2 minute read
Give thanks for your vaccine
Christian Aid supporter
Dookenger happily holds a hygiene kit that will help her family in Kenya stay safe from coronavirus.
Giving thanks for your vaccine
When the vaccine rollout against coronavirus got underway in Britain, many of us felt a sense of relief and joy. Our loved ones would finally have some protection against the virus.
But the process also made us starkly aware of the inequality that still exists in our world, especially when it comes to health.
One of you in the Diocese of Gloucester felt this so strongly that you got in touch asking for a way to give in gratitude for your vaccine. Seeing you were not alone, our Give thanks for your vaccine appeal was launched.
Giving thanks
The appeal allowed people like you to act on that sense of thanksgiving and pass the blessing on, helping others in crisis who have little protection from the pandemic.
We have been truly humbled by the response to this appeal. From Wilton Parish Church to the Church of Scotland, you’ve taken part as individuals, churches, denominations, church networks and Christian Aid groups, raising over £300,000.
Standout contributors include the 474 members of the United Reformed Church who have helped raise over £30,000. Reading the messages left on our online Wall of Thanksgiving has been both moving and encouraging.
Changing lives
All your gifts of thanksgiving are helping our global neighbours stay safe while the vaccine remains out of reach. What’s more, your support has enabled Christian Aid to expand its work in India where the coronavirus situation has been particularly devastating.
Christian Aid has been working with local partners in India since the start of the pandemic, providing 130,000 vulnerable people with support, from life-saving information on the virus, to food parcels.
But your solidarity helped us do more, providing PPE to frontline health workers and oxygen concentrators to health centres. We and our partners are grateful to have been able to do more for our sisters and brothers facing such uncertainty.
Looking forward
Many communities around the world still face an uncertain wait for a vaccine as questions remain around the cost, timing and extent of a global vaccination rollout.
Going forward, Christian Aid will support vaccination programmes in countries where it is operating. This might mean providing data on hard-to-reach populations to local health services, or challenging misleading information about the virus and vaccination.
As a member of the People’s Vaccine Alliance, we will also continue to call for a ‘people’s vaccine’ so that everyone, everywhere is able to get a vaccine. We believe this is a matter of justice as well as fairness.
