2.5 MILLION THANK YOUS LAUNCHING ITS ANNUAL REPORT RECENTLY, TRÓCAIRE WARNED OF THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD.
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Hala Sanak (14), who plays for Gaza’s first-ever schoolgirls’ football club, received a Gaelic football skills session on the Gaza beach with All-Ireland winner and Trócaire ambassador Oisín McConville. Photo: Garry Walsh/Trócaire
Trócaire
assisted 2.5 million people in 27 of the poorest countries across the world last year thanks to the generous support of the Irish public. The charity thanked people across the island of Ireland after the figures were released in the agency’s annual report which showed the scale of the aid agency’s work in 2019/20, prior to the global outbreak of COVID-19. Trócaire warned of the long-term impact of COVID-19 in the developing world, where the poorest people have been plunged into further poverty due to the social and economic implications of the pandemic. The financial year 2019/20 saw the public donate €23m (£20.9m) to Trócaire – donations that change the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. Trócaire’s 2019
REALITY NOVEMBER 2020
Lenten Appeal saw a 10 per cent increase in donations, resulting in €8.3m (£7.5m) being contributed to the charity. The charity supported people in 27 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. In terms of number of people supported, Trócaire’s largest programmes last year were in Ethiopia, Sudan and DR Congo. The report also details how last year saw it respond to natural disasters and climatic shocks. Working through its partners, Trócaire provided shelter, food and other vital equipment to 39,000 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe after the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai. Of the 2.5 million people the organisation supported last year, 1.8 million people received humanitarian support, while an
additional 700,000 people were supported through Trócaire’s longterm development work. This work includes agricultural support, women’s empowerment projects and support for human rights defenders. Advocacy campaigns included Trócaire’s call on the Irish and UK Governments to support a UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights, while the agency’s continued support for the Occupied Territories Bill has kept the issue to the fore of Irish political debate. Additionally, Trócaire-funded legal support resulted in the release last year of indigenous human rights defender Abelino Chub Caal, who spent two years wrongfully imprisoned in Guatemala. Commenting on the latest annual report, Trócaire CEO Caoimhe de
Barra, said: “This report details the positive impact our work has had in support of 2.5 million people and that figure is a testament to the commitment of the Irish public to the work of Trócaire. As always, we are tremendously grateful for this support from the people of Ireland, north and south, as well as our ongoing partnerships with Irish Aid and DfID, which allows us to work with local partners in an effort to tackle poverty and injustice in some of the world’s poorest regions. Our programmes around the world brought support and relief to communities in 27 countries, including humanitarian support for nearly 1.8 million people.” The COVID crisis has profoundly changed Trócaire’s work. Over recent months, its programmes have rapidly shifted to helping
