9-11 SEPT BUPA GREAT NORTH RUN September 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/running
28 SEPT-2 OCT LONDON TO LUXEMBOURG BIKE RIDE 28 September to 2 October 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/cycling
1-3 JUL HADRIAN’S WALL WEEKEND TREK
OCT ROYAL PARKS HALF MARATHON
1-3 July 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/trekking
October 2011 www.christianaid.org.uk/running
GREAT NORTH RUN THE WORLD’S BIGGEST half marathon was the destination for more than 100 Team Poverty runners taking on the 13.1 mile challenge in Newcastle on Sunday 19 September. And all of them were united in their goal of raising more than £70,000 for our fight to eradicate poverty. To find out more about being part of Team Poverty by running a half marathon, or even a marathon, in 2011 visit www.christianaid.org/running
EVERYONE WINS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, from Eastbourne to Edinburgh and Norfolk to Newcastle, put their brains to the test last month by taking part in this year’s Quizaid. Venues nationwide hosted quizzical masterminds while comedian Omid Djalili (above) got his followers involved online with a Twitter Quizaid – no questions over 140 characters! As little as £12 raised helps to pay for six months’ school fees for a child in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We’re getting ever closer to the target of £200,000 so if you held a Quizaid please remember to send in your money. Find out how to do this at www.christianaid.org.uk/quizaid And it’s still not too late to hold your own Quizaid, so for a free fundraising pack, with questions and answers, email quiz@christian-aid.org
Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda
EVENTS FUNDRAISING CALENDAR 2011 25 MAR THE SUPER SOUP LUNCH
SANTA DASH 5K RUNS
Jog on the Tyne Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda
On 21 July, 82 brave and excited cyclists left London for Paris on their very own Team Poverty adventure with 80 bicycles and one tandem ridden by John Dawson, who is registered blind, and his friend, Jon Frost. John Dawson was able to reflect: ‘The London to Paris was hard work and we had some problems with the back wheel after we went over a pothole, but, generally, the ride went smoothly. Jon is a very proficient cyclist so he took care of the technical aspects. The challenge was really well organised and we were cycling with a nice bunch of people.’ To be part of Team Poverty and take part in the London to Paris Bike Ride 2011 visit www.christianaid.org.uk/ cycling
Dash for cash
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AROUND CENTRAL ENGLAND
Knight makes their day CHRISTIAN AID supporter Beverley Knight went to Uplands Junior School in her home town of Wolverhampton to pick up a cheque for £1,721.50 after a week of fundraising. The MOBO-award-winning singer and long-time Christian Aid ambassador watched the children perform a play, took part in a question-and-answer session with them and ended her visit with some vocal warm-up exercises (pictured right). The money raised will go to a schools project for children in Brazil, the country Beverley visited with Christian Aid in 2002.
The East and West Midlands region will be running coaches for those wishing to attend this event in Westminster (see page 12). For those travelling from Leicestershire, there will be pick up points in Ashby de la Zouch, Loughborough and Leicester Forest East Services. For details and to book places, please contact the East Midlands office on 01509 265013 or West Midlands on 0121 200 2283.
WEST MIDLANDS
BREAKING THE SILENCE
The visit of leading Brazilian partner Ester Leite Lisboa (below left) will give supporters in our region an opportunity to find out how faith leaders in Brazil fight HIV and the stigma of those affected
HIV/AIDS, currently affecting 730,000 people in Brazil, is not only hard to live with – it is also difficult to talk about, especially in faith communities. Koinonia, a Brazilian ecumenical organisation, helps faith leaders from different Christian denominations and Afro-Brazilian religions, to break the silence by teaching them about prevention, reproductive health and gender relations. Thus, knowledge about HIV/AIDS
20.10.2010: DO JUSTICE AT THE GATE
also tackles the stigma which people have to live with. Ideraldo, a lay preacher with Holy Trinity Anglican Church in São Paulo, is openly living with HIV. He says: ‘It’s about building a liturgy of inclusion, and guaranteeing that people who are HIV positive know that, in our church, they don’t need to be afraid of talking about it, and can even be leaders.’ In October, Ester Leite Lisboa, coordinator of Koinonia’s health and rights programme since 2003, is visiting Christian Aid teams across central England. She will meet church leaders and Christian Aid supporters and visit schools, colleges and universities, to talk about the issues she has encountered in her work, including the challenging relationship between religion and HIV/ AIDS and the idea of Church as a ‘welcome space’.
WHERE TO MEET ESTER THURSDAY 7 OCTOBER 9.30am-2pm, St Mary’s Church, Nanpantan, Loughborough. Contact Sue Richardson on 01509 265013, or email eastmidlands@christian-aid. org THURSDAY 7 OCTOBER 6pm, Samworth Centre, Burton Street, Melton Mowbray. To reserve a place, contact Sue Richardson, as above. FRIDAY 8 OCTOBER 9.30am-2pm, venue tbc. For details, contact Sue Richardson, as above. SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER Holy Trinity Lounge, Spilsby Road, Boston, Lincolnshire. To reserve a place, contact Brian Newton on 01205 362433 or email eastmidlands@ christian-aid.org WEDNESDAY 13 OCTOBER 7.30pm, Parish Church, Diss, Norfolk. THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER 2.30pm, St Luke’s Centre, Beccles, Suffolk.
SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER Christian Aid Market Stall 10.30am-2pm, Methodist Central Hall, Coventry. SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER A Journey to Bethlehem 6pm, St Nicolas Parish Church, Vicarage Street, Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Songs and carols, featuring school choirs and other performances, along with reflections on Bethlehem by Charlotte Marshall, regional manager, Christian Aid. Includes Fairtrade mulled wine and juice. Tickets £5, concessions £3.50 (OAPs), £2.50 (under 16s). Contact Anne Vincent, on 024 7635 0737, or email pannevincent@gmail.com SATURDAY 4 DECEMBER The Big Christmas Sing 10.30am, The Lecture Hall, Shrewsbury United Reformed Church, English Bridge, Coleham Head, Shrewsbury. Come and sing Christmas carols with us. Choose your favourite and we’ll sing it. Fairtrade refreshments provided. For details, contact Jean on 01743 860472.
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MARJORIE VINER MRS MARJORIE VINER, a longstanding Christian Aid supporter and organiser of Christian Aid Week in Coventry, died recently, aged 87, after a courageous battle with cancer. Marjorie began supporting Christian Aid at the beginning of its existence in the 1950s, and has been a dedicated fundraiser ever since, raising more than £40,000 a year through the house to house collection and other ventures. A member of Coventry Cathedral, Marjorie sought diligently in her lifetime to raise awareness of global poverty. She worked with all ages, encouraging others to be part of the solution to injustice. We remember Marjorie fondly and she will be missed by all.
MINDING THE GAP WE ARE PLEASED to have been joined across Central England by three gap-year volunteers. Starting in September, the ‘gappers’ – all recent graduates – join us for 10 months working with under-25s to expose the scandal of poverty and empower them to do something about it. The trio are: WEST MIDLANDS Vicky Hotchkiss birmingham@christian-aid.org EAST MIDLANDS Sharon Natt eastmidlands@christian-aid.org EAST OF ENGLAND Imogen Tate eastengland@christian-aid.org
CHRISTIAN AID’S BIG CHRISTMAS SINGS! Join us at one of our Big Christmas Sings in Nottingham, Stamford, Warwickshire or Birmingham. Details in the events listings, below. Alternatively, if you would like to hold your own Big Christmas sing, visit www. christianaid.org.uk/bigsing
EVENTS IN CENTRAL ENGLAND
FRIDAY 10 DECEMBER Birmingham’s Big Christmas Sing 7pm, St Luke’s Church Centre, Great Colmore Street, Lee Bank. An evening of carols, featuring the Young Strings Project directed by Lucy Akehurst. Tickets £7.50 (in advance), £10 on the night, available from Birmingham Central Library or at www. birminghamboxoffice.co.uk For more details, contact 0121 303 2323 or 0121 200 2283. FRIDAY 17 DECEMBER Ex Cathedra – ‘The Night Before’ Rehearsal 6pm, St. Paul’s Church, St Paul’s Square, Birmingham See this famous choir rehearse for one of their sell-out Christmas concerts. Tickets: free with donations on the night. Advance booking essential. Contact Anna Burden, as before.
EAST MIDLANDS SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER Leicestershire Round Sponsored Walk Help us complete 100 miles of country paths by walking a section of this popular route. Distances range from six to nine miles and all are suitable for families. To register, go to www. christianaid.org.uk/walks or email walks@christian-aid. org WEDNESDAY 13 OCTOBER Rothley Quizaid and supper event 7pm, The Rothley Centre, Mountsorrel Lane, Rothley. For advance bookings (tables of four), call 0116 230 4634. FRIDAY 22 OCTOBER An evening with Henry Olonga 7.30pm, Loughborough Grammar School. The black Zimbabwean cricketer, famous for his black armband protest during a 2003 Test match about the death of democracy in his homeland, tells his story. Tickets £8 or £5. Proceeds to Commitment for Life (a URC project of which 75 per cent goes to Christian Aid). To book, call 01162 304634.
SATURDAY 11 DECEMBER Stamford Big Christmas Sing Concert 7.30pm, All Saints Church, Stamford. A concert of Christmas music, performed by All Saints Choir with guests. Tickets available from Stamford Arts Centre, 01780 763203 or online at www. stamfordartscentre.com SUNDAY 12 DECEMBER Nottingham Big Christmas Sing 3.30pm, St Andrews with Castlegate Church. Tickets available from St Peter’s Centre or your local Christian Aid organiser. SATURDAY 18 DECEMBER Carol Singing 10am-12noon, outside Sainsbury’s, Dronfield. Join in this act of witness and fundraising. Singers meet at Dronfield Baptist Church at 9.45am. All welcome.
EAST OF ENGLAND THURSDAY 7 OCTOBER Fair Food 7.30pm, Norwich Cathedral. Kathy Galloway, head of Christian Aid Scotland, and former leader of the Iona Community speaks about
Fairtrade projects. For details, email caspar. james@norwich.anglican.org FRIDAY 12 NOVEMBER Daventry Quizaid event Catholic Church Hall, London Road, Daventry. SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER Northampton Quizaid event Northampton Abbey Centre, 10 Overslade Close, Northampton. To book tickets, contact the Christian Aid Office in Peterborough on 01733 345755, or email east england@christian-aid.org
To keep up to date with local events in the East Midlands or East of England, sign up for a free email update. Email eastmidlands@christian-aid.org or eastengland@christian-aid.org
DECEMBER Busking in Birmingham To raise money for our Christmas Appeal. For details and to take part, contact Anna Burden on 0121 200 2283, or email aburden@ christian-aid.org
SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER Christmas concert 6.30pm, St Peter’s Church, Church Road, Brackley. Be entertained by musical pupils of all ages and abilities while raising funds for Christian Aid. To book tickets, contact the Christian Aid Office in Peterborough, as above. SUNDAY 12 DECEMBER Handel’s Messiah 7.30pm, Princes Street United Reformed Church, Norwich. St Gregory’s orchestra performs the first half of the Messiah. For details, contact the Peterborough office, as above.
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AROUND NORTH ENGLAND
Paul Judson
BISHOP TOM GOES OUT WITH JAZZ AND JAM!
Bishop Tom with Christian Aid director Loretta Minghella
RT REV TOM WRIGHT hosted his last event as Bishop of Durham at Auckland Castle on Sunday 25 July before taking up a new appointment at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. More than 250 Christian Aid supporters of all ages and denominations turned up with their picnics to enjoy the historic castle and grounds, to bid farewell to Bishop Tom and his wife, Maggie. The guests included the new vice-president of the Methodist Conference, Deacon Eunice Attwood and Christian Aid’s director Loretta Minghella who was visiting the region for the first time since taking up her appointment in April. Speaking afterwards, Bishop Tom said: ‘This is just the sort of event that Auckland Castle was made for, and how appropriate for me that it should be a celebration of Christian Aid’s work when ending poverty is so central to the good news of God’s kingdom of justice and mercy.’
EVERY LITLE HELPS
TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS
Over the past few months in the North West we have been unable to respond to the opportunity to collect at some supermarkets due to a lack of volunteers. It’s not an arduous task, and the more people who can help, the easier it is. So would you be willing to help out for an hour or two at a supermarket near you? Call 01925 573769 or email warrington@christian-aid.org
Well done to 14-year-old Imogen Allen from Scalby, near Scarborough, who has produced a recipe book, Truly Scrumptious, to raise funds for Christian Aid. There are more than 50 recipes in the book, including one from the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. It costs just £3.50, including p&p, from David Bridge, davidgarnerbridge@ googlemail.com or call 01723 362091.
DANA VISITS FROM IRAQ
FREE NEWS
Dana Mohammed, director of our partner REACH in northern Iraq, will be meeting supporters in our three regions from 28 October until 7 November. He said: ‘I want to explain the unseen role of Christian Aid supporters, and their contribution in bringing stability to Iraqi society, and to talk about the challenges we face.’ For details of where to see Dana, see listings or contact your office in Newcastle, Leeds or Warrington.
Christian Aid North East can now offer articles for church newsletters or pew sheets. We aim to produce articles relating to our work, such as news about a regional event or an analysis of issues affecting people living in poverty. There is no obligation to use each article in your church publication. To sign up for this free service, contact the Newcastle office on 0191 228 0115 or email newcastle@christian-aid.org
SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER Leeds district street collection Volunteers needed. Last year we raised £1,500 and this year we want to top £2,000. Can you help? For details, contact Katherine Hogg, on 01132 444764, or email khogg@christian-aid.org Morley Christmas card sale 10am to 2pm, Morley Central Methodist Hall, Morley, West Yorkshire. Voices in Harmony 7.30pm, St. George’s Church, Beverley Gardens, Cullercoats. An evening of choral music with Newcastle Male Chorus and their guests: Gloucester Police Male Voice Choir and Kath Ireland (mezzo soprano). Tickets £8. For details and to book tickets, contact the Newcastle office, 391 West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. Tel: 0191 228 0115 or email: newcastle@christian-aid.org A Transport of Delight: A Concert of Songs by Flanders and Swann 7.30pm, Sewerby Methodist Church, Sewerby, Bridlington, East Yorkshire. Tickets £5, or pay on the door. For details, contact Janet Padwick on 01262 673831 or email janet@ padwickbrid.orangehome. co.uk MONDAY 18 OCTOBER Volunteer speaker/preacher/ teacher day 10am-3pm, Lancashire Global Education Centre, 18a Ribblesdale Place, Preston. Within walking distance of train and bus stations but limited parking. We suggest
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EVENTS IN NORTH ENGLAND you use one of the city centre car parks. For more details, please contact the Warrington office.
Manchester and Liverpool to hear about the work of REACH. For more details, contact the Warrington office.
THURSDAY 21 OCTOBER Supermarket collection in Tesco’s, Scarborough Volunteers welcome. For more details, contact David Bridge on 01723 362091 or email davidgarnerbridge@ googlemail.com
THURSDAY 11 NOVEMBER Piano recital: Michael Davies 7.30pm, the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Michael is an award-winning pianist who has performed at the Wales Millennium Centre, St David’s Hall, Cardiff and the House of Commons. Tickets £12, from the RNCM box office or from the Christian Aid office. Call 01925 573769 or email warrington@christian-aid.org
THURSDAY 28 OCTOBER Fairtrade dinner with Dana Platform2 North East hosts a Fairtrade food event with Dana Muhammad. Come and hear about his experiences of working with Christian Aid partner REACH in Iraq. For details, contact Lizzie Spencer on 07854 170023 or email lizzie@myplatform2.com Jazz concert 7.30-10.30pm, The Jolly Minister, Valley Road, Northallerton. Music from the West Jesmond Rhythm Kings. Tickets £8, to include food. Bar and raffle available. Details from Geoff Davison, on 01609 780235 or email w.g.davison@talk21.com THURSDAY 4–THURSDAY 11 NOVEMBER Platform2 ‘Change your World’ photography exhibition Exhibition created and run by young Platform2 volunteers. Featuring three main sections focusing on issues of climate change, trade/tax injustice and sustainability. Contact Lizzie Spencer on 07854 170023 or email lizzie@ myplatform2.com FRIDAY 5 NOVEMBER Platform2 returnees meet Dana Muhammad Come to meetings in
FRIDAY 12 NOVEMBER Ermysteds Big Band concert 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Church, Newmarket Street, Skipton. For more details, contact Judy Rogers on 01729 830372 or email touredrive432@ tiscali.co.uk Sing for your Supper 7.30-10pm, at Holy Cross Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire. An evening of entertainment. Tickets from Doris Robinson on 0161 973 2882. SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER Christian Aid coffee morning, Richmond 8.30am–12noon, Town Hall, Richmond Market Place. For details, contact Judith Barber on 01748 824656. Swimathon Manchester Aquatic Centre. Sponsored event with the Rotary Club in aid of water and sanitation projects and the eradication of polio. Sponsorship forms from the office. Why not get a school, youth club, fellowship group to put up a team! For more details, contact the Warrington office, on
If you would like us to include your event in the next edition of Christian Aid News, please contact your local office.
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01925 573769, or email warrington@christian-aid.org TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER Carlisle Cathedral advent service Details from Doug Scott, at scott@vantydoug.freeserve. co.uk SUNDAY 21 NOVEMBER, 5, 7, 12 DECEMBER Advent Hope services In Bolton, Blackburn, Denton and Ulverston in Cumbria. For more information, contact the Warrington office. THURSDAY 9 DECEMBER Big Christmas Sing 5.30-6.30pm, Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne. Sing your hearts out for Christian Aid this Advent! For more details, please contact Helen Cunningham on 0191 228 0115 or email newcastle@christian-aid.org FRIDAY 10 DECEMBER Christian Aid Fundraising Day at St Crux, York Refreshments, light lunches, books, bric a brac stalls. Offers of help welcome. For more details, contact Jill Johnson on 01904 795652 or email jillyj@tesco.net SATURDAY 11 DECEMBER Carols for Christian Aid 10.30am–4.30pm, Norfolk Road, Sheffield City Centre. Collectors and singers needed. For details, contact Sara Millard on 0114 286 4427 email cello67@hotmail.com MONDAY 13–FRIDAY 17 DECEMBER Christmas bucket collection Manchester Piccadilly station. Volunteers needed: could you give an hour? Contact the Warrington office.
THURSDAY 16 DECEMBER Carol singing 6.30–8.30pm, ASDA Morley, West Yorkshire. For details, contact Hazel Rennison on 0113 2535107, or email msr52@hotmail.co.uk FRIDAY 24 DECEMBER Carols for Christian Aid York Railway Station. All money raised will go to York Christian Aid Group’s Zimbabwe partnership. Carol singers, musicians and collectors needed. Contact John Eckersley on 01904 410389, or email johneckersley@ymail.com FRIDAY 28 AND SATURDAY 29 JANUARY 2011 Snooker marathon and coffee morning Westborough Methodist Church, Scarborough. A 24-hour sponsored snooker marathon, and coffee morning. All welcome. For more details contact David Bridge (see opposite). SATURDAY 5 FEBRUARY– THURSDAY 3 MARCH Christian Aid – Just a Week? A series of 15 workshops around the North West to revitalise us for Christian Aid Week. Last year more than 75 groups and 220 people attended these events. We’d like to reach more than 100 groups this time. Contact the Warrington office for details of times and venues. 7 MARCH 2011 Director’s first visit to the North West 7.15pm, St Aiden’s Church, Sudden OL11 3HE. At the annual Rochdale education evening Christian Aid director Loretta Minghella will talk about the challenges facing Christian Aid. Details from the Rochdale group.
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AROUND SCOTLAND
Hunterston – no new coal Claire Aston reports on our campaign to halt a new coal-fired power plant THIS SUMMER Christian Aid has been busy responding to a new threat to the livelihoods of people in the developing world – plans for a huge coal-fired power plant on the west coast of Scotland at Hunterston. Ayrshire Power has applied for permission to build Scotland’s first new fossil-fuel power station for decades. Despite the ambitious Climate Change (Scotland) Act that Christian Aid welcomed last year, the Scottish Government has already endorsed the Hunterston plan as part of its National Planning Framework. Together with Oxfam, WWF, RSPB and others, Christian Aid lodged a formal objection during the public consultation period that closed on Friday 20 August. It is proposed that Hunterston will use carbon capture and storage (CCS), which stops carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere, instead being stored and buried deep underground. However, CCS, though revolutionary, remains commercially unproven on this scale. Christian Aid is concerned that the technology will only capture around 20 per cent of carbon emissions, pumping the majority into the atmosphere. Building Hunterston without full, tested CCS technology totally undermines the Scottish Government’s goal to reduce domestic carbon emissions by 42 per cent by 2020. More than 250 supporters have objected via email, and two partner organisations have joined the protest. Mithika Mwenda, coordinator of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, wrote: ‘We urge the Scottish Government not to jeopardise its commitment to reducing emissions by granting permission for a new coal power station in Scotland.’ Bishop Geoff Davies of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute added: ‘We need to stop burning coal which is a leading contributor to greenhouse gases.’ Christian Aid also views climate change as a social justice issue, given that developing countries have contributed
Main picture: Hunterston power station and, inset, Aldo Calco Bellido and his wife Hermogenia in Peru
the least to the problem, are the least able to finance adaptation, yet are disproportionately suffering its effects. Aldo Caico Bellido and his wife Hermogenia, for example, live in a remote farming community, high in the Peruvian Andes, which depends on mountain glaciers to provide a constant flow of water for drinking, irrigation and energy. But as temperatures are rising, the glacier they have relied on for most of their life is shrinking. Christian Aid was very involved in the campaign to prevent e.on from building a coal-fired power station without full CCS at Kingsnorth in Kent; our opposition to Hunterston is a logical extension of this position, which the Christian Aid board accepted in 2008. The final decision about whether or not Hunterston will go ahead is likely to be made after the Scottish government elections in May 2011.
Scottish election in May 2011 Keep an eye out for more information from Christian Aid Scotland about our plans for campaigning in the run-up to the Scottish government elections next year. www.christianaid.org.uk/scotland is the place to look. More in the next edition of Christian Aid News.
Keeping in touch In order to keep our costs down, we are increasingly using email to communicate with our supporters. If you would like to be kept informed about what Christian Aid in Scotland is doing, please email edinburgh@christian-aid.org, glasgow@ christian-aid.org or perth@christian-aid. org with your full name, address and email address. Thank you.
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THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR
IN THE YEAR 2000, 189 countries signed the UN Millennium Declaration, a historic commitment to pursue the eradication of poverty, and set eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which required progress in specific areas by 2015. But the worst financial crisis in decades has battered the economies of developing countries. They have seen their exports tumble, foreign investors withdraw, unemployment rise, overseas aid fall and remittances from relatives working overseas decline. There is serious concern that the MDGs will not be met by 2015. It is time for the world to refocus its attention on poverty eradication. This is at the heart of what Christian Aid is about; we insist the world can and must be swiftly changed to one where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. In partnership with
Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities, Christian Aid Scotland is organising a major series of public lectures in 2010 and 2011. We want to help supporters track progress towards the MDGs and to consider how we in Scotland can be part of the solution. Working closely with the Centre for International Development at Glasgow University and the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at Edinburgh University, we have secured high-profile speakers with expertise in the areas addressed by the MDGs.
Thanks to all our supporters who crossed the three bridges this spring and summer. So far we have raised £32,000 from the Forth Bridge Cross, £12,000 from the Erskine Bridge Cross and £13,000 from the Tay Bridge Cross, with money still coming in. Shaun Parkin, pictured, crossed the 1.5 mile-long Tay Bridge nine times, raising £177 towards a total of £439 collected by his Bible class at Trinity Church of Scotland.
The autumn lectures are listed below; we hope you will be able to join us. Further lectures in January and February will explore health issues including HIV, child mortality and improving maternal health, whilst Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, hopes to be able to join us for a lecture on developing a global partnership for development.
Christian Aid/Amy Corcoran
Kathy Galloway, head of Christian Aid Scotland, introduces a major new series of public lectures
Shaun bridges poverty gap
EVENTS IN SCOTLAND THURSDAY 21 OCTOBER Opening Millennium Development Goals lecture 5.30pm, New College, Edinburgh University. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. Admission free. See story, above. For more information, contact Keryn Banks on 0141 241 6141, or email kbanks@ christian-aid.org SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER Volunteer training 10am-3.30pm, Wellington Church, 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow. For more information, call the Glasgow office, 0141 221 7475, or email glasgow@ christian-aid.org
THURSDAY 28 OCTOBER Millennium Development Goals lecture 5.30pm, New College, Edinburgh University. Ensuring environmental sustainability, by Professor Michael Northcott. Admission free. For more information, contact Keryn Banks as above.
THURSDAY 4 NOVEMBER Millennium Development Goals lecture 5.30pm, Charles Wilson Lecture Theatre, Glasgow University. Promoting gender equality and empowering women, by Dr Lesley Orr. Admission free. For details, contact Keryn Banks as above.
SATURDAY 30 OCTOBER Just Generation conference 10am, Augustine Church, Edinburgh. £10 for a day of teaching from Andy Flannagan, worship, and workshops on justice. For more information, see www.justgeneration.org or contact Matt Grady on 0141 241 6133, or email mgrady@ christian.org
FRIDAY 5, SATURDAY 6 NOVEMBER Stop Climate Chaos – the Big Climate Connection lobby Help keep climate change high up the political agenda by meeting your local MP. See www.stopclimatechaos. org/scotland For more details, contact Diane Green, on 0141 241 6136, or email dgreen@christian-aid.org
For an up-to-date listing of all events in Scotland, see www.christianaid.org.uk/scotland/whats-happening-near-you.aspx
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THURSDAY 25 NOVEMBER Millennium Development Goals lecture 5.30pm, Centre for International Development, Glasgow University. Achieving universal primary education, by Professor Bob Davies. Admission free. For more information, contact Keryn Banks as above. TUESDAY 25 JANUARY 2011 Host a Burns Supper Join other Christian Aid supporters to raise money to fight poverty. For details contact Amy Corcoran on 0141 241 6138 or email acorcoran@ christian-aid.org
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AROUND THE SOUTH EAST Regional news and events in Beds, Berks, Bucks, Herts and Oxon
Caroline Williams of the St Albans Christian Aid committee explains what motivated her to cycle 300 miles from London to Paris and trek 26 miles in the Holy Island Midnight Challenge ‘TAKING PART in fundraising challenges for Christian Aid is my way of doing what I can to help alleviate poverty. I am inspired by the push for change. To me it just doesn’t seem fair that the poor suffer the most and I believe that by changing our lifestyles we can make positive change happen. In July 2008 I cycled 300 miles from London to Paris to raise money for Christian Aid. It was an amazing journey through England and France
and a real team effort. Preparation for the event is vital for it to be enjoyable. I’ve recently cycled the Coast to Coast; 140 miles from Whitehaven to Tynemouth for the Baptist Union of Great Britain Home Mission. It was an amazing experience and one that got me in the right fitness shape to prepare for Christian Aid’s Holy Island Midnight Marathon – 26 miles in 12 hours. There’s something very
A triumphant Caroline celebrates in Paris
Deborah Appleby
Meeting challenges, making change
powerful about physical challenges; you always come back wiser and stronger. It concentrates the mind about the reason why you are doing the challenge. I would definitely recommend the Christian Aid challenge events. It takes you out of your normal routine and you’ll never be the same again after what you have achieved. It’s empowering to know that you have done something to help some of the world’s poorest communities.’ By the time you read this article, Caroline will have completed the 26-mile Midnight Marathon, but there’s still time to sponsor her at http://original. justgiving.com/ carolinewilliams18 And if you feel motivated by Caroline’s story to find out more about Christian Aid challenge events, visit www. christianaid.org.uk/events
EVENTS TUESDAY 26 OCTOBER Tajikistan talk and meal 7pm, Radhuni Restaurant, Acorn House, Straight Bit, Flackwell Heath, Bucks. Amy Merone talks about her recent trip to Tajikistan over a delicious Indian meal. Contact Michael Payne on 01628 521677 or email paynemichael27@yahoo. com MONDAY 15 NOVEMBER (NB: CHANGE OF DATE) IOPT speaker panel event 7-9pm, St Michael at the North Gate Church, Cornmarket, Oxford. The Bishop of Oxford hosts a discussion on our work in Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. With Hadas Ziv from Christian Aid partner Physicians for Human Rights and Tabitha Ross, Christian Aid’s IOPT communications officer. Contact Amy Merone on 01865 246818 or email amerone@christian-aid.org FRIDAY 10 DECEMBER The Big Christmas Gig! 8pm, Port Mahon, St Clements, Oxford. An evening of live music featuring Duotone (Barney Morse-Brown) and Jessica Hall. Tickets £5. For more details, or to book tickets, contact Jessica Hall on 01865 246818 or email jhall@christian-aid.org
SATURDAY 11–SUNDAY 12 DECEMBER Big Christmas Sing down on the farm Farmer Gow’s in Fernham, near Faringdon, Oxfordshire. Carol singers will be in the Christmas Tree Barn. Contact Sarah Clay on 01865 246818 or email sclay@ christian-aid.org SAVE THE DATE Get inspired for Christian Aid Week 2011 by joining us on: 16 February Trinity URC, High Wycombe. 22 February High Street Methodist Church, Maidenhead. 28 February St Andrew’s Church, Bedford.
10 March St Albans Vineyard Church. 15 March Didcot Baptist Church. All events 6.30-8pm. John Bell of the Iona Community is leading two Christian Aid events in Bath on 2 March (for everyone), and the following day, 3 March (for church leaders). For more details call the Bristol office on 01454 415923. FIND US ON FACEBOOK! We have a new Facebook page for our region. If you’re on Facebook, search ‘Christian Aid Oxford’ and click ‘like’ to keep up-to-date with our work in the region.
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Regional news and events in London, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Sussex
Raise your voice for Christian Aid this Christmas ORGANISING A BIG CHRISTMAS SING is a fantastic, enjoyable way to raise funds for Christian Aid. Last year Bishop Justus Church of England School, Bromley, transformed their usual Christmas concert into a brilliant Christian Aid Big Christmas Sing by inviting three local primary schools to join them. As well as being great fun, the money raised at this fantastic event would be enough to provide primary education for 45 children living in remote rural communities in Bangladesh. It’s not just schools getting involved though. Last year, events ranged from a student group in Santa hats singing gospel music in a tube station, to residents in a care home holding a singalong with music from the Second World War. Could you encourage your local school or church to hold a Big Christmas Sing? Whether you hold a collection at an existing event, or organise a new Big Christmas Sing, we would love to hear from you! To register for a Big Christmas Sing Fundraising Pack, visit www.christianaid.org.uk/bigsing Alternatively why not join us for Advent Hope, an inspiring and festive celebration at the beautiful Lancing College Chapel, West Sussex (see details in the events section). Sing some favourite carols by candlelight and enjoy music from the brilliant Sir Robert Woodard Academy Choir. We will be joined by Christian Aid director Loretta Minghella and a special celebrity guest. This year, as we mark the beginning of Advent and the hope it brings, we will also be thinking about Christian Aid’s work to rebuild hope following a disaster, with a particular focus on our current work in Haiti.
EVENTS THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER An Asian evening 7.30pm, St Mary’s Old Parsonage, Church Street, Old Town, Eastbourne BN20 9HT. Christian Aid regional co-ordinator Kate Parr will talk about her recent trips to Tajikistan and India. Kate visited Christian Aid partners working on climate change education and adaptation, disaster risk reduction, land rights and HIV. If you would like Kate, or another member of the London and Southeast regional staff, to speak to your church or group about their visit to Christian Aid’s partners, please contact the office. WEDNESDAY 20 OCTOBER Do Justice at the Gate 11am-4pm, Methodist Central Hall and Parliament, London. Christian Aid’s supporters’ day, featuring the Reverend Jesse Jackson (see page 12). Please call 020 7523 2264 to let us know you are coming. SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER A Tajikistan evening 4pm, St Luke’s URC Church, Sedlescombe Road North, Silverhill, St Leonards on Sea TN37 6QT. Kate Parr talks about her recent trip to Tajikistan. Tea from 4-6pm and church service from 6.30-7.30pm
Children raising funds for Christian Aid at the Bromley Schools Big Christmas Sing
THURSDAY 4 NOVEMBER Discuss: a special church leaders’ conversation on crucial issues around global poverty and injustice 6.30-8.30pm, Interchurch House, 35 Lower Marsh, Waterloo, London. Do you ever ask questions
such as, ‘What does global justice have to do with my church?’ or ‘Won’t the poor always be with us?’ We are inviting church leaders from around London to bring their thoughts, questions and ideas on big issues like these. We’re delighted to have Rev Joel Edwards, international director for Micah Challenge and formerly general director of the Evangelical Alliance UK, and Paul Brannen, head of advocacy and influence at Christian Aid, facilitating the conversation. There will be opportunities to contribute to the discussion. TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER Advent Hope 7.30pm, Lancing College Chapel, Lancing, West Sussex. Carols by Candlelight evening in the beautiful chapel of Lancing College. This year the focus is on work with communities made vulnerable by natural disasters. Tickets £10 (£7 concessions) including Fairtrade refreshments. THURSDAY 27 JANUARY Annual supporters’ evening 6-8.30pm Interchurch House. Find out more about 2011’s Christian Aid Week materials, meet other volunteers and hear about our campaigning work from Paul Brannen, head of advocacy and influence. For more information on all events, or to book a place, please email LSE@christianaid.org or phone 020 7523 2321 (London and Surrey) or 020 7523 2105 (Essex, Kent and Sussex).
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AROUND SOUTH AND WEST
Taking time to say thank you
MINDING THE GAPS
Christian Aid/Martin John Nicholls
A good turnout for the Bishop’s garden party
OVER THE SUMMER we have been thanking some of our wonderful supporters for their efforts in raising money during Christian Aid Week and throughout the year. More than 250 Devon supporters enjoyed a beautiful sunny afternoon in the lovely palace garden of the Bishop of Exeter, Rt Rev Michael Langrish. The afternoon featured live music from Exmouth’s Storyville Jazz Band, speeches from Bishop Michael and Christian Aid staff and a wonderful cream tea in the sunshine. Meanwhile, in the beautiful farmhouse gardens of Barford Ice Cream Farm, near Wimborne, about 70 guests were treated to live music from talented local musicians and,
WE ‘LIKE’ THIS IF YOU LIVE in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset or Wiltshire you can now keep up to date with local events and news on our new Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ christianaidwest You can also publicise your local events for Christian Aid and then report back on them. Just email the details and preferably a few photos to our Bristol office and we can help you tell more people about your valuable efforts.
of course, delicious homemade ice cream. Supporters in Cornwall enjoyed a bring and share picnic in the grounds of Truro Cathedral and those in Devon who were unable to attend the Bishop’s cream tea were invited to Nightchurch at Exeter Cathedral to experience a thought-provoking new show from Martin John Nicholls, a cup of coffee and a cupcake or two. Christian Aid West regional manager Nigel Quarrell visited Tyndale Baptist Church in Bristol to thank them for their brilliant efforts in holding their Thursday drop-in lunches for 27 years. Treasurer John Elliott and volunteers presented Nigel with a giant cheque for £19,946.71.
OUR TWO NEW GAPYEAR volunteers this year both come to us after volunteering on our Platform2 initiative with the Department for International Development. Nadia Kouhi was with Platform2 in India and will be based at our Exmouth office this year. Her degree was in film, television and drama and she wants to use the performing arts in her work with young people. She says: ‘I am really excited to be a part of the Christian Aid gap-year scheme. After witnessing poverty in India, I realised how much we all need to help the world.’ Luke Harman volunteered in Ghana with Platform2 where he was building and working in a school. He says that experience gave him ‘a renewed passion to fight to make this a better world’. With that in mind he recently walked 130 miles to the Glastonbury festival and raised more than £800 for a water project. Luke is based in the Bristol office. YOUR LOCAL OFFICES 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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Wild Goose
Bell to strike a prophetic note
JOHN BELL is well known around the world as a worship leader, song and hymn writer and prophetic speaker and we are therefore delighted that he has agreed to lead two regional Christian Aid events in Bath at the beginning of March 2011. John is a resource worker for the Wild Goose Resource Group of the Iona
Community and is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland. He is an occasional broadcaster, and lectures at theological colleges in Britain and the US. He visited Christian Aid partners in El Salvador before Christian Aid Week in 2007. Both events will be held at Manvers Street Baptist Church, which is adjacent to the rail and bus stations in Bath. It has its own Fairtrade café and is close to shops and tourist attractions. On Wednesday 2 March (7.30pm) John will be leading an open evening of music and prophetic challenge to all Christians to get involved with global poverty and justice issues. Then, on Thursday 3 March (10am-4pm), he will be leading a day conference for church leaders with the Poverty Over theme. This will include workshops on a variety of related subjects facilitated by expert Christian Aid staff. Tickets for both events are free, although there will be an opportunity to make a donation towards the work of Christian Aid. Tickets and information are now available from our Bristol office and further details of the programme will be published in the next edition of Christian Aid News.
EVENTS IN SOUTH AND WEST WEDNESDAY 20 OCTOBER Do Justice at the Gate 11am-4pm, Westminster Central Hall, London. See page 12. SUNDAY 14 NOVEMBER Bishop of Gloucester’s Challenge thanksgiving service 6pm, Gloucester Cathedral. A service to give thanks for the fundraising initiative for marginalised mothers and their babies in south India. Contact Canon Adrian Slade 01452 410022 or email glossr@star.co.uk SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER Farnborough Quizaid 7.30pm, St Peter’s Hall, Church Ave, Farnborough. For details, contact Southampton office on 02380
706969 or email southwest@ christian-aid.org SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER World AIDS Day service 2pm, Truro Cathedral, High Cross, Truro. For details, contact Kirsten Norfolk on 01872 245002. FRIDAY 3 DECEMBER Woodbury Big Christmas Sing 7.30pm, St Swithun’s Church, Woodbury, Devon. For details, contact Barbara Woolley on 01395 232992. SATURDAY 4 DECEMBER Exmouth Santa Dash 12.30pm, Starting from Exeter Road, Exmouth. For details, contact Exmouth office 01395 222304 or email southwest@christian-aid.org
SATURDAY 4 DECEMBER Exmouth Big Christmas Sing 2pm and 7.30pm Pavilion Theatre, Esplanade, Exmouth. For details, contact Exmouth office, as before. FRIDAY 10 DECEMBER Truro Big Christmas Sing St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Truro. For details, contact Exmouth office, as before. FRIDAY 17 DECEMBER Night of a Thousand Voices 7.30pm, Exeter Cathedral. For details, contact Exmouth office, as before. SATURDAY 22 JANUARY Global Aware conference 10am-3pm, Broadmead Baptist Church, Union Street, Bristol. A conference to inspire and
CHARLOTTE TAKES ON HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT CHARLOTTE PAGE is Christian Aid’s new regional coordinator for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. She was one of our gap-year volunteers in 2007-8 when she worked with students and young people in Devon and Dorset. Since then she has been working as the office manager for a charity called World Christian Ministries. Charlotte has a degree in theology and a master’s degree in religious conflict and has always had a passion for international issues. She’s been involved with Nightchurch at Exeter Cathedral for the past three years. Charlotte is looking forward to working with supporters and if you would like to contact her she is based in our Southampton office.
empower local Christians to take action on global issues. Speakers include Dr Paula Clifford (Christian Aid head of theology). For details, email Jenny Foster at jenny@bristolfair tradenetwork.org.uk WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH An Evening with John Bell 7.30pm, Manvers Street Baptist Church, Bath. See story, above. For details, contact the Bristol office on 01454 415923 or email west@christian-aid.org THURSDAY 3 MARCH Church leaders’ day conference with John Bell 10am-4pm, Manvers Street Baptist Church, Bath. For details, contact the Bristol office, as before.
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AROUND WALES
WALES RESPONDS TO THE PAKISTAN FLOODS THE DEVASTATION CAUSED by the Pakistan floods touched the hearts of the people of Wales and, as well as giving personally, many events were organised and adapted to help raise the muchneeded funds. One of the first to respond was Meilyr Tomos, a young Christian Aid supporter from North Pembrokeshire, who was born with Down’s syndrome. ‘As soon as I saw the pictures from Pakistan I wanted to help the people who had lost everything in the floods,’ he said. Meilyr (right) was booked to play the keyboards in the Churches Together tent at the National Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale at the beginning of August, and he decided to use the slot to raise funds for Christian Aid’s Pakistan Floods Appeal. Playing a mix of hymns and Welsh folk tunes, he managed to raise £400. Two years ago Meilyr recorded a CD of popular songs, Arbennig i anghenion (Especially for Needs), with the profits being shared between Christian Aid and the Down’s Syndrome Society. So far both organisations have received more than £1,500 each.
Geraint Roberts, a Presbyterian minister from Anglesey in North Wales, regularly organises events in his churches for Christian Aid. ‘I always try to do something in response to Christian Aid emergency appeals, because I know that the money will be well spent,’ he said. For Pakistan he decided on a concert, featuring Côr Dre, a mixed choir, of 18- to 25-year-olds from Caernarfon, and popular Welsh singer Dafydd Iwan, supported by a number of local artists, many of whom were National Eisteddfod winners. A very good turnout ensured that the evening raised £3,650, with the possibility of more to come. ‘You never know how these events will turn out,’ said Geraint, ‘but once again the local people have responded magnificently and shown their concern for those in great need.’ Liz Lewis from South Wales had permission to collect for Christian Aid outside her local Tesco superstore in Merthyr Tydfil, and was busy organising collectors when the news of the floods broke. She took the decision to make
the Pakistan appeal the focus for their collection. ‘I know from experience that people respond better when they know that the money is going to something specific,’ she said, ‘and many people said that they were so glad to see us there. I think that they appreciated having a quick and easy way to give to the appeal.’ The collection raised more than £1,300.
PLATFORM2 TRIP INSPIRES MICHELLE MICHELLE CROCKER from Conwy had a dream come true when she was accepted for a 10-week placement in South Africa as part of the Platform2 programme for young people. ‘Ever since I was 14,’ she said, ‘I dreamed of going to Africa to see for myself what everyone was talking about when they mentioned poverty. When I stumbled upon Platform2, I couldn’t believe my luck!’ But more than just fulfilling the dream, the visit inspired Michelle to want to do something to help the people of South Africa. ‘They need as much help and support as they can get.’ On returning she decided to organise a fundraising event in Conwy to raise money for the work of Christian Aid
partners in South Africa. What began as a germ of an idea for a variety show with a couple of local artists, became Believe and Achieve, a jam-packed evening of live entertainment in the Conwy Civic Hall at the beginning of the August Bank Holiday weekend. Singers, bands, dance, rap and comedy acts, a celebrity and a DJ all gave their time and talents to support the work of Christian Aid. Dozens of local shops and businesses were persuaded to sponsor the event, and Michelle managed to get slots on two programmes on Tudno FM, the local radio station, to speak about her time in South Africa and to promote the event. A huge raffle, the Platform2 photo exhibition, stalls from the local Fairtrade
and Africa Roots shops, and regular awareness raising of the issues affecting South Africa, made the evening a memorable one for the large audience who came along, many of whom were attending a Christian Aid event for the first time. But it was also very successful financially, raising an incredible £1,103. This was Michelle’s first attempt at organising any event and she was rightly proud of her achievement. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she said. ‘people have been wonderful and it’s been a truly amazing experience!’ It just shows what can be achieved when you passionately believe, like Michelle, in justice for the poor and marginalised.
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Appeal aids dalits in India innovative video project the women have been given a voice within their own communities and the wider world. Their weekly radio programme, which focuses on issues facing their communities, has more than 50,000 regular listeners. The appeal, which is being launched at a special deanery service in Ruabon near Wrexham on 31 October, has the full support of the Bishop of St Asaph. In his introduction to the appeal pack, Bishop Gregory says, ‘Please do all you can to promote the appeal within your church
Wikimedia Commons
SHARING THE GIFTS of the Kingdom is the title of a special winter appeal by the St Asaph diocese of the Church in Wales, to support the work of Christian Aid partner, the Deccan Development Society (DDS) in India. Working mainly with marginalised dalit women in a drought-prone district of Andhra Pradesh, DDS’s social and agricultural programmes have already enabled 5,000 poor and excluded women to regain control of their own food production. And through an
St Asaph Cathedral
and community, so that as many people as possible can share in this opportunity of transforming lives.’ Details about the appeal and resources can be obtained from the Christian Aid office in Bangor on 01248 353574 or from the Diocesan Office 01745 532591.
EVENTS IN WALES – DIGWYDDIADAU YNG NGHYMRU GWENER 8 HYDREF- SUL 10 HYDREF Penwythnos Cymorth Cristnogol Coleg Trefeca, Talgarth, Powys. Penwythnos blynyddol Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru, sy’n gyfle i glywed am waith partneriaid Cymorth Cristnogol ar draws y byd. Cysylltwch â Swyddfa EBC ar 029 2062 7425 am fanylion a chofrestru.
Full details available from Rev Nan Wyn Powell-Davies on 01352 753668.
FRIDAY 8 OCTOBERSUNDAY 10 OCTOBER Christian Aid Weekend Trefecca College, Talgarth, Powys. Organised by the Presbyterian Church of Wales, this popular weekend is an opportunity to learn about the work of Christian Aid partners around the world. For details and registration contact the Presbyterian Church of Wales office on 029 2062 7425.
WEDNESDAY 20 OCTOBER Supporter Day 11am-4pm, Methodist Central Hall and Parliament London. Christian Aid is organising a supporter coach from South Wales. Please contact our office in Cardiff (029 2084 4646) or Carmarthen (01267 237257) for details. Supporters from North Wales should contact the Bangor office (01248 353574) for details about travel arrangements.
WEDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER A Meal with Music Mold Town Hall, Mold. Enjoy a three-course meal to the accompaniment of a string quartet. Tickets £15.
MERCHER 15 HYDREF Pryd bwyd a cherddoriaeth Neuadd Tref Yr Wyddgrug. Mwynhewch pryd bwyd tri chwrs i sain hyfryd pedwarawd llinynnol Pris tocyn £15. Manylion ar gael gan Parch Nan Wyn Powell-Davies ar 01352 753668.
MERCHER 20 HYDREF Diwrnod Cefnogwyr Cymorth Cristnogol 11.00yb-4.00yh, Methodist Central Hall a’r Ty Cyffredin, Llundain. Siaradwr gwadd: Jesse
Jackson, yr ymgyrchydd hawliau sifil byd enwog, a hefyd partneriaid Cymorth Cristnogol o India, Zambia a Haiti. Mae Cymorth Cristnogol yn trefnu bws i gefnogwyr o Dde Cymru. Cysylltwch â’n swyddfa yng Nghaerdydd (029 2084 4646) neu Caerfyrddin (01267 237257) am wybodaeth. Dylai cefnogwyr o’r Gogledd gysylltu â swyddfa Bangor (01248 353574) am fanylion teithio. SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER Diocese of St Asaph Winter Appeal Launch Service 6pm, St Mary’s Church Ruabon near Wrexham. Supporting the work of Christian Aid partner DDS in India, with a guest speaker from the partner organisation. Further details from Anna Jane Evans on 01248 353574. NOS SUL 31 HYDREF Gwasanaeth Lansio Apêl Gaeaf Esgobaeth Llanelwy 6pm, Eglwys y Santes Fair, Rhuabon. Yn cefnogi gwaith DDS, partner Cymorth Cristnogol yn Ne India. Anerchiad gan un o
bartneriaid Cymorth Cristnogol o’r India Manylion pellach gan Anna Jane Evans ar 01248 353574. SATURDAY 6 NOVEMBER Christian Aid coffee morning 9.30am-12noon, the Town Hall, Cardigan. For details contact David Peregrine on 01239 612182. SADWRN 6 TACHWEDD Bore Coffi Cymorth Cristnogol 9.30yb tan 12.00yp, Neuadd y Dref, Aberteifi. Manylion gan David Peregrine ar 01239 612182. SATURDAY 13 NOVEMBER Christian Aid coffee morning and children’s clothes stall 10.30am, Bethesda Chapel, Mold. For details contact Rev Nan Wyn Powell-Davies on 01352 753668. SADWRN 13 TACHWEDD Bore Coffi ac Arwerthiant Dillad Plant. 10.30yb, Capel Bethesda Yr Wyddgrug. Elw i Cymorth Cristnogol. Manylion llawn gan Parchg Nan Wyn Powell-Davies ar 01352 753668.
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LAST WORD
Clockwise from top left: our neighbours – the dalit ‘scavenger’ in India, the HIV-positive person in Zambia, the survivor in Haiti, the female student in Afghanistan
of State for International Development, has begun to use as well. We need to understand global resource flows and to ensure that more flows towards the poor. National governments need the capacity to generate their own resources for development and to spend them well and in an accountable way, ensuring that poor people really benefit. We need to refocus the aid debate around equity – aid that creates wealthy middle classes or that fills the pockets of people in power is meaningless. In the long term, we want to eliminate the need for aid, with the exception of international support in times of crises. The UK government is currently reviewing all the different aid channels and Christian Aid will contribute to that review, based on our work with partners over many years, to ensure that we do not lose sight of the root causes of
DOING THE SUMS O The planned UK budget for international development for 2010-11, as of July, was £6bn, compared with £101bn for health and £35bn for defence.
Christian Aid
w Gonzalez Noda Christian Aid/Matthe
Christian Aid/Tabitha Ross
IN AN INCREASINGLY globalised world, we cannot expect to isolate ourselves from the reality that every day, more than a billion people go to bed hungry, that millions of children die from preventable diseases, that millions of women still die needlessly in childbirth and that the human potential of perhaps three billion people will not be realised due to poverty. We cannot expect to tackle problems such as climate change, unsustainable population growth and increasing regional and global insecurity if poverty remains the scourge of humankind. There is also our self-interest. Without aid, we would still have to spend to tackle the implications of poverty: the threats to our security, the growth of the illegal economy, the spread of infectious diseases and access to critical natural resources. We defend the aid budget because providing international aid is the right thing to do; it is a moral duty. However, we should be concerned about the correct use of that aid budget – just spending the money is no guarantee of reducing poverty. Aid spending should address the root causes as well as symptoms of poverty. These have political dimensions, they highlight our own role in perpetuating poverty and they may not always fit into easily measurable boxes. In our own efforts to get to the root causes, we have also discovered the need to think beyond aid – encouragingly, this is a phrase which Andrew Mitchell MP, the new Secretary
e Duigenan Christian Aid/Elain
Why should the government continue to commit to overseas development, while cutting spending at home? Christian Aid’s international director, Paul Valentin, rounds up this issue’s examination of poverty as he puts the case for ring-fencing international aid
Duigenan Christian Aid/Elaine
IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO
A reflection on playing a part in the fight against poverty, and living life in the wider family of Christian Aid
poverty. We may argue against aspects of aid spending where we feel the outcomes are questionable or worse. If, as a result of the wider consultations, the British aid effort becomes more efficient, better targeted and more effective, then this will be an important step in convincing more people that international aid is worth fighting for. Yet this is not the whole story. At the heart of Christian Aid’s response is our Christian understanding that ‘to love your neighbour as you love yourself’ is not a theoretical option or a command that can be interpreted selectively. We have come to recognise our neighbour in the dalit woman in Tamil Nadu liberating herself from manual scavenging, the Afghan girl yearning for an education, the HIV-positive person in Zambia, the disaster survivor in Haiti. We cannot accept a world that says: ‘Sorry, but I have a problem of my own to attend to’, or, ‘You are so different from me that I don’t share your predicament’.
O The government, and all major political parties, want to enshrine in law a commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of our gross national income on international development from 2013. Christian Aid welcomes this commitment to protect our spending for the benefit of the world’s poor.
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Fundraise your way to end poverty
Why not organise your own fundraiser? How about a cake sale, a coffee morning or even an art auction or fashion show? It’s fun and easy and you’ll be raising money to help end poverty. Order your free fundraising pack and you’ll have everything you need to make your fundraiser successful.
To register for your free fundraising pack on DVD-Rom visit www.christianaid.org.uk/yourway
CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD See the work of Christian Aid partners for yourself Through our ethical travel partner Skedaddle, we aim to provide you with an authentic insight into the country you visit and a once-in-alifetime opportunity to witness the empowering work of our partners.
Christian Aid/Alex Jones
‘The wonder of seeing the difference that our support has made to the farming community in Euthini was only surpassed by the fun and exuberance of our welcome. The joy of meeting our partners will stay with me and inspire me to continue to help end poverty.’ Mary Fallon, Christian Aid supporter, on visiting the work of our partners in Malawi.
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Skedaddle has been named as an outstanding green travel company, as voted for by The Guardian’s team of experts in their Green List 2010, and has designed the tours to be sensitive to the country and people visited.
South Africa – 24 October 2010 and 23 October 2011 Spend time with Christian Aid partners involved in a variety of development issues from workers’ rights to land reform and HIV, issues that affect a great many people in a country where there are huge wealth, power and education gaps between rich and poor. India – 21 November 2010 and 30 October 2011 After you meet Christian Aid staff in Delhi and visit field projects throughout northern India, we hope the trip will help you return energised and inspired. Malawi – 23 May 2011 Experience a range of our partners’ projects, from those working to improve agricultural practices and protect the environment, to education and health issues, particularly in the fight against the spread of HIV. To book your inspiration, visit www.christianaidtours.skedaddle.co.uk or contact Lizzie at Skedaddle 0191 265 1110, christianaid@skedaddle.co.uk
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HELP THOSE FAR FROM HOME THIS CHRISTMAS This Christmas, Christian Aid supporters will be helping displaced families all over the world. Your generosity will allow Christian Aid to provide food and shelter to people forced to flee to a foreign land. How will you get involved? ( Hold a Big Christmas Sing (or join one of ours!). ( Club together in your workplace, church, school or community to buy a Group Gift from Present Aid. ( Donate to our Christmas appeal. ( Download or order free church resources and support the Christmas appeal in your church. However you decide to get involved this Christmas, your contribution will make a difference to the lives of people forced to leave their homes because of conflict or natural disaster.
Everything you need to help can be found on our Christmas website
www.christianaid.org.uk/christmas Above: A nursery school for refugees on the Thailand-Burma border. Christian Aid /Amanda Farrant
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