Christian Aid News 56

CHRISTIAN AID NEWS Project name CAN56 Item name CAN56 Cover Client Alasdair Roxburgh/Laura Trevelyn team 2012 SPD Communications IssueClient 56 Summer christianaid.org.ukdivision

The Tax Justice Bus is coming

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Photo: Christian Aid

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Contact us: 020 7620 4444

CONTENTS ALL ABOARD FOR TAX JUSTICE

EDITOR’S LETTER

REGULARS

F2077

■ 26 COMMENT

■ 4 THE BIG PICTURE

You asked: we answer.

One telling image.

■ 28 EVENTS ■ 6 NEWS Match-funding boost for Christian Aid Week; looking ahead to Rio Earth Summit.

6

■ 12 CAMPAIGNS

■ 22 LIFE AND SOUL Calling all young people: add your voice to the Christian Aid Collective.

Plus: a partnership born out of cooperation

■ 26 INPUT

■ 30 LAST WORD

SPECIAL FEATURES

20

■ 24 YOUR CHRISTIAN AID Events and stories from your part of Britain.

Walk, run, cycle... or sip soup. They all help raise funds for Christian Aid!

Turning the spotlight on our advocacy work.

Catch the Big Tax Bus and sign up to Christian Aid’s tax justice campaign.

Your feedback.

Christian Aid News is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

WHAT’S BIG, RED AND SHINY and hates tax dodging? The answer, of course, is Christian Aid’s Tax Justice Bus, which will be touring Britain and Ireland later this summer and into autumn to raise awareness of our tax justice campaign.

The bus will be visiting all the regions of England, plus Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as we seek to spread the word far and wide about the impact tax dodging has on poverty around the world, and enlist your help to halt it.

And we want every reader to feel part of this campaign, so we’ve created a cut-out Tax Justice Bus for you to make, using either the cover of this issue of Christian Aid News or a template you can download from our website (see panel above right). We’d love to see hundreds of model tax buses turning up to each and every stop the Tax Justice Bus makes!

Elsewhere in this issue, we celebrate Christian Aid Week, and, once again, thank every one of you who organised or supported an event, collected house to house or went several extra miles to raise more funds to help fight poverty.

Roger Fulton, Editor

JOIN IN WITH OUR Tax Justice Bus Tour by making your own ‘tax bus’ using our cut-out model. Simply stick the cover of this edition of Christian Aid News onto a piece of thin card – or download the template from our Tax Justice Bus website (christianaid.org.uk/tax-bus) – then carefully cut it out and glue the pieces together to make your own model bus.

Then what? Well, you could organise a ‘little tax justice bus’ rally at one of the stops the Tax Justice Bus will make during its 53-day tour around Britain and Ireland; or simply keep it as a reminder of our tax justice campaign.

We look forward to seeing you soon at one of the ‘bus stops’. For details of the campaign and the Tax Justice Bus route, see pages 12-15, or go to the Tax Justice Bus website at christianaid.org.uk/tax-bus

■ 16 FRONTLINE West Africa food crisis deepens; how ‘institutional donor funding’ makes your money go further.

■ 20 LIFE AND SOUL SPECIAL: CHRISTIAN AID WEEK 2012

28

Communities coming together: a round-up of some of the highlights of this year’s event.

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 June 2012. The acceptance of external advertising does not indicate endorsement. If you wish to receive this magazine digitally, go to christianaid.org.uk/aboutus/who/ca-news/

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.

■ Front cover The Cut Out and Keep Tax Justice Bus. Design: Christian Aid/Emma Watling ■ Pictures Matthew Gonzalez-Noda ■ Sub-editors Caroline Atkinson, Catriona Lorie, Louise Parfitt ■ Circulation Ben Hayward ■ Design and production Becca Macdonald/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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THE BIG PICTURE

Christian Aid/Simon Williams

‘WE ARE TOGETHER’

4 Christian Aid News

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‘FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER, we are together.’ ‘Fight against thirst, we are together.’

Banners highlight the campaign for land justice being mounted by Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad in India. Ekta Parishad has now collected more than 350 stories of land struggles across 11 Indian states as part of its year-long campaign for land justice. With only four months until the start of a month-long march to the Indian parliament in October, the number is growing as the team continues its rallies equipping poor landless Indians to join the 100,000 expected to take part.

With anticipation mounting for what will be a historical show of people power, the police have begun publicly to accuse Ekta Parishad of Maoist allegiances.

Ekta’s president PV Rajagopal has strongly refuted these claims as a ‘conspiracy against Ekta Parishad’, affirming the organisation’s dedication to non-violent action.

In an urgent message to supporters Rajagopal appealed ‘to all those who are concerned about poverty, migration, slums, violence and marginalisation to join hands… in order to seriously address the issues related to land and livelihood resources of millions of people in India and also all those in other parts of the world’, urging that expressions of solidarity have never been so crucial.

• Show your support by joining one of our solidarity marches here in the UK in October. For details, see Events, pages 28-29, or visit christianaid.org.uk/march-for-justice

Christian Aid News 5

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NEWS

£5M MATCH-FUNDING BOOST FOR CHRISTIAN AID WEEK! ACROSS THE UK, Christian Aid supporters went the extra mile to raise money for Christian Aid Week 2012 – walking across country, living on £1 a day, holding church services and, of course, going out house-tohouse collecting. And their efforts received a tremendous boost when it was announced, on the eve of the event, that the first £5m in donations would be matched, pound-for-pound, by the Department for International Development (DFID).

This gesture, known as matchfunding, will mean that the efforts of all those thousands of Christian Aid supporters will go further, enabling us to help more people in poor

communities around the world work their way out of poverty.

UK Aid Match, introduced in June 2011, allows the public to have a direct say in how some of the UK aid budget is spent, by match-funding selected charity appeals for poverty reduction work carried out in developing countries.

The Christian Aid UK Aid Match money will be used to support poor communities in Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Africa, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Burma to improve access to healthcare and build sustainable livelihoods.

The livelihoods work will focus on small farmers and landless labourers,

predominantly women, in order to help them develop profitable and resilient livelihoods, and secure land and employment opportunities.

Thank you so much for your generous support during Christian Aid Week 2012.

Your support and the additional money from the match-funding will ensure that even more people are able to work their own way out of poverty.

• For more on Christian Aid Week events around Britain, and in your own region, see pages 20-21, and 24-25.

• How ‘institutional donor-funding’ helps us go further in the fight against poverty: see page 18.

TALI FOLLOWS IN MOTHER ANNIE’S ANTI-POVER

Lee Thompson

Tali Lennox with young villagers in Gbap, Sierra Leone

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Eduardo Duwe

Ricky REtuRnS to SEE LAnd RightS pRogRESS

MORE THAN A DECADE after visiting Brazil to discover how Christian Aid partner the Landless People’s Movement (MST) helps poor Brazilians get land of their own, Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross recently returned to see how things have changed.

Under the Brazilian constitution, land that is not being used can be

Ricky Ross at an encampment in Brazil

claimed for redistribution to people who have no land. MST helps make sure that this rhetoric becomes reality.

The Scottish singer, songwriter and broadcaster was first invited to Brazil

by Christian Aid in 1998. The families he met at that time were camping under plastic sheeting at the side of the road while MST helped them legally apply for ownership.

OVERTY FOOTSTEPS AS A FASHION MODEL working for the likes of Prada, Burberry and Topshop, Tali Lennox’s everyday world is far removed from the images of poverty that so often come out of Africa.

And yet, as the daughter of rock star and anti-poverty campaigner Annie Lennox, Tali was no stranger to Africa when she visited Sierra Leone in her role as our Christian Aid Week 2012 celebrity ambassador.

Because of the decades her mother has devoted to drawing attention to the HIV pandemic, Tali had visited sub-Saharan Africa on a couple of occasions. However, her trip to west Africa with Christian Aid had a different focus – our Christian Aid Week theme of giving communities the tools to lift themselves out of poverty. Christian Aid’s partner the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL) works across the country’s Bonthe district on agricultural and education projects.

The Agricultural Work Centre loans workers machinery and encourages them to work together. The one Tali

visited has helped 250 workers in 14 communities over the past year, and continues to expand.

Tali also saw how the village development committee, inspired by MCSL, has encouraged the community of Gbap to band together to pressure the council to build a new school. That school, St Theresa’s, is encouraging more girls to attend and fulfil their potential. Headmaster Michael Tucker says he believes he will ‘one day soon’ be succeeded by a woman. This is a great change for the country, which is ranked in the top 10 for gender inequality. Even today, 30 per cent of boys attend secondary school as opposed to just 20 per cent of girls.

Tali was deeply inspired by what she saw, and returned to carry our message to a wider audience. She was interviewed live on Sky News, wrote her own diaries for Vogue.com and The Huffington Post, and featured on the front page of Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper as well as extensively in Hello! magazine.

On Ricky’s return, he found that things had moved on a lot for families he had met. Many had camped for up to 10 years before establishing legal tenure to build homes and farms.

Lucia de Souse was one of those people. She proudly welcomed Ricky into her home, and told him her children have grown up and live in settled communities like hers.

‘I remember the encampment very well,’ she said. ‘Life was very difficult.

We had six of us in our tent at that time, and there were significant health and sanitation issues.’

Ricky said: ‘I never thought I’d get the chance to come back after all these years and see someone in their own house, so it’s a real pleasure to be here. What I love about Christian Aid’s work in Brazil is that it imagines a better future and, with some great courage and strength from local people, that dream comes true.’

• A full version of this story is available to readers in Scotland on page 24.

• See also Ricky’s blog at christianaid.org.uk/rickyross

Log on to youR nEW LocAL WEbSitE Every Christian Aid regional office now has its own website, where you can find local news stories and events, seek out contact details and discover what services are offered by your local regional office. you can search for your nearest regional website by visiting christianaid.org.uk/ inyourarea or use one of the following website links: christianaid.org.uk/eastengland christianaid.org.uk/eastmidlands christianaid.org.uk/london christianaid.org.uk/northeast christianaid.org.uk/northwest christianaid.org.uk/oxford christianaid.org.uk/southeast christianaid.org.uk/southwest christianaid.org.uk/west christianaid.org.uk/westmidlands christianaid.org.uk/yorkshire And don’t forget our nations pages: christianaid.org.uk/cymru christianaid.org.uk/scotland christianaid.ie

Christian Aid News 7

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NEWS RIO

PUTTING SOCIAL JUSTICE ON THE RIO AGENDA TENS OF THOUSANDS of people gathered this month in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss how the world can achieve fair, environmentally sustainable economies while eradicating poverty.

Inevitably, with such a vast and controversial agenda, Rio was only ever going to be a landmark – albeit a major one – on the road towards a greener and more just world.

Christian Aid sent staff and partners to the Brazilian city because the debates and decisions happening there were too important to leave to others. We believed it was vital for a broad range of organisations to engage with Rio, to ensure it did not focus narrowly on

low-carbon and ‘green’ technologies and fail to tackle bigger, thornier problems of global poverty and inequality.

Officially, the conference marked 20 years since the first Earth Summit in Rio. Despite the many disagreements around the conference, Rio has helped to set the direction for future work on, for instance, sustainable energy for all.

Achieving this goal would transform the lives of the 1.4 billion people who currently have no electricity and who are forced to cook on open fires.

Rio has also influenced the debate, and ultimately decisions, about what should succeed the millennium development goals (MDGs) after 2015.

To Christian Aid, it seems obvious that whatever comes after the existing goals must push the world rapidly towards social justice as well as environmental sustainability.

In the coming months and years, we and our partners will continue working on how the global environmental crisis can and must be tackled at the same time as poverty is eradicated.

And we believe the UK has a huge role to play in achieving such a just and sustainable future. David Cameron’s appointment as co-chair of the United Nations panel on what will succeed the MDGs gives us an even greater responsibility to face these challenges.

• The Last Word in advocacy, see page 30.

PARTNERS SUPPORT INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IN (CPI) and ARQUIA (a local quilombola association). They have won the first round, and the Rural Territorial Tax they ‘owe’ has been suspended until the end of the court case. But they expect the tax authorities to appeal this ruling.

Now, more than 1,200 families are facing eviction if they lose the court case because their land will be seized to pay their debt.

Dalmo Dallari, a well-known Brazilian attorney, explained: ‘The lawsuit against the quilombola is absurd; since by constitutional determination those areas were destined to be used by the communities that are there. If the tax charge happens, it is a reclaim of the territory by the state, which will be forced to deliver it back immediately to the quilombola who are the only legitimate occupants of the area.’

Ana Rocha, Christian Aid programme officer based in Sao Paulo, said: ‘A country that aims to become an international role model cannot afford to violate the basic rights of those whose ancestors were forcibly brought to Brazil and those who continue to represent the poorest and most marginalised communities in the country.’

The quilombola are facing a tax bill on their newly titled land

Christian Aid/Siân Curry

THE BRAZILIAN ECONOMY is already the sixth largest in the world and is growing fast. But despite much-vaunted initiatives to tackle extreme inequality, the incomes of many of the poorest families are lagging far behind.

One particularly disadvantaged ethnic group is the quilombola, the descendants of former slaves. While their right to be given formal title to their communal land was enshrined in the constitution in 1988, some 24 years later, only six per cent of eligible communities have actually received these titles.

Moreover, some communities have been doubly disadvantaged by tax rules designed to combat land speculation.

Because the law levies particularly high rates for unproductive lands, remote quilombola communities with newly titled land are finding themselves liable for exorbitant bills.

One community is being charged roughly £5m, and will have to offer back their land as payment if they are pursued for unpaid taxes. The community is currently fighting a legal battle, to limit their liability, with the help of Christian Aid partners San Paolo Pro-Indigenous Commission

8 Christian Aid News

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DISAPPOINTMENT AS QUEEN’S SPEECH NEGLECTS AID PLEDGE CHRISTIAN AID HAS reacted with disappointment after the Queen’s Speech, in May, failed to mention legislation on aid spending.

The government has pledged to raise the aid budget to 0.7 per cent of gross national income from 2013, but Christian Aid’s chief political adviser, Sol Oyuela, is concerned by the delay in legislating on the commitment. ‘We welcome the government’s commitment to raising the aid budget to 0.7 per cent from 2013, but we are very disappointed that it has yet to live up to its pledge to legislate on this,’ she said.

‘This was not just a coalition promise; it was a promise made to the world’s poorest people.

Protecting the 0.7 per cent, in law, would safeguard the aid budget from future political jockeying.’

PAKISTAN

Communities helped to face flood risk

The mobile training centre brings life-saving skills to remote communities in Pakistan

TY IN LAND FIGHT NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO, the worst flooding in living memory hit Pakistan, killing 2,000 people and disrupting the lives of a staggering 20 million.

Relief and rehabilitation undertaken

by Christian Aid’s partners has now reached more than 200,000 people.

More than 450 families have received new flood-resilient homes, with a further 400 houses under construction.

One hundred thousand people have received healthcare through mobile and static health units, and the same number have been provided with a way to make a living, through skills training and cash grants.

Last year, the floods in Pakistan returned, killing more than 300 people and displacing a further 5 million.

And the Pakistan government is warning that that this year’s monsoon, due any day, may cause even more devastation.

Christian Aid is working through our partners to help communities prepare to resist the impact of future emergencies.

In Sindh, the province worst-affected two years ago, ACT Alliance partner Church World Service and SEEDS Asia have launched the first mobile training

centre in Pakistan to teach life-saving skills to the most vulnerable. It is referred to as ‘Reaching the Unreachable: Disaster Risk Reduction Education Project’, and the vehicle, equipped with teaching materials, travels to the poorest communities in the province.

Sessions have been targeted at all members of the community, including schools and women-only groups. Flood drills and boat-making skills are taught, and towns surveyed to produce local hazard maps.

Communities have also been provided with first-aid training and emergency bags containing a torch and a radio.

The training uses disaster-simulation models to provide safety and disasterrisk-awareness advice. Participants have been eager to learn about practical ways to be better prepared for future disasters.

This innovative approach to disaster risk reduction has been integrated with other projects, such as house building and skills training centres, so that construction graduates can learn about safer building methods, and flood survivors can learn how to protect themselves during disasters.

Christian Aid News 9

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NEWS SIERRA LEONE

CHRISTIAN AID is looking for 100 churches in Britain to help stamp out malaria in Sierra Leone.

Malaria continues to be one of the major killers in Africa, particularly among children. But it is a disease that can be prevented with a few simple measures, such as the use of bed nets impregnated with an insecticide.

Helping communities make proper use of bed nets and take a number of other basic precautions, such as removing mosquito breeding sites, can drastically reduce the number of infections and cut child deaths.

In Sierra Leone, it is estimated that 29 per cent of deaths among underfives are caused by malaria. In 2010 the government launched a national campaign to distribute nets to all households in the country. But to be effective, net distribution has to be accompanied by malaria awareness-

HAITI HAITI PARTNER JOINS GOVERNMENT ROSE-ANNE AUGUSTE, director of long-standing Christian Aid partner APROSIFA, in Haiti, has just been invited to join the Haitian cabinet as Minister for Poverty Reduction. It is

raising activities to ensure the nets are used properly and people understand the causes and symptoms of the disease.

To meet this need, a Christian Aid programme launched last year in Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province is making use of street theatre, songs and dance to educate communities in the prevention and treatment of malaria.

Isata Momoh (pictured left) is one of those who signed up to help. ‘A friend encouraged me to join the group. I was trained so that I had skills in peer education and knowledge of malaria.

‘I have learnt a lot about how people get malaria, and I am able to spread the message to people on how they can prevent themselves getting the disease and drive it from communities.’

Isata is one of a team of 40 volunteers signed up to start the programme in Kenema Town. Now, Christian Aid’s health team in Sierra Leone wants to recruit another 100 volunteers so that the programme can be expanded and extended into a second year.

It costs £500 to pay for recruiting, training and supporting one of these volunteers for a year. This money also helps to pay for the community events organised to bring people together to learn about malaria, and to cover the cost of radio broadcasts, which can reach large numbers of people.

Churches interested in supporting this project, by pledging £500 to fund one agent, are encouraged to call 020 7620 4444 for more information or to visit the malaria project website at christianaid.org.uk/tacklemalaria

a new ministry, designed to tackle extreme poverty head on.

APROSIFA runs a health clinic in the Carrefour Feuilles district of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. It is one of the poorest areas of the city, which was also badly affected by the earthquake.

In the immediate aftermath of the quake, APROSIFA distributed free hot meals to the most vulnerable in the

TACKLING MALARIA: STORIES OF SUCCESS CHRISTIAN AID has launched a brand-new monthly web series aimed at showing how malaria work is impacting the lives of people living in two communities in Zambia.

Tackling Malaria: Stories of Success will chronicle the lives of people living in the remote communities of Lui River and Simulumbe, in Zambia’s Western Province.

Over the course of a year we will follow community members who are working tirelessly to fight malaria, and also those whose lives have been transformed with the support of their community. But this will be their story – told through the songs they sing to raise awareness, the snapshots they take with disposable cameras and the video messages they record in their own words.

Hard-to-reach communities, such as Lui River and Simulumbe, are often forgotten by wider malariaprevention initiatives, but with the help of Christian Aid partner the Zambia Anglican Council, a network of 100 trained community volunteers, also known as malaria control agents, have made considerable progress in tackling malaria.

Join us each month as we follow these two incredible communities, and see the impact your support for our work is having.

To read the web series, go to: christianaid.org.uk/malaria-success

TBBC

CHURCHES NEEDED – TO FIGHT MALARIA

community and also gave first aid to hundreds of those who were injured.

The clinic also provides emergency feeding for severely malnourished children.

Ms Auguste also represented civil society organisations on the commission set up by Bill Clinton to coordinate the reconstruction following the earthquake.

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double WIN

TBBC

BURMA

HELP FOR BURMA BLAZE VICTIMS CHRISTIAN AID has stepped in to help Burmese refugees after a blaze in a camp left thousands homeless.

Earlier this year, fire tore through Umpiem Mai camp, Tak Province, Thailand, destroying an estimated 422 homes and damaging 350 others.

Christian Aid’s partner the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) was on site instantly to help victims find food and shelter.

‘A third of the camp was destroyed, and some 2,500 refugees lost everything, including their monthly food ration, which had been distributed just a day earlier,’ said Sally Thompson, deputy director of TBBC. Rice, blankets and clothes were distributed, and building materials provided to repair and build new homes.

Christian Aid sent £20,000 for food and shelter, and a further contribution of £30,000 was given by the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission. This was channelled through Christian Aid. ‘Most of the destroyed houses have

now been rebuilt, and damaged houses are in the process of being repaired.

The refugees have been responsible for rebuilding their own houses and the community spirit has been incredible as people have clubbed together to ensure they can all have a roof over their heads before the rainy season begins,’ added Sally.

TBBC is a consortium of 10 international non-governmental agencies, including Christian Aid, which has provided food and shelter to refugees on the Thai-Burma border for nearly 30 years.

An estimated 140,000 Burmese refugees currently live in nine camps on the Thai side of the border. Many have been there for more than two decades.

With limited access to education, health services and materials, they rely on aid to meet their food and shelter needs in times of emergencies.

• To see a gallery of photos showing rebuilding work, go to tbbc.org/photosum-fire-8/2012-04-24-news-um-firephotos.htm

THE WORK OF CHRISTIAN AID international journalist Emma Pomfret, highlighting the subject of male rape, has earned two prestigious awards.

‘The rape of men’, published in the Observer Magazine last summer, scooped the prestigious Press Award in the One World Media Awards, and also scooped the Amnesty International Media Award for Best Magazine Supplement of 2011. Highlighting the brave work of the Refugee Law Project, one of Christian Aid’s long-standing partners based in Kampala, the impact of the article – which was shared more than 17,000 times on Facebook and hailed as one of the most-read articles on the Guardian’s website ever – resulted in the UN changing its definition of ‘rape’ to include men and boys.

The piece was researched by Emma, who travelled to Kampala with journalist Will Storr in March 2011 to interview more than 20 male rape survivors from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Emma and Will also travelled to the DRC and Uganda in January this year with the BBC World Service, which will broadcast two follow-up radio programmes in July.

ECO-AWARDS FOR CHRISTIAN AID PARTNERS CHRISTIAN AID PARTNERS Zan va Zamin, from Tajikistan, and Centro Humboldt, from Nicaragua, have been awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s 2012 Equator Prize, which recognises local initiatives to advance sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities.

Zan va Zamin (Women and Land) works to get access to land for landless farmers, while Centro Humboldt provides local communities with training in sustainable water management.

Christian Aid News 11

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CAMPAIGNS

THE TAX JUSTICE BUS IS COMING We are taking our tax justice campaign on the road to raise awareness and send a strong message to the government that it’s time to deliver real change.

Christian Aid campaigns officer Alasdair Roxburgh urges supporters to climb aboard the Tax Justice Bus Tour

Days 39-43 Scotland

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Monday 1 October Borders Tuesday 2 October Glasgow Wednesday 3 October Edinburgh Thursday 4 October St Andrews Friday 5 October Inverness

Sat Car

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Days 37-38 Northern Ireland Saturday 29 – Sunday 30 September Belfast

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Days 35-36 Republic of Ireland Thursday 27 – Friday 28 September Dublin

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Days 33-34 North Wales TAX DODGING ROBS developing countries of an estimated US$160bn every year – one-and-a-half times the international aid budget. This summer we are taking the message of tax justice on the road around Britain and Ireland in a double-decker bus – and we would love to see you on board.

Launching at the Greenbelt festival in Cheltenham from 24-27 August we begin a 53-day tour of Britain and Ireland. From Truro to Norwich, Dublin to Newcastle, Inverness to Bangor, the bus is coming to an area near you!

We believe that we can end poverty.

We believe we can create a world where everyone has access to healthcare, education and other essential services, and where noone goes to bed hungry. Ending tax haven secrecy and tackling tax dodging are key to realising this vision.

We have been working hard to get

The message I send to people who are helping us in the UK is that they have to enlighten political leaders that whatever benefits are for this country it has to go to the grassroots, to the people that belong to this nation Elizabeth Chanda, Council of Churches in Zambia

this injustice the attention it deserves.

Since 2008 we have managed to get tax on the agenda at the G20, world leaders have spoken out against tax dodging, and thousands of Christian Aid supporters have taken action, calling on governments and businesses to take steps towards ending the secrecy that allows tax dodging. Thank you! We have made progress, but there is a long way to go.

The poorest people in the world still go to bed hungry, they still cannot get access to the schools and hospitals they need. Tax campaigner Raymond Baker called it ‘the ugliest chapter in global economic affairs since slavery’.

Speaking out is not enough from our global leaders. We need action. To deliver real change we need to build the movement and continue to call for tax justice. And this is where you come in.

American anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ As the Tax Justice Bus tours Britain and Ireland we will grow the movement for change. Come along and hear from our partners in the global South about how tax dodging affects their lives and learn more about how you can get involved.

Check out our route map to see when the bus will be near you – and contact your local office (see panel on page 14) or go to christianaid.org.uk/tax-bus to find out exactly where and when the

Tuesday 25 September Wrexham Wednesday 26 September Bangor

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Days 1-4 Greenbelt Festival Friday 24 August to Monday 27 August Greenbelt Festival, Cheltenham

Day 5 Tuesday 28 August Rest day

Days 6-7 West Midlands Wednesday 29 August Birmingham, Leamington Spa Thursday 30 August Wolverhampton, Worcester

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Days 8-10 South Wales Friday 31 August Cardiff Saturday 1 September Carmarthen, Swansea Sunday 2 September Cardiff

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Days 11-12 West England Monday 3 September Bristol Tuesday 4 September Taunton

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Day 44 North West

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Saturday 6 October Carlisle

Days 45-46 North East

Days 47-49 Yorkshire

Sunday 7 October Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham Monday 8 October Gateshead, Sunderland, Teesside

Tuesday 9 October Northallerton, Ripon, York (tbc) Wednesday 10 October Leeds, Halifax (tbc) Thursday 11 October Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield (tbc)

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Days 50-53 North West

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Friday 12 October Stockport, Knutsford, Crewe Saturday 13 October Bury, Rochdale, Bolton Sunday 14 October Preston, Lancaster, Blackpool Monday 15 October Liverpool, Warrington, Manchester

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Day 32 West Midlands Monday 24 September Stafford, Stoke, Shrewsbury

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Days 30-31 East Midlands Saturday 22 September Leicester, Nottingham Sunday 23 September Buxton, Ashbourne

FINISHES HERE

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Thursday 20 September Bedford, Hertfordshire Friday 21 September Oxford, Witney

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Tuesday 18 September Peterborough, Cambridge Wednesday 19 September Norwich

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Days 17-25 London and South East

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Days 13-16 South West Wednesday 5 September Truro, Falmouth Thursday 6 September Torbay, Exeter Friday 7 September Dorset, Salisbury Saturday 8 September Southampton, Portsmouth

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Sunday 9 September Chichester, Bognor Regis, Worthing Monday 10 September – Wednesday 12 September Brighton Thursday 13 September Horsham, Guildford, Central London Friday 14 September Central London, Ealing, Twickenham, Streatham Saturday 15 September Bromley, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Eastbourne Sunday 16 September Hastings, Dover, Canterbury, Rochester Monday 17 September Dartford, Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester

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CAMPAIGNS bus will be stopping in your area.

At each stop, the bus will give you the chance to understand how tax dodging affects all of us, but particularly the poor.

Christian Aid partners will be on board to meet you, your MPs and your church leaders to explain first-hand how tax dodging hurts the poor. We want people in the corridors of power taking tax dodging seriously and we’ll be running a petition to get Prime Minister David Cameron to take action on tax dodging.

As Loretta Minghella, Christian Aid’s director, says: ‘I am outraged that the world’s poorest people are denied access to basic services such as education and healthcare, yet there are some unscrupulous companies that are dodging taxes that could pay for those services. We know, as Christians, that we must strive for justice and speak up against the systems that make and keep people poor. Tax haven secrecy does this because it allows companies and individuals to hide their profits. To tackle

How to find the Tax Justice Bus poverty we must start by making financial secrecy a thing of the past.

Companies who dodge taxes must be made to pay their fair share. Tax dodgers must have nowhere to hide.’

Jesus’s ministry was one of bringing good news to the poor, of freeing captives and setting the oppressed free (Luke 4 v18). He challenged the institutions of his day, both religious and political.

And as Peg Chemberlin, president of the National Council of Churches of Christ, US, has said: ‘In the Gospel of John, Jesus states that those who do what is right do so in the light, while wrong-doers shroud their deeds in secrecy and darkness.’

Please help us to shed light on financial secrecy and expose the scandal of tax dodging. Join us when the bus visits a town or place near you. To find out more about how you can be involved visit christianaid.org.uk/tax-bus Please come.

Harriet Mbuzi, a community campaigner in Mufulira in Zambia

Precise details of the Tax Justice Bus route were still being finalised as this edition of Christian Aid News went to press. To find out exactly where the Tax Justice Bus will be stopping as it passes through your area, go to christianaid.org.uk/tax-bus or your regional or national website (see list on page 7) or contact the following regional or country offices: WEST MIDLANDS 29-30 August; 24 September Contact: John Cooper, 0121 200 2283, jcooper@christian-aid.org SOUTH WALES 31 August to 2 September Contact: Mari McNeill, 029 2084 4646, mmcneill@christian-aid.org WEST OF ENGLAND 3-4 September Contact: Lydia Nash, 01454 415923, lnash@christian-aid.org SOUTH WEST ENGLAND 5-8 September Contact: 01395 222304 or 023 8070 6969 or southwest@christian-aid.org LONDON AND THE SOUTH EAST 9-17 September Contact: Kate Parr, 020 7523 2376, kparr@christian-aid.org EAST OF ENGLAND 18-19 September

Contact: Julian Bryant, 01603 620051/

0752 820 6865, jbryant@christian-aid.org OXFORD AREA 20-21 September Contact: Jessica Hall, 01865 246818, jhall@christian-aid.org EAST MIDLANDS 22-23 September Contact: Judi Perry, 01509 265013, eastmidlands@christian-aid.org NORTH WALES 25-26 September Contact: Anna Jane Evans, 01248 353574, aevans@cymorth-cristnogol.org

Christian Aid/Charlotte Marshall

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 27-28 September Contact: +353 (0) 1611 0801, dublin@christian-aid.org

The Tax Justice Bus Tour is being jointly organised with Church Action on Poverty, who will be using the tour to raise its concerns that tax dodging is also bad for the poor in the UK.

NORTHERN IRELAND 29-30 September Contact: 028 9064 8133, belfast@christian-aid.org SCOTLAND 1-5 October Contact: Diane Green, 0141 241 6136, dgreen@christian-aid.org NORTH WEST 6 October; 12-15 October Contact: David Hardman, 01925 582820, dhardman@christian-aid.org NORTH EAST 7-8 October Contact: Judith Sadler, 0191 228 0115, jsadler@christian-aid.org YORKSHIRE 9-11 October Contact: Lindsey Pearson, 0113 244 4764, lpearson@christian-aid.org

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‘WE WANT A FAIR DEAL ON TAX TO LIFT ZAMBIA OUT OF POVERTY’ Zambia is a country of contrasts. It is the seventh-highest producer of copper globally, yet half of the population live below the poverty line. Communications officer Charlotte Marshall travelled there to answer a question that lies at the heart of Christian Aid’s Tax Justice campaign – why is Zambia so poor despite being so rich?

Christian Aid/Charlotte Marshall

Nurse Elisheba Chali in front of Kabundi East clinic

IT’S RAINY SEASON in Zambia, and everywhere I look there is lush grass, rolling green hills and trees. As we drive to the north of the country, a steady stream of trucks passes us in the other direction, carrying copper from the mining area. Our first stop is in a community in Mufulira, where there is a large copper mine owned by Mopani – a subsidiary of UK-listed mining giant Glencore. In stark contrast to the scenery on the way here, Mufulira is a cramped, dirty town, with roofs stained by pollution from the mine and a layer of blue smoke in the air that catches in the back of my throat.

‘Life in the 1980s and 90s was good – Mufulira used to be a beautiful place,’ says community campaigner Harriet Mbuzi (pictured opposite). ‘Things changed in 2006 when this new mining operation began. At first we weren’t worried, because we were told we’d be relocated. But that’s never happened.’

Christian Aid partners aren’t just concerned about the pollution and health problems that communities claim the mining operation has caused. In

2011, a leaked draft audit report revealed that Mopani was unable to satisfy auditors that its sales of copper were in line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s ‘arm’s length principle’. The principle is supposed to prevent companies dodging tax by manipulating the prices at which their subsidiaries trade with each other.

Mopani denies any wrongdoing.

Mopani is not the only company which has been accused of dodging taxes. The Zambian government suggests that some unscrupulous mining companies may owe the country up to US$1bn in unpaid taxes – a staggering figure when you consider the UK government spends an average of just £59m in aid to Zambia each year.

But what effect does tax dodging have on the ordinary people of Zambia? At a brief glance, perhaps not much. After all, the mines do provide a vital income for many, providing jobs to thousands of people. But this pales in comparison to the potential benefits of investing US$1bn in public services.

My second day takes me to Kabundi

East Clinic, in the same region as Mufulira. Nurse Elisheba Chali tells me that the clinic serves a population of 45,135 people. And there’s only one doctor. Her team of eight midwives is expected to attend 199 births each month. There is only one midwife on shift as I enter the maternity ward, and there are seven women in labour.

‘We have land available to extend this clinic – but there’s just no money,’ says Nurse Chali. ‘The government tries to help out where it can, but there are too few resources to go round.’

Zambia spends less than 10 per cent of its gross domestic product on healthcare, despite the fact that life expectancy is just 49 years; and it lacks the staff and medications to tackle infections such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Organisations such as Christian Aid partner Churches Health Association Zambia (CHAZ) have to supplement the healthcare system to meet the needs of the poorest in society.

‘Publicly funded hospitals are restricted in terms of the treatments they can offer, due to a shortage of medicines, equipment and staff,’ says Dr Kasong Tshijing, from St Theresa’s Mission Hospital. ‘We are subsidised by CHAZ. We can provide drugs. We can also provide continuity of care.’

It’s wonderful that CHAZ can provide health support in Zambia – thanks, largely, to generous support from Western donors – but using aid money to supplement the healthcare system is not a sustainable option. And it is clear that the Zambian government would be in a position to pull its people out of poverty if, through effective accounting and transparency systems, it claimed taxes to which it is entitled.

‘These minerals are our minerals, they’re Zambian minerals,’ says Rev Suzanne Matale from the Council of Churches in Zambia. ‘God put them in this country. And when investors come here we want a fair deal of 50/50. We are looking to these resources to help the nation out of its state of poverty.’

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FRONTLINE

Christian Aid/Amanda Farrant

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

West Africa food crisis deepens A perfect storm of political turmoil, conflict, rising food prices, a refugee influx and lack of rain is contributing to a growing crisis in west Africa. But, as Christian Aid communications officer Alexander Carnwath reports, where agencies such as ours can reach out, hope can be found for long-term relief THE FIRST RAINS are eagerly awaited every year in the Sahel, the arid stretch of land that fringes the Sahara.

Traditionally, the rain arrives in June and marks the beginning of the end of the hungry season; food reserves are running low, but there’s not long to wait until the coming harvest. This year, anticipation in many communities was tempered by the knowledge that rain alone would not solve their problems.

The food crisis in west Africa continues to deepen, with more than 18 million people affected, of whom more than a million are children at risk of severe or acute malnutrition.

At the beginning of the year, experts were talking about a perfect storm of contributing factors: political instability and rising food prices compounding the lack of rain in many areas. Since then

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that storm has intensified, with further conflict, political turmoil and a growing refugee crisis causing the situation to deteriorate further.

In March, junior officers from the Malian army, angered by their government’s perceived inability to quell an uprising in the north of the country, launched a coup and took power. (See panel, right.)

Tuareg rebels, bolstered by Islamist fighters and former mercenaries returning from Libya, took advantage of the confusion to seize large parts of the north. The unrest has had severe implications for the food crisis, not just in Mali but across the whole region, displacing more than 130,000 people within Mali’s borders and another 186,000 in neighbouring countries, most of them fleeing to areas where

food and pasture is in short supply.

Meanwhile, there remains a shortfall in the funding allocated by international governments and institutions; by midMay, just over half of the US$1.04bn needed had been delivered.

But as bleak as the current situation is, there are some sources of hope.

Christian Aid is among the agencies contributing to the relief effort in the Sahel, and is working through partners in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso – three of the worst-affected countries – to help those most in need.

Our response in February focused on meeting the immediate needs of communities, with emergency food support, as well as food-for-work and cash-for-work schemes, which help families to afford grain at market despite rising prices. Donations to the Christian Aid appeal, launched in March, have since enabled us to extend the scale of our activities.

In Niger, we are working with our local partner Karkara to distribute cereal and run cash-for-work and food-for-

Donate to the crisis appeal at christianaid.org.uk/emergencies

11/06/2012 15:32

Crisis takes hold in Mali Following a coup in Mali in March, Christian Aid’s efforts at improving the lot of one of the world’s poorest countries have been jeopardised. Yacouba Kone, Christian Aid’s country manager in Mali, reflects on an unfolding humanitarian crisis

Alizeta was able to create some income from a pair of goats work programmes for 18,000 people, as well as providing help for 3,320 Malian refugees. In Mali, our activities include cash-for-work schemes and cereal and seed distribution for more than 19,000 people in the Mopti region. In Burkina Faso, similar activities are reaching more than 49,000 people.

There are also positive signs of the impact Christian Aid’s long-term resilience work is having in some of the stricken communities.

In Masbore village, in Burkina Faso, 65-year-old Alizeta Sawadago was among a group of vulnerable women who each received a pair of goats for breeding as part of a DFID-funded programme. She has been able to sell half the goats’ offspring to buy cereal to last her family through the dry season and drought. The aim is to expand this scheme because it is one of the most successful ways of ensuring families have enough food in times of hardship.

Times are still tough in Masbore village but programmes such as these are providing tangible sources of hope.

SINCE THE COUP the humanitarian crisis in Mali has been getting worse.

There has been huge population displacement, internally and externally, and the people in the north face all kind of exactions and humiliations imposed by rebels supported by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

International NGOs, UN agencies and local civil society organisations have tried to reduce the suffering of the most vulnerable, but have met a lack of cooperation from Islamists unwilling to comply with the humanitarian code of conduct. When the rainy season starts, the situation will become desperate.

The lack of shelter for those displaced will increase the occurrence of malaria.

In many districts of the capital, Bamako, and other towns, people drink water from the River Niger, which is highly polluted. This leads to diseases, primarily affecting young children. The prices of cereals and other foodstuffs are increasing sharply, and most households find it difficult to find even one meal a day for their children.

What has happened in Mali can be a

good case study for understanding the limits of the current democratisation process in Africa and its failure to bring about social justice and economic prosperity, especially for those who are already marginalised. Mali is one of the countries where land grabbing is widespread, affecting the livelihoods of 75 per cent of the population. Desperate youth have no choice but to migrate.

Over the past three decades, Christian Aid gave hope to so many households and citizens, in northern, central and southern Mali – through the work of local partners that represented their communities, regardless of their ethnic origin and religious beliefs.

Christian Aid has been associated with good quality programme work, diversity in partnership and advocacy on issues of interest to the poor. We now need more strategic thinking about the sustainability of our impact in fragile states where the local democracy does not work for the poor.

And the expansion of religious extremism in this region is a real threat to our future work across Africa.

East Africa: the threat of hunger remains ALMOST A YEAR after famine was declared in parts of Somalia and countries across east Africa faced their worst drought in 60 years, Christian Aid’s East Africa Appeal has helped support more than 240,000 people.

Funds raised allowed Christian Aid partners to meet the immediate needs of some of the most vulnerable in the region. Today, partners are supporting communities in Kenya and Ethiopia to rebuild their livelihoods while continuing to provide emergency relief in Somalia and South Sudan where conflict and insecurity continue.

In South Sudan more than 120,000 who have been displaced by violence and conflict are still living in desperate conditions in camps. Christian Aid and other agencies warn that the situation

may deteriorate following heavy rains.

Continued support remains vital.

With rains in early 2012 heavier than expected in some areas of east Africa, many communities’ crops were destroyed by floods. Even where conditions have been better, many have found they cannot take advantage because they have few seeds stored after last year’s drought.

Elsewhere, including in northern Kenya and Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region, below average rainfall has led to worries that harvests will again be poor. Christian Aid is particularly concerned that this will hamper the long overdue regrowth of grazing land for the livestock on which pastoralist communities depend.

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FRONTLINE

Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

Carpet-weaving and silkworm production are helping families in rural Afghanistan to diversify their livelihoods

Going further in the fight against poverty With your help, Christian Aid does much to alleviate poverty and injustice around the world. But a recent rise in the amount of funding for our work from huge players such as the UK government and the European Union has helped us deliver more on a scale unheard of just a few years ago. Amanda Farrant, donor communications adviser at Christian Aid, explains the success of schemes designed to boost our efforts IN THE DRY JARGON of development agencies, it’s known as ‘institutional donor funding’. What that phrase really means is funding for our work from large donors, such as governments, trusts and foundations. What this funding does is enable Christian Aid to go further, faster, deeper in bringing an end to poverty.

Here’s just one statistic among many: the Church of Uganda has been able to distribute 1.2 million treated mosquito

nets to more than 1.9 million people, thanks to funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) in partnership with Christian Aid and the NetsforLife malaria project.

What is truly impressive about the results in Uganda is that Christian Aid was able to reach almost 2 million people with a relatively modest supporter-raised investment of £96,000.

This was not allocated to net

distribution alone. Thanks to a parallel process to raise awareness among communities on how to prevent diseases such as malaria, the nets are already having an impact. More than 90 per cent of households surveyed by village health workers say they are regularly sleeping under the longlasting insecticide-treated nets. This will dramatically reduce the number of deaths related to malaria in those communities.

Christian Aid’s Daniel Jones, head of Programme Innovation and Learning, says: ‘We are immensely proud of this achievement. It demonstrates the huge difference we can make by combining different sources of income in ways that multiply our impact. This means an organisation the size of Christian Aid can make major inroads into tackling

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funds, it would not be possible for Christian Aid to extend successful programmes such as these at the scale necessary.

In some cases, additional income from governments and other large institutions means that Christian Aid can double or even triple the reach of supporter-funded programmes. It was for this reason that a buzz of excitement rippled through Christian Aid when news came that DFID had awarded us £5m UK Aid Match funding for Christian Aid Week 2012 (see story, page 6). This means that Christian Aid can now help more people to improve their health, incomes and diets.

There are benefits for donor governments as well. By funding organisations such as Christian Aid, overseas development assistance goes a lot further in the global efforts required to prevent a billion people going to bed hungry each day. The stringent and competitive requirements that both DFID and Christian Aid apply to processes for fund applications and programme monitoring, coupled with an emphasis on results, ensure that the money is spent where there is most need and where it will have most impact.

Dominic Brain, head of Programme Funding at Christian Aid, explains: ‘While not new, funding from donor governments is playing an increasingly vital and valuable role for international development organisations. It means we can invest even more resources into the types of interventions that we know work, so we can deliver greater value for money for poor communities and for all our donors.’

One question that might arise in supporters’ minds, however, is whether government funding compromises Christian Aid’s ability to speak out against government policy. On the contrary, says Daniel Jones: ‘In fact, it opens the door to more dialogue as both sides want to understand how to

Christian Aid/Rachel Stevens

Christian Aid/Antoinette Powell

Christian Aid/Sarah Malian Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

the overwhelming levels of poverty and injustice that exist in the world, even in the current economic climate.’

So how did Christian Aid achieve results on this scale? In this case, funding from DFID’s Programme Partnership Arrangement (PPA) scheme for 2011-2014, together with support from NetsforLife, extended the reach of Christian Aid and the Church of Uganda’s existing health programmes.

Elsewhere, funding from donor governments such as the UK and EU has enabled Christian Aid to respond to chronic humanitarian and development crises, such as in Afghanistan and Ethiopia, where UK government funding is now enabling Christian Aid to build on the successful results achieved during a recent two-year European Commision-funded food programme in those countries.

In Afghanistan, profitable and drought-resilient saffron cultivation is proving popular with poor farming households who have until now depended on thirstier and less profitable crops such as barley. Carpet weaving and silkworm cultivation are helping households to diversify their livelihoods, while local partners are also helping them to establish better trade links with markets.

In South Omo, Ethiopia, new cash crops such as sesame and onions, savings cooperatives, organic fertiliser production and irrigation are helping thousands of households to increase their crop yields and productivity. At the same time, community animal health workers trained to provide better veterinary services are safeguarding farmers’ livestock assets.

Tens of thousands of families living in remote rural areas are successfully increasing their household food consumption and incomes, while at the same time becoming more resilient to disasters such as drought. Without such

From left: improving cultivation techniques in Afghanistan; a new irrigation scheme in Ethiopia; mosquito nets are helping communities in Nigeria to fight malaria

tackle poverty most effectively. And both are accountable to the public for our contribution to tackling poverty.

Christian Aid’s experience, working with local partners who best understand what works on the ground, is extremely valuable to DFID or the EU in this respect. At the same time, we know it is vitally important to preserve Christian Aid’s independent campaigning voice in the UK. In fact, the UK government won’t fund campaigns in the UK, so such work is fully funded from supporters’ donations.’

MAKING NUMBERS COUNT • Approximately 35 per cent of Christian Aid’s income comes from governments, institutions, trusts and foundations.

• In 2011-12 Christian Aid reached more than 4 million people in 23 countries through DFID PPA funding.

• The DFID Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme in India, managed by Christian Aid, aims to support 7 million poor and excluded people achieve their rights to entitlements such as the national 100-day employment guarantee scheme.

• In Nigeria, as a result of DFID PPA funding, Christian Aid partners have distributed more than 365,000 free mosquito nets donated by The Global Fund.

Partners reported that, as a result, 250,000 more under-fives are now sleeping under nets.

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LIFE AND SOUL SPECIAL

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

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THE WEEK THA

Kerry Crellin, Christian Aid Week initiatives manager, finds that the riot of energy, imagination and generosity that characterises Christian Aid Week events comes from communities joining together in a wonderful expression of global solidarity. These pages celebrate a few ways in which that outpouring of fundraising zeal was captured ‘THIS IS AN EXAMPLE of what partnership is all about,’ Christian Aid’s country manager for Sierra Leone, Jeanne Kamara, told the crowds gathered in Dorchester’s Borough Gardens for a Global Picnic to launch Christian Aid Week. ‘Even though I have just met you all, I feel that I am looking out at brothers and sisters who are standing alongside us... And now I know that the communities with which I work in Sierra Leone are not alone, we are not forgotten. Thank you!’

Jeanne’s ‘thank you’ rings out to everyone around Britain and Ireland who was involved in supporting Christian Aid Week, which this year focused on fishing and farming projects run by the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL). In addition to the valiant

…now I know that the communities with which I work in Sierra Leone are not alone, we are not forgotten. Thank you! volunteers who knocked on doors collecting house to house, hundreds of people invested huge amounts of time and creative energy in organising a plethora of events from buskathons to bike rides and ceilidhs to cake sales – all to enable their local communities to get involved in the mass expression of global solidarity that is Christian Aid Week.

Standing alongside supporters throughout Britain and Ireland who were painting their villages, towns and cities ‘Christian Aid red’ in a

Christian Aid

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

The way we lead our own lives can have a tangible impact in the fight to end poverty. Christian Aid Week is the perfect example of this

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

festival of community generosity, our office in Sierra Leone organised its own Christian Aid Week fair with the community of Gbap, which featured in the Christian Aid Week resources.

The day of competitions and cultural demonstrations was rounded off with prayers in the local Christian community. It’s good to know we are not alone! Thank you, Gbap!

A huge thank you from Christian Aid and from our partners to everyone involved with Christian Aid Week events and collections this year. With the UK Aid Match funding from DFID (see page 6), all your fundraising efforts for Christian Aid Week were doubly worthwhile!

• Also see our regional round-ups, pages 24-25.

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AN AID WEEK

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Christian Aid

Clockwise from left: supporters get into the Abba spirit at a singalong performance of Mamma Mia! in Birmingham; facepainted young walkers Circle the City in London; Christian Aid’s country manager for Sierra Leone, Jeanne Kamara, at Dorchester’s Global Picnic, with singersongwriter Martin John Nicholls; villagers in Gbap, Sierra Leone, staged their own entertainment to mark Christian Aid Week; John and Nancy Eckersley lead off the 30th Humber Bridge Cross; using ‘the wrong tools’ gets messy at a fair in Chichester

A TASTE OF LIFE BELOW THE LINE Diocese of St Albans

THE BISHOP OF HERTFORD, the Right Rev Paul Bayes, was one of 3,000 people around Britain who were sponsored to Live Below the Line for a week in May. Managing on a budget of just of £1 a day for food and drink, was an eye-opening experience for Bishop Paul, who says: ‘It seemed important to me to have a go and stand alongside the more than one billion people who live on less than this amount of money every day.’

In only its second year, Live Below the Line, which is run by the Global Poverty Project in partnership with international development charities in Britain, the US and Australia, raised a fantastic £50,000 for Christian Aid Week. The 14,000 people taking part globally included Christian Aid staff teams from Nigeria, Haiti and Brazil who seized this opportunity to identify with the people with whom they work.

Christian Aid/Lindsey Pearson

Christian Aid

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

HAT UNITES US ALL

CHRISTIAN

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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 This summer, we’re excited to launch an initiative for 16- to 25-year-olds in churches.

Christian Aid Collective seeks to inspire and resource young people across Britain and Ireland to become part of our movement for change. Youth manager Bianca Parry explains the idea behind the action CHRISTIAN AID’S VISION is of a world free from poverty and we believe that young people are integral to that aim.

So, we have launched a new project, Christian Aid Collective, that seeks to bring together young voices passionate about seeing a fair world.

When young people learn about the work of Christian Aid, the response is often that they want to ‘do something’.

By launching the Christian Aid Collective website, we’re providing a hub for all of the brilliant work that young Christian Aid supporters are doing around the country.

We’re going to give them plenty of ideas for things they can do to make a real difference – harnessing their passion and creativity and helping them realise they are part of a world-changing movement.

Never before has a generation been better placed to speak with one voice.

Global communications and instant digital engagement provide the platform to educate, to debate, to share and to act.

We’re calling on young people to join us as we seek to live life, through our faith, as a reflection of God’s love for the poor. Join us as we challenge the injustice of poverty and pray for change.

Together we pray, we act, we create, we discuss, we give, we inspire, we learn and we love. We want to end poverty; together we can.

We believe the best way to live our faith through action is to scream our voices ragged in opposition to the

ENDING POVERTY A COLLECTIVE EF apathy we’re faced with. Christian Aid Collective believes we need to engage with all equality and justice issues now – prayerfully, openly, dynamically; as Christians and as human beings – because it’s an abomination that people should live in poverty in a world that God created with enough resources to provide for all. And we can argue the semantics of developmental policy until we’re blue in the face, but in every instance the answer is simple, and it’s only pride, apathy or greed that stops us from recognising that.

Everyone deserves the right to live and contribute to the richness of our shared existence and, like it or not, we are the lynch pins, with the power to bring about real change in the world. We have to be ready to make our voices heard.

CHECK OUT: • our newly launched website to inspire, educate and resource • our new, biannual magazine Do Not Tiptoe (see inset photo, above) • a new national youth lobbyist scheme • our annual 10-month internship scheme for people aged 18+, including a two-week trip to visit Christian Aid partners overseas • regular resources for youth groups and church talks including ‘How to…’ guides, fundraising support, events information and prayer points • our wonderful interns, who will be out and about introducing the Collective at local youth groups and events. Please get in touch at collective@christianaid.org if you’d like an intern to run a workshop with your youth group.

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The Christian Aid Collective: young people putting their passion for change into action. Inset: the cover of the launch issue of their magazine

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

TY TAKES EFFORT We hope you’re as excited about this as we are, and we’d love you to help us spread the word about Christian Aid Collective. Head to christianaidcollective. org for the latest blog posts, resources, campaign actions and ideas to inspire the young people and students in your church.

• You can find us on Facebook by searching for Christian Aid Collective and follow us on Twitter @TheCAcollective • You can also stay in touch by signing up to the Collective’s monthly e-newsletters; just email ‘subscribe’ to collective@christian-aid.org • And we’ll be at all of the summer festivals, so if you’re at Greenbelt, Soul Survivor or Summer Madness – come and say hi to the Christian Aid Collective!

CO-OPERATIVE: A PRINCIPLED RELATIONSHIP Christian Aid believes that working with the private sector is key to eradicating poverty. For this reason, we seek out and work with ethical businesses that share our vision of a better world. In the latest in a series of conversations with such partners, we speak to the chairman of The Co-operative Banking Group, Paul Flowers, about some of the ways that The Co-operative Bank is working towards a more sustainable world ‘Trade has an unparalleled capacity to lift people out of poverty,’ Paul Flowers

SINCE 2004, The Co-operative Bank and Christian Aid have worked in partnership to promote the Co-operative charity credit card, which has raised about £270,000 for Christian Aid’s work in developing countries.

The bank has also supported Christian Aid Week and has helped to raise awareness among its customers of emergencies in developing countries and other challenging issues such as human rights and climate change.

Christian Aid chooses to work with The Co-operative Bank because the bank puts its ethical values into practice and strives for a fairer world.

It is dedicated to the principles of responsible finance and only lends to businesses that satisfy its social or environmental standards. Indeed, over the past two decades, its ethical policy has led it to refuse more than £1bn of finance to businesses and projects.

Paul’s view is that this principled stance is actually good for business: ‘Our ethical credentials have attracted people from beyond our loyal customer

base. Being named by the Financial Times as Europe’s most sustainable bank, for the second year running, has increased our credibility as a strong financial institution committed to changing the world for the better.’

The Co-operative Bank also shares in Christian Aid’s belief that poverty can be ended and that we need to work in partnership with the world’s poorest people to make this happen.

So, the bank has created a US$50m microfinance fund that provides loans to small businesses in poor countries around the world.

‘When undertaken equitably, trade has an unparalleled capacity to lift people out of poverty and enhance the quality of lives across the world,’ says Paul. ‘We believe that people should be given the opportunity to trade their way out of poverty, and we are making this possible by supporting the future development of small businesses in some of the world’s poorest countries.’

GET INVOLVED...

If you would like to get more involved with what The Co-operative Bank is doing, you could sign up for its charity credit card (18.9% APR representative/ variable). Christian Aid will automatically receive £15 for every new account opened.

We will also receive an extra £2.50 if you use your new credit card in the first six months of receipt, and 25p for every £100 you spend.

Applicants must be aged 18 years or over, be UK residents and have a minimum income of £10,000.

• To learn more about the credit card, call 0800 002 006 or visit visit christianaid. org.uk/credit-card • To find out more about the work Christian Aid does with the private sector, visit christianaid.org.uk/corporate

Christian Aid News 23

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AROUND CENTRAL ENGLAND CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

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SO WHAT DID YOUR CHRISTIAN AID WEEK LOOK LIKE?

Clerical competition was fierce at the Fishing for a Future exhibition

FOR THE CHRISTIAN AID Birmingham staff it involved singing, bucket collecting and doughnut sales. The Loughborough office put on a fishing exhibition in Grimsby, took part in some motorised wheelchair racing and created a fishing game for a canal and boat festival. But, however you helped, we want to say thank you to you for all the amazing things that you did. It’s been inspiring to meet and support you.

We would especially like to thank: • everyone who did a house-to-house collection – come rain or shine!

• everyone who contributed to the creative energy that went into bake sales, coffee mornings, sponsored walks, activity stands, car washing and much, much more • everyone who signed a ‘prayer and action’ card to tackle the root causes of poverty • everyone who included Christian Aid in their worship and private prayers • everyone who lived below the line, and their generous supporters • and you… for your support – whatever you did – this Christian Aid Week.

Here are a few highlights: Gone fishing!

The Fishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby was host to a free Christian Aid exhibition, Fishing for a Future, between 11 and 27 May. The exhibition focused on the small fishing village of Mo-Albert in Sierra Leone and how help from Christian Aid partner the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone trained people there to fish sustainably and to clean and sell their catch. Thanks to supporter donations, Mo-Albert village now has a brand-new fishing boat, life jackets and smoking oven, which means that not only do they catch more fish to eat, but they can also sell extra fish to earn money.

An opening evening was held on 11 May to launch the exhibition and was attended by a host of local guests, including the deputy mayor of the borough of North East Lincolnshire, the MP for Great Grimsby, the Bishop of Grimsby and the chair of the Lincoln and Grimsby Methodist District.

Oompa Loompas in Humber lumber On 12 May, supporters from across Lincolnshire put their best feet forward

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

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CHRISTIAN

and took part in the famous Humber Bridge Sponsored Walk, which this year celebrated its 30th anniversary!

Walkers from all over the county came to take part, including a group from Grimsby who had named themselves the ‘Grimsby Oompa Loompas’ and 18 people from as far as Boston, including Alfie the dog, who received £230 in sponsorship!

Fundraising is an art The first Sutton Bonington Arts Festival took place from 12-13 May to celebrate the beginning of Christian Aid Week.

The festival took place in all four village churches and included paintings, music, workshops and a fantastic local silversmith. There was even live African drumming in the pub car park, which prompted Andre Nsengiyumva, Christian Aid country manager for Rwanda and Burundi, to join in! About 300 people visited the festival over the weekend to enjoy beautiful sunshine and local art work while raising money for Christian Aid Week.

WHAT A MARVELLOUS MARATHON EFFORT HUGE CONGRATULATIONS and thanks to Loughborough supporter Paul Anderson, who completed his first London Marathon in April in five-and-a-half hours, raising an amazing £5,000 for Christian Aid! Paul said of his experience: ‘After six months in training, with the help of personal trainer Sigourney Blunt, I was fully prepared for the race. I would like to thank those who have sponsored me, donated online and helped organise events such as the Auction of Promises, which raised £2,000 in itself! I would like to thank the Christian Aid Loughborough committee for all their help, but, above all, I would like to thank my wife Pauline for cheering me on during the race and for all her support in the build up.’

• If anyone else would like to donate, you can still do so at: justgiving.com/PaulLon-Mar2012

24 Christian Aid News

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AROUND NORTH ENGLAND CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

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A WHIRL OF ACTIVITY Here are a few highlights of busy Christian Aid Week around the region CHRISTIAN AID WEEK was a blur of house-to-house collections, sponsored events, cake sales, street collections, coffee mornings, pop-up charity shops, supermarket collections, musical events and much more!

Staff and supporters met on Monday 14 May at Morecambe Promenade to mark the start of the Way of the Roses Cycle Ride, which goes right across the country to Bridlington.

Special guests included the Mayor of Lancaster Sheila Denwood, MP David Morris, and the Bishop of Lancaster, the Right Reverend Geoff Pearson, who said a prayer during the ‘send off’ event for the safety of the cyclists.

He also spoke about the Christian Aid Week focus, ‘Let’s give the tools’.

‘Without the right tools it can become almost impossible for people’s lives to improve,’ the Bishop said. ‘It would be like giving me a unicycle and asking me to cycle the Way of the Roses! I just wouldn’t be able to do it.’

Other events across the region include a plant sale at Westerhope Methodist Church (now in its 20th year!), music events in Carlisle and

Readying for the off in the Way of the Roses Cycle Ride

Colne, a week-long cake stall in Scarborough, Busk Aid in Sheffield and a swish event in Newcastle.

There have been lots of sponsored walks taking place too, including in Preston, Barnoldswick, Warrington, across the Humber Bridge, in Lyme Park

SPEAKER’S TALES OF POVERTY A Zimbabwean Christian Aid partner has turned volunteer speaker, to carry our message on poverty to communities in Yorkshire.

Richman Ncube volunteers as a speaker for Christian Aid in Yorkshire.

He grew up in Zimbabwe’s western district of Plumtree, a region of minimal rainfall and unreliable harvests. In 1977, his family’s home was burned down and they lost everything. The post-independence disturbances in Matabeleland between 1982 and 1987 dealt a blow to the

family’s hopes of recovery.

‘It was in 1990 that I decided to respond to the call to work as a minister of religion,’ says Richman.

‘This inspired me to be hopeful in an environment that seemed bleak.

‘Immediately I found myself involved in issues of poverty everywhere I went,’ Richman recalls. ‘Many parishioners looked to me to assist them, be it to meet some basic needs, such as pay school fees for their children, or buy food. And sometimes there were human rights issues to deal with.’

Cheshire and along the waterfront in Merseyside. Other sponsored events included a six-hour spinathon in York, and the Great Manchester Run. Thank you so much to everyone who has made Christian Aid Week in the north such a success!

Richman first encountered Christian Aid when, in 2003, he joined the board of the Zimbabwean development agency Christian Care, a long-term partner of Christian Aid. As chairman, he worked alongside church and community groups to raise awareness of the challenges of poverty and also to carry out fundraising activities.

Richman is currently in Britain studying Theology and Development at Leeds University. He has been putting this learning, and his vast experience of working in Zimbabwe, to good use by volunteering as a speaker for Christian Aid in Yorkshire.

24 Christian Aid News

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Eduardo Duwe

AROUND SCOTLAND

Ricky catches up with the de Barroso family on his return visit to Brazil

Ricky Ross returns to landless movement in Brazil More than a decade after his first trip to meet campaigners fighting for land rights in Brazil, Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross recently returned to the country to see how Christian Aid partner the Landless People’s Movement is working to help poor Brazilians get land of their own Brazil is one of the world’s biggest economies, but one of its most unequal countries. Two-thirds of the country’s land is owned by just three per cent of the population, and much of it lies unused – while millions of Brazilians have nothing.

Under the constitution, land which is not being used can be claimed for redistribution to people who have no land, and the Landless People’s Movement (MST) helps make sure that this rhetoric becomes reality.

The Scottish singer, songwriter and broadcaster was first invited by Christian

Aid in 1998. The families he met at that time were camping under plastic sheeting at the side of the road in very basic conditions while MST helped them legally apply for ownership.

On Ricky’s return visit, he found that things had moved on a lot for the families he had met at the Dandara encampment (now a settlement). Many camped for up to 10 years before establishing legal tenure to build homes and farms.

Lucia de Souse was one of those people. She now proudly welcomed Ricky into the home she shares with

her husband, and told him her children have grown up and live in settled communities like hers.

She said, ‘I remember the encampment very well. Life was very difficult. We were living at risk because we were alongside the road in a very difficult situation with 900 other families. We had six of us in our tent at that time. It was also difficult because of health and sanitation issues.

‘We moved here, away from the city, because of our kids. I’m very happy my children have not ended up in bad conditions in the city. Here the air is pure and it’s nice. It makes a big difference being able to lock my front door at night after 10 years of living in a tent. And I can look out at the land and my own cows – it’s very different to the view I had in the city. It’s a different world.’

Ricky said: ‘I never thought I’d get the chance to come back after all these years and see someone in their own house, so it’s a real pleasure to be here.

‘Lucia’s house is by no means luxurious, but it is a dream away from the tent in which she stayed all those years – which is where she was last time. And it’s a similar story for those

24 Christian Aid News

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

THANK YOU FOR CHRISTIAN AID WEEK!

MARCHING FOR JUSTICE IN INDIA – AND OXFORDSHIRE IN OCTOBER, 100,000 people in India will march from Gwalior to Delhi to lobby their government and claim rights to land that their families have lived and worked on for generations. The dalit and tribal people are among the most marginalised in Indian society. Access and rights to land are vital in enabling rural communities to have a livelihood and could lift millions of Indians out of extreme poverty.

In solidarity with the marchers in India, and to raise money for our partner Ekta Parishad and Christian Aid’s human rights work across south Asia, we will be holding our own March for Justice sponsored walk on Saturday 6 October.

Walking from Abingdon to Oxford, along the Thames Path, this will be an opportunity to show solidarity with thousands of dalit and tribal people in India.

Christian Aid supporters in the region who took part in last year’s March for Justice in Oxfordshire have been raising money throughout the year – more than £2,600 to date.

It would be fantastic to see more people take part in this year’s walk and show solidarity with the marchers in India.

The walk, which is 8.5 miles in total, will start at 10.30am at Bridge Street in Abingdon. We will stop for lunch along the way and there will be tea and cake at the finish, in Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact Jess Hall in the Christian Aid Oxford office on 01865 246818 or email jhall@christian-aid.org

Jess Hall

Christian Aid

Jess Hall

For every envelope collected, for every bucket shaken, for every step walked, for every penny raised – we say a great big thank you. You found all sorts of interesting ways to raise money this Christian Aid Week – including a barn dance in Thame, a sponsored walk near Henley and a sponsored bounce in Radlett!

ABSEILERS AHOY ON 10 MARCH, 34 brave people challenged themselves to go ‘over the edge for poverty’ by abseiling 74ft down St Etheldreda’s Church in Old Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Abseilers were of all ages – from 11-yearolds to grandmothers in their 70s. Cat Goldson, Christian Aid’s events fundraising officer for the South East, said: ‘There was such a positive atmosphere. Crowds of people watched, cheering each abseiler as they descended the tower.’

The abseil looks set to raise an amazing £7,000.

Thanks go to all of our wonderful participants, and to St Etheldreda’s for letting us use their beautiful building.

Caribbean connection THIS YEAR the Bishop of St Albans’ Harvest Appeal will raise money to support Christian Aid partners helping people in the Caribbean to adapt to the effects of climate change. We’re working closely with the diocese to encourage even more churches, parishes and schools to take part.

We hope to raise an impressive £75,000 through this appeal.

If you would like more information, or are involved and would like a speaker, please contact Steve Johnson on 01865 246818 or email sjohnson@ christian-aid.org

EVENTS SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER March for Justice 10.30am, Bridge Street, Abingdon.

See article, left, for details.

Contact Jess Hall on 01865 246818 or jhall@christian-aid.org FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER Advent Hope 8pm, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

Advent gives us time to wait expectantly and to reflect on our journey with Christ. It is a time of preparation – so together we will make it a time of action too, a time when heaven touches earth.

Contact Steve Johnson on 01865 246818 or sjohnson@ christian-aid.org Find news and events for your region at christianaid.org.uk/oxford Your Christian Aid events can be publicised there too – just send us the details.

24 Christian Aid News

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AROUND THE SOUTH AND WEST MP TAKES ACTION ON CHRISTIAN AID TAX CAMPAIGN

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

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WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS!

VICAR-SCOOTING MAY not yet be an Olympic sport but Minster Green in Wimborne was the scene of a titanic struggle in Christian Aid Week when the clergy of the town’s churches challenged the children of St John’s First School to a scooting race. Of course, the children triumphed and took all three places on the podium!

Elsewhere in our region, two Christian Aid country managers visited supporter events and helped with house-to-house collections during the week. Jeanne Kamara from Sierra Leone was in Dorchester for the Global Picnic in the Borough Gardens and joined a pub quiz in Exmouth and a Once and for All evening in Barnstaple.

Cathy Riley, who leads our country team in Ethiopia, helped with the collection on Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station and spoke at events and services in Wiltshire and Somerset.

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

Brazilian-themed ‘Once and for All’ evenings were held in Southampton and Swindon, and sponsored walks were held across the region in places such as Newton Abbot, Fareham, Bishops Waltham, Bournemouth and Poole. St Barnabas Church in Gloucester raised more than £1,000 with its teddy bear abseil as 69 teddies zip-wired down the church tower!

Food was at the centre of our efforts, with breakfast in Purton, a picnic in Braunton, a cream tea in Budleigh Salterton and a salmon supper in Painswick. Add all of that to the many cake and plant sales, pop-up shops, quizzes, concerts and, of course, the house-to-house collections, and it proved to be a fantastically varied and vibrant Christian Aid Week in the south and west. Special thanks to everyone for all your brilliant efforts!

WELLS MP TESSA MUNT HAS asked George Osborne what action the government is planning to take to tackle the problem of tax haven secrecy.

Tessa, pictured at a Christian Aid lobby of Parliament, has been contacted by more than 70 constituents who support our campaign to stop corporations using tax havens to avoid paying taxes. In the run-up to the Budget, Tessa called on the chancellor to make sure that he and other ministers are aware of the concerns people have about tax havens and tax secrecy.

Tessa said: ‘It is morally indefensible for big business and multinational corporations to be adding to that suffering because they don’t want to pay taxes they owe, and can easily afford.’

• Find out more about our tax campaign when the Tax Justice Bus comes to your area (see page 12).

Supporters lobby Tessa Munt

Christian Aid/Max Khanna

A young supporter at the Global Picnic in Dorchester

Jon Craig – freelancing.co.uk

AND THE SILVER AWARD GOES TO… CHRISTIAN AID’S BRISTOL OFFICE picked up a silver award in the inaugural Bristol Fairtrade Business Awards, in March. Regional manager Nigel Quarrell was presented with the award in the ‘Best Fairtrade Office’ category by BBC newsreader and Fairtrade advocate George Alagiah.

Bristol City Council leader Barbara

Janke said: ‘Bristol is leading the way with the first ever Fairtrade Business Awards. These thriving businesses are proof that you can be successful and embrace the Fairtrade ethic.’

The awards were organised by the Bristol Fairtrade Network with Business West, Destination Bristol and Bristol City Council.

24 Christian Aid News

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AROUND WALES CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID

SO THAT’S WHAT CHRISTIAN AID WEEK IS ALL ABOUT!

Llinos Roberts

A NUMBER OF Christian Aid overseas staff and partners visited Wales during Christian Aid Week.

Bahodur, Marziya, Muhabbatkhon and Nadijba from Tajikistan were kept busy with services in Carmarthen and St Davids. They also took school assemblies, and participated in a street collection and various fundraising events in west and north Wales. They have certainly had a taste of what Christian Aid Week is all about.

Yacouba, country manager in Mali, dropped in to a coffee morning and bread and cheese lunch in Bangor, before meeting major donors in the region.

The Cardiff office hosted Solomon from the Ethiopia office. He spoke at the annual Christian Aid Week services in Penarth and Pontypool and attended fundraising events in Ystrad Mynach, Caerleon and Abergavenny. He also helped out with a supermarket collection in Maesteg, and managed to squeeze in some school visits.

Llinos Roberts, from Trefor in north Wales, travelled to Sierra Leone in 2011,

and was guest speaker at six services during the week, but found the time to organise some events of her own, including a community ‘soup and quiz’ evening and a ‘bike wash and service’ in her back garden!

Warm weather helped boost crowds at the spring fair in Penmaenmawr and the coffee morning and fair organised by the Welsh churches in Cardiff, and also ensured that supporters in Brecon enjoyed stunning views from Yr Allt on their annual sponsored walk. The sun also seems to have had a lot of people thinking about their gardens, with the receipts of the annual Llanishen plant sale reaching £2,500.

Staff member Branwen Nicolas and journalist Malan Wilkinson performed their revue, Merched, Rhyw a Dannedd Aur (Women, Sex and Gold Teeth), based on their visit to Tajikistan.

Finally, the young people of Noddfa Community Church in Caernarfon held a fashion show, and by saving their pennies, the members of the Little Gems Sunday School in Ebbw Vale raised £81.

Partnership scheme success AROUND 150 PEOPLE came together at St Peter’s Civic Hall, Carmarthen, in March to be entertained by Tecwyn Ifan at ‘Swper a Chân’ (Supper and Song), an event to launch a new Christian Aid Partnership Scheme group: ‘Churches and Friends in the Carmarthen Area’.

The Carmarthen group is committed to raising at least £5,000 to support the Burkina Faso Partnership Scheme project, which will benefit 25 villages affected by flooding in the north-central and eastern regions of the country. £2,000 was raised through the event, and part of this will be matched by Barclays Bank’s £1 for £1 scheme.

Added to a collection taken at a local chapel’s Gwasanaeth Plygain (a carol service held between Christmas and the end of January), it has ensured that the Carmarthen group is well on its way to its target.

To find out how your church, business or school can get involved with the Partnership Scheme, contact your local Christian Aid office.

Doing the zumba for Guatemala AROUND 25 WOMEN from Bethesda chapel in Mold came together at a local school hall in March to dance the zumba in aid of the Presbyterian Church of Wales’ ¡Viva Guatemala!

Appeal for Christian Aid. Led by Tracey Belis, who runs zumba classes in the area, they danced for two hours and raised more than £300. And with the proceeds of a lunch in April, the church is already more than halfway towards its target of £3,500.

OTHER UP AND COMING ¡VIVA GUATEMALA! EVENTS INCLUDE: MAWRTH 11 MEDI – 2yp Clwb Cadnant, Caernarfon.

SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBER – 10am Capel Maengwyn, Machynlleth SUL 30 MEDI Oedfa Gofalaeth Seion Llanrwst For further details please contact the Bangor office (see panel opposite).

24 Christian Aid News

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Canal and Boat Festival makes a big splash!

OVER THE MAY BANK HOLIDAY weekend, Christian Aid took part in the annual Canal and Boat Festival in Loughborough.

Thousands of people thronged the canal over the two days to enjoy the variety of stalls, live music, boats and activities that the festival had to offer. The Christian Aid stall focused on the Christian Aid Week story of Mo-Albert, the small fishing community whose story was at the heart of this year’s Christian Aid Week.

For this fishy theme, the Christian Aid stall included the game Unfair Hook-a-Fish, where people had to try and catch as many fish as they could. However, there was a twist! Those with magnet hooks could catch fish rather more easily than those with hook rods. The game was used to highlight the Christian Aid Week theme of having the right tools. The stall also had a two-metre-long model of a Sierra Leonean boat, made by the Loughborough Christian Aid group chairman, which was a fantastic addition! All in all, the festival weekend was a lot of fun, very successful and, importantly, not too wet!

Bumper success for North Staffs walk THIS YEAR’S NORTH STAFFS walk for Christian Aid was another resounding success. Circling Tittesworth reservoir, the event has raised more than £250,000 in the past five years. Walkers get the chance to do one of two routes, a 2.5 mile or a five-mile walk.

One regular walker is 74-year-old Marion, who has taken part for the past 20 years. She was overjoyed to reach her fundraising target of £1,000 and had this challenge for Christian Aid News readers: ‘It’s great that so much good can come out of something that I, and all those taking part, enjoy so much. So will you get involved next year?’

If you can, please contact the Birmingham office on 0121 200 2283.

Say ‘On your bike!’ to Poverty this Summer

EVENTS IN CENTRAL ENGLAND EAST OF ENGLAND SATURDAY 21 JULY Circle the World Ely Cathedral.

A celebration for families. For details, contact Mandy Loveder on 01733 345755 or email mloveder@christian-aid.org

incorporating song, video, powerpoint and reflection. The West Midlands office is offering these events around the region.

For more information or to find out about similar events, email birmingham@christian-aid.org or call 0121 200 2283.

WEDNESDAY 25 JULY Sponsored canoe trip 10.30am-3.30pm, Sudbury to Bures.

Sponsored event for Christian Aid partnerships, £20 for boat hire. For details, contact Eldred Willey on 01603 620051 or email ewilley@christian-aid.org

EAST MIDLANDS WEDNESDAY 4 JULY Ilkeston Sponsored Walk and BBQ 6pm, The Cantelupe Centre, Ilkeston DE7 5HY. Fancy putting the boot into poverty? Then why not take part in the Ilkeston sponsored walk with a BBQ afterwards to celebrate! For details, contact Mary Hawkins on 0115 854 2634.

WEST MIDLANDS SATURDAY 7 JULY Commitment for Life Concert 7.30pm, Elmwood Hall URC, Hamstead Hill, Birmingham B20 1BU. Celebrate 20 years of ‘Commitment for Life’ at a special anniversary concert featuring the Town Hall Gospel Choir. Tickets £10. For details and to book, contact Mrs A Arrowsmith, church secretary, on 0121 681 0885.

THURSDAY 19 JULY Once and for All Worcester.

‘Once and For All’ is a multi-media presentation

EAST MIDLANDS AND EAST OF ENGLAND SATURDAY 21 JULY Sponsored bike ride Rutland Water Nature Reserve, Egleton, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8BT. See story below.

ALL AUGUST/SEPTEMBER DAYS VARY The Tax Justice Bus See map on pages 12 and 13 for route details to find out where it will be stopping off in our region.

Ed and Rebecca on the Sudbury to Bures sponsored canoe trip

Christian Aid/Eldred Willey

ISTIAN

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS YOUR AREA: LOG ONTO YOUR LOCAL WEBSITE AT christianaid.org.uk/eastengland • christianaid.org.uk/eastmidlands • christianaid.org.uk/westmidlands

THIS JULY, we are introducing a new fundraising event: our first, one-day, sponsored bike ride around Rutland Water!

There are options for two different rides around the beautiful Rutland Water cycle route (19 miles or 23 miles) with plenty of places to stop off along the way.

Refreshments will be provided at the Keep in touch with the latest Christian Aid news and events start and the end, and cycle hire will be in the East of England, East and West Midlands.

N IO IT available on site. This will be a great day Search for the East Midlands, West IB EXH D E D out and fun for all the family. To find Midlands or East of England EXTEN ry, out more, please contact the Events Facebook pages in your Facebook nt ry, Cove The Herbert Galle e interest th team on events@christian-aid.org or search bar, then click ‘Like’ in order by has been thrilled cy of Hope’ ga Le a g din uil visit christianaid.org.uk/cycling to keep in touch.

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been ho exhibition it has mand, Due to popular de extended viewing has been until August.

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ISTIAN

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS YOUR REGION: LOG ON TO YOUR LOCAL WEBSITE AT christianaid.org.uk/northeast • christianaid.org.uk/northwest • christianaid.org.uk/yorkshire

EVENTS IN NORTH ENGLAND FRIDAY 29 JUNE Warrington Walking Day North West Christian Aid staff will join in Warrington’s annual walking day. For more than 100 years Warrington Walking Day has given an enormous amount of pleasure not only to those actually taking part in the walks, but also to those who watch along the various routes.

For more information, contact the Warrington office on 01925 573769.

SATURDAY 30 JUNE Dance upon injustice Bradford A fundraising gig with funk/soul band Motif. For details, contact ajones@christian-aid.org THURSDAY 5 JULY Poverty Over Exhibition launch event 6-8pm, York Minster.

A cheese and wine evening to launch the arrival at York Minster of Christian Aid’s Poverty Over roadshow. Welcome by Canon Glyn Webster, speaker Colin Kemp (Christian Aid), entertainment by Archbishop of York Junior School Choir.

Preceded by choral evensong.

Booking is essential. The exhibition will be open from Friday 6 July until Tuesday 31 July. For more details, contact Lindsey Pearson in the Leeds office on 0113 244 4764, or email leeds@christian-aid.org FRIDAY 6 JULY – SUNDAY 8 JULY Spree North West Waddecar Scout Activity Centre Activity Weekend for 8- to 15-year-olds. Teaching and worship, along with a wide range of adventure activities, will keep young people busy throughout the weekend! See wix.com/spree_northwest/2012 for more information.

SATURDAY 7 JULY Homemade cream teas 2-4pm, Church House, The Green, Grassington.

SATURDAY 7 JULY Sheffield Night Hike 8pm, St Luke’s Lodge Moor.

A 17-mile night hike out into the Peak District. For more information and to register, visit sheffieldnighthike.org.uk or contact the Leeds office, on 0113 244 4764.

SATURDAY 21 JULY Dragon boat race Preston.

Join the Preston Guild Riversway Festival by reserving your place on a dragon boat. Places are £15 each, with a minimum sponsorship of £50. Go online at christianaid.org.uk/getinvolved/ events/dragon-boat-race or contact the Warrington office on 01925 573769.

FRIDAY 14 SEPTEMBER Bucket collection York Railway Station.

Any offers of help gratefully received. Contact christianaidyork@googlemail. com SUNDAY 16 SEPTEMBER Once and For All 7pm, venue tbc, Helsby.

Come and discover Christian Aid’s new multimedia presentation. For more information, contact the Warrington office on 01925 573769.

SATURDAY 22 SEPTEMBER, SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER March for Justice Various venues A series of solidarity walks are being held in support of 100,000 dalit and landless people in India, who are marching for land rights, in a campaign organised

by Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad (see page 4). There will be several ‘solidarity walks’ available – from a short stroll to a day’s hike, including the annual Bede’s Way Walk, a designated route through the rich landscape between the world heritage nominated twin monastic sites of St Paul’s, Monkwearmouth, and St Peter’s, Jarrow. The money you raise through these walks will assist the Ekta Parishad campaign to secure land rights for the landless poor, which could potentially lift 400 million people out of poverty. For further information, and to register, contact your regional office.

Saturday 22 September – Rydal Hall, Cumbria Saturday 6 October – Ripon Cathedral, 10am Saturday 6 October – Bede’s Way MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER, SATURDAY 29 SATURDAY Volunteer training days 10.30am-3pm, Warrington/Kendal.

Speakers and teachers from the north west are invited to

come along to these fun-packed training days in Warrington on 24 September and Kendal on 29 September. For more information, contact the Warrington office on 01925 573769.

FRIDAY 5 OCTOBER – SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER Poverty Over Exhibition Ripon Cathedral For information and opening times, contact the Leeds office, on 0113 244 4764.

SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER Leeds street collection We have a permit to collect across Leeds on this day. For further details and to offer help, please contact the Leeds office.

SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER – SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER All aboard for tax justice!

Christian Aid’s Tax Justice Bus will visit various points in our region as it tours through Britain and Ireland, spreading its message of tax justice. There will be meetings with civic and church leaders, worship, debates, stunts and public meetings. For more details, contact your regional office. (See story, page 12.)

Saturday 6 October – Carlisle Sunday 7 October and Monday 8 October – North east Tuesday 9 October to Thursday 11 October – Yorkshire Friday 12 October to Monday 15 October – North west WEDNESDAY 10 OCTOBER North East Christian Aid volunteer training event

10.30am-3pm, venue tbc.

For volunteers and people interested in volunteering.

Please register interest with Sarah Moon on smoon@christian-aid.org SATURDAY 13 OCTOBER Harrogate Band Concert 7.30pm, Holy Trinity Church, Ripon. (Optional dinner at 6.30pm.)

For more information or to book, email Michael Montgomery at littlethorpe@btinternet.com WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER Fundraising day St Crux, York.

Any offers of help gratefully received.

Contact christianaidyork@ googlemail.com FRIDAY 19 OCTOBER Bungee off the Bridge!

Transporter Bridge, Middlesbrough.

Fancy trying an adrenalin-filled bungee jump to raise money for Christian Aid? For more information, please contact events@christian-aid.org or tel 020 7523 2127.

FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER/ SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER Blackburn Sanctuary Youth Event 7.30pm-7am, Blackburn Cathedral Explore what it means to be in the world but not of it. For young people of 11 and above. Tickets cost £10. For more information, email youth@Blackburn. anglican.org or tel 01254 503070.

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KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS YOUR AREA: LOG ON TO THE CHRISTIAN AID SCOTLAND WEBSITE AT christianaid.org.uk/scotland

EVENTS

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

WHAT AN INSPIRING WEEK THAT WAS!

Solas Festival Wiston Lodge near Biggar from 22 -24 June

THANK YOU SO MUCH for everything you did in Scotland to make this Christian Aid Week a big success!

We’re inspired by the fantastic fundraising activities we’ve heard about, and the commitment shown, year on year, by all of you who take to the streets with those red envelopes.

This year, Scottish church leaders very publicly marked Christian Aid Week by calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to speak up for the world’s poorest at the G20 summit in Mexico. Key figures from across the denominations urged world leaders not to miss the opportunity to tackle two major causes of global poverty – climate change and tax dodging.

The Scotland team welcomed two special visitors – MacDuff Phiri, from our office in Malawi, and Andre Nsengiyumva, who oversees our work with partners in Rwanda and Burundi. Our two colleagues went on tour, taking in as many events across Scotland as could be squeezed into their busy schedule – including a memorable visit for MacDuff to the Aberdeenshire town of Macduff.

Everyone who met our guests had an opportunity to hear how the money we raise together will have a life-changing effect for some of the world’s poorest people.

Central to the tour were visits to those churches that have been a part of our partnership scheme (linking up their fundraising to specific projects, and receiving a 9:1 boost in match-funding from the Scottish

Imagine Scotland Inverurie from 17-21 July CLAN Gathering St Andrews from 28 July – 3 August Come along and say hello, or find out more by calling us on: 0141 221 7475 or emailing glasgow@christian-aid.org

other families I met.’

As well as catching up with old friends, Ricky was introduced to people who have recently begun the process of occupying the land in the hope that it will one day become theirs. Luis Santos explained what life is like on the encampment he has lived in with his family for three years now.

‘It’s very hard living here. But at the same time we have a dream and it keeps us going. Our dream is to have the land, to grow crops and rear animals, and to survive decently and sell our produce. Other encampments becoming settlements are our inspiration. We are hoping that soon we can be like them and have our own land.’

Ricky was inspired by the families he met. He said: ‘These people are prepared to camp for as long as it takes and show a great deal of determination.

It is incredibly moving to see the lengths they will go to for a better future for their kids.

‘My first visit to Brazil in 1998 was a life-changing and life-giving experience for me. Returning to see people getting on with their lives and others making huge strides forward has reaffirmed these feelings for me. What I love about Christian Aid’s work in Brazil is that it imagines a better future and, with courage and strength from local people, they are seeing that dream come true.’

Christian Aid has worked with partner MST ever since its foundation in 1984. In that time, protest camps and legal actions have enabled more than 350,000 landless families, 1.5 million people, to get land of their own – the first step to economic security.

Louis Flood

CHRISTIAN AID WILL HAVE A PRESENCE AT THE FOLLOWING EVENTS OVER THE SUMMER:

Church leaders gather for Christian Aid Week

government). Our visitors paid tribute to the hard work of everyone involved, and a particular highlight for MacDuff was being able to present Bibles to Charlie Milne and Sheila Lawrie in Dundee, long-standing supporters with immense passion for our work.

We were delighted that Children’s Laureate and Gruffalo writer Julia Donaldson took the time to be patron at this year’s booksale at St Andrew’s and St George’s in Edinburgh. She even donated more than 200 of her books in 27 languages. Once again, this event was a magnificent success and there was significant interest in the special items on sale this year.

We hope you have enjoyed this Christian Aid Week. We know how busy you have been and we greatly appreciate it.

The Christian Aid Scotland website features some more highlights of the week – christianaid.org.uk/scotland You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

FANTASTIC FUNDRAISERS STEP OUT FANTASTIC FUNDRAISERS – Libby Adamson, Kim Fowler, Pamela Fowler, Laura Allardice and Barbara Syme – from East Lothian recently embarked upon a mammoth challenge to walk 40 miles to raise money for Christian Aid. With a target of £4,000, they also held a silent auction, coffee morning, car boot sale and race night – to name just a few – all to help towards their total.

Well done for such a great effort!

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KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS YOUR REGION: LOG ON TO YOUR LOCAL WEBSITE AT christianaid.org.uk/oxford • christianaid.org.uk/london • christianaid.org.uk/southeast

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

THE FORESTS OF India are rich with vital sources of food and income – such as honey. Yet many communities of adivasis (forest people), who have inhabited this land for decades, find that they are denied access to the fields and forests on which their lives and livelihoods depend.

Despite the Forest Rights Act protecting these communities, they continue to be threatened and denied access by government officials.

This harvest we would love to support your church in celebrating the inspiring stories of Christian Aid partners in India who are helping communities taste the sweetness of gaining access to land. We could: • help to run a harvest breakfast for your church • provide an inspirational speaker for your harvest festival • assist you in organising a sponsored walk as an act of solidarity with the 100,000 landless people who will march in India this autumn to demand vital land reform (see page 4).

Or you might like to ask your church leader to join our March for Justice (see Events listings, right).

• For great resources and more information about the harvest appeal visit christianaid.org.uk/harvest

ChristianAid/Sarah Filbey

HARVEST OF RIGHTS

Tribal chief Jumma stands in Bajarangpura village, Madhya Pradesh; on land his community won through a long hard struggle, boosted by the 2007 Janadesh land rights march.

Jumma and his wife Kamala plan to march again in October’s Jan Satyagraha march in solidarity with others whose struggle continues

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK: THANKS BE TO GOD KAYENGEWORMA Across London and the South East, from Chichester to Chelmsford, and Whitechapel to Whitstable, churches and individuals have been incredibly busy raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for Christian Aid Week.

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in the week – you really are a committed and creative bunch. We’ve seen gospel and classical concerts,

sponsored walks, art auctions, plant sales, miles of pennies, bike rides, coffee mornings, cake sales, auctions of promises, BBQs, quizzes and so much more – not to mention the huge number of people involved in house-to-house collecting.

On behalf of our partners and the communities with which they work, thank you; or, as they say in Sierra Leone ‘Thanks be to God. Kayengeworma!’

EVENTS For more information about any of the events, please contact the London and South East Office on 020 7523 2321/2105.

You can also visit our regional web pages (see top of page).

FRIDAY 13 JULY – SUNDAY 15 JULY Kent County Show Christian Aid will be supporting the Churches Together Café Tent.

SATURDAY 21 JULY – FRIDAY 27 JULY New Wine Festival, London and South East week Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet.

Christian Aid will have a stand at the festival.

SATURDAY 22 – SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBER Cathedral to Coast Bike Ride Join Christian Aid’s newest challenge event in the South East for 2012 – the Cathedral to Coast Bike Ride. You will cycle 147 miles through four counties – Surrey, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset. The route passes three cathedrals (Guildford, Winchester and Salisbury), as well as Mottisfont Abbey and Corfe Castle, and finishes on the seafront at Weymouth.

SATURDAY 29 SEPTEMBER Richmond Park Sponsored Walk A great day out for all of the family, with the choice of a 3-mile or 6-mile route. For more information and to register for

your free sponsorship pack, call 020 7523 2105 or visit christianaid.org.uk/walks SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER March for Justice ICH Lower Marsh, Waterloo, London A 10-mile sponsored walk along the River Thames, starting from Christian Aid’s headquarters in Waterloo and ending in Greenwich. We are looking for church leaders to join us on the walk and to inspire their congregations to give, act and pray on behalf of the 100,000 people in India who are marching for land rights. (See story, above left.)

SUNDAY 7 OCTOBER 2012 Royal Parks Half Marathon Hyde Park, London.

This run will take you through four of London’s Royal Parks in all their autumnal glory. Register online at christianaid.org.uk/ running WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER – FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER Poverty Over cathedral exhibition at Chelmsford Cathedral A specially commissioned sculpture and photographic exhibition challenging our responses to those living in extreme poverty and highlighting Christian Aid’s work around the world. There will be a ‘launch’ event at the cathedral on 17 October.

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KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS YOUR AREA: LOG ON TO YOUR LOCAL WEBSITE AT christianaid.org.uk/southwest • christianaid.org.uk/west

Something worth walking for!

BORN AND BRED in the south west, John Wilmut is no stranger to the rural life. However, on 2 May he set off on a 70-day walking expedition, from Land’s End to John O’Groats, aiming to cover 1,084 miles in total and

climb a staggering 30,700 metres (three-and-a-half times the height of Everest!).

Not only has John set himself a huge physical challenge, but he is also aiming to raise £10,000 for Christian Aid’s work with the world’s poorest children.

Having worked in several developing countries throughout his career, John says: ‘I saw some of the impact that poverty had on children’s education – drop-outs from school, poorly qualified and poorly paid teachers, the lack of books and the decrepit state of many schools. As part of its commitment to education, Christian Aid

and its partners are working to improve conditions for children in the world’s poorest communities. The aim is to improve learning, to enrich their lives and to extend their opportunities.

I think that’s something worth walking for!’

If all goes to plan, John will reach John O’Groats on Friday 20 July. Although he is finding the walk incredibly challenging, he is especially encouraged by all the support he has had from fellow Christian Aid supporters. You can sponsor John at justgiving.com/ johnslejog and for more information, see his blog at wilmut.net/lejog

YOUR LOCAL OFFICE BRISTOL OFFICE (Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire) 57 High Street Thornbury Bristol BS35 2AP 01454 415 923 west@christian-aid.org facebook.com/ ChristianAidWest EXMOUTH OFFICE (Cornwall, Devon) 35a The Parade Exmouth Devon EX8 1RH 01395 222 304 southwest@christian-aid.org SOUTHAMPTON OFFICE (Channel Isles, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight) Isaac Watts Church Winchester Road Southampton SO16 6TS 023 8070 6969 southwest@christian-aid.org

EVENTS IN THE SOUTH AND WEST MONDAY 9 JULY Christian Aid Quiz The Clipper, The Strand, Exmouth.

Contact Exmouth office 01395 222304 or southwest@christianaid.org THURSDAY 19 JULY Eco Poppers 6-8.30pm, All Saints Church, Highertown, Truro.

A Mid-Cornwall Churches environmental family event with market place, food, stalls, kids’ activities and talks.

Contact Diocesan House on 01872 274351 ext 238.

SATURDAY 21 JULY Family day with the Archbishop of Canterbury Gloucester Cathedral.

Visit the Christian Aid stand at this fun day for all the family.

Contact Rev Sandra Millar on 01452 835554 or email smillar@ glosdioc.org

taking in Guildford, Winchester and Salisbury cathedrals, Mottisfont Abbey and the New Forest before reaching the Jurassic Coast at Christchurch and finishing in Weymouth.

Contact Helen Burgess on 01395 222308 or email hburgess@ christian-aid.org

or 01454 415923 or at west@christian-aid.org

SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER March for Justice – Severn Vale Walk A 12-mile walk in solidarity with dalits and tribal people who are marching for land rights in India.

The route is from Frampton-onSevern to Gloucester Cathedral, through beautiful countryside along the Severn Way and the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.

(See The Big Picture, page 4.)

Register on 01454 415923 or at christianaid.org.uk/walks

7-11 AUGUST Soul Survivor – week B (youth) Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet soulsurvivor.com/uk

SUNDAY 9 SEPTEMBER Loretta Minghella preaching 9.45am, Exeter Cathedral.

Contact Exmouth office on 01395 222304 or southwest@ christian-aid.org

SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER Yate sponsored swim 6-7pm, Yate Leisure Centre, Kennedy Way, Yate.

A sponsored swim for Christian Aid, using both pools so that all ages and abilities can take part.

Contact Gus Smith at gus. smith@o2.co.uk

SATURDAY 22 SEPTEMBER – SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBER Cathedrals to Coast Sponsored Bike Ride Starting at Esher Common and

SUMMER FESTIVALS Christian Aid has a stand at each of the festivals in our region.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Bristol office

29 JULY – 4 AUGUST New Wine (South West and Central) Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet new-wine.org/summer

12-16 AUGUST Soul Survivor – week C (youth) Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet soulsurvivor.com/uk 17-21 AUGUST Momentum (students) Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet soulsurvivor.com/uk/momentum 24-27 AUGUST Greenbelt Cheltenham Racecourse greenbelt.org.uk THE TAX JUSTICE BUS Climb aboard our Tax Justice Bus as its tour around the country stops near your area.

The red double-decker bus will be hosting briefings for MPs and senior church leaders, and we

would like to invite you to special meetings for our campaigners and local lobbyists. See also Campaigns, page 12.

MONDAY 3 SEPTEMBER Bristol Contact Lydia Nash at the Bristol office on 01454 415923, or lnash@christian-aid.org TUESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER Taunton Contact the Lydia Nash at the Bristol office on 01454 415923, or lnash@christian-aid.org WEDNESDAY 5 SEPTEMBER Truro/Falmouth Contact the Exmouth office on 01395 222304, or southwest@ christian-aid.org THURSDAY 6 SEPTEMBER Torbay/Exeter Contact the Exmouth office on 01395 222304, or southwest@ christian-aid.org FRIDAY 7 SEPTEMBER Dorset/Salisbury Contact the Southampton office on 023 8070 6969, or southwest@christian-aid.org SATURDAY 8 SEPTEMBER Southampton/Portsmouth Contact the Southampton office on 023 8070 6969, or southwest@christian-aid.org

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KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS WALES: LOG ON TO christianaid.org.uk/wales

EVENTS IN WALES DIGWYDDIADAU YNG NGHYMRU

TUESDAY 3 JULY – SUNDAY 8 JULY Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod Christian Aid will be supporting the Denbighshire Fairtrade group on its stand during the week.

Full details and volunteering opportunities from Anna Jane Evans on 01248 353574.

FRIDAY 6 JULY – SUNDAY 8 JULY Spree Wales Millenium Coastal Park, Llanelli.

An inspirational and actionpacked Christian Aid camping weekend for young people and their leaders.

For details contact Aled Pickard on 029 2084 4658 or email apickard@christian-aid.org SUNDAY 8 JULY Sing for Christian Aid 6pm, Bridgend United Church, Bridgend.

An evening of hymns and Christian songs, and an opportunity to hear about the work of Christian Aid.

For further detail please contact Rev Val Davies on 01656 654120.

MONDAY 23 JULY – THURSDAY 26 JULY Royal Welsh Agricultural Show RWAS Showground, Builth Wells, Powys.

Christian Aid will be at the Churches Together stand.

If you would like to volunteer to help, contact our Carmarthen office on 01267 237257.

SADWRN 4 AWST – SADWRN 11 AWST Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru, Bro Morgannwg Hen Faes Awyr Llandw, ger Y Bontfaen.

Fe fydd staff Cymorth Cristnogol Cymru ar ein stondin ar Faes yr Eisteddfod ar hyd yr Wythnos.

Galwch heibio am sgwrs; i weld ein harddangosfa; casglu adnoddau a phrynu nwyddau Masnach Deg. Os oes gennych ddiddordeb mewn gwirfoddoli yn ystod yr wythnos, cysylltwch â’n Swyddfa yng Nghaerdydd ar 029 2084 4646.

MAWRTH 9 AWST – MERCHER 10 AWST Sioe Môn, Maes y Sioe, Gwalchmai, Ynys Môn Eleni eto fe fydd Cymorth Cristnogol yn cefnogi’r grwp Masnach Deg lleol ar eu stondin yn y sioe boblogaidd hon i’r teulu cyfan.

Am fwy o fanylion a chyfleoedd gwirfoddoli cysylltwch ag Anna Jane Evans ar 01248 353574

HITCH A RIDE ON THE CHRISTIAN AID TAX JUSTICE BUS! The bus will be travelling through south Wales from 31 August to 2 September and then in north Wales on 25 and 26 September. See page 12 Contact Christian Aid on 029 2084 4646 or 01248 353574 to see where you can support Christian Aid’s campaign on tax justice.

SADWRN 6 HYDREF Diwrnod i’r Brenin Maes y Sioe, Llanelwedd.

Diwrnod arbennig wedi ei threfnu gan Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg ac Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru yn dechrau am 10.45 yb.

Addoliad, cerddoriaeth stondinau, siaradwyr a gweithdai. Gweithgarwch i blant ac ieuenctid. Presenoldeb gan Cymorth Cristnogol.

Dewch i Lanelwedd i ddathlu’r ffydd!

Ceir manylion llawn yn fuan ar annibynwyr.org a buw.org.uk SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER St Asaph Diocesan Conference Llangollen.

Christian Aid stall with the latest resources.

For details, contact the local office on 01248 353574 or bangor@christian-aid.org GWENER 12 HYDREF – SUL 14 HYDREF Carreg wrth Garreg Coleg Trefeca, Talgarth, Powys.

Penwythnos blynyddol Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru, sy’n gyfle

WALES THINKS BIG CHRISTIAN AID IN WALES has teamed up with the environmental charity Size of Wales in a project that supports Brazil’s indigenous guarani people in their fight to secure land rights and conserve their forest territories.

Size of Wales was created by the Wales Millennium Development Goals Taskforce to unite communities, businesses, organisations and schools in Wales to help protect 2 million hectares of rainforest (equivalent to an area the size of Wales). It aims to forge links with some of the world’s poorest people by co-funding projects submitted by charities. A Christian Aid project has been adopted and

Christian Aid in Wales hopes to raise £50,000 during the year, which will then be doubled by Size of Wales.

The project will directly protect 21,654 hectares of the Mata Atlantica rainforest. The forest is increasingly under threat from climate change, deforestation, urban growth and unsustainable exploitation.

Christian Aid partner Comissao Pro-Indio (CPI) has been working with the guarani since the 1980s, providing legal support in land ownership disputes and whenever their traditional way of life is threatened.

Jeff Williams, head of Christian Aid in Wales, who has visited the project

i glywed am waith partneriaid Cymorth Cristnogol ar draws y byd. Manylion pellach gan Catrin Roberts ar 01269 871871 neu catrinrob@btinternet.com FRIDAY 12 OCTOBER – SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER Christian Aid Weekend Trefecca College, Talgarth, Powys.

Organised by The Presbyterian Church of Wales. For further details and registration, contact Catrin Roberts on 01269 871871 or catrinrob@btinternet.com

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 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

Osmar Tupa Mirim, a guarani teacher said ‘Changes to the forest affect our way of life, as the guarani are rooted in nature.’

Christian Aid/Jeff Williams

SADWRN 7 GORFFENNAF Cerddoriaeth drwy’r dydd Capel Rama, Llandyfaelog, Caerfyrddin, rhwng 10 yb a 6 yh Mae Geraint Rees, organydd y capel yn perfformio datganiad organ noddedig ac yn cyfeilio i artistiad unigol a phartion cerdd, yn y cyngerdd diwrnod cyfan hwn, er mwyn codi arian i Cymorth Cristnogol.

Am fwy o fanylion cysylltwch â swyddfa leol Cymorth Cristnogol ar 01267 237257

area, said: ‘Size of Wales support will enable our partner CPI to strengthen its work in protecting the rights of the guarani and the future of the forest.’

For more details, please contact Christian Aid on 029 2084 4646 or visit sizeofwales.org.uk

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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 POPULATION AND FERTILITY I find myself in agreement with Roger Plenty’s letter (Input, Issue 55) about the impact of population growth on world resources, but bemused by Christian Aid’s response at the end of the article about famine in Africa, and Burkina Faso in particular (Frontline, Issue 55).

There is no mention of any kind of programme to support birth control measures. The village chief mentions a famine in 1973, when the annual population growth rate in Burkina Faso was two per cent. It is now 2.9 per cent. My guess is that the population figure of 16.5 million for 2011 is more than double what it was in 1973. I also suspect that social conditions and local attitudes to keeping livestock have changed little in the intervening time, so why should anyone be surprised that there is yet again famine in this semidesert region?

This situation is now so common all over Africa’s dry zones that I no longer feel able to respond, even to emergency appeals, unless there is some guarantee that these will include long-term help for women to control their own fertility. Does Christian Aid have any such programmes in Burkina Faso and other famine-prone African countries?

Kate Nivison, Woodford Green, Essex

COMMENT

It seems it is not popular to regard overpopulation as an issue, but I would go even further than Roger Plenty (Input, Issue 55). In Africa, in particular, the numbers facing starvation are a direct result of the numbers saved by previous aid. In turn, the numbers we save now will seem small compared to what will be needed in the future.

Much of the land is becoming ever more degraded and will not properly support the existing population, let alone an ever-increasing one. The stark truth is that aid that simply increases survival rate without reducing fertility rate, will only make the long-term situation worse. Increasingly massive efforts to provide such aid must finally be overwhelmed when the scale of the problem is beyond us.

What will then follow is starvation on a massive scale, until the remnant of the population is again small enough for the land to support it. Is that what we want as the culmination of decades of aid? It is the inevitable consequence unless wisdom rules compassion, otherwise it were better to give no aid at all, and at least not make things much worse in the future.

Michael Huber, via email I was interested to read the letters in the recent editions of Christian Aid News on population. However, I was

very concerned that in none of them was the clear link made between poverty, large family size and gender inequality. Since women’s continuing discrimination and inequality ought to outrage us all, regardless of our gender, I would like to note that many aid and other organisations have time and again made explicit the connection between discrimination against women, women’s inequality and consequent lack of reproductive choice or control over family size.

In a world where men dominate decision-making at all levels, and are given higher status and rights than women, and are far more likely to receive an education, it is inevitable that women will be relegated to lowpaid, low-status (but vital) work, such as farming or caring, or with little choice other than to enter the sex industry or to labour for low pay in large factories making goods for export. This lack of choice and lack of social and economic rights and equity result in a world where women are restricted in their economic options, are restricted in the social and public sphere, and in their access to contraception, and thus in their ability to make their own decisions about pregnancy and family size.

In many poor countries, a woman is unable to adequately control the number of children she has due to

POPULATION: FAMILY MATTERS

In reponse to Kate Nivison’s letter regarding the role of family planning in combating famine in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in the Sahel region, Ray Hasan, Christian Aid’s head of community health and HIV, outlines Christian Aid’s current policy KATE NIVISON’S LETTER raises an important concern. She is not alone in voicing this, so we’re grateful for the chance to address the issue head on.

Christian Aid recognises that population growth is contributing to climate change and also increasing the number of people who are suffering the effects of climate change, especially in

poor countries. However, we believe that the effect of population growth on the world’s climate should not be seen in isolation from the dramatically unequal contributions of individuals in poor and rich countries. In many parts of the developing world, resources such as water, land, forests and minerals are being degraded to supply goods to

people in over-consuming rich countries.

This pushes people living in poverty on to increasingly marginal lands and in some cases forces them to degrade their environments further just to survive.

While it is clear that large family size can severely restrict poor families’ ability to escape poverty, Christian Aid also recognises that poor people

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a constellation of reasons, but all of which have gender inequality at their root. Her body is not seen as her own but is owned by her husband; marital rape is sanctioned and certainly goes unpunished; she has no access to contraception because she is poor; because she is a woman she is more likely to be poor; her husband/partner is violent and will not allow her to leave the house to consult a doctor about her reproductive health; she can be beaten in the home without recrimination or recourse to justice because she is a woman, making it much more difficult for her to assert her wishes regarding family size; because she is a woman she did not receive an education, and she is therefore illiterate and so finds it harder to access information about her own reproductive cycle.

Finally, because she is a woman she is not as likely to be supported by a family or social circle, does not have the same status, does not have the same access to rights or redress as would a man. All of these reasons make it harder to have a voice, to be listened to, and to make and enact decisions about one’s own reproductive capacity.

As the UN, Christian Aid and another excellent charity, Camfed (Campaign for Female Education), have highlighted time and again, educating women, ending women’s discrimination, gender inequality and the current epidemic of gender-based violence is a key, if not the vital, way to ensure we reach the Millennium Development Goals for 2015, which since 2007 have included a sharper focus on gender inequality.

Indeed, Camfed reports that educating a girl in Africa means that she is three

often do make very rational choices to have many children, given their circumstances. In some very poor countries, children work to bring in money or food for their families and/ or care for their parents in old age. In places where child mortality rates are high, such as Burkina Faso, expectations around how many children will actually survive to adulthood strongly influence decisions about family size.

In short, Christian Aid rejects the notion that the root cause of poverty is that ‘the poor have too many children’ and that ‘population control’ is a panacea for all the world’s ills.

times less likely to get HIV/AIDS, will earn 25 per cent more in her lifetime and, importantly, she will have a smaller and healthier family.

It is high time that we recognised all the gender inequality that still exists in the 21st century as an outrage and the fight for women’s rights as a vital and central means by which we can truly make poverty history.

Elizabeth James, Durham

Power to the people As one who has never been reluctant to write urging politicians to legislate against tax avoidance (Trace the Tax campaign, Issue 54) and other business practices that harm the people of developing nations, I nevertheless feel uneasy that this is the primary or even the sole response asked of us. My faith tells me that urging action by others is not enough; I should find a way in which I as an individual can act against these practices.

Most of the injustices inflicted by financiers and global corporations are dependent upon our acquiescence as consumers of the products and services with which they are associated. We need, as individuals, to withhold our custom. If we know which goods and services are ‘tainted’ by injustice, we can refuse to purchase or use them. The offenders can always find a way to avoid complying with legislation, but there is no way they could avoid the effect of a consumer boycott.

Years ago, some information on the interrelationship of commercial organisations was available in published form. Now, for all the reach and density of the web it is not easy for

We are, however, firm believers in the value of improving access to family planning as part of an overall strategy to end poverty.

The World Health Organization estimates that some 215 million women around the world lack access to family planning services or are not using an effective method of contraception. This lack of power to make fully informed decisions around fertility has profound effects on the lives of women, their families and their communities. We are currently engaged in integrating family planning throughout our community health programmes, building on our

the individual to track down and follow the trail from, for example, tax-evading mining companies to the products that UK consumers happily buy and use.

The power we could wield with this information could bring real change.

Maurice Vassie, Deighton, York

Unfair trade In the Spring issue of Christian Aid News, you encourage people to live on less than £1 a day. One of your ‘top tips’ suggests buying the cheapest supermarket value brands (‘Can you really tell the difference between 9p pasta and 80p pasta?’). When the point is to raise awareness of the issues of poverty, surely it’s shortsighted to encourage people to buy the cheapest products when those lowest prices usually come from squeezing farmers in developing countries?

Ben Dyson, via email Joe Ware, church and campaigns journalist, who took part in Live Below the Line, replies: ‘Christian Aid is not encouraging people to make a habit of purchasing the cheapest goods; in fact for many years promoting Fairtrade was one of our major campaigns. But supporters taking part in the Live Below the Line challenge are doing so in order to experience a little of what it is like to live in poverty. People living on less than £1 a day cannot always afford to make ethical choices such as free-range eggs and more expensive organic produce.

Making those ethical, as well as physical, sacrifices is why Live Below the Line can be such a thought-provoking and powerful experience.’

strong relationships with faith leaders and communities themselves. This approach is based on our belief that the most successful way to increase uptake of family planning services is to empower women and men with the knowledge, confidence and rights to make more fully informed, free choices about the timing and number of children they wish to have, not by coercion or imposition from outside.

• You can hear more on this important subject in a special Christian Aid podcast here: http://audioboo. fm/boos/784038-the-poverty-andpopulation-debate

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EVENTS

TIME TO GET QUIZZICAL USE YOUR BRAIN power to challenge poverty by hosting a Quizaid this September. Invite your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours to put their brains to the test and have a brilliant time raising money for Christian Aid! It’s really simple to hold a Quizaid and there are rounds to suit everyone’s interests and expertise – we even have a quiz especially for young people. And for those masterminds out there, we have eight rounds of extra-hard questions.

You will be joining people challenging their chums all across Britain – in schools, offices, church halls, pubs and just about everywhere else! The official Quizaid week is 10-16 September, but you can hold your Quizaid at any time convenient to you. You will receive a free Quizaid fundraising pack complete with questions and answers, a guide to holding your Quizaid and all the resources you need to make your event a success. To register please visit christianaid.org.uk/quizaid or email events@christian-aid.org or call 020 7523 2019. Happy quizzing!

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

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

Team Poverty cyclists riding to raise funds

WHEEL POWER GIVES US THE FUNDRAISING EDGE TWO MAJOR CYCLING challenges this year highlight the bike’s contribution to our fundraising, and also remind us of its versatility among partners overseas.

This July, Team Poverty once again has an enthusiastic group of cyclists setting off to cycle 300 miles from London to Paris with the aim of raising £70,000 for Christian Aid. If that’s a bit of a stretch for you, you could still do something remarkable with your bike this year by signing up to our brand new Cathedrals to Coast cycle challenge! The inaugural Cathedrals to Coast Bike Ride, from 2223 September, starts in London and will take you 147 miles, over two days, past some of England’s finest countryside, cathedrals and castles, finishing on

Weymouth’s seafront. To find out more about this new cycling challenge visit christianaid.org.uk/cycling Our partners also find that a bike can be a powerful tool in the fight against poverty. In Zambia, bikes are being distributed to malaria control agents.

The plan is to reduce malaria prevalence in the country by 40 per cent through this life-changing scheme.

If cycling isn’t really your thing, or you fancy something a bit different, why not join us for a trekking challenge? Our range of UK treks can offer a truly life-changing experience – both for you and the people in poverty your sponsorship will help!

Have a peek at our available treks at christianaid.org.uk/trekking

FUNDRAISING: DOING IT YOUR WAY AT CHRISTIAN AID we hear so many fantastic stories about supporters ‘Doing It Your Way’ to raise money. In Paignton, nine members of a local church took part in a sponsored silence, keeping quiet together for two hours – all with an aim of raising more than £1,400.

A louder fundraiser took place in Glasgow, where a classical concert was held, which raised more than £500. The organisers were thrilled to have two orchestras performing together on the night, and the flute solo was especially moving. Big thanks go to the Helensburgh committee for its

hard work putting this together and also to Hutchesons’ Grammar School for its excellent support in making the event possible. We look forward to another fantastic concert in 2013.

If you’ve held a fundraiser and would like to share it with us and other Christian Aid supporters, let us know by emailing events@christian-aid.org and you could be featured here in the next issue. If you’d like to put on your own fundraiser, order Christian Aid’s Do It Your Way fundraising DVD online at christianaid.org.uk/yourway or call 020 7523 2019 to be put in touch with your local events fundraising officer.

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✁

Christian Aid

FIREWALKERS FEEL THE HEAT

IT MAY NOT have been a sponsored walk with much mileage, but every step will have been felt by Cat Goldson (above), and 10 other brave souls, who all walked barefoot over burning hot coals in May to raise money for Christian Aid. The sponsored firewalk was organised by Christian Aid as part of the Pentecost Festival and held outside St John’s Church in Waterloo, London. By lightly toasting their feet, participants hope to have raised more than £2,000 to fund the work of our partners around the world.

Sponsored walks whet appetite for March for Justice CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU to all those who have already taken part in a sponsored walk for Christian Aid this year and are helping us to raise £295,000 from walking in 2012.

Everyone had a great time at the 47th annual Halifax Long March on Easter Sunday in spite of some wet weather, and the Tay Bridge Cross saw more than 150 people coming out to battle the elements on a typically wet and windy Scottish day.

Two amazing participants, Shaun Parkin from Trinity Parish Church and Adam Preskey from St Andrews, both crossed the bridge 10 times, covering 15 miles!

The Chippenham Sponsored Walk saw 35 people take on a nine-mile scenic route through beautiful Wiltshire countryside.

Meanwhile, the Forth Bridge Cross 40th birthday celebration was a roaring success with more than 350 supporters enjoying dancing, games and birthday cake. The Erskine Bridge Cross celebrated its 25th year with a new forestry walkway added to the route, which was a hit with the 200 people who took part.

Looking ahead, we have several March for Justice sponsored walks on Saturday 6 October in Oxford, Gloucester, Malvern, London, Inverness, Norwich, Peterborough and Ripon.

These are in support of the month-long march being organised in India, in October, by Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad, which will see 100,000 dalit and tribal people marching from Gwalior to Delhi to lobby their government over land rights. For more information and to register to take part in a March for Justice or other sponsored walks, visit christianaid.org.uk/walk

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

BEATING POVERTY: A MARATHON NOT A SPRINT!

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A Team Poverty runner crosses Tower Bridge in the London Marathon

CHRISTIAN AID SUPPORTERS are proving once again what amazing athletes they are as they embark on a number of incredible running challenge events.

Massive congratulations go to all involved in the London, Brighton and Edinburgh Marathons this spring – and there are more to come.

In April we saw 15 amazing supporters take part in the Virgin London Marathon. It was a great day; the atmosphere was electric, the rain held off and our runners left us all completely inspired.

And if you feel like pulling on your trainers to help give poverty the run-around, then Christian Aid still has places available for both the Bupa Great North Run and Royal Parks Half Marathon this autumn. For more information call 020 7523 2221, visit christianaid.org.uk/running or email events@christian-aid.org

EVENTS FUNDRAISING CALENDAR 2012-2013 HOLY ISLAND NIGHT HIKE 23-24 June 2012 HADRIAN’S WALL WEEKEND TREK 29 June – 1 July 2012 LONDON TO PARIS BIKE RIDE 18-22 July 2012 QUIZAID 10-16 September 2012 BUPA GREAT NORTH RUN 16 September 2012 CATHEDRALS TO COAST BIKE RIDE 22-23 September 2012 ROYAL PARKS HALF MARATHON 7 October 2012 SANTA DASH 5K FUN RUNS December 2012 THE BIG CHRISTMAS SING 7-9 December 2012 BURNS SUPPER 21-28 January 2013 SPONSORED ABSEILS February/March 2013 THE SUPER SOUP LUNCH 29 March 2013 BRIGHTON MARATHON 14 April 2013 VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON 21 April 2013 BUPA GREAT MANCHESTER RUN 20 May 2013 EDINBURGH MARATHON 26 May 2013

Visit christianaid. org.uk/events to find out more.

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A reflection on playing a part in the fight against poverty, and living life in the wider family of Christian Aid Summits and conferences come and go, and at each one Christian Aid is there, hammering home our message on tax or climate change. On the eve of the next big event – the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 20 June – Alexander Carnwath offers a glimpse of what trying to change the world feels like ON A SATURDAY MORNING last November, I was standing beneath a tree near the Zambian town of Chipata, while Rebecca Sakala gestured towards hard, sun-baked fields and described how changing weather patterns were wrecking her maize and onion harvests.

The way of life she and previous generations had relied upon to feed their families was increasingly threatened and she felt powerless to act.

Ten days later, I was hurrying down the corridors of a conference centre in Durban, South Africa, struggling to keep pace with Christian Aid’s senior climate adviser Mohamed Adow, as he held an impromptu, on-the-go meeting with a leading South African climate change negotiator. The setting could hardly have been more different from Rebecca’s Zambian farmland but here, at the COP17 conference on climate change, lay the seeds of a potential solution to her problems.

Christian Aid’s advocacy is not our most visible work. We speak more often about farming projects, new schools or health clinics in the developing world. But it is crucial to what we do. If we are serious in our intention to address not only the symptoms of poverty but also to challenge the global trends and power dynamics that keep people like Rebecca poor, we have to speak out at the places where major international decisions are taken.

My day shadowing Mohamed at the COP was as tiring as any I have spent tramping across African farmland. It passed in a blur of complex subtexts and

BRINGING ADVOCACY OUT OF THE SHADOWS Stunts staged for the world’s media are a vital part of our advocacy work

Alexander Carnwath

LAST WORD

We have to speak out at the places where major international decisions are taken hastily convened meetings, shared intelligence and opportunistic dashes after key figures. Advocacy at these events relies on a carefully prepared strategy but also a nimble mind; the course of the negotiations changes so often and so fast that Christian Aid can only influence it if we stay informed and adapt our strategy according to the rapidly changing picture.

And it relies on teamwork. At Durban, we lobbied and campaigned as part of the wider Time For Climate Justice coalition, which includes sister agencies Norwegian Church Aid and Church of Sweden. Members of the Christian Aid Campaigns and Media teams played a crucial role, promoting our views through rallies, stunts and newspaper coverage.

The outcome of Durban was not what we’d hoped for. Not enough was achieved on our main demands, and

there remained too many unanswered questions on key issues such as a legally binding emissions-cutting agreement.

But slow progress is a feature of international meetings of this kind. ‘The climate negotiation process is going to be a marathon not a sprint,’ Mohamed said, after Durban. ‘It is inconceivable that we don’t engage, because, for the poorest countries, this is where their hope for survival and development lies.’

In mid-May, Mohamed continued the post-Durban work at climate talks in Bonn. And in mid-June, around the time this issue of Christian Aid News hits your doormat, a Christian Aid team will be advocating on issues including a fair, green economy at the UN sustainable development conference Rio+20. If Christian Aid’s advocacy can have an impact at these events, then the results will be felt not only in the air-conditioned corridors of conference centres, but in the fields and homes of Zambia as well.

To listen to a podcast with Alexander and Mohamed on the outcome of Durban, go to http://audioboo.fm/ boos/650895-durban-outcome

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Item name Client Client team

Half page Good little company ad Brendan Brosnan Philanthrophy

Proof stage V3 Proof date 14/05/12 Feedback due 16/05/12

Christian Aid/ Jodi Bieber

For every packet of sausages sold, the Good Little Company will donate 7p to Christian Aid. This could help poor communities grow the food they need to overcome hunger and poverty.

Good Little Company sausages are made with 85 per cent British pork from pigs that are bred outdoors. Unlike some other sausages, they are gluten free and don’t contain any added fat or horrible ingredients.

Good Little Company sausages are available in more than 150 Waitrose stores across Britain, and selected Tesco stores in Northern Ireland.

Project name CAN56 Adverts For your nearest store location, Item name Half page ecotricity Ad goodlittlecompany.com Client Brendan Brosnan Client team Philanthrophy

check the map on

Job number Proof stage Proof date Feedback due

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CHRISTIAN AID INTRODUCES

Cook up some tasty good little sausages from the Good Little Company and help raise money for Christian Aid’s work around the world.

THE GOOD LITTLE COMPANY

IT’S BBQ SEASON!

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CHRISTIAN AID INTRODUCES ECOTRICITY

FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE SWITCH TO ECOTRICITY Our climate is changing: extremes of flooding and drought are threatening the survival of some of the world’s poorest people. By choosing green energy from Ecotricity, you can combat climate change and raise money for Christian Aid at the same time.

Switch your gas and electricity supply to Ecotricity and Christian Aid will receive up to £60.

Choose Ecotricity for your business or church and up to £150 will go to Christian Aid.

0800 0302 302

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

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Client Kerry McMahon 2726 CHR Legacy Ad_299x222_Lay out 1 16/12/2011 Page 1 Client team Events and15:47 Fundraising

Proof date 10/05/12 Feedback due 15/05/12

With a Will, you can look after all the people you care about.

It may look like a dry legal document, but a Will is really an act of care. Or even love.

Contact us for your free guide to Wills and legacies

When you make a Will, you make a commitment to look after your family and friends even when you’re gone. And if you wish, you can do something even more extraordinary.

By including Christian Aid in your Will, you can extend that loving care to people in other parts of the world. To a girl who wants to go to school in Bangladesh. To a community ravaged by war in Sudan. To the people you are already doing so much to help in your lifetime.

To find out more about the caring power of Wills, complete and return the form below. Or contact Kerry at kmcmahon@christian-aid.org or on 020 7523 2173.

Please send me The Christian Aid Guide to Wills and legacies Legacies Title:

First name:

Surname:

Address: Postcode: Email:

Help people inTelephone: poverty out of poverty

Aid,FREEPOST PO Box 100, London SE1 SE1 7RT7YY. Once completed please return to: Christian Christian Aid, SW771, London

A014495

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