Christian Aid magazine Autumn/Winter 2023
Shining
brightly Your love and hope in action
Write l il W r u yo with id A l l i W
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Christian Aid News Winter 2014
Your hope shines brightly Welcome. Within these pages, I hope that you’ll learn more about the difference your every gift, prayer and action is making in the lives of our global neighbours. I witnessed this difference in April when I visited Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory (IoPt). I was struck by the determination that underpins our partners’ work to improve the lives of others, in what is often a very hostile environment. I was humbled too by people’s appreciation of Christian Aid’s support – appreciation which I pass straight to you. One example of our work on the West Bank is our programme with olive farmers, featured on page 7. Olive trees, symbols of peace, are now among the virtual gifts available at caid.org.uk/gifts Our virtual gifts make excellent Christmas presents, and on pages 8-9 you’ll find a preview of our forthcoming Christmas appeal. This year we’ll be
Christian Aid magazine Issue 19: Autumn/Winter 2023 Editorial consultant: Sian Curry Sub editor: Jenny Tither Art editor: Rebecca Gray Design: Rebecca Gray, Sofia Lloyd Coordination: Christina Rae, David Ibrahim, Lorna Amahson Published by Christian Aid 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL 020 7620 4444 info@christian-aid.org caid.org.uk Cover story Kakoli Khatun (second from left) and her handicraft group, spending time together after finishing their work in Kurigram, Bangladesh.
Photos: Cover Christian Aid/Fabeha Monir; page 2 Christian Aid/Amaru; page 3 Christian Aid/Fabeha Monir; pages 4-5 Christian Aid/ Silvano Yokwe; pages 6-7 Matthew Hatcher/ SOPA Images, Lightrocket via Getty Images, Heritage Ukraine; pages 8-9 Christian Aid/ Fabeha Monir; pages 10-11 Christian Aid/Amy Sheppey, Norah Rotich; pages 12-13 Christian Aid; page 14 Amie Croft; page 15 Iryna Dobrohorska, Heritage Ukraine.
sharing how, with your support, talented young women in Bangladesh are harnessing ancient artforms to build businesses and transform their lives. To quote Iryna Dobrohorska, our Ukraine Response Director, who writes on page 15: ‘In the worst darkness you see the brightest light.’ Please know that your kindness and generosity is a light shining in our global community, bringing hope and change. With heartfelt thanks for your continued support,
Patrick Watt Chief Executive
Contents 4-5 South Sudan Find out how you can shine a light on the humanitarian crisis at the South Sudan border by calling on the UK Government to step up support.
6-7 Ukraine and IoPt Thanks to your support of our emergency appeal for Ukraine, Christian Aid partners responded straight away. Plus, hear how a new generation of church leaders witnessed the resilience and hope of Palestinian olive farmers.
8-9 Christmas appeal 2023 Your preview of our upcoming appeal celebrating young women in Bangladesh who are bringing ancient crafts to modern audiences.
12-13 Supporter news Enjoy a snapshot of what you’ve all been up to.
14 The Spirituals Grab your tickets to see this award-winning choir.
15 Last word Iryna Dobrohorska, Ukraine Response Director, talks faith, support and solidarity in times of war.
10-11 Climate justice Discover how you can help to prioritise loss and damage at COP28, and why hunger is on the rise.
Did you know? You can now read Christian Aid magazine online! Go to caid.org.uk/magazine
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South Sudan
e s o h t o t e p o h Bringing r i a p s e d f o r e d on the bor Christian Aid shines a light on the worsening humanitarian crisis at the South Sudan border.
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ince April, fighting between government and rebel forces in Sudan has put further pressure on its neighbour South Sudan. By August, over 200,000 people had already crossed the border to seek sanctuary. But the new arrivals, mainly South Sudanese returnees, have crossed into areas already beset with hunger, and are crowded into border transit centres that lack the space and resources to cope with the influx. Martha and her children fled their home in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, after a bomb damaged their house. ‘I was woken up by the noise and my body was covered in dust,’ Martha recalls. ‘When I woke up, I went outside. One of my neighbours had been blown to pieces... I knew then that I had to leave Khartoum.’ A steady stream of people like Martha and her family arrive at the Joda border crossing every day. Most come through on foot carrying whatever they can, while local people help to bring others and their luggage across on donkey-drawn carts. But there’s little help for them on arrival. The transit centre in Renk, just beyond the border, is meant to temporarily house 1,000 to 2,000 people. When our Country Director, James Wani, visited the centre in June, it was already housing 10,000 people, with many more sleeping in makeshift shelters nearby or out in the open. Life here is desperately hard. ‘Our major problem in the transit centre is food. We have been eating only boiled sorghum for the past
two months,’ Martha says. ‘The second challenge is the poor hygiene. Children are dying every day from diarrhoea.’ But even in the face of horror, there’s hope. Alongside long-term work to build peace and improve food security, Christian Aid partners have stepped up their efforts to relieve the suffering at the border. Our partner Africa Development Aid is providing communal shelters and identifying children who have become separated from their families. Christian Aid funding has helped another partner, Lutheran World Federation, to support households with transport and cash for their onward journey from Renk – including people with injuries or illnesses, older people, pregnant women and children heading households. But much more is needed. ‘The situation is worsening by the day,’ explains James. ‘Unless the international community shows solidarity, we will witness a humanitarian catastrophe.’ We won’t allow the people of South Sudan to be forgotten. The UK slashed aid funding to South Sudan by 59% in 2021. But the world’s youngest country is facing crisis upon crisis and the UK Government must step up its support. You can help shine a light on the situation by writing to your MP or local newspaper. Find out more at caid.org.uk/writeMP
Martha outside her tent at the South Sudan border.
Ukraine and IoPt
Dam disaster in Ukraine When the floodwaters rose, and when they receded, Christian Aid partners were there – thanks to your response to our Ukraine emergency appeal. A woman carries her belongings through flood waters in Kherson.
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here are still events that have the power to shock – even with all the immense suffering we have already witnessed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. One of them was the collapse of the huge Nova Kakhovka dam in June. Torrents of water swept downriver at huge speed, drowning people and animals along their path, while submerging homes, towns, roads and farmland in areas that had already endured months of conflict and occupation. Christian Aid’s partner Blythswood Care had a local Heritage Ukraine team in the area delivering humanitarian supplies when the waters rose.
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They responded straight away, rescuing survivors in their van and sheltering evacuees at their hub in Odesa. They didn’t stop over the next few days – rescuing people from the disaster zone and returning with supplies such as safe drinking water, hygiene kits, bedding and generators so that people could access electricity. In response to the new disaster, Christian Aid immediately channelled funding to support local relief efforts and renewed its emergency appeal for Ukraine. ‘Thanks to our supporters mobilising around the renewed Ukraine appeal, we were able to allocate an extra £350,000 to our partners Blythswood Care and
Containers of fresh water delivered in the flooding aftermath by Christian Aid partner Blythswood Care/ Heritage Ukraine.
Alliance for Public Health,’ explains our Ukraine Response Director, Iryna Dobrohorska. Christian Aid is focusing its ongoing humanitarian response on villages in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions that are hard to reach and where people may not have received support from other agencies. These southern regions were heavily shelled in the early months of the war, and some areas spent months under Russian occupation. Now the dam disaster and related flood damage have made it even harder for people to access water, power and healthcare. The upcoming challenges of winter will bring yet more hardship. Alongside efforts to ensure emergency water and electricity supplies, partners are also focusing on health services in flood-affected areas and further afield. Alliance For Public Health has provided four ambulances which, staffed by teams of local doctors, will provide mobile medical services in hard-to-reach villages throughout the winter and beyond.
Sheikhah Ahmad Rashaydeh and her saplings near Bethlehem.
Rooting for peace
In the olive groves around Bethlehem, a new generation of church leaders witnessed the resilience and hope of Palestinian farmers.
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herise Boraski from the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Ireland recalls her time speaking with olive farmers near Bethlehem, in the occupied Palestinian territory: ‘One farmer even said, “We raise olive trees as if we raise our children’’. For these farmers, olive tree farming is an inter-generational connection to the land and community, something that roots them to the land and declares that they belong there.’ Cherise travelled to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to meet Christian Aid partners and the communities they serve. The group’s visit formed part of our Uhambo programme, which supports a new generation of church leaders to build their understanding of the role churches in the UK and Ireland can play in fighting poverty. Cherise heard how the olive farmers who live near illegal
Israeli settlements face routine harassment, ranging from the uprooting of individual trees to bulldozers destroying an entire crop. But she also discovered how the Olive Tree Campaign: Keep Hope Alive has been helping to protect farmers here for over 20 years. Run by the Joint Advocacy Initiative, made up of the local YMCA and YWCA, the campaign enables organisations, individuals and churches in the UK and beyond to sponsor olive trees as an act of solidarity. All three organisations are Christian Aid partners. ‘When The Olive Tree Campaign plants the trees, a plaque is displayed, letting the Israeli settlers know that people from all over the world are invested and rooting for this farmer, their field, and their family,’ Cherise explains. This year, Christian Aid has sponsored over 1,700 saplings,
including trees planted on behalf of MPs and church leaders. We will do the same again next year, standing shoulder to shoulder with farmers such as Sheikhah Ahmad Rashaydeh. Her land is under threat of confiscation, but the campaign has enabled her to plant 50 new saplings. ‘As an old lady, I am happy to see the trees growing and standing,’ says Sheikhah, ‘God bless you.’
Olive trees, a worldwide symbol of peace, are now among the gifts available at caid.org.uk/gifts
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Christmas appeal 2023
Time to shine
This Christmas, help young women light up their communities.
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n one of the most disaster-prone areas of Bangladesh, an extraordinary group of gifted artisans and entrepreneurs are embracing new technology to revive ancient artforms and share their talents with the world. Life is challenging in Kurigram, Northern Bangladesh. The climate crisis is hitting people hard, wreaking havoc on traditional farming livelihoods. For women, opportunities are even more limited. Girls are often married young, and there’s little scope for study or paid work. This was until Kakoli Khatun and a community of talented women came together to forge their own paths, setting up a business to sell their beautiful craftwork online.
The Christmas period encourages craft and creativity. Family traditions are honoured, such as the making of thoughtful handmade gifts, colourful tree decorations, and festive recipes. In Bangladesh, Kakoli and her colleagues are busy honouring another tradition, the ancient Bengali art of nakshi kantha – quilt embroidery. ‘It’s a very beautiful art form, from an old era, but it’s getting lost,’ explains Kakoli. ‘So I was eager to do something. If I can make it, we will earn money and the art form will spread.’ Kakoli launched her nakshi kantha business last year, with a team of nine women she selected to join her. Christian Aid’s partner, Aid Comilla, provided start-up support and training,
Kakoli Khatun (second from left) and her group embroidering nakshi kantha in Kurigram, Bangladesh.
including in digital literacy and e-commerce. Now Kakoli’s running a successful online business from home and has big ambitions. ‘I wish to support my family through this business; that’s my dream,’ she says. ‘I didn’t have any dreams a few years ago. I had no money to do anything.’ Anwar Dinar, Christian Aid’s Economic Justice Officer, explains how digital entrepreneurship can be transformative for women here, enabling them to use their skills to earn: ‘Women do not have the scope to work outside. So it is a big opportunity for them to work from home, using the internet. Using this platform, they can change their lives.’ When women earn an independent income, they can transform their prospects, opening
up new opportunities and choices that could take their whole family out of poverty. But the benefits don’t stop there. Kakoli and her colleagues are working alongside Aid Comilla to drive long-term change, shining as beacons of hope and inspiring generations to come. So far, Christian Aid’s support has enabled Aid Comilla to train more than 5,800 women like Kakoli in gender rights and e-commerce, and offer them small start-up grants. Young women like Kakoli, and thousands more, have talents that can light up the world. Please support our Christmas appeal at caid.org.uk/Christmas so they can shine even brighter.
Keep the promise t o make polluters pay
Climate activist Vanessa Nakate (second from left) on Parliament Square with campaigners.
Help us push for the upcoming global climate summit to progress the promises agreed last year.
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t’s not long now until the COP28 climate summit takes place in the United Arab Emirates, and we’re looking forward to building on the breakthrough that was made at last year’s talks in Egypt. That meeting, COP27, saw all countries agreeing to set up a Loss and Damage fund to compensate people living with the most extreme effects of the climate crisis. However, the fund has not yet been created, and money is not flowing in from rich, polluting nations in the global north, like the UK, to the people who need it most. This year, we want to see the rules for the fund agreed so that it can get up and running quickly, and for countries to contribute their fair share of the pot. We’re also pushing for countries to finally agree to start phasing out all fossil fuels. Despite the clear warnings from scientists and ever more devastating climate change impacts, countries
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have so far refused to commit to phasing out the dirty energy which is causing the crisis. It would be fitting if the urgently needed transition to clean, affordable, renewables began in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s major oil producers. We’d love your support to help make polluters, like the oil and gas industry, pay for the loss and damage their activities are causing. We have lots of resources to help you join with other Christian Aid supporters to engage your church and your political representatives. Together, we can ensure that polluters pay, and that life-saving loss and damage funding reaches the people who need it most. Visit caid.org.uk/riseuppayup for more information and to get our latest campaign resources.
Climate justice
Fatuma Said Kassim from the village of Qoloba, Marsabit county, with her grandchildren outside her home.
Hungry for justice Driven by interconnecting issues such as conflict and the climate crisis, hunger is on the rise.
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n places like East Africa, the worsening climate crisis, combined with the spike in global food prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is undermining efforts to alleviate hunger. In northern Kenya, farmers like Fatuma Said Kassim have seen the vegetable gardens they rely on to feed their families shrivel and shrink. ‘We can’t water our vegetables because there is not enough water,’ Fatuma explains. ‘The weather has changed over the last 10 years. Now we have prolonged drought, there have been no rains for the last four or five seasons, and we are losing a lot of animals.’ Christian Aid’s partner, Community Initiative Facilitation and Assistance (CIFA), has been supporting vulnerable communities across
Northern Kenya and in Ethiopia who are suffering the worst drought in 40 years. Millions of people are taking desperate measures to survive in the face of failed harvests, livestock deaths, water shortages and increasing insecurity. Salad Arero, the Chief Executive of CIFA, highlights the need to support communities in crisis to build resilience in their own way: ‘It is important we support communities to build resilience and capacity to cope in the face of continuous shocks, be they climate, conflict or economic. We know that using approaches that enable communities to create their own solutions will best support those most vulnerable to hunger. That’s what we need global leaders to understand.’
‘ It is important that we support communities to build resilience and capacity to cope.’ Salad Arero, Chief Executive, CIFA
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Supporter news
n o t h g i Spotl s r e t r o p sup We’d be nothing without you! Every prayer, every gift and every action makes a difference to people living in poverty. Here’s a snapshot of what you’ve been up to this year.
Get creative £11,000
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Surrey
Woking United Reformed Church raised more than £11,000 with a Christian Aid Week Bible readathon, with more than 100 readers taking part in the 82-hour event. Rev Lucy Brierley explained: ‘We have supported Christian Aid for many years, but this was our biggest effort yet, and it was extraordinary.’
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£800
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Mid Glamorgan
Twenty walkers from Churches Together in Porthcawl hit the road for a Holy Hike, or Pererindod Porthcawl, for people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, raising more than £800. Organiser David Robinson said: ‘I’ve always found walking to be one of the best ways to get to know others and to share perspectives on faith.’
£2,700
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Ayrshire and Sheffield
Our amazing supporters Yvonne Holland from Ayrshire, and Peter Lowe from Sheffield, have both travelled the length of Britain for Christian Aid. Peter raised more than £1,200 by cycling from Land’s End to John o’Groats, while Yvonne (pictured) made the same journey on foot, in the opposite direction, raising more than £1,500.
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Pembrokeshire
Pupils at Broad Haven Community Primary School showcased their artistic talents to highlight climate justice as part of our Get Creative for Climate Justice project.
Christian Aid Week: thank you!
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We’d like to say an enormous thank you to all our incredible supporters and volunteers who came together in May to stand with farmers in Malawi and beyond. So far, inspired by the small but mighty pigeon pea, you’ve raised an extraordinary
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£4.42m!
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Gold award £600
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Cornwall
Sue and Barry Pettit and Jenny Kwee, from Truro, raised more than £600 at their Christian Aid Week coffee morning, with stalls selling cakes, preserves, crafts and plants.
Kiltwalks
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Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow
It was brilliant to see so many Kiltwalk heroes taking part in these annual tartan-themed fundraising walks. Pictured here are the Alloway Strollers from Alloway Parish Church, who raised nearly £5,000. Fancy taking part next year? You can sign up at thekiltwalk.co.uk
£4,000
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Hampshire and East Riding
Congratulations to St Luke’s Primary School in Sway and St Mary’s Primary School in Beverley, who have both achieved our Global Neighbours gold award, recognising their fantastic efforts to become great global citizens.
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Cheshire
The Swim in Crewe has been an energetic annual event for more than 50 years. This year, those who took the plunge raised more than £4,000.
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The Spirituals
Feel the music:
join The Spirituals on tour Award-winning choir The Spirituals have announced their first live tour, in partnership with Christian Aid. We’re joining forces in a bid to inspire audiences to take action against poverty and injustice. The Spirituals, formed in 2020, won Choir of the Year at the Premier Gospel Awards in June.
This autumn, these sensational singers have taken to the road. They’ve already appeared in Luton, London and Cambridge, but upcoming dates include performances at LIFE Church, Bradford (29 October) and KOKO, London (12 November).
For more dates, venue and ticket information, or to host The Spirituals at your church or venue, email: bookings@rhlondon.org
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Last word
Iryna Dobrohorska, Christian Aid’s Ukraine Response Director, talks about the sense of solidarity and support that unites people across Ukraine.
‘ There’s a very clear sense that we are not alone.’ What’s your favourite place in the world? Kyiv. I’m not native to the city, but I moved there when I was 22. It was a transformative place and a very dynamic time. When the full-scale invasion started, the city was almost encircled and I evacuated, initially to Lviv in western Ukraine. It was very painful to leave. That’s when I realised that even though it’s not my hometown, it is perhaps the dearest city to me. It’s a very big symbol of hope.
Like many Ukrainians, you’re separated from your family at the moment. How do you stay connected? We keep in touch through digital tools. We text each other daily. Whenever there are attacks I check in on them. There have been attacks on my hometown over the last couple of months so I’ve been worried about them. The internet is still ok but there’s always a sense of worry and a responsibility to have a backup plan in case they need to evacuate. So far they’re safe.
How does your faith sustain you in tough times? Faith is even more important for people in times of war. You ask why people go through so much suffering and you see the very worst, but at the same time you see the best of people, the light of people helping, of all the volunteers. You feel this interconnected effort. In the worst darkness you see the brightest light.
Tell us more about this interconnected effort The sense of solidarity and support is omnipresent in Ukraine, whether you live close to the frontline or in slightly safer locations. Because even in safer areas, there are lots of people volunteering. You witness piles of clothes and warehouses full of food coming from
people who don’t have a lot themselves. They just want to help those who are suffering more than themselves, especially all the displaced people. On a human level, the support is very much sensed, even when it comes from far away. People feel it. There’s a very clear sense that we are not alone.
Who or what inspires you? My friends and the people of Ukraine who are demonstrating incredible resilience in these most challenging times, withstanding both the security risks and the economic pressures. There is such morale among my friends, even though many of them have had to change their lives completely.
Blankets delivered to areas affected by flooding by Christian Aid partner Blythswood Care/Heritage Ukraine.
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