Christian Aid News 53

CHRISTIAN AID NEWS Issue 53

Autumn 2011

christianaid.org.uk

EAST AFRICA CRISIS Special report on the impact of the current drought – and how our partners are helping

• Afghanistan: the women who fear for their future • Tax and climate: the campaign pressure builds

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GIVE POVERTY THE RUN-AROUND THIS CHRISTMAS! FUN RUNS DECEMBER 2011 Join Christian Aid for some festive fun in Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Loughborough or Southampton this December. Help sleigh poverty this Christmas!

Register NOW

christianaid.org.uk/running email events@christian-aid.org or call 020 7523 2019

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Every time an account is opened, The Co-operative Bank gives Christian Aid £15. A further £2.50 is donated when the new card is used within six months, and then 25p for every £100 spent on the card for all other purchases.

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The Co-operative Bank p.l.c. (Registered No. 990937), Head Office, PO Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M60 4EP. The Co-operative Bank is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (No. 121885), subscribes to the Lending Code, is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service and is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading (No. 006110). Calls may be monitored or recorded for security and training purposes.

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CONTENTS

EDITOR’S LETTER

F1980

Christian Aid News is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper

Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance

ONE STORY DOMINATES this issue of Christian Aid News – the drought crisis in east Africa, which has left more than 12 million people facing starvation.

And as our reports on pages 4-11 show, while the drought may be made by nature, its worst effects are exacerbated by man.

The region is no stranger to drought, and Christian Aid has been working for many years in Kenya and Ethiopia to help communities there develop coping strategies. By contrast, in Somalia, a country riven by conflict and where militants are denying access to western humanitarian agencies, many thousands have been displaced and are seeking refuge in camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. It’s hard to see where this one ends.

Most media coverage of Afghanistan focuses on the growing tally of soldiers killed or maimed in the battle against the Taliban.

With withdrawal plans now being made, our Frontline report on page 16 hears from Afghan women who fear that the improvements in their rights may be rolled back in a rush to peace. If you want to know what our forces are fighting for, listen to their voices.

Roger Fulton, Editor

4

A refugee at Dadaab camp gathers wood to make a shelter

REGULARS

some new dates for your own challenge diary.

■ 12 NEWS Including: a preview of Christian Aid’s Annual Report 2010/11 – and a review of our supporter survey. Plus tackling poverty in Tajikistan.

■ 28 YOUR CHRISTIAN AID

16

■ 20 CAMPAIGNS MPs boost our push to persuade the World Bank to abandon fossil fuels, plus the latest on our climate change campaign.

■ 23 INPUT Your feedback.

20

Meet the eco-pioneer whose company is changing the way we get our electricity.

Catch up with our London to Paris Bike Ride and make

■ 30 LAST WORD One family’s unique response to the East Africa Crisis appeal.

SPECIAL FEATURES

■ 24 LIFE AND SOUL

■ 26 EVENTS

Events and stories from your part of the UK.

■ 4 COVER STORY As east Africa faces its worst drought in 60 years, we report on how our partners are responding to the crisis.

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.

■ 16 FRONTLINE

26

Afghanistan’s newly empowered women voice their fears for the future once the international forces pull out.

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 September 2011. The acceptance of external advertising does not indicate endorsement. If you wish to receive this magazine digitally, go to digitalcan.christianaid.org.uk

■ Front cover Somali refugees in Dadaab camp, Kenya. Photo: Christian Aid/Sarah Wilson ■ Pictures Joseph Cabon ■ Sub-editors Caroline Atkinson, Tomilola Ajayi, Louise Parfitt ■ Circulation Ben Hayward ■ Design and production Becca Higgins/Syon Publishing, 020 8332 8407 ■ Christian Aid head office 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL ■ Tel 020 7620 4444 ■ Fax 020 7620 0719 ■ Email info@christian-aid.org ■ Online at christianaid.org.uk

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COVER STORY THE EAST AFRICA CRISIS

AND STILL THEY COME. Hour by hour, day by day, refugees fleeing drought and militants in Somalia stream out of the desert and into the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. The drought, the worst in 60 years, has left 12 million people in urgent need of humanitarian aid

4 Christian Aid News

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Paul Jeffrey/LWF

Christian Aid News 5

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COVER STORY

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EAST AFRICA TIMELINE

SAVE THE ANIMALS AND YOU SAVE THE PEOPLE Sarah Wilson reports from northeastern Kenya on efforts being made to help pastoralists fighting to keep their livestock – and themselves – alive ADHI SORA JARSO has no more cows.

They have all perished in the drought.

Along with her husband and six children, she is now subsisting on a diet of boiled maize donated by her neighbours. Some people in the remote northern Kenyan settlement where she lives still have a few surviving goats and camels.

Her brother-in-law has just one cow left and he has brought it into his hut to preserve its strength. The family are sharing what little food and water they have with the cow. If just one animal survives, it will be able to breed once the rains come again.

The Elebor settlement where the Sora Jarso family lives is in the far north of Kenya near the Ethiopian border. The community returned there two years ago after being forced to flee fierce fighting in the area. They came back because the Kenyan government posted a police presence to make it safe. Just as they were looking forward to enjoying the rich pastureland again, the drought hit.

Sadia Abdikher lives a bit further south, near the Somali border, with her husband and eight children. They used to have 120 goats before the drought began and now they are down to just 20.

‘I am no longer worried about the goats,’ she says. ‘I am now starting to worry about my children.’

The family drove the animals all the way to Takaba, about 250km away near the Ethiopia border, in search of grazing land. But they found little and many animals died along the way. It’s not the first time they’ve faced such a crisis.

Before the 2006 drought they had 300 goats. By the time the rains began they were left with 50, which they managed to rebuild to 120. This time, Sadia doubts they will be left with any animals because the drought has now lasted for

Christian Aid/Sarah Wilson

EAST AFRICA’S worst drought for 60 years now affects six countries: Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda and South Sudan.

Across the region the unpredictable and diminished rainfall is broadly similar.

But in Kenya and Ethiopia, where the political situation is relatively stable, Christian Aid has worked for many years to underpin the communities’ own coping strategies. Simple measures such as digging reservoirs and boreholes are crucial in enabling people to survive periods of low rainfall.

Pastoralists in Ethiopia and Kenya, while struggling to keep their animals alive, are receiving aid where they live, rather than having to flee to refugee camps. By contrast, people in conflict-torn Somalia are losing all their livestock and walking for days in search of help in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Our coverage includes reports from Christian Aid journalist Sarah Wilson in Kenya, head of Humanitarian division Nick Guttman in Ethiopia and former head of media John Davison, now with the Lutheran World Federation in Dadaab refugee camp.

Refug at the meag truck alive

2006

2006 - 2008

2008

2009

Christian Aid launches the Horn and East Africa 2006 appeal. Eleven million people across the region are suffering the consequences of severe drought and are at risk of hunger and starvation. The food and water shortages affect communities in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania. For some parts of the region, this is the worst drought in more than 20 years.

Christian Aid partners in Ethiopia and Kenya support the immediate needs of communities and continue to work to increase their resilience to future crises.

Christian Aid partner Northern Aid constructs water pans (small reservoirs) in northeastern Kenya with funding from the Christian Aid Horn and East Africa 2006 appeal.

These reservoirs have proved invaluable for communities affected by the 2011 drought.

NEWS Faced with another severe drought (right), Christian Aid releases funds to Northern Aid for KEN water trucking, fuel DROYA UGHT CRI subsidies and rapid • SIS • response to borehole breakdown.

CHRISTIAN AID

Issue 45

Autumn 2009

www.christianaid.org.uk

Failing rains drive millions to the brink

Climate change: last push to Copenhagen

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ns drive he brink

•Climate change: last push to Copenhagen 30/9/09 13:15:40

December

2010

2011 April

Christian Aid and our partners prepare for the possibility of a disaster.

In December 2009 the early warning system, put in place after the 1983-85 Ethiopian famine, predicts the possibility of a food crisis.

At the end of 2010, the United Nations appeals for US$500m from member states to address food insecurity. Yet by the beginning of July 2011, only US$250m had been received.

The water pans constructed by Northern Aid in northeastern Kenya last filled on 25 April. Since then, people have used the water for their livestock and also as drinking water. While it is impressive that the reservoirs are still full from the little rain in April, people are worried as it is expected that they will dry up in September and the next rains are not until October. Christian Aid releases further funds for drought mitigation and response work in northern Kenya and Ethiopia.

Christian Aid/Sarah Wilson

RISTIAN NEWS

Paul Jeffrey

Refugees frequently arrive at the camps with just a few meagre possesions. Left: trucking in water keeps animals alive in northeastern Kenya

three rainy seasons. Without livestock the family’s own survival is at risk.

Christian Aid partner Northern Aid built a small reservoir, known as a water pan, in Qurahmadhow, in the Wargadud district, using funds raised following the 2006 drought. In the current crisis it rained once on 25 April and the water pan filled up; there was still water there in late July. These water pans are a lifeline when other water sources dry up.

Abdi Noor lives further north near the village of Danaba. He is 22 and says this is the longest unrelenting drought he can remember. He used to have 80 cows and is now down to six. If Abdi does not get help for his remaining six cows, he too will be at risk of malnutrition. ‘I used to get credit from the local store to buy food for the family,’ he explains. ‘I cannot do that anymore as the animals are too skinny and weak, and nobody believes they will survive long enough to sell.’

As well as bringing water by tanker to the worst affected areas, Christian Aid partners will be buying the animals belonging to the most vulnerable people at market price. This will give them money for essentials and also enable them to begin to restock when the rains come again. This sort of intervention means that people do not have to leave their homes and become refugees.

In Somalia, Christian Aid is working through Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), a sister organisation in the ACT Alliance, a global network of faith-based charities. DKH is distributing food, water and shelter materials in the camps in Mogadishu and Lower Shabelle.

Unfortunately, the conflict in Somalia has meant that partners have been unable to work with communities to build water pans and service boreholes to mitigate the effects of drought, so the suffering there is much greater. When all their animals die, the people have no choice but to leave their homes in search of aid.

To donate, go to christianaid.org.uk/east-africa-appeal Christian Aid News 7

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COVER STORY

New arrivals in Dadaab wait to be processed by aid teams

After two poor rainy seasons, drought and displacement as well as rising food prices have left the east and the Horn of Africa in urgent need of humanitarian support.

More than 10 million people are affected. Christian Aid launches its latest appeal.

July Our partners in Kenya and Ethiopia have long-term projects to help those living in the most arid and remote areas to access clean water and to improve their ability to grow crops and support their families.

In June, these partners scale up their activities to respond to the immediate needs of communities affected by the humanitarian situation.

• The food crisis in east Africa is classified by the UN as the worst humanitarian situation in the world today, and the worst drought in 60 years.

• Emergency meeting of G20 Agricultural Ministers calls on governments to act now to stop the worsening crisis.

• UN declares famine in two areas in Somalia.

Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance

2011 June

8 Christian Aid News

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‘I don’t believe that we have seen the worst of it yet’ Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya has been referred to as ‘the biggest refugee camp in the world’.

But even after spending a month working there, John Davison finds the scale of the place still has the ability to astonish

John Davison/LWF/ACT Alliance

This sprAwliNg CoMplex of three camps was originally designed 20 years ago to take a total of 90,000 refugees, mostly from the civil-war-torn neighbour of Somalia. But people have kept coming ever since, while very few have gone home; now the total has passed 400,000.

This is the biggest refugee camp the world has ever seen, yet still extensions are being planned and laid out to take even more people. In the months after an emergency was declared by the UN on 6 June, refugees arrived at a rate of up to 1,500 a day. By the end of November, 180,000 will have been relocated into vast new ‘tent cities’ from their precarious existence on the edges of the established camps.

Dadaab is now equivalent in size to one of Kenya’s largest cities. refugees all talk of the twin threats of drought and insecurity that have driven them to Dadaab and there is no sign of either factor changing in the near future.

‘I believe they are still going to keep coming,’ says soraya Musau, an emergency officer for the Lutheran world Federation (lwF). ‘i don’t believe that we have seen the worst of it yet.’

LWF, an ACT Alliance sister agency, is responsible for managing all the camps and for coordinating the process of receiving new refugees. It has also done all the surveying and camp planning for the new extensions, pitched hundreds of tents and helped to guide thousands of people to their new homes.

It has been a huge undertaking that has taken its toll on staff. But together with the many other agencies involved, they have continued to deliver.

Anne Wangari, a former nun from the Loretta order, is in charge of the LWF operation. She worked for three months during the emergency without a break.

‘I am tired at the moment, but I also know that I have to hold on because if I lose it, my team will lose it. This is a situation that calls for all our self-giving, and so the situation on the ground keeps me going,’ she says one evening.

‘Also the staff are amazing. They are doing so, so much. They are a source of inspiration for me.’

Among them is Faith Kagwiria, the lead social worker at Hagadera, one of the three camps. Her hundreds of home visits have made her a familiar figure

July/August

August

ONGOING...

Christian Aid works with sister agency Lutheran World Federation, an ACT Alliance partner, in Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya and Dollo Ado refugee and transit camps in southern Ethiopia. Christian Aid also supports an ACT Alliance partner working in Somalia, providing food aid to the most vulnerable in camps there.

• More than 12 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance across the region.

• UN declares famine now in five regions of Somalia.

• Christian Aid’s work prior to the crisis has had a significant impact, and it is important that we continue to work through partners with communities in the long term to ensure that they are resilient to future crises.

• There is also recognition that, while it is difficult to attribute specific weather events to climate change, weather patterns in the region are becoming more severe and less predictable. Christian Aid will be working with communities to ensure that they can deal with this changing environment.

• Christian Aid will be supporting partners to work with governments to ensure that they are accountable to pastoralists and marginalised communities.

Christian Aid News 9

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COVER STORY

How our partners are responding IN RESPONSE TO our East Africa Crisis appeal launched in June, Christian Aid had raised £1.9m by late August. We will also receive at least £1.27m from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal to spend over the next two years.

Our partners in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are closely monitoring the situation in their areas.

Northern Aid and Christian Community Services Mount Kenya East (CCSMKE) are responding in northeastern Kenya. In Ethiopia, our partners Action for Development and Agri-Service Ethiopia are working with communities in the south.

In Somalia, we work with our ACT Alliance partner Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), and we are

working with ACT sister agency the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in the Dadaab camp in north eastern Kenya and camps in Dollo Adow, Ethiopia.

In Kenya, Northern Aid and CCSMKE have scaled up their activities to

Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance

around the camp and its outskirts.

‘The refugees call me “Face” instead of “Faith”,’ she smiles. ‘I was described as “the one who decorates the camp with white flowers” – meaning all the tents I have distributed.’

But it is not just about distributing goods, however badly needed. It is also about giving moral support.

‘I enjoy my work. I take it as a calling, not a career. Like some people are nuns, I am a social worker,’ she says.

‘When I do my job I feel inside that this is what I’m supposed to be doing.’

The other sources of inspiration, of course, are the refugees themselves and the extraordinary stories they have to tell. One is Noor Somow Bydoe, who brought an extended family group of 40 people to Hagadera by vehicle and finally on foot.

‘Our first vehicle broke down. So we transferred to another vehicle and it also broke down. Then we were met by bandits, who took all the small things we were carrying, our clothes and our money,’ says Noor. ‘In the end the journey took 15 days. We arrived here with nothing.’

One of the children in the group, a baby girl, died on the way, he adds.

Apart from the three-year drought, his family was forced to move because of Al-Shabaab militants who came every month to demand money.

‘They say they need one of our children to take with them and train to fight, or we give them money. So we give them money and then we have no money to plant our crops,’ says Noor. ‘The next time we tell them that we have no money and they say they will take us into custody and sell us.

Still we say we have nothing, so they take our goats and our cattle by force.’

At one of the reception centres, on a particularly hot and busy day, one clearly exhausted family group sat among their few possessions, having just walked in from the bush. As the emergency team checked them out they found that one of the women had a particularly tiny baby at her breast.

The little boy turned out to be just three days old, meaning that his heavily pregnant mother had travelled for nearly two weeks, given birth on the way and then continued walking.

As she was ushered to the front of the queue for attention, she still had the energy to smile in gratitude.

10 Christian Aid News

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AID AGENCIES NEED TO WORK FREELY IN SOMALIA Ethiopia opened Kobe refugee camp in June, and it reached its 25,000 capacity within a month.

Nick Guttmann, who manages all of Christian Aid’s emergency programmes, has been to visit

provide essential assistance, such as: • providing emergency water tanks and distributing water to villages suffering the worst of the drought conditions • constructing additional water points and maintaining existing boreholes • paying market rate for people’s remaining cattle so they do not lose everything • distributing animal feed to protect livestock crucial to people’s livelihoods.

We are working in emergency relief camps, and with communities, providing urgently needed life-saving measures, such as:

Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance

• ensuring the administration of newly arriving refugees. This enables partners to respond to each family’s specific needs • water and food rations to new arrivals in refugee camps, plus plastic sheeting for shelter, jerry cans, mosquito nets and cooking utensils • extra nutrition for malnourished children and pregnant women.

Christian Aid/Nick Guttmann

Christrian Aid/Sarah Wilson

Above: having registered with aid teams, refugee families wait for their relief supplies

AS I CROSSED into Ethiopia from northern Kenya I could see clearly how both countries are facing very similar challenges. I was there to assess how Christian Aid could best intervene to mitigate the drought, which is now affecting Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda and South Sudan.

In Ethiopia and Kenya, the authorities are not only providing emergency help to their own populations, but also have to cope with refugees flooding across their borders from Somalia.

Ethiopia opened the Kobe camp in the Dollo Adow area in the southeast. It was soon full, and an additional camp has now been opened to meet the continuing influx. The camps face huge challenges, not just because of the vast numbers arriving, but also the fact that many people are in very poor health having walked for many days in search of relief.

Dollo Adow, where Christian Aid’s sister organisation Lutheran World Federation is working, has been under extreme pressure but is coping.

On our way there we saw pasture areas that had been fenced off by local communities with the encouragement of Christian Aid partners. This meant there was still some viable grazing land for local Ethiopian people to use at the height of the drought. You could

see the areas outside the fencing were completely barren.

This is one of the many interventions that partners have been making to help local people to stay close to home, rather than being forced to abandon their homes in search of emergency relief.

The political chaos in neighbouring Somalia means that we do not know for sure how many people are suffering the effects of the same drought there. We can only estimate based on the huge numbers arriving at Dadaab in Kenya and Dollo Adow in Ethiopia.

I have worked in Somalia in the past and there is no excuse for people being forced to flee their homes in search of emergency relief because humanitarian agencies are being targeted by Al-Shabaab and other armed groups.

Christian Aid is working with an ACT Alliance partner in Mogadishu and Lower Shabelle in Somalia, but it is crucial that more agencies are allowed to enter and work freely. In Ethiopia and Kenya, the drought problem is just as bad as it is in Somalia, but the governments of these two countries welcome the international relief effort and work closely alongside it. The scale of the problem and financial constraints hinder our work in Ethiopia and Kenya, but but the political will is there to support those in need.

The Lutheran World Federation is repairing under-performing wells in Dollo Adow, a task that is essential to increase the flow of water in the camps

Christian Aid News 7

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NEWS

TURNING FOCUS ON A CHALLENGING YEAR

Christian Aid/M Gonzalez-Noda

A year ago supporters lobbied IN SPITE OF the tough economic 176 MPs, including Labour deputy climate, Christian Aid channelled more leader Harriet Harman than £60m – representing 67 per cent of our expenditure – to 507 partner organisations in 47 countries during 2010-2011, as we continued the fight to eradicate poverty.

This is just one of the headline statistics from Christian Aid’s Annual Report 2010/11 – published this month – which highlights the successes and challenges of the past financial year, when the effects of the global financial downturn left charities facing increasing competition for funding.

With the support of our partners, we 46 Christian 46 Aid Christian Annual Aid Report Annual 2010/11 Report Financial 2010/11 review Financial forreview the year forended the year 31 March ended 2011 31 March 2011 CHRIST N helped people in poor communities AID ANNUAIA AND A L REPORT earn a living, secure healthcare, hold 2010/11CCOUNTS governments to account, and call for fairer taxation systems and global justice.

One of the 2010/11 highlights was Christian Aid Week, during which some 100,000 tireless volunteers helped to raise a staggering £13.4m – £900,000 more than the previous year.

In 2010/11, we also faced some serious raised we the raised money… the money… how we how spentwe it… spent it… challenges. Our vital development How we How work in Haiti continued, following the Christian Christian devastating earthquake of January 2010.

Aid Week Aid Week And in July 2010, heavy monsoon rains £13.4m £13.4m (14%) (14%) triggered the worst flooding in Pakistan EmergencyEmergency Long-term Long-term appeals appeals development development for 80 years. By September 2010, the £9m (10%) £9m (10%) projects projects death toll was thought to have exceeded £44.4m (49%) £44.4m (49%) Institutional Institutional 1,600, with more than 6 million left Emergencies Emergencies income income Legacies Legacies £15.8m (18%) £15.8m (18%) £31.5m £31.5m £10m £10m homeless. We responded to the flooding (33%) (33%) (11%) (11%) through our Act Alliance partners, providing immediate relief, then longerGeneral General term reconstruction efforts.

Campaigning, Campaigning, donations donations advocacy and advocacyFundraising and £29.8m £29.8m Fundraising Our advocacy work continued apace education education£14.6m (16%) (31%) (31%) £14.6m (16%) £14.1m (16%) £14.1m (16%) when, in August 2010, we launched our Trace the Tax campaign at the Greenbelt Other income Other income festival. Since then, thousands of you £1.3m (1%) £1.3m (1%) have sent postcards, emails and texts Governance* Governance* to four leading companies, supporting done to achieve them on time. £1.2m (1%) £1.2m (1%) our call for an end to the tax dodging In October 2010, we enjoyed another that sees developing countries lose an income on overseas aid by 2013. campaign success as 1,500 supporters …and where grants …andthe where thewent grants went estimated US$160bn each year.

Our efforts to engage with the new converged on Parliament from all over In September 2010, we also developed Conservative/Lib Dem coalition paid off the country to lobby 176 MPs on tax and our vision to end poverty, when we when the government announced that2010/11 climate justice.

Percentage Percentage of total of change total published Poverty Over: We’re All in This it would not only continue to provide At the lobby, we also thanked the General donations General donations £29.8m £29.8m 31 (up 31?%) Together. This report looked at progress strategic Christian Aid, government for protecting the aid Legacies Legaciesfunding to£10.0m £10.0m 11 but (up 11?%) towards the Millennium Development Emergency appeals Emergency appeals it. This £9.0m announcement £9.0m 10 (up 10?%) actually increase budget, and for keeping the commitment Africa Aid Christian Week AidaWeek £13.4mvote £13.4m (up 14?%) Goals, and considered what must be represents significant of14 toand spend per Africa cent(45%) of gross national Christian Asia 0.7 and the Asia the £18m (45%) £18m

FINANCIAL FINANCIAL REVIEW REVIEW FOR FOR THE THE YEAR YEAR ENDED ENDED 31 MARCH 31 MARCH 2011 2011 12-010-A-AR

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£15.8m

STIGMA UNDER THE LENS CHRISTIAN AID has partnered with Magnum Photos to produce a series of audio slideshows for this year’s World AIDS Day (1 December) that will highlight the issue of HIV-related stigma across four continents.

The Magnum photographers (Alessandra Sanguinetti, Peter van Agtmael, Olivia Arthur and Gueorgiu Pinkhassov) have visited Bolivia, Tajikistan, Kenya, India and the UK to record powerful stories about discrimination against people with HIV. There is no other infection that has such a profound effect on a person’s life and leaves them judged by society. While there have been many medical advances in the past 30 years since HIV was identified, stigma remains the biggest barrier to people around the world accessing life-saving treatment.

This work will examine how stigma manifests itself in everyday life for someone who has HIV, and goes some way to explaining why thousands of people would rather not know their status than face discrimination at home, in their community, at work and within their faith.

The work will be available online at christianaid.org.uk/hiv from 28 November and a multimedia installation will appear at Rich Mix (35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA, richmix.org.uk) from 28 November until 11 December.

confidence in Christian Aid’s work.

With the new year came two new Christian Aid campaigns. Some 30,000 supporters joined our call for the World Bank to stop funding polluting fossil fuels. And in a coalition with 52 partners worldwide, we launched a campaign for the G20 to end tax haven secrecy.

Our Annual Report 2010/11 and an accompanying film will be available from 26 September at christianaid.org. uk/annualreport * Governance costs are costs associated with the general running of the charity.

Our survey says…

CHRISTIAN AID’S determination to challenge the causes as well as the symptoms of poverty is shared by thousands of supporters who gave their thoughts about our work in a recent supporter survey.

More than 28,000 took part – and 85 per cent cited our commitment to tackle the causes of poverty as a decisive factor in winning their support.

The survey was sent out in April to supporters who donate, fundraise, campaign and volunteer for Christian Aid across the UK. Its purpose was to listen to their voices, in order to help with planning and improve the way we communicate our work and resource our supporters. From house-to-house collectors and church representatives, to campaigners and those who organise fundraising events, so many people have told us more about how and why they support Christian Aid. Thank you to all who took part.

The findings reveal the wonderful commitment of Christian Aid supporters. A staggering 30 per cent of respondents have been supporting us for more than 25 years, with nearly

half of this group playing an active role in our campaigning work. This is great news for our ongoing campaigns focusing on climate change and tax justice.

Many supporters participate in fundraising activities, ranging from bike rides and sponsored abseils to Super Soup lunches and Quizaid events. And the survey shows that the most popular way of fundraising is organising local community events such as a plant or book sale. Christian Aid Week continues to be a focal point, with more than half of respondents having taken part in collecting during this time.

These high levels of commitment result from the values so many of you feel are important. Forty per cent of respondents believe that the most important use of funds is for long-term projects to promote health, secure incomes and ensure safe living conditions for poor communities.

Improving access to the basic rights of education, clean water and health services is considered the most pressing issue facing poor communities according to half of those who replied.

Locked out: Christian Aid launches new report on Palestinian refugees ‘I HAVE BEEN to the Near East several times since 1954, and I still find it as agonising as that first visit. There is practically no change in the refugee situation.’ These are the words of Janet Lacey, former director of Christian Aid, in a report that is now more than 50 years old. Today these words still resonate in our work across the Middle East region with Palestinian refugees.

Christian Aid’s new report Locked Out investigates the plight of those refugees – including their ongoing lack of protection and persistent vulnerability – and critically examines how they have been marginalised by the peace process. The report brings to life the daily struggles Palestinian refugees face and

the complexities surrounding the issue.

It stresses the pressing need for action now as part of a viable solution to the conflict that delivers peace, justice and security for all Palestinians and Israelis.

Locked Out calls for an honest and meaningful dialogue with all involved parties to help break down persistent taboos and intransigence. These challenges – directed at ourselves, the UK and Irish governments, the international community and Israelis and Palestinians alike – are essential to ensure real and lasting change to the refugee situation in the Middle East.

• Read Locked Out at christianaid.org.uk/ resources/policy/middle_east.aspx

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NEWS

Christian Aid/Amanda Farrant

Apricot farmers use solar dryers on their fruit crop

CENTRAL ASIA

TWENTY YEARS OF FORGOTTEN POVERTY SEPTEMBER 2011 marks 20 years since the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia emerged as independent states after the collapse of the USSR. While some of these republics have weathered independence relatively uneventfully, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, two of the smaller republics, have spiralled into severe poverty – and Christian Aid is responding to the challenges posed.

In Tajikistan, to the north of Afghanistan, a bloody civil war in the 1990s accelerated the de-development process and it is now the poorest country in the former Soviet bloc. As infrastructure has disintegrated and unemployment has soared, an estimated one-third of the population has gone to countries such as Russia in search of work. Mainly male migrants, they leave women behind struggling to support large families that include children and the elderly. Labour migration has also led to an increase in the spread of HIV. Crumbling infrastructure in Tajikistan and neighbouring Kyrgyzstan has damaged water and energy supplies.

Most households, schools and hospitals no longer have running water, while energy is limited to a few hours in the morning and the evening. This is particularly difficult during the freezing winter months. In Kyrgyzstan, the elderly have been particularly badly hit. Many old people have been deserted by families and the state; it is not unusual to see pensioners living homeless in parks or on the street, scrambling around in rubbish to find scraps of food.

Community tensions in Kyrgyzstan last year led to violent clashes in the south, while in Tajikistan concerns over the activities of Islamist groups in the border region with Afghanistan have prompted the country’s president to declare it illegal for children to practise religion.

Preventing these two countries from descending even further into poverty is critical. Christian Aid is supporting partners’ work on livelihoods, alternative energy access, climate change, disaster risk reduction and human rights.

Partners are helping thousands of women in both countries to improve

their livelihood skills so that they can access markets and increase incomes.

In Tajikistan, Christian Aid partners work with communities to develop alternative sustainable energy technologies and adaptation techniques. Funded by Christian Aid and the European Union, ASDP Nau is providing solar-powered water heaters for hospitals and schools. For fruit and vegetable farmers, solar dryers and specially designed greenhouses are improving the quality and yield of their produce.

Through a Christian Aid/DFID-funded project in Tajikistan, we are also helping to increase government accountability to ensure citizens can assert their rights to services they need. HIV is a strong focus, too, with partners providing treatment and prevention training, as well as conducting pioneering work with Muslim leaders and medical professionals to combat stigma and discrimination.

Two films showing the work of our partners are available at christianaid.org. uk/independence

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Christians on hunger strike IN JULY, more than 1,000 Christians gathered in New Delhi for a two-day hunger strike in protest against the Indian government’s delay in granting dalit Christians and Muslims the same status under the constitution as Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs.

Christian Aid representatives joined bishops, priests and members of the Church of South India, Church of North India and other evangelical and Pentecostal churches in a solidarity rally to lend their support to the protest and to dalit Christian and Muslims’ demands for Scheduled Caste status. Unlike Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, Christian and Muslim dalits do not have the right to access special opportunities in education, jobs and welfare schemes under India’s affirmative action policy for Scheduled Castes.

The action follows a report by the Justice Ranganath Misra committee recommending that Scheduled Caste status should be extended to dalit Christians and Muslims. The Indian government has been delaying its decision for several years.

1.2 MILLION HIT BY MONSOON FLOODS MORE THAN 1.2 million people have been affected by flooding in coastal areas of Bangladesh.

Those affected are facing serious food and water shortages, while more than 115,000 houses and at least 30,000 hectares of crops have been damaged. Families have been forced to sell their livestock as they are unable to feed them.

Christian Aid partners CCDB and Shushilan are reaching 5,000 families.

They’re ensuring families receive: • immediate food relief • temporary shelters • candles, lights and soap • fresh drinking water and purification tablets.

Harvest appeal crabs your attention Christian Aid/Genevieve Lomax

INDIA

Rearing crabs in Bangladesh

A DISPLAY of fresh fruit. A tin of beans.

Crabs? Harvest celebrations can often unearth some unusual items from people’s kitchen cupboards, but it’s not often that crabs get a look in. However, Harvest festivals in churches and schools across the country this autumn might well contain one or two surprises…

Reaping a harvest every year is not always easy, particularly in parts of the world affected by harsh, unpredictable weather patterns. In many countries where we work, the impacts of climate change are creating obstacles to development. That’s why Christian Aid partners continue to integrate climateresilient solutions into their broader development work.

In the southern districts of Bangladesh, for example, soil and water are affected by salinity and families struggle to grow crops to feed their family, let alone to sell.

This year we focus our Harvest appeal on sharing innovative techniques and practical ways for Bangladeshi families to make a living from their land.

Asha Bishwas discovered that she

could no longer grow traditional crops because her soil was affected by salinity.

Rather than leaving her home to try to earn a living elsewhere, Asha received training from Christian Aid partner Shushilan in rearing crabs to sell at the local market. ‘When I sell the crabs, I use the money for school fees and books. I also use it to buy household goods and more crabs,’ she said.

With the help of Shushilan, Asha has renewed hope for her family’s future.

‘Before, life was really difficult. We used to struggle. Now we are involved in this project we can earn more. I can buy schoolbooks for my children, proper food and clothes for the family.’

Shushilan is also distributing saline-resistant rice seeds that are expected to solve the rice-growing crisis in flood-prone coastal areas.

Harvest offers great opportunities to engage children in learning about the world around them as we reflect on the food we eat and enjoy. Last year children of Mill View primary school in Cheshire had the brilliant idea of collecting 1p and 2p coins, which they then used to write out ‘Christian Aid Harvest Yr 6’ in their playground, raising a fantastic £288.79.

JOIN US THIS HARVEST You can download our Harvest assemblies for churches and schools at christianaid.org.uk/harvest or call 0870 078 7788 to order printed resources for your church service including posters and exciting children’s activity sheets.

Protection for domestic workers one step closer CHRISTIAN AID and our partners scored a major victory in our campaign for the International Labour Organization to adopt a new convention on domestic workers – reported in the summer issue of Christian Aid News.

There are about 100 million domestic workers around the world whose work and human rights are often not respected. The new convention was agreed by government, employer and employee representatives together setting minimum standards on areas such as working hours, health and safety, recruitment, payment, social security, minimum age and key labour rights. Now we’re keeping up the pressure, working to press governments to ratify and implement this important convention.

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FRONTLINE

Christian Aid/Johanna Rogers

Stories from around the world showing how Christian Aid and our partners are working to empower people to shape a better future for themselves and their communities

‘I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO MY PREVIOUS LIFE’ 16 Christian Aid News

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AFGHANISTAN This October marks 10 years of international intervention in Afghanistan. Liberating its women was one of the justifications given for invading the country and toppling the Taliban – a regime that made female education illegal and forbade women to hold jobs or even to leave the house without a male family member. As momentum gathers towards a troop withdrawal, Christian Aid journalist Johanna Rogers went to hear the voices of women who fear that the clock could be turned back when the international forces pull out ‘I do not want to lose what we have achieved so far, and I do not want to go back to my previous life. A peace process should not come at any cost. I worry other countries may compromise to achieve a very superficial peace; they may make a mistake and ignore Afghan women and all Afghan citizens’ Main and three photos below: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

Main picture: Nozeni Izatullah, an 18-year-old prisoner, in Mainama women’s jail. Insets, from left: Ahama Hashemi teaches a literacy class funded by Christian Aid; Shinkai Kharokail MP, founder of Christian Aid partner the Afghan Women’s Education Centre; Fawzia Koofi MP; and Gul Shah, who set up her own business with the help of our partner the Rehabilitation Association and Agriculture Development for Afghanistan

AFGHAN MP Shinkai Kharokail voices the concerns of many throughout Afghanistan that women’s rights are being overlooked by the international community as it plans its withdrawal.

They fear that the fragile progress towards greater equality could be reversed.

‘In 10 years we have achieved a lot, especially after five years of Taliban, when women were absolutely excluded from social, economic and political life.

Now women are everywhere, women are part of the decision-making process, part of development in this country,’ says Shinkai, founder-director of Christian Aid partner the Afghan Women’s Education Centre (AWEC), and renowned women’s rights activist, who has successfully lobbied for laws to protect women, including banning child marriage.

However, as international forces start to pull out, Shinkai – and many like her – fear the implications of a possible resurgence of the Taliban.

Fawzia Koofi MP, the first female elected as second deputy speaker of Parliament, explains: ‘There are three angles to the Afghan triangle: the government and international community, the Taliban, and the people.

Unfortunately, the angle of the people is being ignored. How can we share power with the Taliban if they do not accept the Afghan constitution? How can we share power if they are unhappy with seeing a woman like me in Parliament?’

One of the success stories over the

past decade has been access to education. Seven years ago, five per cent of students at Kabul University were female; now that figure is closer to 30 per cent. There have also been impressive political achievements: a quota for women in the Afghan parliament reserves a quarter of seats for them and now almost 30 per cent of parliamentarians are female.

Under the Taliban, human rights groups were not even allowed to exist.

In the past 10 years groups such as the Christian Aid-funded AWEC have been able to establish a strong network to protect women’s rights and provide education to the poorest.

But for all of these achievements, Afghanistan is still a country with some of the worst social indicators in the world. Ninety per cent of Afghan women face some form of domestic violence.

Less than 15 per cent of women are literate. They still face many problems, including forced marriage and lack of access to justice and education, and their country has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates.

Afghanistan is the most dangerous place to live as a woman and a mother according to a recent poll by Thomson Reuters. It cited a ‘near-total lack of economic rights’ as the main reason for this: most Afghan women are not economically strong enough to protect themselves, as all properties almost always belong to the male members of the family.

Christian Aid has worked in Afghanistan for nearly three decades – under four different regimes – to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and inequality. We reach out to grassroots communities to provide long-term solutions to poverty, such as providing silkworms to Gul Shah, a widow from

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FRONTLINE Herat in northwest Afghanistan. Herat was once a stop on the Silk Road trade route and has a long history of silk production. Funded through the EC Food Facility Funded programme, Gul was given silkworms by Christian Aid partner the Rehabilitation Association and Agriculture Development for Afghanistan so that she could cultivate silk to sell to a processing centre. She has now set up a business with the profit.

‘Only God knows how widows suffer in this country,’ she says. ‘It is difficult because there is nobody to help us buy food or to collect wood for the fire. I made £190 by cultivating silk from silkworms this year, so I was able to buy cotton for my loom and make cloth.

Before, I would get thread from others and weave it for them, but now I can afford to buy thread myself. Before, I was

only meeting the basic needs of my family, but now I can buy good rice and vegetables and medicines.’

Christian Aid partners also work to educate women. Ahama Hashemi teaches literacy and rights classes in rural Karokh district with the Christian Aid-funded Women’s Activities and Social Services Association. She says: ‘There has been a lot of change in society; when women began coming to this centre they were too shy to even stand in front of the class and say their name, but now they can. Now they know how to read and write, they know how to raise their children. If you educate the mother you are educating the family.’

This is why Christian Aid works with civil society and parliamentarians such as Shinkai to pave the way for all Afghan women’s futures and ensure their rights

are protected when new laws are created.

Christian Aid believes it is essential that these 10 years of achievements are not lost. We are asking the international community to ensure that women and civil society organisations participate in an inclusive and comprehensive peace process so that it protects the rights and achieves a just and long-term peace for all Afghans, and to provide continued funding to do this. All stakeholders, not only the Taliban, should be included in the peace talks.

Shinkai concludes: ‘We believe that this country will not be built without women’s contribution or active role.

There have been many achievements – we must maintain these, and not lose them. It is vital to have more long-term commitment to this country and not turn your back.’

‘WE HAVE TO GIVE HOPE TO THESE WOMEN’ Former prisoner Maria at home with her brother Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

WOMEN IN PRISONS are among those being helped by Christian Aid partner the Afghan Women’s Education Centre (AWEC), with the support of funding from the Irish government. Many of Afghanistan’s female prisoners are incarcerated for ‘moral crimes’ such as extramarital sexual relations and many have their children living in jail with them. AWEC provides legal support, education and income generation schemes to help the women seek justice and release, and to support themselves and their families while in prison.

Maria was born in Faryab province in northern Afghanistan to a poor family.

By the age of 11 she was already married, but her husband left soon afterwards to work in Iran and she was left alone with his family.

‘Three years later I was raped by my brother-in-law and I fell pregnant,’ she recalls. ‘My in-laws did not believe my innocence and I was charged with the “moral crime” of extramarital relations. I had no money so I could not contest the charges.’

For this ‘moral crime’ Maria was sentenced to six years in prison. The brother-in-law was also sent to prison but he had money to pay off the court.

This is the stark reality for many

Afghan women, where access to justice remains out of reach.

‘Men have more support. They earn money, are supported by families, businesses, friends and the communities.

They can pay to be released. Women have less support. Many are uneducated and we work to improve their situation,’ explains AWEC’s provincial manager Khalidah Aimaq.

Maria’s case is emblematic of many other women’s situations. AWEC managed to reduce her sentence and win her release. ‘In the prison I learnt to read and write and do embroidery, all thanks to AWEC. Now I can earn around £15-£30 a month through my embroidery to support my son.’

Nozeni was held captive by her boyfriend’s family for more than 50 days, during which time she was raped and abused. She escaped by climbing

out of a window, but was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for the ‘moral’ crime of running away with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend paid money and was released after seven months.

Two-and-a-half years later Nozeni is still in prison.

AWEC has given Nozeni literacy classes. ‘I have learnt to read here. I showed my family the tailoring and embroidery I have been doing and now they place orders with me. When I realised I have the skills to continue my future, I became more confident.’

Shinkai Kharokail explains why it is vital to help women such as Nozeni and Maria: ‘Working inside a prison is very important as the women prisoners are very vulnerable – rejected by their families and also by society. They need help in preparing for their future life, beyond prison.

‘Women in prison are vulnerable, whether they are guilty of the crimes they are accused of or not, because they are rarely visited by their families. We have to give hope to these women and prepare them for the future challenges.

‘They need help in reading and writing to give them hope, so they can help their children and find a way to live in society.’

See more at christianaid.org.uk/afghanistan 18 Christian Aid News

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OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

‘Now we are cleaner, more hygienic’ In April this year, Christian Aid communications officer Charlotte Marshall travelled to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to see the work of our partners. She reports here on one West Bank village’s quest for water – and how ordinary Israelis made it a reality WATER – A COMMODITY that many of us take for granted, and something that all of us need to survive. We hear the shocking statistics: one in six people does not have access to safe drinking water, and 1 billion children live without basic sanitation. But standing in the cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv, Israel, surrounded by fashionable shops and cafés, it’s almost impossible to imagine that some of these ‘statistics’ live less than an hour’s drive away. Poverty is knocking at the door.

Per capita, Israelis use five times the amount of water used by West Bank Palestinians, and despite Israel being obliged under international law to provide water to residents under its occupation, more than 134 communities in the West Bank are not connected to a permanent water supply. The situation in Gaza is even worse due to the blockade, with 95 per cent of the water pumped in

being polluted and unfit for drinking.

Israel also does not allow Palestinians to repair old wells or dig new ones, leaving some people little choice but to pay high prices and travel longer distances to access clean water.

Determined not to let this injustice continue, Christian Aid partner the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) decided to challenge the Israeli public to campaign for Palestinians’ right to water. The campaign focused on A-Twaneh, a small town in the southern Hebron hills that has been fighting for basic services for years. Ehud Uziel, from ACRI, says: ‘We decided that if we were not able to change things on a large scale, we would start small. Residents of A-Twaneh buy water in tankers, and pay seven times more than Israelis pay for their piped water.’

ACRI’s campaign, An Action a Day, mobilised hundreds of Israeli Fider Harini, daughter of village committee head Saber Harini, fills up her water container at A-Twaneh’s first water pipe connection

Christian Aid/Tom Pilston

campaigners, who bombarded members of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) with letters, emails and videos about the lack of water in A-Twaneh. Using innovative campaign ideas and social media, the campaign grew to more than 800 online members, with up to 200 taking action each day. To everyone’s surprise, two months later ACRI received a letter from the civil administration, announcing the decision to connect A-Twaneh to running water. ‘I cannot tell you how shocked we were. It’s the most exciting thing in my professional life so far,’ says Israeli campaigner Tzvika Besor.

The head of the village committee in A-Twaneh, Saber Harini, is delighted at the result of the campaign, and is now feeling inspired to press for access to electricity and other services. ‘We used to have to buy our water from Hebron or Yata. It would cost around 30-40 per cent of a family’s income. Now it only costs us 15 shekels [about £2.50] to get the water direct to our house. We are like America! I’ve been sending letters to the authorities for years about the water issue, but nothing changed until the An Action a Day campaign.’

Despite there being a long way to go before A-Twaneh receives all essential services, residents are upbeat and have noticed dramatic changes to their lives.

Local father Juama Rabai explains: ‘Before, our children only used to wash once a week – at the most. There were many more diseases and skin infections.

But now we are cleaner, more hygienic, and so the children get ill less’.

Connecting A-Twaneh to water is a huge success – but what is equally important is the message from the Israeli public to their government. It’s a clear, unmistakeable voice that says no to poverty, injustice and the violation of human rights. As Tzvika says: ‘The occupation has always been a moral abomination to me. And it always will be until it stops. I’ve thought this since I was 11 years old – what’s different now is that I understand I can do something to change it.’

See more at christianaid.org.uk/iopt Christian Aid News 19

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CAMPAIGNS

AFRICA’S CLIMATE CHALLENGE Since January, Christian Aid campaigners and partners across the globe have been calling on the World Bank to fund low-carbon development. With the latest round of climate talks due in November in Durban, South Africa, we are calling on the United Nations to do the same.

Campaigns manager Laura Trevelyan reports

Lack of rain too often means failed harvests and a food crisis

BE A CLIMATE WITNESS HERE AT CHRISTIAN AID we are getting excited about the Bearing Witness day of prayer and action in Manchester on 1 October.

On the eve of the Conservative Party conference we will call on the coalition to live up to its promise to be the ‘greenest government ever’. We will hear from inspirational speakers and discuss key global issues during an

afternoon of workshops and talks, before joining with CAFOD and Tearfund supporters at a special ecumenical service in the city’s Anglican Cathedral.

We will then form a procession to speak out on behalf of those on the frontline of our changing climate. As dusk falls, we will hold a candlelit vigil near the conference venue to stand in solidarity with the world’s poor and pray

for strong government action on climate change.

We would love you to join us. If you have already registered, you should be receiving your personal ticket and event guide very soon. If you haven’t, please register now on our website at christianaid.org.uk/bearingwitness or contact the Campaigns team for more information on 020 7523 2264.

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MPs back our World Bank demands TIME IS RUNNING out for the UN to agree a second phase to the Kyoto Protocol that would agree future legally binding emissions targets needed to stop catastrophic climate change.

In Christian Aid’s ideal world, our leaders will recognise the urgency in bringing down global carbon emissions, while poor communities will be supported to adapt to a changing climate and given the means to develop in a sustainable, low-carbon way. As well as cutting emissions, developed nations need to provide the finance to enable poor countries to build a thriving and resilient low-carbon future, free from poverty.

This year’s UN climate change talks are being held on a continent that knows only too well the impact of a changing climate. The recent drought crisis in east Africa is an example of how climate change can contribute to the increasing intensity of disasters and food scarcity. These hit the poorest hardest.

Christian Aid’s African partners are mobilising campaigners across the continent to ensure they have a strong voice at these talks. Together we can achieve climate justice, but time is running out. You can take our campaign action at christianaid.org.uk/climate or call 020 7523 2264 to order postcards.

Climate Caravan of Hope spans continent

offices around the UK are coordinating shared transport to Manchester. If you are interested in travelling together, or would like to help arrange shared transport, please contact your local Christian Aid office or call the Campaigns team on 020 7523 2264.

In other cases, offices may simply be able to recommend which train or bus they are planning to catch, enabling you to travel with other supporters from your region.

‘I don’t know which Bible people are reading when they say that religion and politics don’t mix.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Wikimedia Commons

GETTING THERE Some Christian Aid

will take part in the large interfaith rally where Archbishop Desmond Tutu (below) and Mary Robinson, the ex-President of Ireland and a former UN high commissioner for human rights, will address the crowd and a 1,000-strong choir. swiss-image.ch/Remy Steinegger

Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance

Christian Aid partner Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) is leading a Caravan of Hope that will travel from Burundi to Durban, taking the call for climate justice across 10 African countries on its way to the climate talks.

PACJA describes the Caravan of Hope as ‘a road show that will seek to galvanise voices, with an ultimate aim of telling the African story while highlighting the demands of Africa among its inhabitants and the rest of the world’.

Once the caravan reaches Durban it

OUR CAMPAIGN to get the World Bank out of fossil fuel investment has won powerful new allies, with MPs demanding that UK funding for World Bank aid programmes should be withheld if the institution does not stop financing new coal-fired power stations in developing countries.

The public demand from the Environmental Audit Committee, a cross-party group of British MPs, stated that ‘the World Bank should not assume continued support from the UK unless it changes its ways’. The committee also stressed that we should use our power as a major World Bank shareholder to push the Bank to clean up its act.

This shows our campaign is making a real difference with our elected representatives. The World Bank’s draft energy strategy, which proposed cutting coal investment in some countries, has reached a stalemate.

The new strategy was due to be agreed in July, but there is disagreement over the proposal to stop funding for coal-fired power stations. This month the board of the Bank meets again to try to resolve this issue. We will continue to advocate to them for an energy strategy that works for the poorest and will keep you updated on any outcomes.

UPDATE ON CALLS FOR COMPANIES TO REPORT THEIR EMISSIONS More than 1,200 Christian Aid supporters submitted responses to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ consultation on whether companies should be required to report their carbon emissions to an agreed standard.

Thank you! We will report back when we have an outcome.

Manchester’s Anglican Cathedral

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CAMPAIGNS

Christian Aid

Trace the Tax makes your voice heard Campaigners take the Trace the Tax message to Unilever

Tax Haven campaign goes global EARLIER THIS YEAR Christian Aid and a group of 10 other agencies launched the End Tax Haven Secrecy campaign asking G20 leaders to act on tax dodging – a scandal that costs poor countries more each year than the entire global aid budget.

The campaign has now truly gone global, with more than 50 organisations from more than 20 countries joining it.

This is a sign of the strength of global feeling about the need to end tax dodging and the tax haven secrecy that allows it to thrive.

Christian Aid’s southern partners are playing a key role in the global campaign. In Brazil, our partner INESC has launched a local arm of the campaign and released a report that reveals that every year tax dodging costs Brazil nine per cent of GDP – nearly twice what the government spends on public education.

It’s stories such as this that confirm how central the campaign for tax justice is in our fight to end global poverty.

With only a few months before the G20 meeting in France, we’re ramping up the

pressure on our leaders and demanding they stand up for the world’s poorest and stop companies hiding their profits in tax havens. Our coalition is planning a series of joint actions prior to the G20 meeting this November, including a Global Day of Action in early October, to increase the pressure on world leaders to act.

You can join the campaign by taking part in our global email action – if you haven’t done so yet, you can add your voice to the campaign at christianaid.org.uk/G20 • Also on the subject of tax, recently the Nicaragua Tax Alliance – including Christian Aid partners the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policy and Coordinadora Civil – presented tax reform proposals showing that the country must increase its tax collection by four per cent of its GDP to meet its Millennium Development Goal in education.

By bringing tax debates into the public sphere, the alliance hopes to bring about significant tax reform to benefit Nicaragua’s poorest communities.

THANK YOU to everyone who has written a postcard, sent an email or participated in a stunt in support of our Trace the Tax campaign over the past 12 months. Your support is vital and your voices are being heard.

In recent months we’ve been talking with several of the companies, which is now producing some great results.

Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) has agreed to work with us towards some of our objectives, including using its influence to bring about change for the world’s poorest people.

It said: ‘IHG supports international tax transparency and we are working with Christian Aid to understand better how business can support their initiative. We’re exploring how IHG can work with them on the broader area of poverty alleviation, with collaboration on programmes we already have in place.’

This is a great step forward, but there’s still work to be done. We’re continuing to meet with Vodafone, TUI Travel and Unilever and your support remains crucial. To find out how you can help, visit christianaid.org.uk/tax In August Christian Aid campaigners took part in light-hearted actions outside Unilever offices and factories to try to persuade the company to use its influence to help us promote greater tax transparency. If you’d like to get involved in future actions, call the Campaigns team on 020 7523 2264.

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INPUT

Inspired? Enraged?

Send your views to: The Editor, Christian Aid News, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL or email canews@christian-aid.org POVERTY TRAP Why is there poverty in the world?

The answer is fundamentally simple: we humans, like other animals, find it difficult to sustain life in the natural world. The vast majority of human beings have lived for most of the past 12,000 years in what we would call poverty, with very high child mortality and life expectancy below 35 years.

In the past 200 years or so, the West (mainly) has developed technologies which has enabled a huge increase in living standards across most of the world – this despite the population multiplying by about eight times.

But some places have not caught up yet; they have stayed mired in the poverty that, in the past, all societies everywhere experienced. It is our huge growth in wealth, particularly in the past 60 years, which makes their poverty seem so stark. However, the amount of poverty seems to be reducing. In the 1970s I read that two-thirds of the world was undernourished; now I see you report that 1 billion are hungry, which is about one-seventh of the population.

Mike Hughes, Jarrow

POVERTY AND POPULATION Antibiotics and clean water are wonderful ways of improving people’s lives in developing countries, but included in the package must be information about birth control, by natural or artificial means. Otherwise, the poverty pit must inevitably get deeper, as more people live to reproduce while economies remain static. Modern medicine has transformed the western world in the past 150 years, but these discoveries have gone hand in hand with declining birth rates – firstly, among the better off and then, as the 20th century wore on, among the less affluent as well – falling death rates and expanding economies. High birth rates and marginal economies only institutionalise poverty and perpetuate tragically short life expectancies.

Sadly, governments and aid agencies turn a blind eye to this stark fact, yet all the political correctness, marches for

climate justice and breast-beating about the wicked West will not alter it.

One of the wonders of the Christian vision is that God gave us not only the intelligence to understand the intricacies of the world which He created, but also the ingenuity to solve the problems it generated. We need to actively spread the blessings of all these discoveries, including the capacity to adjust family sizes to available resources, to our fellow creatures still living on the edge.

Otherwise, we are failing in our duty as Christians to take God’s blessings of both spirit and body to all people.

Dr Allan Chapman Mrs Rachel E W Chapman, via email I cannot believe that contributors to Christian Aid News still don’t want to believe that population is not a major contributor to poverty. How many times do they need to be told that big populations are a symptom of poverty, not a cause? Too many people still want to lay the blame for poverty at the feet of the poor rather than accept that it is the First World that ensures poverty survives and could change things dramatically for the poor if it chose to.

Robert Bromley, via email

NET GAINS? I read with interest the article on mosquito net distribution (Christian Aid News, Issue 52). A commonly heard criticism of agencies’ efforts in this area is that the nets come from the developed world and local net suppliers are cut out. I hope this isn’t happening with your Nets Now! campaign. This is a great campaign, but I would be happier to know it wasn’t at the expense of suppliers in the developing world.

Jim Crook, via email Editor’s reply: Christian Aid always takes utmost care to consider the impact of its programmes on local and national economies. However, in order to save lives, the nets we and our partners source and distribute need to be of a particularly high quality, known commonly as Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets. Where these are

available from suppliers in-country or within the region we and our partners will begin there. For example, in Kenya we source them from a Kenyan company called Techno Relief Services. However, in other parts of Africa the necessary high quality nets are not produced locally. In Nigeria, for example, one of the main sources for nets for many large agencies involved in the malaria response is a Swiss company called Vestergaard.

AID ROUTE When it comes to foreign aid, Britain has a proud record compared with most other developed countries, but the public are unlikely to be generous if they know it is merely fuelling corruption.

In some countries, at least, where corruption is endemic, would it not be possible to pass the aid through charities based in Britain, rather than to corrupt governments? The taxpayer would feel happier and donors more generous perhaps? And the aid more likely to go to the people who actually need it?

H F Vivian Bowser, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire

GONE FISHING We very much support your campaign on climate change and the call for Christians to be good stewards of the world’s resources.

A major cause for concern is the damage we are doing to the marine environment, which provides the major source of protein for many of the world’s poorest people. Acidification and waterwarming resulting from CO2 emissions are a major stressor of marine life, but worse than that is the relentless assault of industrial-scale fishing that obliterates entire local fish populations. As a result, we are supporting Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall’s Fish Fight and WWF in their campaign on wwf.org.uk/morefish to press for long-term management of marine resources. Given the occupation of several of the disciples, the future of fish and fishing seems an appropriate area for our support.

P D and M E Mathison, Newport, Brough, East Yorkshire

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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

Dale Vince founder of Ecotricity

In the first of a series of articles exploring Christian Aid’s engagement with the private sector, Christian Aid News meets Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity FOR SOME TIME now, Christian Aid has been exploring how to work more closely with the private sector to help eradicate poverty. This will form a key part of our 2012 strategy, and will focus on three key areas: • developing existing commercial and philanthropic relationships • helping companies to understand and improve their impact on poor communities • encouraging companies to invest in enterprise-based solutions to poverty.

Ecotricity is one of a small number of ‘affinity’ partners that we have been working with for several years who make a donation to Christian Aid for every product they sell to our supporters and sometimes the wider public. This provides sustainable core funding and helps to raise awareness of our work.

These partnerships give consumers the opportunity to purchase products and services that will actually make a difference to poor people’s lives.

We have been working with Ecotricity since 2007 to generate additional funds for our work while allowing supporters to invest in green energy and gas.

What does Ecotricity do?

Dale Vince: We’re an energy company with a difference. Our mission is to change the way energy is made in the UK through the building of greener sources such as wind farms and sun parks. We’ve been supplying greener energy to households, companies and churches since 1996 and in the past seven years we’ve invested nearly £50m in wind energy.

LEADING THE CHARGE What made you decide to set up Ecotricity? Twenty years ago I was a hippy living in buses and trucks, building and fixing my own things. I was low-impact, self-sufficient, but also concerned about the future and the onset of global warming. My big worry was the effect that energy production was having on the world. Electricity was, and still is, the biggest single source of carbon dioxide in Britain, so I decided to ‘drop back in’ and build big windmills that would generate green energy for homes and organisations across the country.

Why did you choose to partner with Christian Aid? Christian Aid supporters know that climate change is already affecting the world’s poorest people and that the future of the planet relies upon us acting now. We donate at least £40 to Christian Aid each time a supporter becomes one of our customers. Together, we are a potent force for tackling CO2 emissions in the UK and supporting people on the frontline of climate change.

Do you work with churches, too?

Yes, we have 5,000 small businesses and churches on board. As so much more energy is used by organisations

than by households, the potential impact of churches and companies changing their energy supplier is huge. The more that switch to Ecotricity, the better off everyone will be!

What’s been the highlight of your year? In July, the number of Ecotricity customers passed the 50,000 mark.

This was a really important milestone for us. Concern about the environment has become more mainstream and has led to an increased awareness of problems. What we are now seeing is people moving beyond awareness into acting. We see the growth of our company as evidence of this. By the end of this financial year we aim to have 75,000 customers. Our long-term goal is to get 1 million on board. We have the systems in place to deal with 10 million customers, such is our faith in the growing desire to fight climate change.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED To switch to Ecotricity, call 08000 302 302 or go to christianaid.org.uk/ecotricity When you come on board, Ecotricity will donate up to £60 towards our work. This could be the biggest single step you take to reduce your carbon emissions and protect the environment.

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30/08/2011 10:52

CELEBRATE ADVENT WITH DIVINE

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AID ARE YOU often stuck for original gift ideas for friends and relatives?

Well, Present Aid has a wide range of life-changing gifts to suit every taste and budget. From goats and houses to bicycles and wells, there is something for everyone – and you can be sure that your gift is making a real difference to the communities that need it the most. You can even club together and buy a gift as a group, while bringing joy to those in need.

Buy your gifts from the enclosed catalogue or on our website at presentaid.org and you’ll get a card for your chosen recipient with information about the gift that you’ve made on their behalf. If you order from our website you can even get the card sent directly to them! And the best part is that as you shop, you will be making an impact on the lives of poor and vulnerable people around the world.

Christian Aid/Ruth Tormey

AROUND THE world, Christmas is celebrated with the Fairtrade Divine Advent calendar – each window revealing the next step of the Nativity story and a solid heart of smooth Divine milk chocolate.

The beautifully illustrated calendar places the celebration of the birth of Jesus at the heart of the fairer world Divine is striving for; one where smallholder cocoa farmers are empowered to work their way out of poverty. Christian Aid has supported Divine from its inception. Through its unique farmer-owned business model the company delivers fairer income, knowledge and empowerment to cocoa farmers in Ghana.

Divine Advent calendars are available from divinechocolate.com/shop, traidcraftshop.co.uk, premcrest.co.uk, kingdomcoffee.co.uk or your usual Divine stockist.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL AID

It benefits both users and charity.

So, asks legacies head Colin Kemp, might you use Will Aid in November 2011?

WHEN MORLEY couple Lin and Andy Dalton decided to write their wills last year after 29 years of marriage, the active Christian Aid supporters turned to Will Aid. As a result, as well as taking the opportunity to leave a gift to Christian Aid in their will, the simple act of getting a will written by a participating solicitor during Will Aid month last November meant Christian Aid also benefited from a share of donations made to the nine charities involved in the scheme.

Will Aid 2010 was a record-breaking year. Thanks to the generous efforts of more than 1,100 solicitors, £1,509,428 was raised, with Christian Aid receiving a share of more than £200,000.

As this year’s Will Aid month – November – approaches, Lin and Andy are encouraging other supporters to follow their example. They explain: ‘Will Aid was a very reassuring experience, the solicitor was very helpful and guided us through what we needed to discuss. We only travel through this world once and we can make an impact for good or ill. Using Will Aid gives us one last opportunity to make a contribution that will affect the lives of others for good. Leaving a gift to Christian Aid in our will – well, what

better hands could our money be in? ’ When planning a will, loved ones should always come first but many people also take the opportunity to leave a legacy to their favourite charity.

Christian Aid’s legacies officer Ruth Baker commented: ‘Will Aid is very important to Christian Aid, and the support of people like Lin and Andy is greatly appreciated. Legacy gifts are crucial in supporting our work to eradicate poverty. Last year at least 70 people chose to leave a gift to Christian Aid through Will Aid. Whatever the size of those gifts, they will bring a legacy of hope to poor communities.’

To hear more from Lin and Andy watch their video clip at christianaid. org.uk/will-aid

HOW IT WORKS Participating solicitors give their time for free to write simple wills during November. Instead of charging a fee, they invite the client to make a donation to Will Aid: suggested levels are £85 for a single will and £125 for a couple with mirror wills. Donations are shared between nine charities, and Christian Aid receives 13.5 per cent of donations. Leaving a gift in a will to Christian Aid or any other charity is entirely optional and is not a condition of the scheme. Will Aid advises that people make appointments for November soon as participating solicitors can become booked up very quickly. You can find a local solicitor at willaid.org.uk or by contacting Colin Kemp on 020 7523 2173 or email ckemp@christian-aid.org

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EVENTS Main picture and below: Team Poverty members celebrate their arrival in Paris

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

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

Christian Aid/M Gonzalez-Noda

WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS! WHETHER IT WAS the lure of the French countryside, a quest for fitness or just the joy of getting away for a few days, each of the 65 Christian Aid cyclists on this year’s London to Paris Bike Ride had their own personal reason for taking part, but all rode the 294 miles with one unifying goal – to help eradicate poverty. Christian Aid staff members Alexia Haywood, Kate Rowley and

Rachel Jordan went along for the ride, and here reflect on the highs and lows of their experience.

Rachel: ‘I had so many great moments in those four days. One of them has to be making the ferry on the first day! After pootling along for most of the afternoon, we suddenly realised we would have to really sprint to make it, but we got there just in time and avoided getting scooped up by the support van.

‘I really enjoyed the spirit of the ride and being around lots of lovely people all ready to lend support or a plaster or bandage if needed. Of course, the ultimate high was the end – I’ll never forget arriving in central Paris and being cheered along by French people.

‘Every morning we would receive a briefing from Libby (Christian Aid’s challenge event officer) who would

provide us with information and stories about Christian Aid’s work; and even to someone who knows about this it was very motivating. Cycling in such a large group and our group singing sessions also kept me going.

‘I’ve been lucky to have really great support from my circle of friends and family before and after the ride – from giving sponsorship to lending me equipment, accompanying me on training rides and contributing to my events and bake sales. They have been brilliant throughout.’

Alexia: ‘I really enjoyed the great food, the sails down hills, the beautiful scenery and the nice sunny spells, but most of all the great company and the feeling of being on a purpose-driven team mission.

I felt a little sad when it was all over!

‘There was definitely a time every day

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✁

MAKING A SPLASH DO YOU like creating a splash and can you go that extra length to help beat poverty? Water-lovers are snapping on their swimming goggles and taking part in two sponsored swimathons to raise money to help fight poverty.

• SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER Bottisham Sports Centre, near Cambridge • SUNDAY 8 JANUARY 2012 University of Birmingham Why not get a team together or challenge yourself and see how many lengths you can swim?

• Register now for your place by calling 01509 265013 or going online at christianaid.org.uk/swim

Christian Aid/M Gonzalez-Noda Events.indd 2

where I hit an energy low (apparently this is called a “bonk”!) and that was hard. But encouragement from friends and fellow cyclists, the sense of personal achievement and knowledge that it was contributing to such a good cause spurred me on. I met some great people on the ride, especially those who I kept company with at the back. When I returned home afterwards I remember feeling a little lonely and aimless, after being part of such a great team.’

Kate: ‘I loved arriving in Paris in a blur of yellow Team Poverty jerseys! Passing through the Somme and visiting the mass war graves was a particularly sobering experience. I think most people had a few moments of silence to forget about our minor, temporary pain and think about real suffering and loss. It certainly reminded me why I was doing the ride – to raise funds that will go to help others around the world avoid needless suffering. It’s great looking back at the photos to remind me that I actually cycled 300 miles in four days!

‘Everyone was kept motivated along the way by various snacks, singing, support and encouragement from fellow riders and the thought that they were cycling to eradicate poverty, and all returned to the UK with sore legs, fab photographs and great memories!’

• If this has inspired you to have a go, it’s not too soon to say so! Find out how you can take part in the London to Paris Bike Ride 2012 at christianaid.org.uk/cycling

What is the collective noun for giraffes?

Q

Q

THIS IS THE type of question Christian Aid supporters are asking in their Quizaids this September. Hundreds of people nationwide are stretching their brains by holding their own quiz and raising money for Christian Aid. To find out more about holding your own Quizaid or to submit the money you have raised, go to christianaid.org.uk/quizaid (PS: the answer is a tower)

WE ‘LIKE’ THIS

EVENTS FUNDRAISING CALENDAR 2011/2012 QUIZAID 12-18 September 2011 BUPA GREAT NORTH RUN 18 September 2011 ROYAL PARKS HALF MARATHON 9 October 2011 CAMBRIDGESHIRE SPONSORED SWIM 15 October 2011 SANTA DASH 5K FUN RUNS December 2011

VICKI WRIGGLESWORTH from North Yorkshire took on a personal challenge by signing up to Christian Aid’s 25-mile trek over two days through the glorious historical scenery of Hadrian’s Wall.

After registering, she posted on her Facebook page: ‘Anyone mad enough to join me?’ Sure enough, somebody was – her old schoolfriend Helen Rough. The trekking weekend was only their third reunion since 1975!

Although it was a challenging walk, particularly the ‘undulations’ – which Vicki prefers to call mountains – they spent the weekend laughing and catching up. Both their fathers passed away recently and Helen felt they ‘both got encouragement from knowing that they would be extremely proud of us’. The encouragement from staff, including inspiration about what their sponsorship would mean, meant Helen and Vicki were able to finish the walk together.

THE BIG CHRISTMAS SING 9-11 December 2011

CAN YOU SLEIGH POVERTY THIS CHRISTMAS?

BUPA GREAT MANCHESTER RUN 20 May 2012

SANTA Dashes, Golden Tinsel Walks and a Santa Toddle are all walks and runs happening in December across the UK. Why not take part in a 5K run, 1-,2-,3- or 6-mile walk or a 100m Kids’ Dash to help give poverty the runaround.

• Find out more at christianaid. org.uk/running

Round the world in a swimming costume DEBORAH KINGHAN of Bangor in Northern Ireland plans to go around the world in her bathing suit. She is aiming to swim the equivalent of the world’s circumference – an incredible distance of about 24,906 miles!

By the end of July she had hit the 2,900-mile mark. Her next milestone is 3,113 miles, which she hopes to reach in 2012. Deborah is raising funds to help people such as pastoralists in Kenya who are being supported by Christian Aid partner Northern Aid to maintain boreholes that are vital to countering the effects of drought.

If you want to fundraise and have an idea that you would love to make a reality, then register now for your free fundraising pack, which includes posters, a ‘how-to’ guide and tips. Go to christianaid.org.uk/yourway

BIRMINGHAM SPONSORED SWIM, 8 January 2012 BURNS SUPPER 21-28 January 2012 SPONSORED ABSEILS March 2012 THE SUPER SOUP LUNCH 30 March 2012 BRIGHTON MARATHON 15 April 2012 VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON 22 April 2012

EDINBURGH MARATHON 27 May 2012 OFFA’S DYKE NIGHT HIKE TBC June 2012 HADRIAN’S WALL WEEKEND TREK TBC July 2012 LONDON TO PARIS BIKE RIDE 18-22 July 2012 JURASSIC COAST WEEKEND TREK TBC September 2012 QUIZAID 10-16 September 2012 Visit christianaid. org.uk/events to find out more.

30/08/2011 10:42

AROUND CENTRAL ENGLAND

Volunteer teacher inspires schools creative fundraising

Robert Johnson with headteacher and pupils at St Luke’s

A VISITING Christian Aid volunteer teacher inspired a Cannock school to make our work the subject of an international project for the coming year.

Robert Johnson visited St Luke’s School to explain about Christian Aid and its work in Nicaragua. The school council responded by ‘adopting’ the charity for a year.

Pupils created fundraising groups in each class and used a variety of

LICHFIELD LINK UP

BISHOP JOHN joined his area bishops, archdeacons and the Dean of Lichfield Cathedral (pictured above) in signing up to receive updates on the Climate Justice campaign run by Christian Aid. They committed to take action in advance of a year’s partnership between Lichfield Anglican Diocese and Christian Aid, which will help churches to explore the issues and take action for justice.

opportunities to raise every penny possible. Methods included games, biscuit stalls, smoothies, tombolas and surprises.

‘Children at St Luke’s want to help others; it is part of our school ethos and enables us to enrich our community,’ explained headteacher Jane Roberts.

‘We have already had a Fairtrade stall and we have been delighted to raise funds for Christian Aid.’

Climate Justice, as the partnership is named, will be launched with a service at Lichfield Cathedral, as well as being mirrored around the region. The event will include creative worship, a speaker from the Global South, plus ideas and resources to take away for use in a local church setting. In the year that follows, churches will be challenged to reflect, pray and act through a special e-newsletter.

This year of action will provide many exciting opportunities for congregations of all sizes to get involved, hear stories from around the world and take effective action.

Through the eyes of our partners Christian Aid sees the impact of climate change on the poorest in the world.

Tackling climate change is therefore a journey towards greater justice in the world – will you join us?

Bishop throws ‘thank you’ bash UP TO 70 guests converged on the Bishop of Leicester Rt Rev Tim Stevens’ garden in June for a ‘thankyou’ party for Christian Aid supporters in the East Midlands.

Bathed in warm sunshine, the partygoers enjoyed live music from the local Lazy Alligators jazz band, as well as plenty of cake and ice cream.

Special guest Paul Valentin, Christian Aid’s international director, gave a speech thanking the East Midlands Christian Aid team and supporters for their hard work and generosity during Christian Aid Week.

East Midlands regional coordinator Judi Perry commented: ‘What a fantastic afternoon; the weather was perfect for a garden party and lots of supporters came along. It was great to be able to thank them personally, as the work they do is so crucial.’

Enjoying the garden party

WELCOME TO THE TEAM NEW FACES have joined Christian Aid’s Central England teams in the fight against poverty. The East Midlands welcomes Nick Thorley as full-time regional coordinator and Claire Bampton as part-time regional coordinator.

Imogen Tate joined the East of England team in July, as the legacy and regional coordinator based at the Peterborough office. Julian Bryant will join the East of England team in October, as a regional coordinator based in Norwich.

This year’s interns are Sarah Croft (East of England) Laura Searle (West Midlands) and Catherine Garsed (East Midlands). During their year they will travel to Sierra Leone, so contact us and see how they can share their experiences in your church.

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AROUND NORTH ENGLAND ‘WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES’

Make your money go further ALL OVER the north of England churches and communities are discovering the Christian Aid Partnership Scheme. If your church, local school or community raises at least £5,000 in the next two years, we can match this with grants from the European Commission. For every pound you give, at least another £3 goes to a specific project.

We have more than 12 existing partnerships.

These range from Churches Together groups and ecumenical collaborations, to a very lively partnership between St Mary’s Church in Norton, Teesside, and local schools, which aims to raise money for a project in Burkina Faso.

The Methodist Church in the north west is involved in several partnerships, including in Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone. Other examples include individuals such as John and Nancy Eckersley, who have been walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and Cath Greenlees (featured below), whose local Christian Aid group is on a second partnership, raising most of the money

through sponsored walks and treks. Lytham Ecumenical Partnership is running a Bible Readathon with churches and schools in October to raise money for a new project in Sierra Leone.

• Please note that this scheme is for new fundraising.

Christian Aid Week income cannot be used. Find out more details at christianaid.org.uk/partnerships

30 YEARS OF SUPPORT

John and Nancy Eckersley

GREENLEES IS OUR DELIGHT CHRISTIAN AID would not be half the organisation it is without the enthusiastic participation of our volunteers. And few are as enthusiastic as Cath Greenlees.

In January 2010 Cath was awarded the MBE for her volunteer work for Christian Aid. Having become involved in Christian Aid when she was at university in the 1960s, Cath continued helping us when she moved to Preston to teach RE at Penwortham Grammar School. That was when her commitment to sponsored events began. Every year she still organises a sponsored cycle/walk in the local area. ‘Cycle for a bike/Walk for water’ raises more than £2,000 for bikes and wells from the Present Aid catalogue.

A supporter trip to Uganda in 1996 was the catalyst for Cath becoming a volunteer speaker/ teacher after participants committed to doing a year of speaking about their trip to schools and other groups. At this time Christian Aid was at the

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This year’s Christian Aid Week is now receding into the distance, but another one is approaching! In February and March 2012 the north west is hosting 15 preChristian Aid Week events. For details, contact the Warrington office or look on our Facebook page.

forefront of the Fairtrade campaign, with Cath now the local Traidcraft representative.

She writes more than 100 letters to local schools in her efforts to raise awareness of our work and boost involvement. To others trying the same approach she has a simple message of encouragement: ‘Don’t be disappointed if you get fewer than 10 replies, they are all so busy.

‘You have to find ways of promoting yourself,’ she adds. ‘I’m focusing now on the Church of England schools in the diocese and ask if I can follow up an assembly with class work.’

Cath finds that often the way into a school is with Fairtrade, as it fits the focus on eco schools. ‘If we can interest children we never know what will follow. But we can plant the seed.’

With the success of her work has come SATURDAY 1 OCTOBE local fame: R Bearing wit ness to our recently a changing cl imate young lad 12 noon-7.3 0pm, Mancheste in Boots r city centre On the eve . of the Conse recognised rvative Part conference y , hundreds of supporte from around Cath as ‘the rs the country to are travellin Mancheste Christian r to take pa g rt in an insp day of cam iring paigning an Aid lady’. d

In 1981, Churches Together in Huyton, Liverpool, opened a shop called the Fourth Dimension to support Christian Aid Week’s focus on water projects in Mali. Thirty years on it has raised more than £250,000 and is still going strong.

Christian Aid’s programme manager for Mali, Yacoube Kone, will be in the north west for the celebrations and is available to meet supporter groups.

PAPER QUIZZES Thank you to all who took part in our regional paper quizzes. We raised more than £7,000.

We had 10 winners across the north of England who have all been notified. A list of winners is available on request.

worship on the issu es of climat e change and global pove For more de rty. tails, see page 20

30/08/2011 11:28

AROUND SCOTLAND

Emma Boyd Photography

Bringing a taste of the tropics to Scotland

Undaunted by the great Scottish weather, the Christian Aid Scotland team decided to bring a hint of tropical island paradise to a number of venues across the country this summer PITCHING UP a tent at Scotland’s second SOLAS festival near Biggar, Christian Aid created a tropical paradise aimed at getting people on board with our campaign urging world leaders to end tax haven secrecy when they meet at the G20 in November this year.

Armed with inflatable palm trees and deckchairs to help create an island vibe, staff members and volunteers joined forces to spread the word that Christian Aid estimates poor countries are missing out on US$160bn in revenue each year due to tax dodging by global companies. This money could pay for basic health, sanitation and education services in some of the world’s poorest countries several times over, and so Christian Aid is calling for companies to report on profits made and taxes paid in every country where they operate – known as country-by-country reporting.

This is the second year that Christian Aid has partnered SOLAS – Scotland’s newest arts festival, which celebrates and explores relationships between art, faith and justice.

‘Biggar’ and better: Christian Aid at the SOLAS festival

‘Roll Away the Stone’ – the Church of Scotland’s celebration of the church in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh – and CLAN Gathering also provided great opportunities for Christian Aid to get out there and engage with others.

Wendy Young, from the Glasgow office, said: ‘We had great fun with the tropical island theme, with lots of activities for families to get involved in and some great discussions with experts in the areas of tax avoidance and climate change. We were thrilled that so many people took on board what we were saying and signed up to our campaign. We have also been encouraging people to put pressure on Vodafone, Unilever, TUI Travel and Intercontinental Hotels – very influential FTSE 4 companies we believe can set the right example. We are grateful to everyone who came along, took action, and made these events such a success.’

Autumn may now be upon us, but the palm trees in the Christian Aid office have not yet been deflated – there are still a couple of months left to put pressure on David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Nicolas Sarkozy to end tax haven secrecy at this year’s G20. You can find out more about how to send them a message on the Christian Aid Scotland website christianaid.org.uk/scotland or by contacting Diane Green, Christian Aid Scotland campaigns officer, on 0141 241 6136 or dgreen@christian-aid.org

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

Campaigning is for life John Harding, from Oxford, reflects on getting involved with Christian Aid’s campaigns MY WIFE and I have been supporters of Christian Aid as part of our local committee ever since our wedding, nearly 40 years ago. For us it seems to be one of the most important ways we have of answering the prayer ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven’. We very much like the fact that Christian Aid also seeks to tackle poverty not only by raising money – as crucial as that is – but also through campaigning and education.

As local campaigners over the years, we have written letters and sent emails to our local MP and others on global poverty issues. However, it was only after retiring in 1998 that I found the time to take an active part in public campaigning. We both joined the demonstration in Birmingham for the G7 summit. It was a most inspiring occasion – the train from Oxford seemed full of supporters, some having travelled much further – and we joined a very large and happy crowd that surrounded the cathedral.

This was just the beginning. There had been worries that charities would lose their status if they engaged in political campaigning. However, the excellent publicity from people such as Sir Bob Geldof and Michael Buerk, which showed the extent of the need, together with the Drop the Debt campaign, was enough to make more active campaigning acceptable.

EVENTS SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER Good Will Supper 7pm, Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford.

Live music and a good supper, plus a light-hearted look at willmaking and after-dinner speakers discussing the work of Christian Aid. Tickets £7.50 or £15 for a family.

Contact Hannah Roberts on 01865 246818 or email hroberts@christian-aid.org SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER March for Justice 10.30am start, Abingdon to Oxford on the Thames Path.

A nine-mile sponsored walk in solidarity with Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad and its work with landless people in India, thousands of whom will be marching themselves in the coming year.

Contact Amy Merone on 01865 246818 or email amerone@ christian-aid.org

MONDAY 28 – TUESDAY 29 NOVEMBER Oxford Big Christmas Sing 6.30pm, Oxford Town Hall.

Local primary schools will be getting together to sing their favourite carols. Come and join the fun! Tickets are available in advance or on the door.

Contact Abi Knowles on 01865 246818 or email aknowles@ christian-aid.org THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER Advent Hope 7pm, St Giles’ Church, Oxford.

Service to mark World AIDS Day with theologian and television presenter Robert Beckford as guest speaker. Fairtrade refreshments.

Contact Jess Hall on 01865 246818 or email oxford@ christian-aid.org • Do you have an event coming up?

Would you like us to list it here? If so, please let us know.

John Harding, left, next to wife Caroline at The Wave demonstration in London in 2009, ahead of the Copenhagen climate conference

Since that time we have joined a number of public demonstrations on issues such as trade justice and climate change. We have also lobbied our MP locally and in parliament. Compared with what so many others do, we realise that our input is very small, but we believe it is worthwhile and would urge others to join in. See christianaid.org.uk/actnow

New faces in your region

We will come and talk to you

WE ARE delighted to welcome three new members to the team in Oxford.

Hannah Roberts (pictured) is our new regional administrator; Steve Johnson will be a regional co-ordinator, particularly working with churches; and Jennie Williams is our new intern, focused on youth and students.

WOULD YOU like someone from Christian Aid to come and inspire your congregation? We are happy to come and speak at your church at any time of year, perhaps to link into Harvest or Christmas?

Staff members have recently visited projects in Brazil, Kenya, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, so could speak about their experiences.

• To book a speaker, please contact the Oxford office on 01865 246818 or email oxford@christian-aid.org

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AROUND THE SOUTH AND WEST

A beacon of hope for Burkina Faso THE BEACON School, Exmouth, has smashed its fundraising target to help support Christian Aid’s work alongside farmers in Burkina Faso as part of our Partnership Scheme.

Some months ago the school council chose to support Christian Aid’s bid to raise £5,000 to help farmers in Burkina Faso grow better crops and to feed sustainably whole communities in the seventh poorest country in the world. But in July it presented a cheque to Christian Aid for a colossal £6,526.75.

Each child pledged to do what they could to raise the money – they washed cars, baked cakes, performed shows and used their talents in a whole range of exciting ways. The congregation of Holy Trinity Church and even some parents also got involved – local dads Jim Hunter and Mark Hoole walked more than 200 miles from Plymouth to Poole along the gruelling Jurassic Coastal Path and raised £2,000 towards the cause.

‘The children were just amazing,’ said head teacher Sue Lockwood. ‘They not only committed themselves to raising the money, but, with Christian Aid’s help, they learned so much about African culture and the struggles facing the people of Burkina Faso. As a Church of England school we try to help the children to understand what it means to have a Christian faith, and how to put that faith into action. Our children come from all backgrounds and from countries around the world, and they all caught the vision and worked together to reach their target. I am so proud of them!’

Christian Aid’s regional coordinator for Devon Laura McAdam received the cheque at a celebration picnic at the school, declaring that the children of the Beacon School were now her ‘flagship for brilliant fundraising’. She said she would be encouraging churches, groups and other schools all over the south west to ‘follow the Beacon’s example of being ambitious, aiming high and putting their natural talents to such good use.’

The money raised for Christian Aid is being match-funded by the EU Commission by a ratio of four-to-one. This means a massive £32,633.75 will be sent to Africa to improve farming techniques and to help feed thousands of people in that region.

‘We might think we are just a drop in the ocean,’ said Laura, ‘but when we work together we can actually turn the tide.’

WELCOME SALLY AND MIKE OUR SOUTH WEST and West teams both welcome new members who are looking forward to meeting and serving supporters in the coming months.

Sally Ewen is the new regional coordinator for Cornwall. She is originally from Dorset and has lived in London and Oxford working with local churches on community and youth work projects over the past seven years. She

moved to Cornwall a couple of years ago and has worked with local charities and University College, Falmouth.

Mike Secker takes over as the new student and youth intern based in our Bristol office. Mike is from Winchester and studied theology at Bristol University. He will be working with universities, colleges and church youth groups.

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AROUND WALES

Graeme pedals to pile on the pounds

Doreen Jones

Graeme Johnson and supporters

GRAEME JOHNSON, a Christian Aid supporter from Dyserth in north Wales, has recently completed a bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise money for Christian Aid and the NSPCC. Graeme has been supporting Christian Aid for many years through his local church – Horeb, in Dyserth – but this was

his first attempt at a fundraising event and his first long-distance bike ride.

‘It took me a month in total to travel 1,423 miles,’ he said. ‘The most distance covered in one day was 91 miles and the least was 35, when I wasn’t feeling too well.

‘What really stood out for me was the helpfulness and kindness of people I met. People were always ready with their directions, although I was once sent onto the motorway by mistake. I was given overnight accommodation free of charge on more than one occasion and I had a constant supply of drinks and sandwiches on my journey.’

Graeme has already received £1,400 in sponsorship money and donations. He hopes to increase this sum with Gift Aid and promises of some matched funding by local business, and go beyond the £1 a mile already raised.

ART FOR AFRICA COMES OF AGE! ART FOR AFRICA, a fundraising event that has been part of the landscape in the Monmouth area, celebrated its 21st birthday this year.

During that time it has raised more than £70,000 for various Christian Aid projects in several African countries.

Ironically, in view of the current situation in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, Art for Africa was first held in the summer of 1991, as a one-off to raise funds for a major famine in east Africa through the selling of paintings by the Wye Valley Art Society.

The brainchild of Peter and Hazel Symes, it was held annually for 15 years at their home Fern Lea, near the village of Trellech. It grew each year until every wall was covered in pictures, every table held ceramics and pottery, the granny annexe became a café, and tents and stalls sprouted in the grounds. Artists demonstrated their skills; musicians and singers

performed; there was a resident hawk and they even had a flypast one year!

A few years ago, just as the couple had decided that the event had outgrown their home, Hazel sadly died.

Peter moved Art for Africa to the Memorial Hall in Catbrook, with that year’s event a memorial to Hazel.

For this year’s 21st anniversary another change was called for. ‘After all,’ said Peter, ‘every house around here is full of pictures from Art for Africa!’

The event relocated to the Bridges Community Centre in Monmouth town, for 15-17 July. Sadly, visitor numbers were down, as was the number of pictures sold. ‘Perhaps the economic climate made people think twice before investing in the luxury of works of art,’ commented Peter. ‘However, the stalls did good business and donations were up, with the total raised to support projects providing food and clean water in Sierra Leone, set to pass £1,600.’

With the EU-matched funding of 3.5 to one, the outcome will make a huge difference to the lives of thousands.

TAJIKISTAN – A FLAME THAT REFUSES TO GO OUT!

Malan Wilkinson

MALAN WILKINSON, a journalist with Golwg360 (a Welsh language news website) recently travelled to Tajikistan, with Branwen Niclas from Christian Aid Wales, to see partner projects in the fields of HIV, climate change, livelihoods and rights.

‘My experiences were amazing’, said Malan. ‘I’ve learnt a lot about how community groups work together to solve problems and listened to the experiences of women living with HIV and AIDS. They were more than just stories; these were real-life experiences – the fears and struggles of individuals: women who battle day to day, against all odds, to make ends meet, in a country which faces abject poverty. But what was heartening was witnessing the determination of people to make things better.’

Malan has already shared some of her experiences through a Welsh language blog on the Golwg360 website (golwg360.com/blog/malanwilkinson). But she and Branwen have also co-written a review, based on the trip, called Merched, Rhyw a Dannedd Aur (Women, Sex and Gold Teeth), which was premiered in a recent arts festival in Caernarfon, north Wales, Gwyl Arall (Another Festival).

Branwen explained: ‘It’s a 45-minute show. Malan and I sit on bar stools telling the stories of the women we met in Tajikistan, through monologues, poetry and music.’

The show will tour in the autumn, and provisional bookings have been made in Mold, Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Caernarfon.

• To invite Malan and Branwen to your town, call Branwen on 07888 997024.

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MAKE A SPLASH FOR CHRISTIAN AID START THE Olympic year by making a spopnsored splash in the University of Birmingham’s newly refurbished pool. All you have to do is get a team together or enter as an individual and swim as many lengths as possible in a set amount of time. We’re encouraging people of all ages and all abilities to get involved.

Register at christianaid.org. uk/swim and you will receive everything you need to take the plunge to tackle poverty.

STUDENTS PADDLE FOR SIERRA LEONE TEN STUDENTS from the University of East Anglia took part in a sponsored canoe event to raise money for Sierra Leone.

The group, all studying international development, were recruited by Kenyan student Lydia Munyi, who is finishing a Master’s degree.

They took around five hours to paddle a stretch of the River Bure between Aylsham and Horstead.

Between them they raised more than £1,000 for a mother and baby project at a remote hospital in a rainforest area of Sierra Leone. The money will be quadrupled by the European Union, which is supporting a partnership with the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, set up by Christian Aid.

EVENTS IN CENTRAL ENGLAND EAST MIDLANDS SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER Loughborough Christian Aid simple lunch 12.30pm, All Saints Church, Thorpe Acre, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 4LF. SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER Dronfield Christian Aid giant book sale and coffee morning 10am-12 noon, Dronfield Civic Hall, S18 1PD. Includes Traidcraft stall, cake stall and raffle.

SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER Christian Aid Bike Ride 10am start, finish around 12 noon, Beacon Pub Car Park, Beacon Road, Loughborough.

The Loughborough Christian Aid group is holding a sponsored bike ride with the aim of raising enough money to educate 30 children in Bangladesh for a year. Participants can choose from two routes; 16km or 25km for the more adventurous.

For details and sponsorship forms go to lbcweb.org.uk/ bikeride or call Mike Limb on 01509 215263.

WEDNESDAY 12 OCTOBER Rothley Christian Aid quiz and supper evening 7.15pm for 7.45pm, The Rothley Centre, 12 Mountsorrel Lane, Rothley LE7 7PR. Teams of four, no individual questions. Tickets £5 each to include ploughman’s supper.

Book in advance with Helen Playdon on 0116 230 4634.

WEDNESDAY 30 NOVEMBER Rothley Christian Aid quarterly lunch 12 noon for 12.15pm, The Old School Rooms, 3 School Street, Rothley LE7 7RA. Suggested minimum donation £5. Please book in advance with Helen Playdon, as above.

Walk for justice Several walks will be taking place across the Central region as part of the March for Justice, supporting our Indian partners in their campaign for land rights.

Student Feyi at the canoe event

SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER Solidarity Walk, Malvern Hills, Worcestershire. Contact Jill Smith on 0121 200 2283

THURSDAY 8 DECEMBER Big Christmas Sing 6pm, Saint Mary-le-Wigford Church, St Marys Street, Lincoln LN5 7EQ. The evening will be filled with Christmas songs and spirit as well as a speech by special guest Loretta Minghella, director of Christian Aid. Local singing group The Lincs Effect – made up of singers from Lincoln Cathedral – will also be making a guest appearance.

To buy tickets, please ring the Loughborough office on 01509 265013 or email eastmidlands@ christian-aid.org THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER Big Christmas Sing 6.30pm, Church of St Mary and All Saints, Church Way, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S40 1XJ. Come along to the famous ‘Crooked Spire Church’ for an evening of festivities, fun and your favourite Christmas carols.

SATURDAY 17 DECEMBER Carol singing 9.45am-12 noon, outside Sainsbury’s, Dronfield.

Meet in Dronfield Baptist Church at 9.40am with warm clothes for an outdoor venue. All welcome.

WEST MIDLANDS WEDNESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER Good Will Supper 7pm, Chester Road Baptist Church, Sutton Coldfield B73 5HU. An evening of entertainment, inspiration and information covering the themes of legacygiving and will-making. Music and supper are followed by a speaker from Christian Aid as well as a presentation from a local solicitor about what makes a good will.

For tickets, or more information, contact Alison Linwood on 0121 200 2283 or email alinwood@ christian-aid.org SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER A walk of between 10 and 15 miles along the River Yare, ending at Norwich Cathedral.

SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER A walk of about 10 miles to Peterborough Cathedral, ending with refreshments at 5pm and a service at 5.30pm.

SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER An eight-mile circular walk ending at Bury St Edmunds

SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER Bearing Witness A coach will travel from the Midlands to Manchester, enabling you to challenge the government to tackle climate change. See page 20.

For more details, contact John Cooper on 0121 200 2283.

TUESDAY 4 OCTOBER Climate Justice 7.30pm, Lichfield Cathedral.

A service to launch a year of prayer and action around the diocese, focusing on Christian Aid’s Climate Justice campaign.

Contact Sally Bossingham on 0121 200 2283.

SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER Birmingham Half Marathon For more details, contact Sally Bossingham as above.

FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER Christmas carol concert featuring the Young Strings Project 7pm, St Luke’s Church Centre, Gt. Colmore St, Lee Bank, Birmingham B15 2AT. Tickets: adults £7 in advance, £10 on the door; children £5 in advance, £7 on the door. For more information, call 0121 200 2283.

SUNDAY 8 JANUARY 2012 Swimathon University of Birmingham B15 3TT. Swimmers of all ages are welcome (see story, above left).

For more information and to register yourself or your team, go to christianaid.org.uk/swim FRIDAY 20 – SUNDAY 22 JANUARY 2012 Volunteer conference Hothorpe Hall, Theddingworth, Leicestershire.

An inspirational weekend for volunteers in the Midlands area.

Contact Jill Smith on 0121 200 2283 or Martin Gage on 01509 265013.

Cathedral. This starts with a service in the cathedral at 10.30am. There will be an option of catching a bus and doing a shorter walk. The cathedral will also welcome people at their evening service at 5.30pm.

More information is available from our Peterborough office (01733 345755) for the walk there, and from our Norwich office (01603 620051) for the Norwich and Bury walks.

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EVENTS IN NORTH ENGLAND WALK, SWIM, RUN SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER Guisborough Boundary sponsored walk The walk crosses the edge of North York Moors, Eston Hills, and in several places crosses private land. Enjoy beautiful countryside and wonderful views. The full walk is 22 miles, shorter options are available.

For details, contact alwyn. jones3@ntlworld.com SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER March for Justice Walk in solidarity with thousands of dalit and tribal campaigners in India taking part in a march organised by Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad, which is aimed at helping people to claim land rights, as a vital step towards lifting themselves out of poverty. Dates are: Saturday 24-Sunday 25 September Sandstone Trail March for Justice Frodsham to Whitchurch A 35-mile sponsored walk over two days through rural Cheshire.

Shorter walks available.

To register, call 01925 573769, email warrington@christian-aid. org or visit christianaid.org.uk/ walks Saturday 8 October Bede’s Way Sponsored Walk/ March for Justice 10am-5pm: Marking the 75th anniversary of the Jarrow March.

Join with north east MPs, regional church leaders and television presenter and local historian John Grundy.

10am-4pm: 12-mile walk from St Peter’s Monkwearmouth to Bede’s World in Jarrow.

1.30pm-4pm: 4-mile walk starts and finishes at Bede’s World, following Bede’s Way through Primrose Local Nature Reserve.

To register, call 0191 230 0735 or visit christianaid.org.uk/walks Saturday 8 October March for Justice Tackle a 6- or 13-mile circular sponsored walk starting in Ripon, North Yorkshire, and stand in solidarity with landless people in India.

For more information and to register, contact leeds@christianaid.org or call 0113 244 4764.

SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER Sponsored Swimathon 6pm, Manchester Aquatic centre.

Teams of six will be taking part in this event, organised in association with the Rotary Club.

Last year we raised more than £1,200 – can we beat this? For details, contact the Warrington office on 01925 573769.

SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER 5K Santa Dash 11am, Liverpool City Centre.

For details, see christianaid.org. uk/running

POVERTY OVER TOUR FROM SEPTEMBER This touring exhibition showcasing Christian Aid’s work visits Manchester, Newcastle and Wakefield during the autumn.

Centrepiece of the exhibition is a specially commissioned enamel and steel sculpture created by British artist Mel Howse and paid for by a sponsor. The tour is ideal for school trips, individual supporters, group outings and church members. Visitors to the cathedral will be invited to reflect upon the nature of poverty.

Friday 23 September-Wednesday 5 October Manchester Cathedral Thursday 6-Saturday 22 October St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle Wednesday 26 OctoberWednesday 9 November Wakefield Cathedral The exhibition visits Durham (16-29 February), Carlisle, Blackburn and York cathedrals in 2012. For more details, contact your local office.

TRAINING AND STUDY DAYS TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER Yorkshire autumn volunteer day 10.30am-3pm, Oxford Place Methodist Church.Please register interest at leeds@christian-aid. org or by calling 0113 244 4764.

WEDNESDAY 19 OCTOBER North East Schools’ Event and Volunteer Teacher Training Day 10am-4pm, St Nicholas Cathedral, Mosley Street, Newcastle NE1 1PF. Please register interest with Sarah Moon at the Newcastle office, on 0191 230 0735 or email smoon@christian-aid.org TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER Cathedral clergy study day St Nicholas Cathedral, NE1 1PF With Sue Richardson, Christian Aid church relations development officer. Guests include Joe Ndanema, secretarygeneral of Methodist Church

Sierra Leone, and Eustace Nii Narku Mensah, Christian Aid programme officer for the Bonthe Food Security Project.

SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER Carol singing 11am-12 noon, Thirsk Market Place. All welcome.

SINGING AND EATING

THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER Carol Singing 6.30-8pm, Morley.

For details, contact Hazel Rennison, on 0113 253 5107, email msr52@hotmail.co.uk

SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER A Transport of Delight 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Community Hall, Bruntcliffe, Morley.

An evening of the music of Flanders and Swann, with a little Gershwin thrown in. Adults £6 Children £3.

For more details and to book, contact Hazel Rennison on 0113 253 5107 or email msr52@hotmail.co.uk WEDNESDAY 5 OCTOBER Coffee morning 10.30am-12 noon, Palm Court Hotel, Scarborough.

Organised by Scarborough Town Centre Churches’ Christian Aid group.

For details, contact David Bridge on 01723 362091 or email davidgarnerbridge@googlemail. com THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER Cake stall and sale 10am-4pm, St Crux, York.

Refreshments and light lunches.

More helpers required, please.

For details, contact Jill Johnson on 01904 795652.

SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER Harrogate Band concert 7.30pm, Holy Trinity Church, Ripon.

Optional two-course meal at 6.30pm. For details and to book, contact Michael Montgomery, on 01765 605276, email littlethorpe@btinternet.com FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER Sing for your Supper 7.30pm, Holy Cross Church, Park Road, Timperley.

For details, contact Doris Robinson 0161 973 2882 SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER Brass band concert 7.30pm, URC, Robins Lane, Bramhall, South Manchester.

Featuring Stockport senior schools brass band. Tickets £5 adult, £1 child.

SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER Carol Sing Sheffield 10.30am-4.30pm, Sheffield City Centre. Collectors and singers needed. For details, contact Sara Millard on 0114 286 4427, email cello67@hotmail.com

ADVENT HOPE A series of services for Advent.

Sunday 27 November 11am, St Mary’s, Acton, Nantwich CW5 8LG. Evening, Heath Methodist Church, Runcorn WA7 4PB, for Runcorn Churches Together.

Thursday 1 December 7pm, Hexham Abbey, Hexham NE46 3NB. Preacher: Bishop Frank White.

Sunday 4 December 10.45am, Haslingden Baptist Church, Rossendale BB4 5LR. 6:30pm, Kendal Parish Church, Cumbria.

Sunday 11 December 10:30am, Warrington Working Men’s Mission, Old Liverpool Road.

6pm, Rosemount Trinity Methodist Church, Hyde SK14 4SS. Sunday 18 December 10.45am, Garston Park URC, Liverpool L19 9DJ. 4pm, St Mary’s, West Derby, L12 5EA. 7pm, Seacombe URC.

OVERSEAS VISITORS Come and meet Joe Ndanema and Eustace Nii Narku Mensah and hear about the work of Christian Aid’s Partnership Scheme in Sierra Leone.

Wednesday 2 November Afternoon tea, St James on the Green Methodist Church, Thirsk.

Wednesday 2 November Rotherham Minster.

Thursday 3 November 5.30pm-8.30pm, open evening, Wakefield Cathedral.

Friday 4 November 7.30pm, Beverley Minster.

Saturday 5 November 9am, prayer meeting and coffee morning, New North Road Baptist Church, Huddersfield.

Monday 7 November Evening meeting in Skipton.

For details of all the above events, contact leeds@christianaid.org or 0113 244 4764.

Joe and Eustace are also visiting the north west and north east.

For more details contact your local office.

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Pounding out the miles for Christian Aid THERE ARE lots of exciting ways to get involved in fundraising and we always love to hear what you have been up to.

We’ve been following the online blog of Stewart Cutler, a dad of two, who has been training hard to run the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon for Christian Aid and helping to raise awareness through his website. We were also delighted to hear of Nancy and John Eckersley, a couple from York, who decided to spend a few months of their retirement walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats. They have been stopping off at churches along the way, meeting up with Christian Aid supporters and writing about the interesting people they have encountered. A big thanks goes out from them and us to Scottish supporters who gave them a warm welcome when they arrived on this side of the border.

But of course, you don’t have to do anything quite so adventurous as that. Our events fundraiser Amy Menzies is happy to chat through all the different ways of getting involved for people of all ages and fitness levels. And please do continue to share your successes with us!

A poster boy for the young KIRKCALDY’S Christian Aid Committee has been getting the younger generation involved in making the world a better place – with the help of their MP, former prime minister Gordon Brown.

The group organised a poster competition involving local primary and Sunday schools. Young artists were asked to design posters on the theme ‘Transformers of the world make the planet a better place’ or ‘Sharing makes the world of difference’. A total of 275 entries flooded in, and the best posters were displayed in a local Tesco.

Meanwhile Mr Brown picked the winners and presented them with their trophies – one of which was given in memory of Alexander McQuillen, an art teacher and Christian Aid Week organiser for many years. Mr Brown also donated books on Nelson Mandela, and Tesco helped out with prizes too. This was an excellent way to involve the local community and raise awareness of Christian Aid!

Nancy and John Eckersley arrive in Scotland. Inset: Stewart Cutler

EVENTS IN SCOTLAND MONDAY 12 – SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER Quiz Aid Join hundreds of people putting their brains to the test and raising money to eradicate poverty by holding their own quiz. Contact Amy Menzies on 0141 241 6138 or email amenzies@christian-aid.org SEPTEMBER/NOVEMBER Christian Aid and EcoCongregation Scotland Roadshows Friday 23 September Perth, 7-9pm Saturday 12 November Inverness, 10am–1pm, at Ness Bank Church Contact Val Brown for more details on 0141 241 6134 or email vbrown@christian-aid.org

JUST SCRIPTURE

TAKE ONE ACTION

WE RECENTLY held a contextual Bible study in Glasgow, where we took an in-depth look at justice issues through the study of Micah 6. This served as an introduction to the contextual Bible study, where we came together in a spirit of empowerment to inspire and encourage action. If you are interested in taking part in a similar bible study or incorporating these themes and materials into your existing group then contact with Wendy Young on 0141 241 6137.

CHRISTIAN AID is working with Take One Action to explore international development issues through film and discussion.

BLOOD IN THE MOBILE Friday 23 September 6pm, Glasgow Film Theatre.

Saturday 24 September 8.20pm, Edinburgh Film House.

THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER Guardian film screening – ‘Food and agriculture: Land ownership in Ethiopia’ 7pm, The Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

Guardian film in partnership with Christian Aid, followed by expert panel discussion and Q&A. For more details, contact Matt Grady on 0141 241 6133.

THURSDAY 3 NOVEMBER Perth thank-you service An invitation for people in the Perth area to come along to an ecumenical service of thanksgiving led by Kathy Galloway, head of Christian Aid Scotland, to thank them on behalf of Christian Aid. Contact Val Brown, as left.

THERE ONCE WAS AN ISLAND Friday 23 September 8.30pm, Edinburgh Filmhouse.

Saturday 24 September 4pm, Glasgow Film Theatre.

LAND RIGHTS, LAND WRONGS Sunday 2 October 1.30-4.30pm, Out of the Blue, Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh.

Contact Diane Green, Campaigns Officer on 0141 241 6136.

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Regional news and events in London, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Sussex

CHRISTIAN AID is one of several charities helped by the Will Aid legacy and will-making scheme (see page 25).

• For more information on how to find a participating solicitor in your area, please call Laura on 020 7523 2110.

Laura can also help your church organise a Good Will Supper or Breakfast to raise awareness of the need for people to make wills.

So what can we do for you?

Volunteer speakers and teachers are playing an increasingly important role in raising awareness of Christian Aid’s work DO YOU belong to a social club, a church group or have a connection with your local school through being a parent or a member of the PTA? Then this autumn invite one of our fantastic volunteer speakers or teachers to come and give a talk, run a workshop or lead an assembly.

All our volunteers are fully trained and can speak about the work we do, why we do it and how it helps. This could be about our campaigns work, a particular country or perhaps a theme such as how our emergency work is carried out.

We are also looking for some new volunteers, so if you have some spare time, have experience as a public speaker or teacher, and would like to get an inside look at the work of Christian Aid, then why not apply?

• More information can be found at christianaid.org. uk/volunteer

Christian Aid/Claudia Janke

WHERE ThErE’S A WILL AID

EVENTS SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER Richmond Park Sponsored Walk 10.30am, Cambrian Centre, 1 Grove Road, Richmond TW10 6SN. Enjoy the beautiful autumnal surroundings of Richmond Park on this 3.5- or 6.5-mile walk.

The walk starts with coffee and croissants at the Cambrian Centre.

Please register in advance to receive your sponsorship pack at christianaid.org.uk/walks or call 020 7523 2321.

SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER March for Justice The first of two 12-mile sponsored walks for church leaders (the other one is on 6 October 2012) passing through beautiful Hyde Park, along the Regent’s Canal and finishing in Victoria Park. Walk in solidarity with 100,000 Indian landless people who are marching 320km

to demand land rights promised to them by the Indian government.

TUESDAY 29 NOVEMBER Advent Hope, Carols by Candlelight 7.30pm, Lancing College Chapel, near Worthing.

A special advent concert focusing on Christian Aid’s work in India, standing alongside the socially excluded. With special guest Loretta Minghella, director of Christian Aid, and accompanied by Sir Robert Woodard Academy Choir.

Book your place now! Tickets are free but on a first-come, first-served basis. A collection for Christian Aid’s work will be taken on the night.

For tickets and more information, call 020 7523 2105 or email LSE@christian-aid.org

SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER Santa Run London 10.30am, Greenwich Park.

Join Christian Aid’s team of fun runners in this festive 5K run around Greenwich Park dressed as Santa (a free Santa suit is included!) Register for £25 and raise £50 in sponsorship.

Help sleigh poverty this Christmas – register now at christianaid.org.uk/running

THURSDAY 26 JANUARY 2012 Annual supporters’ evening 2-4.30pm or 6-8.30pm, Inter-Church House, 35-41 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL. A great opportunity to find out more about Christian Aid Week 2012 materials, to meet other volunteers and to hear about Christian Aid’s emergency response work. The session will be run twice, in the afternoon and in the evening.

Please come along with others involved with Christian Aid Week in your area.

• To register or find out more about any of these events call us in the London and South East office – 020 7523 2321 for London and Surrey and 020 7523 2105 for Essex, Kent and Sussex. Christian Aid’s London and South East team are available to come and speak or preach at services, church meetings, fundraisers and other events.

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ALL ACTION HEROES

CHRISTIAN AID fundraisers in the West region have been incredibly energetic in the last few months.

There was a great turnout for our Caribbean cricket festival at the Rose Green Centre in Bristol (top left). The weather may have been very English but the food, steel band and warm welcome from Bristol’s Black Majority Churches had the distinctive flavour of the West Indies.

In Gloucester 40 people abseiled down the tower of St

Barnabas church, including Steve Wood, managing director of Ecclesiastical Insurance, and 22 of his staff. The company kindly matched all the sponsorship raised by its staff, which helped take the total above an amazing £10,000.

Congratulations to Rev Mike Haslam of the Alfred Jewel Benefice in Somerset who climbed the 15 3,000ft mountains of Snowdonia – 33 miles and 12,000ft ascent – all in 12 hours.

And Rev Alison Morley launched 18 months of support by Methodist and United Reformed churches in the Wiltshire United Circuit for Christian Aid’s climate justice campaign by undertaking a very exciting sponsored walk. During this time each church on the circuit will run at least one fundraising event. Alison and her son Christy walked 88 miles, calling at – among other places – Corsham, Melksham, Bradford-onAvon, Trowbridge, Warminster, Devizes, Calne and Avebury.

Events were held in several locations en route.

EVENTS IN THE SOUTH AND WEST THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER Global Forecast 12.30pm-3.30pm, The Meteorological Office, Fitzroy Road, Exeter.

This inspiring look at the work of Christian Aid explores the forecast for the world’s poorest people and includes vital information on how we react to disasters as well as what happens after the cameras leave.

A tour and a weather briefing are included, as well as lunch and a report on the rebuilding of Haiti from communications officer Susan Barry. Free ticketed event.

For details, contact southwest@ christian-aid.org or 023 8070 6969.

SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER Faith to Make a World of Difference conference 10am-4pm, Albemarle Centre, Albemarle Road, Taunton.

Day conference on the Millennium Development Goals, organised by the World Mission Group of the Bath and Wells Diocese. Speakers: Suzanne Matale (Christian Aid partner, Council of Churches in Zambia), Very Rev Charley Thomas (Dean of Lusaka Cathedral), Rev Rachel Carnegie (Archbishop of Canterbury’s secretary for international development).

Worship: Liz Baddaley (The Sanctuary). Admission free, but please register in advance.

For details, contact Elizabeth Perry on 01935 850 326, or email eperry65@googlemail.com SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER Starry Nights Time tbc, Purton, near Swindon.

Come and gaze at the stars and learn the names and key features of the night sky. Look through telescopes, drink mulled wine and raise money for Christian Aid. For details, contact Judith Wells: 01793 770627.

SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER Stop the Damage environmental exhibition 10am-4pm, Ottery St Mary Parish Church. For details, contact southwest@christian-aid.org or 023 8070 6969.

SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER March for Justice – Severn Way Walk 9am-5pm, Tewkesbury Abbey to Gloucester Cathedral via The Severn Way. Sponsored walk to raise money and awareness for Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad’s work with landless people in India. Begins with a short service in the abbey with church leaders from different denominations. There will be breaks for rest and refreshment at churches en route and it ends with a reception hosted by the Bishop of Gloucester in Church House next to the cathedral.

To register, call 01454 415923, email west@christian-aid.org or go to christianaid.org.uk/walks SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER Christian Aid Rainbow Fair 10am-3pm, Wesley Hall, Exmouth.

For details, contact southwest@christian-aid.org or 023 8070 6969.

TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Church, Mevagissey.

A presentation by Laura McAdam, Christian Aid regional coordinator for Devon.

For details, contact southwest@christian-aid.org or 023 8070 6969.

THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER One World Lunch 1pm, Methodist Church Hall, Budleigh Salterton.

Speaker: Laura McAdam, Christian Aid regional coordinator for Devon.

For details, contact southwest@christian-aid.org or 023 8070 6969.

SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER One World event 9.30am-1.30pm, St Mary’s shopping centre, Thornbury.

For details, contact west@christian-aid.org or 01454 415923.

SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER Afghanistan event 5-9pm, Somerset College of Arts and Technology, Taunton.

Guest speaker: Rt Rev Peter Maurice, Bishop of Taunton.

For details, contact west@christian-aid.org or 01454 415923.

THURSDAY 27 OCTOBER Christian Aid concert with Martin John Nicholls Time and venue tbc, Fareham.

For details, contact southwest@christian-aid.org or 023 8070 6969.

SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER Advent Hope service Time (evening) and venue tbc, Weymouth.

For details, contact southwest@christian-aid.org or 023 8070 6969.

YOUR LOCAL OFFICE BRISTOL OFFICE (Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire) 57 High Street, Thornbury, Bristol BS35 2AP. 01454 415923 west@christian-aid.org facebook.com/ ChristianAidWest SOUTHAMPTON OFFICE (Channel Isles, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight) WE HAVE MOVED TO:

Isaac Watts Memorial Church Winchester Road Southampton SO16 6TS 023 8070 6969 southwest@christian-aid.org • We are on the ground floor with easy access and plenty of parking so do pop in to see us (please phone beforehand).

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EICH SWYDDFA LEOL – YOUR LOCAL OFFICE BANGOR (Gogledd Cymru/ North Wales) 106 Stryd Fawr, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 1NS. Tel/Ffôn: 01248 353574 bangor@christian-aid.org

Resources for schools CHRISTIAN AID in Wales has published some major new Welsh language education resources for schools and churches.

Jyst Byw? is an online GCSE Religious Studies resource that supports elements of the syllabus relating to morality, ethics, community and Jesus’ teaching on responding to others’ needs. It consists of four units that include teachers’ notes and lesson

plans, film clips, resource sheets, classroom activities and presentations.

Along with its English version, Just Living?, it can be downloaded from christianaid.org.uk/jystbyw Chwarae Teg is a booklet for children that gets to grips with the question: what can we do to build a fairer world? It contains real-life stories, games, facts, puzzles, prayers and stickers.

Free copies are available

from Christian Aid offices.

Lastly, Cyfres Ffydd ar Waith: Cymorth Cristnogol is a study guide for Sunday schools in Wales, looking at Christian Aid partners’ work in Bangladesh. The pack will go to 200 Sunday Schools in Wales during September.

For a copy contact Cyngor Ysgolion Sul, Ael y Bryn, Chwilog, Pwllheli, Gwynedd LL53 6SH.

CAERFYRDDIN/CARMARTHEN (De Orllewin a’r Canolbarth/ South West and Mid Wales) 75 Heol Dwr, Caerfyrddin/ Carmarthen SA31 1PY. Tel/Ffôn: 01267 237257 carmarthen@christian-aid.org CAERDYDD/CARDIFF (Cenedlaethol/National Office) 5 Station Road, Radyr, Caerdydd/Cardiff CF15 8AA. Tel/Ffôn: 029 2084 4646 cardiff@christian-aid.org

EVENTS IN WALES DIGWYDDIADAU YNG NGHYMRU SUL 11 MEDI Taith Gerdded Noddedig Dechrau am 2 o’r gloch o Heol yr Orsaf, Aberteifi i Parc Bywyd Gwyllt Cilgeran Ffurflenni nawdd ar gael gan swyddogion yr eglwysi.

Trefnir gan Cyngor Eglwysi Rhyddion Aberteifi a’r Cylch Yr elw tuag at Cymorth Cristnogol.

SUNDAY 11 SEPTEMBER Sponsored charity walk 2pm, Station Road, Cardigan town.

Walking to Cilgerran Wildlife Park. Sponsorship forms available from the Churches.

Organised by the Cardigan and District Free Church Council.

Proceeds towards East Africa Food Crisis Appeal.

NOS FERCHER 21 MEDI Parti Pwdin 7 o’r gloch yn Festri Capel Bethania, Aberteifi.

Mynediad yn £3 gyda’r elw i Apêl Argyfwng Bwyd Dwyrain Affrig.

Trefnir gan Cymorth Cristnogol Cylch Aberteifi.

WEDNESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER Pudding Party 7pm, Bethania Vestry, Cardigan.

Entrance fee is £3 with all proceeds to East Africa Food Crisis Appeal.

Organised by the Cardigan Christian Aid group.

MONDAY 26 SEPTEMBER Christian Aid in Guatemala 2pm, St Melyd Mothers Union, Meliden, North Wales.

A talk on the work of Christian Aid partners in Guatemala by Anna Jane Evans, Christian Aid regional co-ordinator.

MERCHER 28 MEDI Cyfarfod Trefnyddion a Chefnogwyr Cymorth Cristnogol Caerdydd Capel City URC, Windsor Place, Caerdydd am 7.00yh.

Cyfle i weld yr adnoddau diweddaraf a chael y wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am lwyddiant Wythnos Cymorth Cristnogol 2011 yng Nghaerdydd.

Mwy o fanylion gan Robin Samuel ar 029 2084 4646.

WEDNESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER Cardiff Christian Aid Organisers and Supporters Meeting 7pm, City URC Church, Windsor Place, Cardiff.

An opportunity to see the latest resources and an update on the success of Christian Aid Week 2011 in Cardiff.

For further details, contact Robin Samuel on 029 2084 4646.

FRIDAY 30 SEPTEMBER Dreamboats and Petticoats – a 1950s and 1960s night!

7pm at Ynysybwl Day Centre, Augustus Street, Ynysybwl, Pontypridd.

Admission £3 (including light refreshments). All proceeds to Christian Aid. Come and dance the night away to the memorable tunes of the 1950s and 1960s.

For further details, contact Anne Arnold on 01443 790393.

SADWRN 1 HYDREF Dwyn Tystiolaeth –

Gweithredwch a Gweddïwch dros Gyfiawnder Hinsawdd drwy ymuno mewn diwrnod o weithdai, addoliad a gwylnos ym Manceinion.

Dechrau am 12 o’r gloch yn Neuadd Ganolog y Methodistiaid. Gwasanaeth i ddilyn am 5 o’r gloch yn Eglwys Gadeiriol Manceinion, yna gorymdaith a gwylnos olau cannwyll y tu allan i leoliad cynhadledd y Blaid Geidwadol i gloi’r dydd.

Am fwy o wybodaeth, gan gynnwys manylion trafnidiaeth, cysylltwch â Swyddfa Bangor ar 01248 353574 neu e-bost: bangor@cymorth-cristnogol.org SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER Bearing Witness – act and pray for Climate Justice 12 noon, Manchester Methodist Central Hall.

Join us in a day of workshops, worship and vigil in Manchester.

Service at 5pm in Manchester Cathedral, with a march and candlelight vigil outside the Conservative Party conference to end the day.

For more information, including transport arrangements, contact our North Wales office on 01248 353574 or email bangor@ christian-aid.org GWENER 7 HYDREF – SUL 9 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. Sylw arbennig eleni i waith

partneriaid Cymorth Cristnogol yn Guatemala. Cysylltwch â Swyddfa EBC ar 029 2062 7465 am fanylion a chofrestru.

FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER – SUNDAY 9 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, looking particularly at the work of partner organisations in Guatemala. For details and registration contact The Presbyterian Church of Wales office on 029 2062 7465 NOS FAWRTH 11 HYDREF Noson Masnach Deg Trefnir gan Merched y Wawr Caernarfon Siaradwr gwadd: Anna Jane Evans Mwy o fanylion gan Swyddfa Bangor ar 029 2084 4646 neu bangor@cymorth-cristnogol.org SADWRN 29 HYDREF Ffair Elusennau 10am-12 noon, Berea Newydd, Ffordd Penrhos, Bangor Am fwy o fanylion, ffoniwch 01248 353574 neu ebostiwch bangor@cymorth-cristnogol.org SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER Charities Fair 10am-12 noon, Berea Newydd Chapel, Bangor.

For further details, call 029 2084 4646 or email bangor@christianaid.org

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

The UK and Ireland have been among the most generous of donors in responding to the plight of those affected by the crisis in east Africa. One family of Christian Aid supporters chose a challenging way to make their particular contribution – and kept a blog of their experience.

Kate Whatmore explains WHEN NEWS BROKE of millions starving in Africa, we were gripped by sadness and helplessness. Looking at my own four healthy children, I thought what it might be like to choose to allow the weakest to die to save the strongest – a choice facing people like us on a daily basis. It felt that there was nothing much we could do. Then the idea of the challenge came to me: what if we ate like a poor African family for one month and gave what we saved on our food bill to the famine appeal? We too could make a difference ‘for such a time as this’.

The first 10 days of the challenge were eye-opening as we ran out of the things that we wouldn’t be replacing: margarine, sugar-coated cereals, biscuits, crisps, yoghurts. We keep two chickens as a cursory nod at ‘self sufficiency’ – never have they been so treasured! Those eggs became a valued part of our diet. Often there were not enough and I would go without so that the children had some. I would go to the supermarket once a week and stock up on dried pulses, rice and maize and a few fresh things. I would cook three times a day: porridge at breakfast, chapattis and beans at lunch, beans and rice or maize for dinner. As time wore on it became harder to keep people motivated, but we made it to the end!

Reading the Feeding of the 5,000 in the New Testament, it struck me how Jesus loves to partner with us. We are an expression of his goodness and his love in the world. He takes the small offering of fish and bread rolls given by a child

A LOVE THAT MOVES TO ACTION The Whatmore family: from left, Nathaniel, 3, Oscar, Jacob, 14, Martha, 5, Kate (back) and Hester, 9 – and some of their budget meals

What would one less bottle of wine or Chinese takeaway for you mean to a family in Somalia? and feeds many people. ‘That is like what we are doing, Mummy!’ enthuses my five-year-old. Yes. What will Jesus do with our small act of kindness?

Our challenge has meant that we have been able to give away 67 per cent of our month’s food budget. What would 67 per

cent of what we spend on food as a nation be? Or even five per cent? What would one less bottle of wine or Chinese takeaway for you mean to a family in Somalia? It is incredible to be struck once again by how much choice we have in this country. Doing this challenge, I have been filled with compassion for my fellow people and a love that moves to action: the heart of the Father for his beloved children.

• You can read Kate’s family blog at feedtheworldfamilyfirst.blogspot.com

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

Switch to Ecotricity and Christian Aid will receive £40 which could help poor communities adapt to climate change.

CHRISTIAN AID INTRODUCES ECOTRICITY

FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE SWITCH TO ECOTRICITY

Switch both your gas and electricity supply to Ecotricity and Christian Aid will receive £60. If your business, school or church switches, Ecotricity will donate up to £150 to Christian Aid.

08000 302 302

To make a difference, call free on and quote ‘Christian Aid’ or visit ecotricity.co.uk/christian-aid

Photo: Christian Aid/M Gonzalez-Noda

LONDON TO PARIS BIKE RIDE Say ‘on your bike!’ to poverty.

Cycle 300 miles and watch the Tour de France finale!

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18-22 July 2012 Join Team Poverty NOW! christianaid.org.uk/cycling or call 020 7523 2248

31/08/2011 19:33

Bring

JOY this Christmas

Bring Joy to your community and help us give hope to thousands of children facing the loss of a parent from HIV-related illness this Christmas.

Join us in belting out some carols for the Big Christmas Sing or get together and buy a special gift from our Present Aid catalogue. Our Advent resources will provide inspiring content for your church in the run-up to Christmas, while our Church all-age talk and fantastic activity sheets for children will ensure everyone is involved this festive season.

Don’t miss out – visit us at

Help people in poverty out of poverty christianaid.org.uk/christmas

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