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TRÓCAIRE
A generousnation
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SUPPORT OF IRISH PEOPLE HELPED TRÓCAIRE TO ASSIST 2.7 MILLION PEOPLE IN 25 COUNTRIES LAST YEAR
BY DAVID O'HARE
Trócaire has thanked the people of Ireland, particularly parishioners and clergy across the country, for their essential support, which helped the charity assist 2.7 million people in 25 of the poorest countries across the world last year.
The figures were released recently in Trócaire's Annual Report, which showed that the aid agency raised €73 million in 2020/21 during one of the toughest years in living memory due to the global outbreak of COVID-19. The money came from both the public and from institutional donors, including Irish Aid.
The report details an increase of 15 per cent on funds raised from the previous year, with the total being the highest income raised in three years.
Of the 2.7 million people the organisation supported in 2020/2021, 2.1 million received humanitarian support, while over 600,000 were supported through Trócaire's longterm development work. This work includes agricultural support, women's empowerment projects and support for human rights defenders.
In 2020, Irish Aid contributed €22 million to Trócaire's work. As a result of this funding, Trócaire was able to reach 426,383 individuals with support to mitigate the risks of COVID-19, including secondary impacts such as food insecurity and violence against women.
COVID MASK-MAKING PROJECT
Twenty-three-year-old Wubit Abelo in Ethiopia is among those who received support. She was supported through a Covid mask-making project with local Trócaire partner Timret Lehiwoh. When coronavirus reached Ethiopia, Wubit began to despair. Access to basic household items was reduced, transport shut down, and the
ability to buy and sell changed dramatically as local markets closed. She lived in fear of the health risks to her three-year-old son Anania and what might happen if her family was left with no income. There was no government support for them.
Then in this time of worry came an unexpected opportunity. A new market that was previously unavailable – mask-making – plus training and sewing machines to use, gave Wubit and her family a glimmer of hope. The mask-making project has become a modest but vital source of income to Wubit.
Her dreams for the future are firmly set: to have her own business making cultural dresses by her own hand, to make sure her son can have a good education, and to provide for her family. "There is a better day tomorrow," she says. Wubit embodies this positive mantra, even in the hardest of times, like so many of the resilient and hardworking people supported by Trócaire's women's empowerment projects in Ethiopia.
UN TREATY
Among the charity's key advocacy priorities in 2020/21 were investment in Ireland's overseas aid budget and the advancement of the campaign for Ireland to support a binding UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights.
The solidarity shown to the world's poorest by people in Ireland during the pandemic was humbling, according to Trócaire's CEO, Caoimhe de Barra. "I am immensely grateful for – and humbled by – the response of our staff, partners, supporters, governing body members and donors. All of these individuals and organisations worked extremely hard to help Trócaire respond in support of those most affected by this global pandemic. In 2020/21, despite all of the challenges presented by the pandemic, we supported 2.7million people in 25 countries." "This level of impact would not be possible without the commitment of our teams, partners and supporters in Ireland. People here at home should be very proud of the positive and lasting change they have created."
You can see Trócaire's Annual Report here:
www.trocaire.org
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