Do Not Tiptoe 1

DO NOT TIPTOE

ISSUE 1 • CHRISTIANAIDCOLLECTIVE.ORG

SHOUT OUT AGAINST INJUSTICE RUN TOWARDS A BETTER WORLD BE LOVE IN ACTION ISSUE 1 Do not tiptoe b

‘All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip or dance, just don’t tiptoe.’

Shane Claiborne We are a movement of young people and students who believe the world doesn’t have to be the way it is.

We’re not content to tiptoe through life. We want to shout out against injustice and challenge the systems that keep people poor. We want to run towards a new world. A better world. To be love in action.

Together we can be the generation that ends poverty.

Together we are Collective.

GUEST CONTRIBUTORS

Lakwena Maciver is a graphic artist. She paints, designs and blogs. You can find out more at lakwena.com

Miriam Kendrick is a talented comic artist who documents her daily musings. miriamkendrick.co.uk

Matthew Creber works for SPEAK, one of our partner organisations. speak.org.uk

Sofya Shahab is a Collective intern, working on our website.

UK registered charity no.1105851 Company no. 5171525 Scotland charity no. SC039150 NI charity no. XR94639 Company no. NI059154 ROI charity no. CHY 6998 Company no.

426928 The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. Christian Aid Collective is a mark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid June 2012 13-375-J231 Do Not Tiptoe is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper Front cover © Ben Grubb Photography 2012 Editor: Pippa Durn, Design and sub-editing: Christian Aid Communications team Photo editor: Matt Gonzalez-Noda Contact us at: Tel 020 7620 2209 • Email: collective@christian-aid.org • Online at: christianaidcollective.org Twitter: @TheCACollective • Facebook: facebook.com/ChristianAidCollective For regional offices contact information go to christianaidcollective.org/office-contact-information Do Not Tiptoe will be available every six months. To find out when the next issue is available, sign up to our newsletter list at christianaidcollective.org

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CONTENTS 4

Why we do what we do

6

Words of wisdom

7

Do not tiptoe around

8

Your take on poverty

10 What is poverty?

12 Collective meets Ruth Valerio 16 Global superstars 19 It figures 20 Explore poverty 30 Take action 31 How to lobby 32 Challenge Daisy 36 Diary of an intern 38 Ten minutes with Team MoCat 40 Creating change 42 Pray for change 43 Hungry for justice 44 Film talk 45 Ethical shopping 46 Charity shop challenge

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* WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

Why bother?

Christian Aid Collective’s Chris Mead tells us why he’s bothered.

This world we live in – the one we see out of our bedroom windows or on our TV screens – isn’t the world as it was meant to be. Our global society is a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy, carbonsmudged and toner-burned, bearing little or no resemblance to the original template.

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W

e inhabit a planet torn apart by unequal distribution of power and wealth. A planet stuck back together with red tape, afflicted by self-serving nestfeathering passed off as policy. We’ve stumbled through the looking glass and into the hinterlands of the mirror-world beyond.

The crazy thing is we’ve begun to accept this off-kilter existence as the norm. We’ve started to believe that’s just the way the world works.

Now, I can trot out the global poverty statistics as blithely as the next person...

Nearly half the world’s population lives on less than US$2 a day. 1.2 billion people live in abject poverty. 50,000 people die from poverty-related causes every day. Every three seconds a child dies from a treatable disease. But what do these statistics say about our society – so anaesthetised to the realities that we hear these horrific statistics and do not feel the slightest prick of shame or responsibility? Let’s really consider one of those sentences for a moment: ‘Every three seconds a child dies from a treatable illness’. That’s 20 children every minute of every hour of every day, with absolutely no end to this scandal in sight. Or is there?

People are dying and that should be enough for us to act.

a direct result of the way we choose to live our lives in developed countries. Deaths not by tsunami or fire or through war – but because the world’s resources have been hoarded and squandered by a tiny percentage of the world’s population. By us.

And this is where my faith cuts into me like a knife or perhaps, more appropriately, a spur. I believe in a creator God with a plan for this world. I believe God has charged us, every one of us, with the stewardship and protection of the world, and I believe the best way to live our faith through action is to scream ourselves ragged in opposition to the apathy we face.

Christian Aid Collective believes we need to engage with these issues now; prayerfully, openly, dynamically – as Christians and human beings. Because it’s an abomination that people should live in poverty in a world God created with enough resources to provide for all.

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. Join us.

Chris Mead

Because they’re not dying by accident or because they’re unlucky. Their deaths are

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* WORDS OF WISDOM

George Eliot Got some words of wisdom you’d like to share?

Send them to us at collective@christian-aid.org

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Do not tiptoe around

Injustice W

e want to be a generation that gets on our feet and takes action on injustice.

A generation that walks with eyes wide open through life. A generation that questions what is in front of us and then digs deeper.

Poverty isn’t simple, it’s a complex and controversial problem. But that shouldn’t stop us asking questions. We’re connected to people across the world through the things we buy, the food we eat, the actions we take. It’s easy to ignore it, to carry on with our day-to-day lives and not ask questions about how we’re living. But let’s engage in the world around us; where do the clothes we wear come from? Who is paying the price for us living peacefully?

What impact are the things we eat and buy having on the environment? How are some big multinationals getting away with avoiding paying tax in developing countries?

don’t act for those in need. Being prophetic isn’t about predicting the future, sitting back and letting it happen. It’s about shaping the present in order to inherit the future we want.

In each issue of Do Not Tiptoe we’re going to explore the things that we’ve been tiptoeing around, to ask questions that no one else is asking. Let’s take another look at the world around us and shout out against injustice.

Hannah Henderson Hannah organises events for Christian Aid Collective

We want to be a prophetic generation: A movement of modern-day prophets who can see through the systems and structures around us and recognise that God has a different plan for the world.

A world where the marginalised have a voice and the poor have equality.

Throughout the Bible we see the prophets warning against injustice, speaking out against oppressors and upholding the poor. They are passionate about justice, spreading the message that our religious rituals are pointless if we

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* YOUR TAKE ON...

‘Poverty is not only about not having opportunities, but also about being prevented from seeing the opportunities that are there.’

Amber, 19, Cardiff

‘Poverty is like an illness; you can tell it’s unpleasant for those suffering under its power, but can never fully comprehend just how horrible it is until you’ve had it. And, like illness, it can’t be cured with pity or any other kind of inaction.’

Christian Aid/Rachel Baird

Graham, 23, Coleraine

‘What is poverty?

Poverty is a lack of love. If we could all love like Jesus, there would be no poverty.’

Ellen, 17, Berkhamsted

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POVERTY

‘Poverty is the injustice within a capitalist community.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’

Melle, 21, Reading

‘Poverty is when an able-bodied person cannot provide for themselves financially in today’s society.’

Tyler, 23, Cardiff

‘Poverty is the lack of basic human rights.’

Lauren, 19, Cheltenham

‘I think poverty is the lack of access to the basic needs and resources for survival.’

Lyanna, 25, London

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* WHAT IS POVERTY?

What does ‘poverty’ mean?

Poverty isn’t just about not having enough money, it’s about not having the opportunity to control the essential things in your own life and the life of your community.

We believe that at the heart of poverty is lack of power: the power, for example, to have your say and be heard or to know your rights and demand them; the power to have access to essential services or to share fairly in the world’s resources; the power to live in the security not only of surviving, but also of thriving.

We are part of the problem We can be part of the solution

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INTERVIEW WITH RUTH VALERIO MEETS... * COLLECTIVE

Pete Langdon

Ruth Valerio 12 Do not tiptoe ISSUE 1

Community activist, eco-warrior, author, academic, practitioner, veg grower and pig keeper rolled into one. Ruth Valerio is the author of L is for Lifestyle, a practical guide for caring about the world and its people.

Inspired by reading her book, we wanted to find out what makes Ruth tick.

Why should Christians care about social justice?

Social justice is a fundamental part of Christianity, not an optional extra. Justice is like a thread that runs through the Bible. It’s not just a case of taking a few verses and lifting them out. It’s a massive part of what it means to be a Christian.

How can the Church play a role in social justice?

Showing itself to be a community that’s different, where people love each other, look out for each other. Living in a way that demonstrates something different. Secondly, it’s about taking love outside of church, getting your hands dirty, looking for the needs in society and doing things like campaigning.

How does campaigning fit into Christianity?

Campaigning is a very biblical thing. We’re told to speak out for those who can’t speak out for themselves. Get involved in the things Christian Aid and others are doing.

Use your voice.

The first chapter in your book is called ‘A is for Activist’.

What does being an activist mean to you?

Being an activist means following God – and God is the primary activist, he’s our model of activism.

Jesus was an activist, he came down and lived among us and did something about the problems he saw. Activism is simply about acting – about doing something.

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* COLLECTIVE MEETS...

‘We need constantly to have our hearts broken for the people of the earth, so that we will act’ What inspired you to change your lifestyle?

It was a gradual change. I grew up a Christian, but justice wasn’t a natural part of my faith. So I can’t explain it in any other way than that I needed my heart broken for the people of the earth. That needs to happen regularly, because it’s so easy to get on with life and harden up.

We need constantly to have our hearts broken for the people of the earth, so that we will act.

Where did you start?

I realised that giving money to charity is really important, campaigning is really important, but actually I have to make changes in my life if I’m really going to take this seriously.

I started with the food I was eating – it was so damaging to the world. If we shop in the supermarkets we actually have very little choice about where it’s come from, how it’s grown. I wanted to take some of that power back and began growing my own food.

What does it look like when that happens?

We wanted to express God’s heart for justice. So we moved from where we were living to the most deprived area near us, and we’ve lived there for the last 17 years.

We wanted to identify with people who were poorer than us, live our lives with them and show God’s heart. We’re involved in lots of community regeneration projects.

Tell us about your community allotments and your pig cooperative?

I share an allotment with some friends, because none of us has time to do it on our own. We do it together, have a good time and share the food we grow. The pigs came next. We found a residential centre that has spare land, and the residents join us in feeding the pigs and then eating them. We need to learn how to do these things again.

What is so important about doing things in community?

Community reflects who God is. We weren’t created to be isolated individuals. Society teaches us that we create our own identities. But that’s a lie!

We are who we are because of the people around us.

And doing things with other people is the best way to live.

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Do they taste better than shop bought?

Infinitely! I’ve forgotten what regular meat tastes like.

Do you think young people can make a difference?

Young people live in the world as much as adults. And it might be that the home is run by parents or guardians, but take back a bit of control! You can encourage them to change electricity providers. You can buy

What did you see change?

Well, supermarkets used only to sell small jars of fairtrade coffee, but I knew bigger ones were available. I contacted Sainsburys asking them to stock them. I kept asking and they kept saying no. But eventually I had an email back saying, ‘OK, next week I’m meeting the head of Café Direct, so I’ll ask them about it.’ A couple of weeks later, there they were: big jars of fairtrade coffee.

I’d like to think it’s because I took the trouble to ask.

fairtrade. You can cycle. It’s about getting a big of anger and saying, ‘I don’t want my life dictated for me, I want control over the decisions I make.’

How do you start to take control back?

Ask questions about what you buy. Where did this come from? Who made it? In what conditions? It’s one of the biggest things you can do.

You also write a lot of letters to shops and politicians, but do you think people really read them?

We’re not used to writing letters because we’re used to living on email. But it makes a huge difference. I used to write letters to MPs and supermarkets once a month, and I know it changed things.

What are the challenges of living differently?

The biggest struggle is with myself. I’m a child of my culture, I want things to be easy and convenient and cheap, and I don’t want to have to think about it. To live differently takes effort and commitment. You have to do something for a certain amount of time before it becomes a habit. It starts as a discipline but eventually it becomes a pleasure.

It’s about asking, what is the right way to live? What does God ask of us and how can we live in line with that?

Can you give us one simple step to begin a life of sustainability and simplicity?

One thing I’d suggest would be looking at the amount of meat we eat. The meat industry is one of the biggest contributors to the problems in our world. Ideally we should only be eating meat two or three times a week. That’s something that anyone can do.

Go back home and suggest that one day a week you have a meat-free day. And you can buy my book!

livinglightly.org.uk

Visit Ruth’s website arocha

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* GLOBAL SUPERSTARS

Eggs, salty water and school

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Christian Aid/Genevieve Lomax

I

t’s 6.45am. Your alarm goes off. You hit snooze. Sometimes it takes so much effort to get up in the morning, doesn’t it? Occasionally, a helping of daytime telly from the warmth of a duvet cocoon is so much more appealing than another day in front of a whiteboard or studying in the library. Yet for a significant number of the world’s population, getting an education means going to extraordinary lengths, being entrepreneurial and, quite often, some back-breaking work.

Tumpa Biswas is 14 and lives in Mitradanga village in the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh.

It is an area that sees first-hand the effects of climate change.

The ground is waterlogged and becoming increasingly salty.

Tumpa spends her free time playing ‘Karem’ (a game a bit like snooker without the cues) and she helps her mum around the house.

At school, Tumpa really enjoys English.

She wants to become a school teacher.

Tumpa’s parents rear ducks in a very innovative way, and sell the eggs.

Previously, the family’s ducks were constantly becoming ill and dying because of the salty water. Christian Aid partner organisation Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) has helped Tumpa’s family find and pay for Campbell ducks, which are more resistant to the salty water, and they are growing well.

Tumpa’s father, Roban, says that the new ducks have changed his family’s life.

Now, Tumpa and her siblings can go to school, buy exercise books and pay for their transport to school.

CCDB has also helped other families in the area fight the effects of water-logging, by teaching them how to make and maintain floating gardens.

To ensure the crops in the floating gardens don’t die, CCDB has helped source seeds that are more resilient to salty water. During the rainy season, much of the ground is covered in water. The floating gardens and new seeds mean people can continue growing food to eat and sell at market throughout the year.

Eggs, salty water and school might seem unrelated, but they are helping Tumpa to realise her dream.

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* IT FIGURES 176 GALLONS

50%

We are currently using 50% more natural resources than the earth can sustain.

Christian Aid, 2012

98%

Developing countries account for 98% of the world's hungry.

The average American uses 176 gallons of water per day compared to 5 gallons of water used by the average African family each day.

Christian Aid, 2012

US$160bn

US$160bn is the amount Christian Aid estimates poor countries lose each year through some unscrupulous companies dodging tax.

Christian Aid, 2012

FAO statistical yearbook, 2012

POVERTY THE STATS

10%

For every year of a girl's education, the likelihood of her prospective child dying before the age of five is reduced by 10%.

FAO statistical yearbook, 2012

3.6 million

Households in England and Wales throw away 3.6 million tonnes of food each year.

Christian Aid, 2012

20%

The wealthiest 20% of the world's population accounts for 80% of the consumption of global resources.

Christian Aid, 2012

US$860

Globally, the amount spent annually per person on health. In low income countries, an average of :H]L just US$32 is spent annually, per capita.

FAO statistical yearbook, 2012.

40 YEARS Governments must invest 3% of world Gross Domestic Product – about £1.2 trillion in 2010 – annually for 40 years to stop climate change and famine.

Christian Aid, 2012

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* EXPLORE POVERTY

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TAX A

round the world today, there are some unscrupulous companies who are not paying the taxes they owe. Using some pretty clever accountancy loopholes, and by exploiting financial secrecy, they are dodging paying an estimated US$160bn each year in poor countries.

The income from taxes that they are dodging should be available for governments to invest in essential services like schools and hospitals, which their citizens desperately need to help lift themselves out of poverty. But how do companies manage to dodge so much tax?

You might imagine that when growing and selling a banana, the finances behind it would stay in the country where it is produced and the place it is sold. However, some unscrupulous companies are shifting the profits they make out of the country of sale and production, and into tax havens.

They do this by artificially creating costs.

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This might include ‘purchasing’ costs, ‘financial services’, ‘management’, and so forth. They are able to do this thanks to the low taxes and the secrecy that tax havens provide.

Put simply, some companies create costs to hide the profits they make and to reduce the taxes they pay.

So what’s the solution? We believe that the answer is greater transparency of companies’ finances and an end to the secrecy that surrounds tax havens. When we know there is a solution, can we really stand by and look on and say nothing? The Bible is clear that we should stand up for the poor and needy where we can. This is something we can do: support Christian Aid’s call for transparency and join the movement for Tax Justice.

* EXPLORE POVERTY

CLIMATE CHANGE Y

Christian Aid/Tom Pilston

ear after year, world leaders fail to make adequate binding commitments to reduce their carbon emissions. Meanwhile, funds to help poor countries adapt to climate change and develop in a low carbon way remain pitifully limited.

We can’t afford to be depressed by climate change. Action is the only option.

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EDUCATION I

n 2000, world leaders got together and made some promises to make the world a better place. These promises are known as the Millennium Development Goals, and one of them was about getting every child in the world through primary school by 2015.

We’re 69 million children behind schedule.

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Mahmoud Preeka, Culture and Free Thought Association, Gaza Strip

* EXPLORE POVERTY

* EXPLORE POVERTY

HEALTH MATTERS Y

ou’re a 16-year-old orphan, born with HIV. Your alcoholic aunt, also HIV-positive, won’t pay your school fees, so you have no education. The side-effects of HIV treatment leave you feeling dizzy and nauseous, so you stop taking them. What hope do you have?

You’re unemployed, living with HIV, and have four children to feed. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t get a job. You’re getting desperate. The government pays a disability grant if you can’t work.

Christian Aid/Nell Freeman

You stop taking your HIV treatment so that you get too sick to work. How long will you survive?

Where in the world is this happening?

Rural Kenya? Troubled Zimbabwe?

Impoverished Sierra Leone? This could be happening in all these places. But they’re people I met in Cape Town, South Africa. A city, and country, of luxury and wealth but also desperate poverty – where, for the millions living in the townships, life is mostly about survival. Since the world came to learn about HIV over 30 years ago, 25 million people

have died. Massive progress has been made that should keep alive the 33.7 million now thought to be living with HIV around the world and prevent millions of others from becoming infected. But poverty, even in wealthy countries like South Africa, leads to people taking desperate measures that may affect not only themselves and their health, but also that of the people they care most about.

Christian Aid works with partner organisations around the world to support people living with HIV or at risk of other lifethreatening diseases such as malaria and TB. It educates communities about how to protect and care for themselves – literally saving lives. Like that of Ruth in Cape Town, whose life all but ended when her husband died because of HIV. Ruth, also HIV-positive, found hope and life through a Christian Aid-funded organisation that taught her new skills to provide income for her family.

Enough, not only to feed them and pay for their education, but also allowing her to show off the new fridge freezer in her small wooden shack.

Aled Pickard, Collective, Wales ISSUE 1 Do not tiptoe 23

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* EXPLORE POVERTY

PEACE-BUILDING A

ddressing conflict isn’t just about focusing on the absence of violence, it’s about building peace. By creating greater security for those that are vulnerable, and taking action to reduce genderbased violence, we can support people in poverty to gain equality.

We believe in standing side by side with those calling for peace and speaking out for justice.

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Christian Aid/Paul Hackett

We want to join our voice with theirs to bring about peace.

Hot? Thirsty?

Try new RIVER WATER* Fresh from your local stream

*May contain arsenic, bacteria, pollution from nearby industry and animal dung

One in eight people in the world have no access to clean drinking water ISSUE 1 Do not tiptoe 27

* EXPLORE POVERTY ome things are easier said than done, and preparing for natural disasters is certainly one of them. The fact is, preparation costs money, takes a lot of longterm planning and requires ongoing political commitment.

In the West, in general we trust our leaders to take the necessary measures to prepare for natural disasters.

We count on them to build flood protections and coastal defence, and to raise the alert should disaster approach.

Sometimes they fail – consider the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans – but in countries where resources are limited, governments in even the most disaster-prone parts of the world have

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proved slow to plan and slower still to act.

When disaster strikes, communities are often left to cope alone. Yet we have found that, if they are aware, if they are prepared, and if they know the risks, lives can be saved.

Through our partners around the world, we’re helping communities take precautions. And while preparation comes at a price, it isn’t nearly as costly as doing nothing.

At Christian Aid, we are committed to taking these simple steps to prevent the worst impact of sudden disasters, such as cyclones or earthquakes. But we also tackle the disasters out of the headlines, such as drought, which can cost equal numbers of lives.

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

S

* EXPLORE POVERTY

GENDER Complete this sentence: ‘Women belong in the...’

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

W

here does your brain take you? We might hope that in the 21st century we’ve overcome the belief that men and women have very different roles and there’s no option but to stick to them.

But why is this still an issue in the fight against poverty?

Poverty is all about power – who has it and who doesn’t. People in poverty lack the social and economic power to change their situation. They are often marginalised, their voices not heard by society.

This marginalisation might stem from someone’s age, education, disability or HIV status. But one of the most common forms of discrimination is against women.

In developing countries, this often brings repression, abuse and increased poverty.

It’s a fact; you’re more likely to be poor if you’re a woman.

And did you know, women perform twothirds of the world’s work and produce half of the world’s food? Yet they earn only 10 per cent of the world’s income? In fact, 99 per cent of the world’s property is owned by men.

If you want to explore the issue of gender further, why not try one of our Sofa Sessions. Ten discussion guides, for small groups, will get you debating and reflecting on issues like gender, conflict, tax and education.

They’re perfect for cell groups, Christian Unions and youth groups. So let conversation flow, embrace diversity and celebrate opinion. And when you’re done with that, it’s time to get off the sofa and start taking action!

christianaidcollective.org/ sofasessions

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* TAKE ACTION

Get involved So, you’ve read this mag and now you want to do something that will really make a difference?

Got a minute?

Got a e? minut

Got an? hour

Small actions are like snowballs. They tumble down the mountain and pretty soon turn into a full-blown avalanche, metaphorically speaking of course. We’ve got things you can do now, in the time it would take to make a cup of tea.

Got an hour?

What can you do in an hour or two? Oh that’s right, change the world! We can tell you how.

ID CO L

Got longer?

Got longer?

Become a part of our movement to eradicate poverty. Whether you plan to start a learning group with friends, host an event or fundraiser, or sign up to take part in our internship, we want you to join us.

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* TAKE ACTION How to...

LOBBY A POLITICIAN TO DEAL WITH THE CAUSES OF POVERTY, CHANGE NEEDS TO COME FROM THOSE WITH POWER. IT’S UP TO US TO MAKE POLITICIANS BRING THE CHANGES WE WANT TO SEE.

Talking to your local politician isn’t as scary as it sounds. Here are six easy steps:

1. SIGN UP TO BE A COLLECTIVE LOBBYIST

6. FOLLOW UP

Sign up and we’ll send you briefing sheets four times a year, with key facts and questions. Visit christianaidcollective.org/lobby for more info.

Write to your politician and say thank you. It’s a great opportunity to ask if they’ve done what they said.

2. FIND OUT WHO YOUR LOCAL POLITICIANS ARE

5. DOCUMENT THE MEETING

If you live in the UK, go to theyworkforyou.com. If you live in Ireland go to oireachtas.ie and click on TDs and Senators.

Take notes so you can follow up what was said.

It doesn’t matter if you didn’t vote for them, you can still talk to them!

3. PLAN IT Get it in the diary. Politicians are busy people, but they work for you and so they always want to hear from their constituents.

Just give their office a call to see when they hold an open surgery. Many politicians have their own websites where you can find this information – just stick their name in a search engine.

Do tell us about it! Sometimes it can feel like you’re the only one doing anything. If you send an email to collective@christianaid.org and let us know how it went, then we’ll share it with the rest of Christian Aid Collective. It’s as easy as that. Get lobbying!

For further How to… guides, go to christianaidcollective.org/howto

If your politician promises to do something, make sure you hold them to account.

Get some good snaps of your meeting for the local papers to use.

4. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY Choose an aspect of Poverty that you’re interested in – your politicians want to hear about your opinions and experiences. Go in with a clear ask.

This could be to sign a petition or raise an issue in parliament.

• Prepare what you’re going to say before you go.

• Keep it short and to the point.

• Know your facts – you can use our website to explore the key poverty issues.

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* GUEST ARTIST

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* GUEST ARTIST

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All photos by Christian

Aid Collective

* DIARY OF AN INTERN

E

ach year, Christian Aid runs a ten-month internship to engage and equip young people to be radical agitators of change. So fya Shahab describes her experien ce.

Along with 14 others fro m all parts of Britain and Ireland, each with a passion for justice and heart for the poor, I was to spend every day using my talents, skills and interests to figh t for equality in a world of individuality.

Two weeks of those ten months wo uld be spent overseas, visiting some of Christian Aid’s projects.

One Friday in June, I rec eived an email telling me that in just ove r two months I’d be on my way to West Africa. I counted the days:

Minus 5 days

Malaria prophylaxis... tha t sounds like a good idea.

Minus 1 day

Aargh! There’s not enough room in my rucksack! Which book to lose…

Day 1 And so it begins: the firs t of many hairy and hazardous jou rneys. Hmmm, maybe it was a little am bitious to think we could get to He athrow in half an hour. But hey, we ma de it – and with a whole two minute s before check-in closed!

My favourite moment wh en arriving in a new country is the wa ll of humid heat that hits you as you step through the door of the plane. Sie rra Leone does not disappoint.

‘I was to spend every day using my talents, skills and interests to fight for equality’ Day 2 Sick bags are distribute d as we take on Sierra Leone’s road netwo rk – what can only be described as a ver y long, very slow, rollercoaster.

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‘Looking back, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I knew one thing, that it’d be great’ Day 3 The people of Gbap (prono unced Bap) invite us into their homes as they tell stories of inspiration and resilience.

We are touched by their openness and honesty. We spend the night dancing under the stars with the village children.

Day 5 Hearing the songs of the fishermen in Mo-Albert, and witnessin g the hope of the community since the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL) – a Christian Aid partner org anisation – has been working there, has filled us with a passion to bring their sto ry back home.

Oh, and as we walk throug h the grass to get to the guesthouse, we’re warned it’s best to make a lot of noise to scare the snakes away.

Day 10 We travel to Buedo in the borderlands of Sierra Leone, where we look upon the hills that mark the sta rt of Liberia, and meet the families tha t are setting an example to the commu nity by upholding equality in the household.

Day 13 Meeting those who are living positively with HIV shows how dam aging and inaccurate the stigma sur rounding it can be, and how MCSL are tackling that through treatment and edu cation.

Interns get their haggle on in Freetown’s craft market!

Day 15 It’s impossible to proces s all we have seen, done and heard as we grapple with the idea that in a few hours we will be leaving behind the se incredible people and this incredible country.

Read the full diary at christianaidcollective.o rg

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* TEN MINUTES WITH...

Team MoCat

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So, Team MoCat. Er… who?

MoCat is derived from two names – Mo[ses] and Cat[herine]. We are both part of the Collective internship scheme. Cat is based in Loughborough and I am based in Cardiff.

And you’re a team because…?

We took on the challenge of travelling between Edinburgh, Cardiff and London by bike and on foot. Cat cycled, carrying our essentials, such as clothes and extra food, on bike panniers. I ran, carrying my fuel for the day. This was mainly water and lots and lots of sugar tablets, salty stuff and sweets. The 661-mile route would prove to be the hardest challenge we’ve ever faced.

Ninety miles or so in (towards the end of the second day), my muscles seized up. It was actually quite funny because, in effect, I was stuck in one spot for what seemed like an eternity. In reality it was only 10 minutes.

Christian Aid/All photos by Matthew Gonzalez-Noda

The 661-mile route would prove to be the hardest challenge we’ve ever faced

We covered between 13 and 66 miles a day, for 16 days.

OK, I’ve got to ask – why did you do this?

We wanted to raise awareness of Christian Aid’s Climate Justice campaign and, in particular, encourage people to take the current campaign action. After a long day on the road, we sometimes went to talk to groups about this, and collected their banner petitions which were later presented to Downing Street. We were fundraising for a project working with indigenous people of the Mata Atlantica rainforest in Brazil. Over £3,000 has been raised so far.

Cat and I were deeply moved by a quote that said, ‘Forget about making poverty history, climate change will make poverty permanent.’ Although here in Britain and Ireland we’ve had snow, and maybe hotter summers, as a result of climatic changes,

it is widely believed that the downstream effects of climate change are going to continue to be one of the biggest factors keeping developing communities in abject poverty. Some of the communities that Christian Aid partners work with are being adversely affected by prolonged drought seasons or increased flooding. Cat and I believe our political leaders need to represent us, and all the people who signed our banner petition, on a world stage. We need to make sure that something is done to help those communities adapt.

For more details about the project visit • justgiving.com/teams/time4climatejustice • more.sizeofwales.org.uk and search MoCat

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* CREATING CHANGE Step 4

Step 1

Step 3

Step 2

The humble clothes peg You’ve probably used one this week.

They’re useful things, but a tool for ending poverty? Really? Here’s a clever little idea to turn the lowly clothes peg into a world-changing message.

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Step 6

Step 5

Step 7

Step 1. Find a peg.

Step 2. Cut out a piece of card roughly 5 x 8cm.

Step 3. Cut the card in half horizontally.

Then use both halves of the card and write on them the name and/or address of the person you want to send your worldchanging message to.

Step 4. Stick the top half of your address to the side of the top section of the peg and the bottom half to the side of the bottom section of the peg.

Step 5. Take a piece of paper (again, approximately 5 x 8cm) and write your message in the middle. Maybe this message will be a fact or statistic about poverty. Maybe it’ll be a message to the person in the next tent to you at a festival,

telling them to go and get a copy of Do Not Tiptoe. Maybe it’ll just be the Christian Aid Collective website address: christianaidcollective.org Step 6. Glue your message to the back of the bottom half of the peg, ensuring that it’s in the right place when the peg is open.

Step 7. Write ‘squeeze me’ on the peg and deliver your message of worldchanging wisdom.

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* PRAY FOR CHANGE WITH U O Y S S E L B D O MAY G ERS, W S N A Y S A E T A DISCOMFORT ND SUPERFICIAL HALF-TRUTHS A , SO THAT YOU WILL LIVE REL ATIONSHIPS UR HE ART. MAY GOD DEEP WITHIN YOH ANGER AT INJUSTICE, BLESS YOU WITND E XPLOITATION OF OPPRESSION AAT YOU WILL WORK FOR PEOPLE, SO TH LIT Y AND PE ACE. MAY JUSTICE, EQUA WITH TE ARS TO SHED GOD BLESS YOUO SUFFER FROM PAIN, FOR THOSE WH RVATION AND WAR, SO REJECTION, STARE ACH OUT YOUR HAND THAT YOU WILL EM AND CHANGE THEIR TO COMFORT THAND MAY GOD BLESS PAIN INTO JOY. OOLISHNESS TO THINK YOU WITH THE F AKE A DIFFERENCE IN THAT YOU CAN MTHAT YOU WILL DO THE THE WORLD, SOTHERS TELL YOU CANNOT THINGS THAT O BE DONE.

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* HUNGRY FOR JUSTICE THE MEAL: Hint of Asian Salmon Fillets with Baked Sweet Potato and Seasonal Veg (Serves two) Ingredients: sweet potatoes, two salmon fillets, honey, soy sauce, sesame seeds and seasonal veg.

• Heat your oven to 180–200ºC fan/gas mark 6.

• Prick the potatoes in several places and bake for 45 mins until soft.

• Mix together 2tbs honey and 2tbs soy sauce, then lovingly brush the mix over the salmon fillets.

• Pop in oven and cook for about 15-20 mins.

W

e’ve all heard it, that parental ultimatum, ‘If you don’t finish your vegetables you won’t get any dessert.’ Yet, in the UK, we still throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food each year.

The impact of this wastefulness is farreaching and contributes to the enormous 9.6 tonnes (on average) per person that we are responsible for every year in the UK and 11.5 tonnes per person in Ireland.

This compares with 0.3 tonnes of CO2 per person per year in Kenya.

Love Food Hate Waste reports, ‘If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the C02 impact will be the equivalent of taking one in five cars off the road.’

• 10 mins before the fish has finished cooking, sprinkle sesame seeds over the fillets and return to oven.

• Serve with steamed, seasonal veg.

THE LEFTOVERS: Sweet Potato Cakes Ingredients: leftover sweet potato, leftover veg, spring onion, seasoning and dipping sauce.

• Squeeze the leftover sweet potato from its skins into a bowl.

• Chop up the leftover veg and add to the potato.

• Add a finely chopped spring onion and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

• Shallow-fry for a couple of mins either side.

• Dip in your favourite sauce and eat.

So, cook this meal and use the leftovers!

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* FILM TALK

Of Gods and Men (2010) Directed by Xavier Beauvois

We asked our friends at SPEAK to tell us about a film that changed their world.

Matthew Creber, Network Support Co-ordinator, tells us why monks rock.

M

onks are very rarely presented as heroic in popular culture. Comic (Robin Hood), sinister (Doctor Who), but rarely given the kind of spotlight that Jason Statham and Johnny Depp enjoy. Perhaps this is something to do with our notions of masculinity and violence. Perhaps it’s because they seem like an archaic prereformation throwback. Regardless, it is gratifying to discover the quiet, stoic resolve of the community in this film, standing with their Muslim parish, holding out against the forces of fundamentalism that swept through Algeria in the 1950s.

With an unflinching eye, we are invited to share with the small band of men as they discover the extent of their calling and

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the implications of seeing it through.

We become co-conspirators, sitting with them in the room as they wrestle with the consequences of their sacrifice.

There is nothing superhuman about them.

The film contains a bone-rattling challenge for us to live radically and consider how far we will go to defend those we profess to speak for.

We may believe we’re living on the edge, with challenging lifestyles and prophetic voices, but are we willing to follow our call into even the darkest places?

In short, are we willing to ask: ‘What would Jesus do?’, even when we know the answer leads to the cross?

ETHICALLIVING SHOPPING * ETHICAL

Do a bit of good while you shop If you’re buying something new, make sure that what you’re buying is having a positive, rather than a negative, impact.

Some of our favourites…

Introducing the world’s first waterpressure-powered shower radio!

Green-up your lifestyle by having shorter showers. Why not save some water by having a shower for the length of your favourite song? Let us know what song you’d shower to #showersongs ethicalsuperstore.com

With Bulldog’s new Eco-System range of fairtrade products, it’s easy for guys to look good while helping the planet.

Try their fairtrade shaving gel, which contains fairtrade green tea! The fairtrade premium helps tea workers improve their living standards. meetthebulldog.com

Divine chocolate has to be the best out there. Not only does it come in 12 different flavours, and taste like heaven, but it’s the only chocolate that is owned 45 per cent by its farmers. Available from all good stores! If you can’t find it in your local shop, why not ask them to stock it? divinechocolate.com

Put the seat on your feet. Above+Below footwear have teamed up with Transport for London to use fabrics that have been reclaimed from old London buses and go back as far as the 1950s.

They’re sweatshop free and we love them. aboveandbelowlondon.com

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* CHARITY SHOP CHALLENGE

Just a lonely pair of sunglasses looking for a new home Y

ou can’t spend the summer without shades. Here’s our collection of beautiful old sunglasses from charity shops, vintage fairs and second-hand stalls.

We armed the Christian Aid Collective with a few little pounds and sent them off in search of sunnies. Who could find the best pair?

Why bring another new thing into the world when there are still so many beautiful old things looking for a new home?

Find some vintage sunglasses, buy a second-hand suit, get a dress from a charity shop, hold clothes swaps with your friends, borrow some shoes from your sister. New things are no more – it’s all about the old. Wear something that’s got a story to tell.

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Send us a photo! We want to see your wornagain gems and hear why you love them. #charityshopchallenge

#charityshopchallenge

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