CHRISTIAN AID NEWS

CHRISTIAN 

AID NEWS 

Issue 59 Spring 2013 christianaid.org.uk 

• ENOUGH FOOD 

FOR EVERYONE IF 

campaign turns focus 

on world leaders 

• Emergency appeal over 

Syrian refugee crisis 

YES WE CAN 

MAKE A 

DIFFERENCE 

YOUR SUPPORT THIS CHRISTIAN AID WEEK 

IS VITAL TO HELP US TACKLE HUNGER

F2195 

EDITOR’S 

LETTER 

OFTEN, THOSE INVOLVED 

in social campaigning can 

feel as if they are 

operating in a bubble – 

and very often they are, 

their actions coordinated 

by the single organisation 

they belong to or support. 

The ENOUGH FOOD 

FOR EVERYONE IF 

campaign is different. For 

the first time since the 

mass rallies of Make 

Poverty History, a coalition 

of campaigners has 

formed around a powerful, 

urgent ask: to solve the 

problem of global hunger. 

More than 100 

organisations are 

involved, so if you are 

thinking about joining a 

rally to put pressure on 

world leaders at the G8 

summit in June, please 

bear in mind you won’t be 

swimming in a small 

pond, but in a mighty 

ocean of human 

endeavour. See page 12. 

And it’s less than two 

months now until that 

other great endeavour – 

Christian Aid Week. We 

hope many thousands of 

you will again be out 

collecting, holding or 

attending fundraising 

events, or joining a walk, 

bike ride or other 

sponsored effort. See what 

it means on page 16 and 

get involved! 

Roger Fulton, Editor 

Christian Aid News 

is printed on 100 per 

cent recycled paper 

CONTENTS 

9 

REGULARS 

■ 4 THE BIG PICTURE 

One inspiring image. 

■ 6 NEWS 

Crisis appeal to help 

refugees from Syria’s 

conflict; food shortages 

continue in Mali; plea for 

churches to help fund girls’ 

education in Afghanistan. 

■ 12 CAMPAIGNS 

Next stop, the G8! The 

defining moment looms for 

the ENOUGH FOOD FOR 

EVERYONE IF campaign. 

■ 22 INPUT 

Your feedback to us. 

■ 22 COMMENT 

Our feedback to you! 

■ 24 YOUR 

CHRISTIAN AID 

Events and stories from 

your part of Britain. 

Contact us: 020 7620 4444 

info@christian-aid.org 

20 

28 

12 

■ 26 LIFE AND SOUL 

How one church’s malaria 

fundraising campaign has 

helped save lives. 

■ 28 EVENTS 

Take up the fundraising 

challenge – by bike, on foot 

or even in the kitchen! 

■ 30 LAST WORD 

Bishops reflect on their 

visit to Israel and the 

occupied Palestinian 

territory. 

SPECIAL 

FEATURES 

Workers in 

India’s stone 

quarries will 

receive fairer 

compensation 

over poor health 

■ 16 LIFE AND SOUL 

SPECIAL: CHRISTIAN 

AID WEEK 

Inspiring stories behind 

this year’s event – and are 

you doing your bit? 

■ 20 FRONTLINE 

Restoring dignity and hope 

in Egypt. 

UK registered charity number 1105851 Company number 5171525 Scotland charity number SC039150 Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 

Company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are 

trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid March 2013. The acceptance of external advertising 

does not indicate endorsement. If you wish to receive this magazine digitally, go to christianaid.org.uk/can 

Mine Labour Protection Campaign (MLPC) Trust 

Christian Aid 

is a Christian 

organisation that 

insists the world 

can and must be 

swiftly changed 

to one where 

everyone can live 

a full life, free 

from poverty. We 

work globally for 

profound change 

that eradicates 

the causes of 

poverty, striving 

to achieve 

equality, dignity 

and freedom for 

all, regardless of 

faith or nationality. 

We are part of a 

wider movement 

for social justice. 

We provide 

urgent, practical 

and effective 

assistance where 

need is great, 

tackling the effects 

of poverty as well 

as its root causes. 

■ Front cover Sikhanyisiwe Ndlovu (Skha), from Zimbabwe, whose life has been transformed by a dam. See page 10. Christian Aid/Susan Barry ■ Pictures Joseph Cabon 

■ Sub-editors Tomilola Ajayi, Tracy Tran, Louise Parfitt ■ Circulation Ben Hayward ■ Design and production Chris Hill/Syon Publishing, 020 8332 8407 ■ Christian Aid head office 

35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL ■ Tel 020 7620 4444 ■ Fax 020 7620 0719 ■ Email info@christian-aid.org ■ Online at christianaid.org.uk

THE BIG PICTURE 

4 Christian Aid News

LIFE AT 

THE TIPPING 

POINT 

A STREET VENDOR cooks on a 

portable stove beneath a cat’s cradle 

network of electrical cables that 

carries power in old Delhi, India. This 

compelling scene has helped to 

inspire a new series of artwork for an 

exhibition focusing on climate change. 

Artist Gerry Judah was 

commissioned by Christian Aid to 

produce a series of works – entitled 

Bengal – for Tipping Point, a new 

exhibition in association with 

Wolverhampton Art Gallery. 

Opening on 11 May, the eve of 

Christian Aid Week, Tipping Point 

explores the unstable future of our 

environments and economies. It 

features work by a number of 

acclaimed artists, including former 

Turner Prize winner Simon Starling 

and former Turner Prize nominees 

Darren Almond and Anya Gallaccio. 

Bengal’s five sculptures were 

inspired by Gerry’s trip to West Bengal 

and Jharkhand in India to see how 

poor communities are being forced to 

adapt to unpredictable weather 

patterns and rising sea levels. 

Gerry, who was born in Kolkata, 

West Bengal, was struck by the 

inequality that comes from dealing 

with climate change in India. ‘It seems 

that there are people in India getting 

richer and richer and there are people 

in India getting poorer and poorer,’ he 

says. ‘And it’s the latter who are more 

affected by climate change. It has such 

an impact on people that they’re 

trying to patch up whatever they can, 

just to deal with it.’ 

• Tipping Point runs from 11 May to 

6 July. See christianaid.org.uk/ 

tippingpoint or wolverhamptonart. 

org.uk/events/tipping-point 

Christian Aid/Elizabeth Dalziel 

Christian Aid News 5

NEWS 

LEBANON 

From left to 

right: a young 

mother with 

her baby in an 

encampment; 

Mohammed 

and his family 

who fled Syria 

with nothing; 

and children in 

a psychosocial 

trauma session 

Pictures: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian 

‘I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG W 

As Christian Aid steps up its Syria and Middle 

East crisis appeal, Christian Aid press officer 

Johanna Rogers reports from neighbouring 

Lebanon, where the human tide of refugees is 

stretching resources to their limits 

CRAMMED INTO a freezing two-room 

tent with her seven children in Lebanon’s 

Beqaa Valley, Samira’s immediate future 

is bleak. Forced to flee her Syrian 

hometown while eight months pregnant, 

she arrived in Lebanon with nothing but 

her documents, the clothes on her back, 

and jewellery she has since sold to pay 

for food and water. 

Cradling her new baby, born in a 

hospital near the encampment where 

she lives, she is worried. ‘My baby is 

so small, the others weren’t like this. 

CHRISTIAN AID is supporting partners 

who are responding to the growing 

humanitarian needs arising from the 

conflict in Syria. In Lebanon, Association 

Najdeh has provided 1,000 refugee 

families with food baskets. It has also 

supplied blankets, mattresses, clothing 

and hygiene kits. Mouvement Social 

is organising lessons to enable Syrian 

Hygiene is bad – children are getting sick, 

there is no clean water. I don’t know how 

long we can live like this.’ 

Samira is one of a million refugees 

who have sought sanctuary from Syria 

and are forced to face more hardships, 

living in hopeless situations, struggling 

just to survive. She receives regular visits 

from our ACT Alliance sister agency, 

International Orthodox Christian Charities 

(IOCC), which gives free healthcare, 

advice in emergency nutrition and 

breastfeeding education to vulnerable 

SYRIA AND MIDDLE EAST CRISIS APPEAL 

children to continue their education. 

In Iraq we are seeking to help 1,500 

refugee families around Sulaimaniya 

and Erbil in the north, through our 

long-term Iraqi partner REACH, which 

is providing blankets, mattresses, food, 

and infant and hygiene kits. 

We are also partnering with our sister 

agencies in ACT Alliance to provide 

Syrian mothers with newborn babies. 

The two-year crisis in Syria, which has 

so far cost an estimated 70,000 lives, has 

triggered a humanitarian crisis of massive 

proportions. Four million people are in 

need of help in Syria. Two million of them 

are homeless, while a further million live 

in miserable conditions in neighbouring 

countries. It is estimated that one in four 

Syrians, either inside the country or 

beyond its borders, are in urgent need. 

The UN reports that 5,000 refugees are 

fleeing the country every day. 

The scale of the crisis far outweighs 

the humanitarian response so far. Food 

is badly needed, along with medical 

supplies and materials for shelters, but 

that is just the start. A generation of 

children are growing up without an 

humanitarian assistance inside Syria. 

Working through local churches, Islamic 

and secular organisations, communities 

are being given essential food, bedding 

and clothing, as well as shelter and help 

with cash-for-work projects. 

Our partners are ready to do more – so 

please do give generously to our appeal 

at christianaid.org.uk/emergency 


E CAN LIVE LIKE THIS’ 

education, many of them traumatised by 

their experiences. 

In Lebanon, refugee numbers now 

represent more than 10 per cent of the 

country’s entire population, which stood 

at 4.5 million before the crisis. The official 

figure is said to be more than 300,000, 

but the unofficial figure is more than 

twice that. They have found shelter 

wherever they can: the Lebanese 

government has not yet permitted any 

official camps. Some have moved in with 

relatives, or are renting rooms, while 

others erect makeshift shelters or bed 

down in disused buildings. 

In the farming area of Jeb Jannine in 

the Beqaa valley, against a backdrop of 

snow-covered mountains, numerous 

small encampments have sprung up – 

unofficial home to many, including 

Mohammed, 33, and his family who 

arrived six months ago. They had spent 

nearly four months trapped and terrified 

in their house in Homs, eating dried 

food, rice and home-baked bread to 

avoid having to venture outside. They 

fled to Lebanon on a packed bus; there 

was no room for any of their belongings. 

Mohammed gets food vouchers from 

the United Nations High Commission 

for Refugees, but they are not enough. 

Bread is five times more expensive than 

it was at home, and he and other families 

pool the supplies they get, generally 

rice, bulgur wheat and bread. Water and 

power are added expenses. But there is 

no way back, he told me, Homs is gone. 

The few jobs once available to Syrians 

in Lebanon were filled long ago; and 

people struggle to find money for a 

rented room, which often houses up to 

15 people. 

Christian Aid partner Association 

Najdeh, which is working in Bedawi, a 

camp established decades ago for 

Palestinians near the Lebanon/Syria 

border, has helped more than 1,000 

families by providing bedding and food, 

as well as education and support for 

children. It has identified a further 5,000 

people who are in urgent need. 

Association Najdeh also reports that 

many refugees are suffering from 

psychological trauma. It is already 

providing counselling and therapy to 

children, as other Christian Aid partners 

do elsewhere in Lebanon. 

Eleven-year-old Hoda saw her sister 

killed by an exploding mortar, after which 

her family fled the country. ‘I will always 

remember what happened – we buried 

my sister, and then we left.’ 

GAZA APPEAL: 

THANK YOU 

YOUR GENEROUS RESPONSE TO 

OUR emergency appeal for Gaza and 

the Middle East, highlighted in the last 

issue of Christian Aid News, enabled 

our partners to treat hundreds of 

people in Gaza, providing medical 

assistance and helping more than 200 

people with disabilities. Our partner 

the Culture and Free Thought 

Association helped more than 500 

traumatised children to access art and 

drama therapy sessions, and gave 

psychosocial training to more than 

200 mothers so that they could 

continue to help their children at home. 

Now in Lebanon, she attends a school 

run by Christian Aid partner Mouvement 

Social, which has helped 1,500 Syrian 

refugees in the past year, providing 

children with education, psychosocial 

support, and food. 

Christian Aid partners and other 

organisations are working against huge 

odds to make a difference to more lives. 

Please help us to help them. 

Please support Christian Aid’s Syria and Middle East crisis appeal, at christianaid.org.uk/emergency 


MALI 


RISING REFUGEE 

TOLL CONTINUES TO 

FUEL FOOD CRISIS 

OVER THE PAST YEAR, the world has 

watched as conflict has caused suffering 

and persecution for the people of Mali. 

More recently, fighting has escalated 

and the resulting displacement of huge 

numbers of people within Mali – and to 

neighbouring countries – is exacerbating 

the Sahel’s chronic food crisis and 

growing levels of malnutrition. 

The number of internally displaced 

persons (IDPs) now stands at more than 

200,000, according to recent figures from 

the UN Office for the Coordination of 

Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Coming at 

a time of renewed conflict in the north, 

where French and Mali government 

forces have pushed back Islamist 

fighters, the agency estimates that 4.2 

million Malians will need emergency 

humanitarian assistance this year. 

Tens of thousands of Malian refugees 

have fled the country to seek safety in 

Burkina Faso and Niger. According to the 

OCHA, as of 28 January this year there 

were 43,802 new arrivals in Burkina Faso 

and 51,738 in Niger. Many IDPs would 

like to return to their homes, but they 

fear the growing insecurity linked to 

guerrilla fighting and inter-community 

conflict. 

Yacouba Kone, Christian Aid’s Mali 

country director, has witnessed the 

effects of the ongoing conflict firsthand. 

‘The current food crisis has already 

brought suffering to more than 10 million 

people across the region, and the more 

people are forced to flee the military 

offensive in the north, the more market 

gardens are abandoned and the less 

vegetables are being produced for child 

nutrition,’ he said. 

‘The occupation of the north of the 

country by the Islamist terrorists has 

prevented humanitarian agencies 

gaining access to provide food, shelter, 

water and sanitation to the affected 

population. After the closure of the 

Christian Aid/Tom Pilston 

borders with Algeria and Mauritania, 

there is no supply of basic foods in the 

local markets. There are no medicines 

or safe drinking water available and 

the nutritional status of children has 

deteriorated dramatically. Women and 

children are the ones bearing the burden 

of this crisis, because most men have 

fled to seek refuge in the southern 

regions of Mali or neighbouring 

countries, leaving women, children and 

the elderly behind. 

‘All parties involved in the conflict 

must take the necessary measures to 

prevent harm to civilians, as well as 

respecting the right of people in need 

to humanitarian aid and allowing rapid, 

safe and unimpeded passage to any 

agencies providing it.’ 

Commenting on Christian Aid and 

other organisations’ response to the 

situation, he said: ‘The conflict is 

hindering the work of almost all NGOs. 

With the prevailing insecurity in the 

north, no development or humanitarian 

work is possible. However, due to its 

Internally 

displaced 

persons are 

caught in a 

limbo in their 

own country 

partnership approach, Christian Aid is 

currently able to provide emergency 

aid through established Malian 

organisations in many regions affected 

by the violence, including Gao in the 

north, and Bandiagara on the Dogon 

Plateau in the Mopti region. 

‘In addition, we are working with our 

partners and ACT Alliance allies to assess 

the ongoing situation and to face the 

humanitarian crisis, should the security 

context improve. And we continue to 

develop the capacity of staff and partners 

to respond. 

‘The challenge now is about reviewing 

our programmes to adapt them to the 

current context, to make a balance 

between our humanitarian response 

and longer-term development work,’ 

he explained. ‘It is important that 

Christian Aid partners play a key role 

in peace-building through promoting 

inter-community dialogue. With Christian 

Aid support, they will influence the 

democratisation process in the postconflict 

Mali.’ 


Workers in 

India’s stone 

quarries will 

receive fairer 

compensation 

over poor health 

Mine Labour Protection Campaign (MLPC) Trust 

VICTORY… FOR MINE WORKERS 

CHRISTIAN AID PARTNER the Mine 

Labour Protection Campaign (MLPC) 

has won a major breakthrough in its 

efforts to secure the rights of Indian mine 

workers in Rajasthan. Around 2.5 million 

unorganised mine workers will now 

receive medical, monetary and social 

benefits as a result. 

Currently, mine owners do not 

maintain any records of attendance, 

compensation for overtime, earned 

leave or accidents at work. Now, 27,000 

INDIA 

mine owners will be subject to more 

stringent employment laws, including 

the registration of all their employees. 

For a long time, poor working 

conditions in the stone quarries of 

Rajasthan have damaged the health 

of mine workers. Thanks to the work 

of MLPC, workers affected by the lung 

disease silicosis will now receive fairer 

VICTORY… FOR EDUCATION CAMPAIGNERS 

compensation, as will those widowed 

due to it. Fourteen women who have 

lost their husbands are due to receive 

300,000 INR (approximately £3,570). 

Rana Sengupta, from MLPC, said: 

‘We are happy and proud that our 

advocacy efforts have brought in policy 

changes and strengthened regulatory 

mechanisms. This is definite progress 

in the struggle to end the injustice and 

unfairness faced by India’s mine workers 

on a daily basis.’ 

A TWO-YEAR CAMPAIGN BY Christian 

Aid partner Centro Bono to persuade 

the Dominican Republic government 

to double spending on education has 

ended in success. 

Back in 2010, Christian Aid gave 

Centro Bono a modest grant of £10,000 

to help establish the campaign, simply 

called ‘4% for Education’. Its aim was to 

lobby the government to act on a law 

passed in 1997, which decreed that four 

per cent of the country’s GDP should 

be spent on schools. The campaign 

snowballed to become a massive public 

movement. Some 200 organisations 

and millions of people turned out to 

demand adequate funding for schools. 

Their pressure bore fruit in December, 

when the Dominican government 

announced that it would spend four per 

cent of its GDP on education. 



IT’S TIME TO BITE BACK 

AT HUNGER 

THOUSANDS OF 

CHRISTIAN AID 

volunteers are set to play 

their part in Britain and 

Ireland’s biggest houseto-house 

collection when 

Christian Aid Week 2013 

kicks off on 12 May. 

And whether you 

plan to join those going 

door-to-door, hold an 

event or simply donate 

money, every penny you 

raise during Christian Aid 

Week will help to transform lives around 

the world. 

This Christian Aid Week, we’re focusing 

on projects around the world that are 

supporting communities to find ways not 

only to survive but also to thrive, with 

enough food to eat not just 

today, but tomorrow too. 

The story of 

Sikhanyisiwe Ndlovu 

(Skha), from Zimbabwe 

– whose photograph 

appears on the cover of 

this issue of Christian Aid 

News and inspired the 

poster image we used on 

the last issue – is typical 

of how this change can 

happen. 

With support from 

Christian Aid partner Dabane Trust, 

Skha helped to build a sand dam, which 

provides her community’s garden 

with water. Not only has her diet been 

transformed through the vegetables 

she can now grow, but she is also able 

to provide school uniforms for her 

children with the income from selling 

surplus produce. The kale she is holding 

in this picture will be dried at the new 

food processing centre that Dabane 

Trust helped the Gwanda communities 

to set up: it keeps for up to 18 months, 

so people can eat nutritious vegetables 

even during the dry season. ‘Life is now 

better because I can now cultivate my 

garden,’ she says. ‘When I look at my 

children, I see that they are so much 

healthier than before.’ 

Thanks to this innovative project, the 

future in this dry part of Zimbabwe looks 

more hopeful. 

• See pages 16-19 to find out more 

about what our partners are doing in 

Zimbabwe, Bolivia and Kenya to change 

the lives of thousands of people. 

HAITI 

LIGHT 

FANTASTIC AS 

PARTNER WINS 

ENERGY PRIZE 

NEW HOMES FOR HAITIAN 

QUAKE VICTIMS 

THIS BEAUTIFUL PEACH and green 

painted house has 51m² of space, 

three rooms, a veranda, a toilet and 

a bathroom. In January, Christian Aid 

partner Haiti Survie handed over 120 

houses like this to internally displaced 

families affected by the 2010 Haiti quake. 

These latest homes were built in 

Bayaha in north-east Haiti. They are in 

addition to the 92 supplied in another 

community, Anse Pitre, using funds from 

the Disasters Emergency Committee 

appeal, of which Christian Aid is part. 

More than 700 people attended the latest 

handover ceremony. 

Haiti Survie has also distributed 600 

goats in a livelihood project, and over 

50,000 saplings of fruit and forest trees. 

A CHRISTIAN AID PARTNER 

specialising in solar lighting – d.light 

design – has won the US$1.5m 

Zayed Future Energy Prize, for 

demonstrating leadership in 

sustainable energy. 

Since partnering with Christian Aid 

in 2010, d.light design has provided 

solar lighting for more than 1,300 

poor Indian households without 

access to the national grid, using 

funding from Christian Aid’s In Their 

Lifetime appeal. 

The solar lighting company, which 

started in 2007, has just launched the 

next generation of lanterns – which 

are longer-lasting and maintenancefree 

– and aims to use the prize 

money to distribute the new product 

to up to 100 million people. 


AFGHANISTAN 

Less than 13 

per cent of 

women in 

Afghanistan 

are literate 

SHOCK OVER 

MURDERS OF 

LAND RIGHTS 

ACTIVISTS 

BRAZIL 

WILL YOUR CHURCH HELP 

CHANGE WOMEN’S LIVES? 

CHRISTIAN AID IS SEARCHING for 

churches to help us improve women’s 

lives in some of the poorest areas 

of Afghanistan by supporting a new 

community partnership. 

We’re looking for churches, or groups 

of neighbouring churches, to pledge to 

raise £5,000 over the next three years 

for a new women’s rights and literacy 

project in the north-east of Afghanistan. 

This amount will be matched by the 

European Commission at a ratio of 3:1 

– meaning that each £5,000 raised will 

effectively be worth an amazing £20,000 

towards the project. We will also be 

counting on churches’ prayer support. 

With three updates a year, churches in 

the community partnership will be kept 

informed of the project’s progress, as 

well as having the opportunity to learn 

and pray about some of the key issues 

facing Afghanistan today. 

Tabitha Ross, communications and 

information officer for Afghanistan, 

said: ‘It’s difficult to think of a worse 

place to be a woman than Afghanistan. 

Women there were famously banned 

from accessing education or leaving the 

house alone under the Taliban rule, and 

the position of women and girls in the 

country is still far from enviable. While 

43 per cent of Afghan men are literate, 

less than 13 per cent of women are, and 

Afghanistan has the highest maternal 

mortality rate in the world. Furthermore, 

in many communities women are 

excluded from decision-making 

processes, meaning that they don’t have 

a say in the decisions that affect them or 

their children.’ 

With the support of churches, this 

project will enable women in some of the 

poorest regions of Afghanistan to have 

a say at last in the decisions that affect 

them and their communities, to learn to 

read and write, and to receive funding to 

start small businesses. 

Could your church support this 

project? To find out more, please visit 

christianaid.org.uk/partnerships, email 

communitypartnership@christian-aid.org 

or contact your local Christian Aid office. 

Christian Aid/Sarah Malian 

THE MURDERS OF TWO LAND rights 

activists in Brazil in the space of under 

two weeks has horrified Christian 

Aid. Both victims had been involved 

with the Landless People’s Movement 

(MST), one of our partners in Brazil. 

Cicero Guedes, 43, was a leader 

within MST. He was shot dead in Rio 

de Janeiro state as he cycled home 

from a meeting in late January, near 

a former sugar plantation where he 

had led an occupation of the land by 

families with no land of their own. 

Less than a fortnight later, the body 

of his friend Regina dos Santos Pinho, 

56, was found at her home. She too 

had been murdered, although at the 

time of writing, police investigators 

and MST suspected that her killer’s 

motive was sexual, rather than being 

connected to a land conflict. 

Commenting on Mr Guedes’ death, 

Christian Aid’s country manager for 

Brazil, Mara Luz, said he had worked 

tirelessly for people living in poverty 

in Brazil. ‘Cicero Guedes is one more 

peasant leader murdered in recent 

years only because he was defending 

a fair and needed distribution of land 

and resources in one of the most 

unequal countries in the world. 

‘MST hopes that peace can become 

part of daily life in rural areas of Brazil, 

but the reality is that living a full life 

continues to be a dream for many.’ 

There is a shockingly high murder 

rate among those who work on land 

conflicts in Brazil. Records kept by the 

respected Pastoral Land Commission 

show that on average between 2007 

and 2011, a land conflict-related 

murder occurred every 12 days. 

• IN COLOMBIA, land rights continue 

to be an issue of concern after the 

bullet-proof vehicle of Father Alberto 

Franco, a key member of our partner 

Inter-Church Peace and Justice 

Commission, was fired at outside his 

home. Father Franco was not in the 

car, but Christian Aid has condemned 

the attack as an attempt to intimidate 

our partner. 


CAMPAIGNS 

The IF campaign lit up London with 

an illuminated display on historic 

Somerset House. Right: supporters 

gather for the launch where actor 

Bill Nighy and presenter Lauren 

Laverne were among celebrities 

calling for action against hunger 

IF... YOU JOIN US, WE CAN 

MAKE THE WORLD’S 

LEADERS TAKE ACTION 

The ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE IF campaign is up and 

running following its launch in January. 

Alasdair Roxburgh charts its progress and points the 

way to the next big stop on the campaign trail 

FIFTY YEARS AGO the US president 

John F Kennedy said: ‘We have the 

means; we have the capacity to 

eliminate hunger from the face of the 

earth in our lifetime. We need only the 

will.’ That powerful statement is as 

true today as it was back in the 1960s. 

The reality is that one in eight people 

go to bed hungry despite there being 

enough food for all on our planet. We 

must now ensure there is the political 

will and action to turn Kennedy’s vision 

into tomorrow’s reality. That is where 

the ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE IF 

campaign comes in. 

Since its launch in January, which 

generated huge media interest, the IF 

campaign has gained momentum 

across the country. During the first few 

weeks of the campaign, which involves 

a coalition of more than 100 charities, 

faith groups and other organisations, 

nearly 50,000 people signed up to play 

a part in the fight to end hunger. 


IF CAMPAIGN 

LAUNCH 

LIGHTS UP 

LONDON 

Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda 

ON 23 JANUARY hundreds of people 

gathered at Somerset House in 

London for the launch of the IF 

campaign. In the hour-long event, 

hosted by Lauren Laverne, the four IFs 

on aid, land, tax and transparency 

were presented to the onlookers who 

also heard from the likes of Harry 

Potter star Bonnie Wright and actor 

Bill Nighy who gave a passionate and 

engaging speech. He said: ‘Millions of 

people are living in prison, the prison 

of poverty, and they are dying of 

hunger in that prison. It is crucial that 

we show our politicians that it is their 

responsibility to set them free.’ 

As the event drew to a close the 

audience were given the opportunity 

to tweet their own messages of 

support for the campaign, which were 

then projected on to Somerset House. 

Over the following days dozens of 

regional launches were held around 

the country. To see how some of your 

local events went, see your regional 

news pages, pages 24-25. 

Support has come from around the 

world, including from South Africa, 

where Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: 

‘Hunger is not an incurable disease or 

an unavoidable tragedy. We can make 

sure no child goes to bed hungry. We 

can stop mothers from starving 

themselves to feed their families. We 

can save lives.’ 

You have played a huge part in 

ensuring that political leaders now take 

action to tackle hunger. In the run-up to 

the UK Budget in March, thousands of 

you wrote to, emailed and met with your 

local MP, calling on them to persuade 

the chancellor, George Osborne, to use 

his Budget to address two key parts of 

the campaign – aid and tax dodging. 

Our call was for the government to 

confirm that from 2013 0.7 per cent of 

national income will go towards aid, 

which is crucial in ensuring the poorest 

can feed themselves, and for the 

finance bill to make UK companies that 

operate in poor countries spill the 

beans on tax dodging. 

The Budget was a chance for the 

British government to take steps to 

help tackle hunger, but in the coming 

months we have a fantastic opportunity 

to ensure that world leaders also 

take action. 

In June, the UK will be chairing the 

G8 and this is a vital opportunity for 

world leaders to take action on hunger. 

We must ensure that they do. We need 

you to join us in two key campaign 

moments as many thousands of people 

from across the country come together 

to make world leaders listen. This is 

your big moment. 

On Saturday 8 June we will gather in 

London as David Cameron chairs the 

Food and Hunger summit. The following 

weekend,15-16 June, we will again 

come together, this time in Belfast, to 

urge the G8 leaders who are meeting in 

Enniskillen to take action. 

These events will be on a scale not 

seen for many years and follow the 

likes of the Make Poverty History march 

in 2005 and the Jubilee Debt Campaign 

march in Birmingham in 1998. The 

events will include high profile 

speakers, music and, most importantly 

of all, a chance to show world leaders 

that they can and must take action to 

tackle hunger. 

We would love to see you on one or 

the other – or both – occasions. Plans 

for the events are still being finalised. To 

find out more information and to join in 

solidarity with tens of thousands of 

others, just fill in the card found in this 

copy of Christian Aid News or visit 

christianaid.org.uk/if 

Together we will bite back 

at hunger. 

• Poll shows public support for IF campaign aims – see page 14 


CAMPAIGNS 

WHY WE MUST 

TAKE ON THE 

TAX DODGERS 

Tackling tax dodging is a critical element 

of the ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE IF 

campaign. Christian Aid’s head of media, 

Andrew Hogg, explains why tax matters so 

much to the developing world 

A NEW REPORT FROM CHRISTIAN AID 

highlights how tax injustice deprives 

countries in the developing world of 

revenue that could be used to fight 

malnutrition. 

The research underlines the 

importance of the IF campaign, which 

calls for an end to the ease with which 

multinationals can dodge tax in the 

developing world, as well as 

demanding greater transparency about 

transactions that could have a harmful 

impact on food security. 

The report, Who pays the price? 

Hunger: the hidden cost of tax injustice, 

looks at three countries now classified 

as middle income – India, Ghana and El 

Salvador. Although the economies of 

each have improved in recent years, 

inequality has also grown and hunger 

remains entrenched. 

India’s gross national income (GNI) 

per capita doubled between 1995 and 

2010, but 41 per cent of the 1.2 billion 

population live on less than US$1.25 a 

day. As a result, some 217 million 

people are undernourished, while a 

shocking 47 per cent of all children are 

stunted through malnutrition. 

Despite Ghana’s recent economic 

success, 30 per cent of its people still 

live on less than US$1.25 a day. Among 

a population of 25 million, 1 million are 

hungry, and nearly 30 per cent of 

children under five are stunted due to 

malnutrition. 

In El Salvador, the GNI per capita is 

almost US$6,600, yet a recent 

government survey shows that 47.5 per 

cent of the population live in poverty. 

One in eight people go hungry, and one 

child in four is stunted. 

Our report shows how an end to tax 

dodging could help all three countries 

raise revenue to combat hunger. 

In India, it is estimated that between 

1948 and 2008, some US$462bn was 

lost through illicit capital flight and tax 

dodging by wealthy individuals, 

multinationals and other businesses 

trading across borders. 

The government believes a further 

US$99bn was lost in 2011-12 alone, 

through generous tax exemptions 

enjoyed by businesses and individuals. 

In Ghana, it is estimated that some 

US$700m per annum is lost to the 

economy through VAT and import 

exemptions. Low mining royalties 

meant some US$68m a year was lost 

between 1990 and 2007, while 

multinationals artificially lowering their 

tax liability accounted for the loss of 

some US$83.6m in 2008 alone. 

In El Salvador, tax evasion and 

corporate tax incentives are together 

thought to cost the country more than 

US$2.9bn every year. 

In addition to listing a number of tax 

reforms that could dramatically 

improve the lives of the poor in all three 

countries, Who pays the price? also 

shows that multinationals with 

subsidiaries in tax havens pay 28.9 per 

cent less taxes as a percentage of 

profits than those without such links. 

Elsewhere, it looks at the role that 

one tax haven, Switzerland, plays in 

helping multinationals shift profits and 

dodge taxes. Developing countries may 

have lost tax revenues on as much as 

US$578bn in capital from 2007 to 2010 

from corporations trading with or via 

Switzerland 

POLL BACKS IF 

AS THE ENOUGH FOOD FOR 

EVERYONE IF campaign ramps up its 

actions ahead of the G8 summit in 

June, a new poll shows massive 

support from the British public for the 

campaign’s aims. 

A ComRes survey, commissioned by 

Christian Aid, found that an 

overwhelming 85 per cent want global 

leaders to stop multinationals from 

abusing the tax system. 

Three-quarters of those surveyed 

(77 per cent) believe that David 

Cameron is right to make tackling tax 

evasion and avoidance a priority, 

while 63 per cent agree that strong 

action on tax avoidance and evasion at 

the G8 could help lift millions of people 

out of poverty around the world. 

There is also public concern that the 

UK government needs to do what it 

reasonably can about the impact of 

multinationals on the rest of the world. 

Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of 

Britons agree the government has a 


‘IT IS IN 

SHARING 

THAT WE DO 

THE WORKS 

OF GOD’ 

This timely reflection by Rev 

Jacob Wandusim, a minister 

with the Presbyterian Church 

in Ghana, explores our moral 

responsibility to act against 

global hunger 

CAMPAIGN TAX CALL 

responsibility to ensure that UK-based 

companies pay the proper amount of 

tax in every country in which they 

operate, and eight out of 10 people 

(84 per cent) want to see multinationals’ 

accounts more transparent and 

publicly available. 

‘People understand the importance of 

developing countries being able to 

collect tax that is owed to them by 

multinational corporations. Tax is a 

powerful weapon against poverty and 

three-quarters of Britons agree that if 

developing countries could collect more 

tax then they would, in time, be less 

dependent on international aid, and 

therefore better able to provide for their 

own people,’ says Joseph Stead, 

Christian Aid’s senior economic 

justice adviser. 

The poll also suggests that millions of 

Britons are using their consumer power 

to show their anger towards 

multinationals that are seen to be 

avoiding their fair share of UK tax. 

A third of those surveyed are 

currently boycotting the products or 

services of a company because it does 

not pay its fair share of tax in the UK, 

while almost half (45 per cent) said 

they are considering a boycott. 

Two out of three Britons (66 per 

cent) now believe tax avoidance to be 

morally wrong, according to this 

latest survey – up 10 percentage 

points on a previous poll conducted 

six months ago. 

Meanwhile, a remarkable four out 

of five respondents (80 per cent) are 

angered by multinationals’ use of tax 

avoidance, with 85 per cent saying 

that it is currently too easy for 

companies to avoid tax. 

‘This survey also shows that one in 

three Britons are actually prepared to 

change their buying habits and 

boycott some of the firms seen as not 

paying their fair share in the UK. This 

surely must be a wake-up call to all 

businesses,’ adds Joseph. 

THE BIBLE TEACHES Christians to be 

supportive of each other, not only other 

Christians but any person living in our 

community. Despite the type of family 

you come from, the region, the country, 

the colour, the creed, we are all one and 

we need to be supported. 

It is in sharing that we do the works 

of God. Jesus shared his life with us, 

and it is in sharing that we can make 

the Gospel complete. 

Tax is something which every country 

or every society or group of people 

needs in order to support those who 

don’t have. If we say everyone should 

live on his own, then the rich will 

survive and the poorer and the weaker 

will die. Governments and societies 

institute taxes to be used for the wider 

interests of the community. 

As members of the church, we are 

also citizens of the country we belong 

to and so we should be contributing 

towards the general welfare of 

everybody and not just ourselves. It will 

show that we are prepared to share 

whatever we have with others because 

Christ has shared his life with us. 

If Jesus saw that there was 

something wrong, he told them why 

and corrected it. So if you can tell the 

international companies that it is wrong 

to dodge these taxes and therefore 

bring the money back so the wider 

community can benefit from it, I think 

that it would be a wonderful idea. 

The gospel message started small, 

but in due course it bloomed up into a 

shrub, and birds could nest on it. 

However small or slow the beginning of 

this campaign may be, I believe that 

one day it will grow so that many birds 

– many countries – will benefit from it. 


LIFE AND 

SOUL 

SPECIAL 

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID W 

The way we lead our own 

lives can have a tangible 

impact in the fight to end 

poverty. Christian Aid Week 

is the perfect example of this 

Christian Aid Week 12-18 May. See caweek.org 

WHAT WILL YOU 

DO THIS CHRISTIAN 

AID WEEK? 

Are you ready for Christian 

Aid Week 2013? This May, 

thousands of supporters 

will go out into their 

communities to raise 

funds for our work to 

help the world’s poorest 

people. Church multiplier 

officer, Claire Whitmore 

highlights how you can 

bite back at hunger 

EVERY YEAR IN MAY SOMETHING 

amazing happens across Britain and 

Ireland: thousands of churches and 

communities take their faith on to the 

streets on behalf of the world’s poorest 

people. This is Christian Aid Week. 

Last year Christian Aid Week raised 

an incredible £12.5m. From coffee 

mornings to snail races, sponsored 

walks to concerts, thousands of people 

applied their creativity, enthusiasm 

and passion to raise funds for our 

work worldwide. And this year we’re 

confident that it can be even better. 

Everyone has something different to 

bring to Christian Aid Week. Perhaps 

you’re a brilliant baker, or maybe you’re 

better placed to persuade someone 

else to bake for your event. You may 

not fancy a sponsored swim, but a 

station collection might be just up your 

street. Treasure hunts, garden parties 

and sports days are all great ways to 

have fun, engage your community 

and raise money. This Christian Aid 


Week, let’s use our 

diverse skills and 

interests as part of one 

body, as the Church’s 

movement for change. 

As one Christian Aid Week 

volunteer put it: ‘It’s a countrywide 

thing, so if everyone does a little bit it 

makes a big difference in the end.’ 

Many of us will be taking part in 

house-to-house collecting, and last 

year this generated three-quarters 

of the money raised in Christian Aid 

Week. Collecting in this way only takes 

a few hours of your time and can be 

incredibly rewarding – and all you 

need is a smile. While delivering and 

collecting Christian Aid Week envelopes 

Do something 

amazing this Christian 

Aid Week. Contact your local 

regional office – see pages 

24-25 – or go online at 

caweek.org to find out how 

you can help make 

a difference. 

may seem daunting, most collectors’ 

experiences are extremely positive. 

Last year, one said: ‘I was pleasantly 

surprised by the vast majority of 

people’s responses when I knocked on 

their doors.’ 

On Christian Aid Week Sunday, 

you can be a part of a nationwide 

prayer moment by texting your prayer 

to 70788 or emailing it to us at 

caweek.org/pray 

You could also use our prayer and 

action cards to challenge the G8 to 

champion the world’s poorest 

people, and to pray for a 

world in which everyone 

has their daily bread. 

Why not invite a 

Christian Aid speaker 

to your church in the 

run-up to Christian 

Aid Week? You can 

find out more from 

your local office. 

Christian Aid Week is an 

opportunity for us to be visible 

in our communities, being witnesses 

to God’s desire for justice and standing 

in solidarity with people in poverty. 

Please think about how you can use 

your unique talents, skills, contacts 

and interests to get involved. All your 

efforts will go towards our ultimate 

aim: an end to poverty. So please get 

out there and bake, bike, bring and buy, 

barbeque and hang out the bunting – 

do whatever you can to play a part in 

this movement for change. 


WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN 

WHY YOUR 

HELP IS SO 

VITAL 

Our Christian Aid Week 

stories this year showcase 

ways in which our partners 

are using innovative and 

bold methods to ensure that 

some of the world’s poorest 

people have enough food for 

today and tomorrow 

IN KENYA, text message technology 

and up-to-date weather forecasts are 

improving the crop yields and nutrition 

of farmers. In Bolivia, previously 

threatened rights to land for more 

than 1,000 families have been secured, 

while in Zimbabwe, a new dam has 

transformed lives. 

All of these stories are particularly 

pertinent this Christian Aid Week, as 

Christian Aid joins with more than 100 

other organisations in the IF campaign 

to demand a change to unfair global 

systems that keep people poor and 

hungry. We continue to fight battles 

to ensure that everyone gets the daily 

bread they deserve. 

WITH WATER COMES LIFE 

WITHOUT ENOUGH money to pay 

her fees, Samantha Ndlovu had to 

leave school at 15. Three years on, 

she has experienced her fair share 

of difficulties and trials. With her 

mother sick and unable to stay in the 

community, Samantha has had to 

support her two younger siblings and 

tend the crops in the family garden. 

Samantha lives in Gwanda, a region 

in the south of Zimbabwe that has 

suffered severe droughts, failing 

harvests and acute hunger. Accessing 

clean and reliable water has been 

impossible, leaving many struggling 

to harvest even their strongest crops 

or provide safe drinking water for 

their families. 

But thanks to the support and 

work of Christian Aid partner Dabane 

Trust, Samantha and many others in 

the region are seeing their lives and 

livelihoods transformed. Working 

closely with local communities, 

Dabane Trust has helped to build a 

dam that stores water deep under the 

sand of a nearby riverbed. Located 

on a seemingly dry river, the dam will 

collect sand. And deep in the sand will 

be a constant supply of water. 

ZIMBABWE 

Samantha Ndlovu 

and her two 

siblings have 

seen their lives 

transformed 

‘We get our water from the dam and 

also use it for our cows and goats. We 

get water easily now, and don’t have 

to go such long distances with our 

livestock to collect it,’ says Samantha. 

Thanks to the reliability of fresh, 

clean water from the dam, she and 

her siblings are healthier and safer 

than ever before. Now that there are 

‘ 

We get water easily 

now, and don’t have 

to go such long 

distances with our 

’ 

livestock to collect it 

newly established wells linked to 

the sand dam irrigating the market 

garden, a harvest rich with crops is 

ensured for Samantha and the market 

garden group she belongs to. 

No longer reliant on poor crop 

yields, life is very different for their 

family, with kale, chamolia (cabbage) 

and sugar beans to eat. With each 

new harvest, Samantha and her 

siblings move beyond just surviving. 

Hunger is now firmly in the past and 

the future looks rich with possibility. 

Christian Aid/Susan Barry 


CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID W 

Christian Aid Week 12-18 May. See caweek.org 

WHERE 

LAND MEANS 

A SECURE 

HOME 

Deep in the Amazon rainforest, in 

the Beni region of eastern Bolivia, 

communities have lived off the land 

and its rich produce for generations. 

And yet many have suffered more 

recently at the hands of local cattle 

ranchers, mining corporations and 

logging companies, all desperate 

to drive them off their land, often 

destroying crops and intimidating 

local families. 

Abraham Noza Mosua was born in 

Santa Rosa, Bolivia. Until recently, 

he and his young family struggled to 

protect their land or produce enough 

food. Abraham was forced to find 

I know the land 

will provide if I 

‘ work it well 

’ 

labouring work far from home. But 

now, all that has changed. Christian 

Aid partner the Centre for Research 

and Training of Peasants (CIPCA) has 

been working tirelessly with remote 

and marginalised forest communities, 

such as Abraham’s, to help them 

secure the rights to the land on which 

they live. This is a seemingly small act 

that has had incredible results. 

More than 1,000 families are now 

able to look forward to a more secure 

future and can invest their time and 

effort in caring for the land. Now that 

he has land rights and a secure home, 

Abraham explains: ‘I haven’t had to 

work as a labourer; I’ve stayed here 

and worked my land with all kinds of 

crops. I know that the land will provide 

if I work it well.’ 

Once land rights are obtained, 

CIPCA supports communities with 

This 

photograph 

of Abraham 

Noza Mosua 

provided the 

inspiration 

for one of 

the posters 

in this year’s 

Christian 

Aid Week 

resources 

BOLIVIA 

a crop diversification programme to 

increase harvests while continuing to 

protect the forest and its rich resources. 

By developing new, sustainable 

businesses, such as growing the 

region’s high-quality and valuable 

cocoa and teaching families how to 

keep hens and woolless sheep, fear and 

hunger are being replaced with safety 

and abundance. 

NOW TRY THIS AT HOME! 

Why not take some inspiration from the 

communities featured in our Christian 

Aid Week resources this year? 

• Text race: charge people to enter a 

text race – who can text a phrase 

quickest to a nominated number? You 

could use the weather forecast like 

those received by farmers in Kenya, 

a tongue twister or a fact about 

Christian Aid! 

• Green fingers: get dedicated 

Abraham, his family 

and their community no 

longer have to worry about the future. 

’As members of the community we look 

after the forests, the water, the lakes and 

everything that surrounds us because 

we are part of it,’ says Abraham. 

Today, tomorrow and next year, as 

harvests increase, as communities plan, 

the future looks fruitful. 

gardeners inspired by people like 

Samantha from Zimbabwe to pledge 

their time to work in the gardens of 

the not-so-keen gardeners – for a fee 

of course! 

• Choc-full: a chocolate-tasting evening 

will always be popular, and it’s also a 

great chance to tell others about how 

growing cocoa is changing the lives 

of poor farmers in Bolivia. 

Find out more at caweek.org 

Christian Aid/Rachel Stevens 


WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN AID WEEK CHRISTIAN 

Faith proudly displays 

the results of her new 

farming techniques 

KENYA 

FORECASTING A HEALTHIER 

FUTURE FOR FARMERS 

Faith Njiru has farmed her land in 

Mbeere North in eastern Kenya for 24 

years. In this time she has experienced 

a changing climate that has often left 

her family struggling. 

And Faith is not alone. Farming 

communities across Kenya have seen 

increasingly erratic weather in recent 

years, with drought and unpredictable 

rainfall destroying harvests and leaving 

families with little to survive on. 

However, the SALI project, run by 

Christian Aid partner Christian 

Community Services Mount Kenya East 

(CCSMKE), has developed an innovative 

approach that is changing the lives of 

farmers and helping them reap a richer, 

more valuable harvest. By sending 

them scientific weather predictions and 

forecasts via text message technology 

Now we have 

plenty and can 

provide enough 

‘for our families 

’ 

– translated into their local language – 

CCSMKE enables farmers to plant 

armed with valuable information. 

Along with other farmers in her 

community, Faith now receives weekly 

and seasonal forecasts from the SALI 

project. These are proving invaluable in 

ensuring that she has secure access to 

food in the future. 

Training is also helping farmers to 

adapt their techniques and crop choices 

according to the changing climate, and 

to reap the benefits. ‘We have been 

taught about planting the seeds which 

will do the best,’ says Faith. 

Now able to make informed 

decisions, farmers involved in the 

project are finally finding security 

from their land and are able to feed 

their children. The hunger that once 

consumed them has been replaced 

with abundance. 

‘Before, we used to prepare plain 

maize without anything else. Now 

we can add beans and vegetables 

to meals. We have plenty and can 

provide enough for our families.’ 

With more food today and security 

tomorrow, Faith can plan for the 

future: ‘In 12 months’ time, I will 

be able to buy a piece of land and 

expand my farm. It won’t be just 

subsistence – but a business. I will be 

very proud to be a businesswoman!’ 

• This Christian Aid Week, we urge 

you to give, act and pray with us so 

that the world’s poorest people go 

hungry no more. 

Christian Aid/Susan Barry 


FRONTLINE 

Stories from around the world 

showing how Christian Aid 

and our partners are working 

to empower people to shape 

a better future for themselves 

and their communities 

The wrecked police station in 

Dar El Salam, now restored 

thanks to the work of people 

such as Mahmoud and Mokhtar 

(far right). Inset: voters 

used their inked fingers to 

leave their own mark of the 

democratic process 

‘THIS IS THE PRICE 

FOR FREEDOM’ 

Two years on from the fall of President Mubarak in 

Egypt, Christian Aid partners are working hard to help 

the country’s poorest people adapt to the political and 

economic instability that has followed. Ross Hemingway 

meets two men who have been helped towards a better 

future for themselves and their families 

‘I FELT LIKE I WAS SUFFOCATING,’ 

recalls Mokhtar Abdallah. 

‘It was like drowning in a sea and 

wanting any kind of help,’ adds his 

friend Mahmoud Hussein. 

A sure sign Egypt was ripe for revolt? 

Sadly, this was the stark reality of life in 

Egypt in the months after the popular 

uprising that began in January 2011. 

As the initial euphoria and optimism 

that accompanied the fall of President 

Hosni Mubarak faded, hopes that many 

Egyptians harboured for a better Egypt 

soon withered. For Mokhtar and 

Mahmoud – both out of work and 

struggling to support their families in 

Dar El Salam, Cairo – life had been 

turned upside down. 

Mubarak had been president of Egypt 

for nearly 30 years. During this time 

many Egyptians had felt powerless, 

craving not only political change but 

also an end to the grinding poverty in 

which they lived. Having bravely joined 

with hundreds of thousands of their 

fellow citizens to secure an end to 

Mubarak’s regime, Mokhtar and 

Mahmoud’s defiant show of solidarity 

came with enormous sacrifice. Egypt 

found itself in the grip of political 

instability, economic stagnation and 

reduced national security. 

‘Life came to a standstill,’ explains 

Mahmoud. ‘I had a family and children 

to take care of and didn’t have enough 

money. I couldn’t buy food or anything 

for them. The situation was awful.’ 

Neither man could find work until an 

emergency cash-for-work programme – 

run by Christian Aid partner Coptic 

Evangelical Organisation for Social 

Service (CEOSS) – provided them with 

10-15 days’ work renovating the local 


‘ 

If I get one pound a day and have 

freedom it’s better than having 

10 pounds a day and being 

’ 

downtrodden and oppressed 

school and police station. The projects 

were chosen by the community, and 

Mokhtar and Mahmoud helped to hang 

doors, fix windows and paint walls. 

Formerly a symbol of oppression, the 

police station had been badly 

vandalised during the uprising. ‘There 

was so much pent-up anger and a 

feeling of injustice,’ Mokhtar recalls. ‘I 

didn’t agree with [the violence], but I 

could understand it. The damage was 

the result of 20 years of oppression.’ 

As a result of the violence, the police 

presence diminished and crime levels 

rose. Lack of security was a major 

concern for members of the community. 

However, with cash-for-work came the 

opportunity to restore trust between the 

police and local people, to reclaim the 

police station and restore it to its 

rightful place – serving the community. 

Working alongside another Christian 

Aid partner, the Coptic Orthodox Church 

Bless (COC Bless), the cash-for-work 

project has helped 6,641 households, 

both Christian and Muslim. 

Mokhtar and Mahmoud, who are both 

Muslim, were unconcerned about 

accepting help from a Christian charity. 

Mahmoud says: ‘People shouldn’t bring 

religion into it. What is the meaning of 

Christian and Muslim? It’s some crazy 

distinction. I’ve worked in the school 

with Christians and Muslims. We have 

Christian friends. I go to church for 

weddings and funerals. I’m invited to 

church and I go. I have no concerns.’ 

As well as the cash-for-work scheme, 

CEOSS also offered a counselling 

service: an opportunity for women and 

men to talk about the tough times they 

had faced. ‘Sharing made a difference,’ 

says Mokhtar. ‘Being able to talk to 

someone helped.’ 

While cash-for-work may not be a 

solution to long-term unemployment, it 

has proved vital. For the likes of 

Mokhtar and Mahmoud – dejected and 

depressed – it helped to restore a sense 

of pride and dignity. It gave them a 

chance to regain control over their lives. 

Economically speaking, the income 

received through cash-for-work 

programmes re-entered the local 

economy, giving it a boost. This shortterm 

injection was crucial: a 

Christian Aid/Ross Hemingway 

humanitarian response, similar to a relief 

effort after a typhoon, for example. 

However, in the long term, CEOSS is 

tackling chronic youth unemployment via 

an ‘employment through technology and 

innovation’ project in 10 communities in 

Cairo, Qalyoubeya, Minia and Beni Suef. 

The project aims to provide internship 

and job opportunities to 24,000 young 

men and women, as well as training in 

communications and IT. 

It’s been two years since the uprising 

and the situation is far from settled. 

Egypt may have an elected president 

and parliamentary elections are due this 

year, but many are still anxious about 

what the country will look like, long-term. 

What will it mean for women, or for the 

minority Coptic Christian community? 

For such groups, human rights concerns 

are ever-present. Decision-making is not 

seen as inclusive and, to all intents and 

purposes, Coptics are not represented 

under the new regime. 

Yet despite such uncertainty, there is 

continued hope and tangible progress. 

Many of Egypt’s poorest people are 

becoming increasingly aware of their 

rights, are participating in political 

processes and are intent on gaining 

power over their lives. What’s more, 

Christian Aid partners in Egypt, 

including CEOSS, are continually 

adapting their work to the changing 

situation. Their work on literacy, 

women’s rights and helping poor and 

marginalised people to have a voice has 

never been more important. 

Mahmoud and Mokhtar are still not in 

full-time employment; finding work 

continues to be a struggle. So has the 

pain and hardship been worth it? The 

answer is emphatic. ‘This is the price for 

freedom,’ Mahmoud says firmly. 

Mokhtar goes further: ‘If I get one pound 

a day and have freedom it’s better than 

having 10 pounds a day and being 

downtrodden and oppressed.’ 

The two men had never met before 

their cash-for-work project. Their 

friendship has been firmly forged in the 

face of adversity. At one point they link 

arms, laughing and smiling. They no 

longer look like men who once were 

drowning or suffocating. In many ways 

Mokhtar and Mahmoud symbolise the 

uprising and the struggles that can be 

overcome through trust, solidarity and, 

ultimately, a strong faith in one another. 

• See christianaid.org.uk/partners 


INPUT 

Inspired? Enraged? 

Send your views to: The Editor, Christian Aid News, 35 Lower 

Marsh, London SE1 7RL or email canews@christian-aid.org 

Coverage in the winter 

edition of Christian Aid 

News of our Gaza appeal 

to support victims of the 

conflict with Israel has 

drawn critical comments 

from some readers. Here, we 

publish two of the letters 

received and, in response, 

advocacy officer William 

Bell outlines Christian 

Aid’s position on the issues 

surrounding the ongoing 

conflict in the Middle East 

BEWARE FAVOURITISM 

I am not prepared to support an 

organisation which is so biased 

against Israel. 

Your news article ‘Emergency Appeal 

for Gaza and the Middle East’ shows a 

complete bias describing the situation 

from the Gaza point of view. 

But there are two sides to every 

conflict. I was recently reading an 

account of a couple of aid workers 

visiting Sderot in Israel, who were 

traumatised by the situation there. 

They were only there for two nights, 

COMMENT 

Where does Christian 

Aid stand with regard 

to the Israeli-Palestinian 

conflict? Middle East 

advocacy officer William 

Bell puts forward the 

case that peace and 

prosperity require a 

long-term, just solution 

that ends occupation 

and guarantees viability 

for both Palestinians 

and Israelis 

but each night they had to run for 

shelter three times. In the last year 

alone more than 1,000 rockets landed 

in Sderot – an average of three per 

day. The people have 15 seconds to 

run for cover, and before the recent 

‘WE DO HAVE A BIAS 

– TOWARDS THOSE 

LIVING IN POVERTY’ 

AS CAN BE SEEN from the letters on 

this page, our work in Israel and the 

occupied Palestinian territory evokes 

strong responses. Christian Aid has 

been working in this region since the 

early 1950s, when we provided help to 

Palestinian refugees. Today we work 

with more than 20 Israeli and Palestinian 

organisations to protect human rights, 

to access services and resources, and to 

build a peace based on justice for all. 

We strongly refute any notion that we 

favour the Palestinian ‘cause’. But we 

do have a bias – towards those people 

around the world living in poverty and 

retaliation by the Israelis, schools had 

been closed as attacks were escalating. 

People died, were injured, some lost 

limbs, others have been suffering from 

post-traumatic stress disorder due to 

the rocket explosions. The media is 

we provide them with support to help 

them claim their rights. It is worth 

noting that 75 per cent of the 

population of the Gaza Strip is reliant 

on humanitarian aid and that, according 

to the United Nations Development 

Programme, Palestinian unemployment 

across the occupied territory stands at 

almost 23 per cent. 

In the Gaza Strip, recurring Israeli 

incursions and attacks, the Israeli 

blockade and internal Palestinian 

conflict have all contributed to creating 

a vulnerable and impoverished 

population that is in need of 


however silent about this situtation. 

This is not the first time I have found 

your articles biased. Please ensure your 

magazine is in future more balanced, 

non-biased, and non-judgemental. I 

do not expect bias from a so-called 

Christian organisation. 

Ruth Ainslie, 

Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands 

Whilst I have no concern about raising 

awareness of the conflict and the 

suffering that is taking place, and there 

is mention of both the Israeli military 

action and also the rocket fire from 

Gaza into Israel, the only pictures are 

from Gaza, and none from any damage 

or suffering in Israel. I believe you are 

at risk of appearing to ‘favour’ the side 

of the Palestinians by only showing 

damage in Gaza, whereas it should 

be well-known that the only reason 

Israel takes action is to prevent the 

rockets that are shelled daily on an 

indiscriminate basis into Israel, and 

this is unlikely to ever stop because 

the militants in Palestine who rule 

have forever stated that they do not 

recognise the state of Israel, and their 

world ambition is to eliminate the Jews 

from the earth. The Jews are still God’s 

chosen people, and we as Christians 

need to acknowledge this, and recall 

God’s word that says who blesses the 

Children of Israel, will also be blessed. 

Tony Feltbower 

via email 

MEDIUM ROASTS MESSAGE 

I am rather disquieted by the direction 

your fundraising methods are taking. 

I realise that a charity of your size will 

need to use professional marketing 

advisers but I wonder whether the 

people you employ are in tune with 

your supporters. Last week I got a 

letter from you about the IF campaign 

– that’s fine. It contained postcards for 

my MP and for my response – that’s 

fine, too. The postcards were inside 

a large cardboard cut-out of a cup of 

coffee. That strikes me as infantile and 

wasteful of both our donations and 

the earth’s resources. Presumably the 

majority of Christian Aid supporters 

will be Christian, or at least Christian 

sympathisers and fellow-travellers – 

one thing they won’t be is infantile. (I’m 

still supporting your campaign though.) 

Polly Brown 

via email 

Editor’s reply: ‘We’re sorry that Polly 

wasn’t impressed with our cup of 

coffee device. However, the cup was 

produced in-house at Christian Aid, not 

by professional marketing advisers! The 

device actually fulfilled three functions, 

so was a cost-effective and efficient 

product, and we shared the costs with 

ActionAid. It was also printed on 100 

per cent recycled paper.’ 

CALLING CHRISTIAN AID 

Main switchboard: 020 7620 4444 • Supporter enquiries: 020 7523 2225 • Donations: 020 7523 2269 

Regular giving queries: 020 7523 2046 • Wills and legacies: 020 7523 2173 • National events: 020 7523 2248 

humanitarian assistance. Christian Aid 

unequivocally condemns the rocket 

attacks on Israeli communities from 

Gaza. From visits to these communities 

we understand the fear and damage 

they cause. At the same time we 

recognise that the Israeli state has the 

resources and effective systems in 

place to support its population, which 

the Palestinians in Gaza do not have. 

Aid is vital and makes a difference to 

the lives of thousands of Palestinians, 

but it is clearly only part of the solution. 

Christian Aid believes that peace and 

prosperity require a long-term, just 

solution that ends occupation and 

guarantees viability for both 

Palestinians and Israelis. Viability 

includes a future with security and 

protection of rights for all, not least the 

economic right that can support the 

right of self-determination. 

For Palestinians, any peace process 

must lead to an end to injustice and the 

ordeal of forced displacement that they 

continue to experience, while Israelis 

require assurance that such a process 

would not mean the end of Israel as a 

secure state for Jews. 

Christian Aid challenges policy 

makers to develop a new approach to 

peace that moves from routine 

declarations to concrete disincentives. 

It is essential that the political will is 

found to support the endeavours of 

both Israelis and Palestinians to create 

a future free from violent conflict. We 

believe that such bold steps are critical 

for peace to be able to flourish. 

An example of where such steps are 

required is Israel’s construction of 

illegal settlements throughout the West 

Bank. Christian Aid agrees with the 

United Nations, UK, European Union 

and the US, who all consider the West 

Bank and Gaza Strip to be occupied 

Palestinian territory, as they recognise 

that international law designates it so. 

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva 

Convention prohibits the transfer of an 

occupying power’s civilian population 

into occupied territory. 

Illegal Israeli settlements, with their 

500,000 Israeli settlers, are the physical 

manifestation of the occupation: they 

pose an obstacle both to peace and to 

Palestinian economic development. This 

is why we have called for an end to 

settlement trade in Britain and Ireland. 

This is not a ban or boycott on trade with 

Israel, which we do not support. 

In 2012 the World Bank reported that 

continuous growth in the size of land 

allocated by Israel for settlement within 

the West Bank has fragmented the 

territory into smaller, more disconnected 

enclaves. We believe the international 

community has a duty to act to prevent 

any breaches of international law. 


LIFE AND 

SOUL 

The way we lead our own 

lives can have a tangible 

impact in the fight to end 

poverty. By ‘doing the right 

thing’ we show we have a 

commitment to a sustainable 

lifestyle that places a high 

value on helping others 

CHURCH HELPS 

PREVENT KILLER 

DISEASE 

A woman prepares a 

mosquito net in 

Sierra Leone 

Christian Aid/Antoinette Powell 

The story of how one church 

with a tiny congregation 

raised a big sum to help 

combat malaria should 

inspire us all, reports 

church fundraising officer 

Eleanor Ledesma 

AS A VERY SMALL CONGREGATION, 

Stanley Street Church in County 

Durham knew that helping to stop 

malaria deaths in Sierra Leone was 

going to take a very big effort. But the 

worshippers could never have 

imagined the runaway success of their 

fundraising drive to raise £500 to train, 

equip and support one malaria control 

volunteer in Sierra Leone – a country 

where the disease causes a third of 

child deaths. 

Minister Eric Southwick explains: ‘As 

a small church with a congregation of 

less than 20 adults, most of whom are 

unwaged, this was a giant leap of faith, 

but one which we believed that we 

should take. The prospect of helping to 

save the lives of children and 

vulnerable adults in a distant land 

captured our imagination. 

‘We took the opportunity to talk about 

the project to the children and families 

of two schools who visited our church 

for special services, as well as others 

who have come along to special events. 

The result has been that we have been 

able to raise £1,000, which was beyond 

our wildest dreams when we first made 

the commitment to help. We hope and 

pray that the Lord will bless the work 

that is enabled by this money, that the 

volunteers will have great success in 

their work and that many lives will be 

saved by their efforts.’ 

Stanley Street Church’s £1,000 is 

supporting not one, but two life-saving 

malaria control volunteers. These 

volunteers receive training in malaria 

prevention and treatment, as well as in 

interactive education and presentation 

techniques. Once trained and equipped, 

they travel to vulnerable communities 

to teach them about the cause of 

malaria, and how to prevent and treat 

it, dispelling common myths about the 

tropical disease. The education sessions 

have proved extremely popular and can 

draw crowds of up to 200 people, all 

keen to learn how to protect themselves 

and their families from the disease. 

We are still looking to train 20 more 

malaria control volunteers. Could your 

church help? If you think you could 

raise £500 before July 2013, or if you’d 

like more information, please call 

020 7523 2225 or email 

churchesmalaria@christian-aid.org 

More information can be found at 

christianaid.org.uk/tacklemalaria 


EXPLORING GOD’S 

WORLD IN CHILD- 

SIZED CHUNKS 

HELP US TO CELEBRATE 

CHILDREN’S wisdom and insight to 

know when things aren’t fair, and to 

nurture a new generation of world 

changers with a passion for justice. 

As part of our resources for 

churches, we now offer monthly 

‘Children in church’ materials. These 

can be used during Sunday school 

and midweek groups, and for all-age 

worship or children’s talks. 

Free resources are available at 

christianaid.org.uk/childrens-resources 

For older youth, more materials 

are available from 

christianaidcollective.org 

The answer for 

your prayers 

The April to July edition of the 

Christian Aid Prayer Diary is available 

from the end of March to our regular 

subscribers and to download from 

christianaid.org.uk/churches You can 

also get a copy at your local office. 

This quarter, our prayers will focus 

on the ENOUGH FOOD FOR 

EVERYONE IF campaign against 

global hunger and will reflect on the 

large number of conflicts affecting 

people in many parts of the 

developing world. We also think of 

the challenges facing those living 

without secure land rights and in 

unpredictable environments. 

A meal is 

just the start 

COME DINE WITH US… 

AND FIGHT POVERTY 

Over the past month, groups of young people across the 

UK have been coming together to have dinner. But how 

does eating together help to end poverty? 

WHEN JESUS SAT DOWN for dinner, 

something special usually happened: 

water into wine; the breaking of bread; 

five loaves and two fishes filling 5,000 

people; the rich sitting down with the 

poor; the ignored becoming the 

included. There was more to a meal 

than mere nutrition: there was almost 

always a deeper meaning or purpose. 

Sharing food is about building 

community, and Christian Aid 

Collective believes that community 

can change the world. So we’re taking 

the simple act of sitting down at the 

same table to build a movement of 

young people who want to be part of a 

global community – one that cares 

about everybody involved. It all starts 

with sitting down to dinner, but it 

becomes a community that believes 

social justice is a natural outworking 

of faith: speaking up on behalf of the 

marginalised, campaigning for justice, 

challenging one another’s lifestyles, 

praying for change. 

If you weren’t able to come to one of 

our meals but you would like to put on 

your own, or know a youth group that 

might be interested, we’ve created a 

resource that gives you everything 

you’ll need to hold your own dinner. 

To download it, visit 

christianaidcollective.org/resources/ 

same-table 

Christian Aid 

CHANGE YOUR BANK, CHANGE THE WORLD 

CHRISTIAN AID’S ETHICAL BANKING partnership with 

Triodos Bank has raised around £10,000 to support the 

charity’s work worldwide. 

This is a strong testament to growing consumer desire for 

a more ethical approach to banking. For many years, savers 

put their trust – and their money – in banks, asking few 

questions about the kinds of businesses those banks lend 

that money to. In the wake of the financial scandals that 

rocked the big high street banks last year, thousands of 

people have chosen to move their money. But it’s still almost 

impossible to find out exactly who your bank lends your 

money to. Most simply won’t tell you. 

One way to ensure that your money is used to support the 

things you believe in is to save with Triodos. It publishes 

details of every single organisation it lends to on its website. 

The list is filled with environmental, campaigning and 

social enterprise clients such as Cafédirect, the Fairtrade 

coffee and tea producer, and Ecotricity (another Christian Aid 

partner), which provides green energy across the UK. 

Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, Triodos has operated 

in Britain since 1995, attracting a community of savers who 

want their money to build a more sustainable society. Each 

time a Christian Aid supporter opens a Triodos savings 

account and deposits £100 or more, Triodos donates £40 to 

Christian Aid (terms and conditions apply). 

If you want to find out more about saving money ethically, 

investing in sustainable businesses and helping Christian Aid 

at the same time, visit triodos.co.uk/christianaid 


EVENTS 

We work with some of the 

world’s poorest communities. 

They face huge challenges 

every day, so why don’t you 

challenge yourself? Have fun 

while fighting poverty: join 

one of our events or do your 

own fundraising 

Helen Burgess and Dan 

Tribble took part in last year’s 

Cathedrals to Coast bike ride 

BIKE IT! 

JOIN OUR 

CYCLING 

CHALLENGE 


There’s a Christian Aid 

fundraising challenge out 

there for everyone. Sophie 

Mendes picks out some of 

this year’s highlights, on 

foot, on wheels – and even 

in the kitchen 

THIS AUGUST, CHRISTIAN AID WILL 

hold its second annual Cathedrals to 

Coast bike ride. This scenic 140-mile 

cycling challenge will start at the 

magnificent Guildford Cathedral on 31 

August and go past some of England’s 

finest cathedrals and castles, before 

finishing in style on Weymouth seafront 

the following day. 

This two-day event is an experience 

previous participants are quick to 

recommend to other cyclists. Terry 

Hodson, who took part in the 2012 ride, 

said: ‘Cycling through the beautiful 

British countryside with other 

passionate Christian Aid supporters 

was brilliant. I would definitely 

recommend this ride to cyclists of all 

abilities looking for a different 

challenge.’ 

Last year’s event raised a fantastic 

£20,000 for Christian Aid and we want 

to pedal past that target this year. Need 

more incentive? Well, if you register at 

christianaid.org.uk/cycling before 6 May, 

you’ll be entered into a prize draw to 

win some awesome cycling goodies! 


✁ 

SLURP IT! 

SUPER 

RESPONSE 

TO SOUP 

APPEAL 

THANK YOU to 

everyone who has 

been making their 

bowl count in the 

fight against poverty 

by taking part in 

Super Soup Lunch 

2013. Hundreds of 

people throughout 

Britain and Ireland 

have been getting 

together to sip soup 

and fundraise with 

friends, family and 

colleagues to help 

some of the world’s 

poorest 

communities lift 

themselves out of 

poverty. This year’s 

Super Soup Lunch is 

set to raise over 

£100,000, with 

money still rolling in! 

Walk it! Fundraising 

for all the family 

EVERY YEAR, PEOPLE ACROSS BRITAIN 

and Ireland raise an amazing £250,000 for 

Christian Aid’s vital work around the world 

– just by going for a walk! Our walks are 

not only a fantastic family day out, but they 

also make a real difference to some of the 

world’s poorest people. 

So this year, please join us in putting your 

best foot forward. Come and experience the 

delights of East Herts or the stunning 

Oxfordshire countryside at Walk the Country. 

Explore the footpaths and byways at 

Meopham in Kent, Chippenham’s paved 

paths in Wiltshire or Hampshire’s countryside 

at Bishop’s Waltham. Head into London for 

Circle the City or explore the parish 

boundaries of St Andrew’s at Alfriston, in 

East Sussex. 

Fancy a walk at the racecourse? Head to 

Newton Abbot in Devon. Or perhaps you’d 

relish the breezy Dorset seafront in 

Bournemouth and Poole, the town of Millport 

in Scotland for the Cumbrae Challenge or a 

chance to Walk the Waterfront in Liverpool. 

And imagine spotting Mr Darcy emerging 

from the great lake on the Lyme Park 

Sponsored Walk in Cheshire (the location for 

the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice series). 

You can enjoy the night sky in Yorkshire 

and follow a secret route for the Halifax Long 

March, or walk from dusk till dawn into the 

moors on the Sheffield Night Hike. Marvel at 

the stunning Peak District scenery on the 

We’ll show you the way: why not join one of 

the many Christian Aid sponsored walks 

Sheffield May Day Trek or gather with friends 

and family for the Humber Bridge Walk – a 

four-mile stroll in Scarborough. Alternatively, 

you could be part of West Craven’s 47th year 

of hiking along part of the Leeds-Liverpool 

canal towpath. 

In Scotland, it’s all about the bridges: 

savour the views at our famous Bridge 

Crosses at Erskine Bridge Cross, Forth 

Bridge or Tay Bridge. 

In 2012, hundreds of people walked 

thousands of miles between them for 

Christian Aid. Could 2013 be the year you 

take up the challenge? 

For full details of all these walks and how 

to register, go to christianaid.org.uk/walks 

Christian Aid 

EVENTS 

FUNDRAISING 

CALENDAR 

2013-2014 

SUPER SOUP 

LUNCH 

Spring 2013 

BRIGHTON 

MARATHON 

14 April 2013 

VIRGIN LONDON 

MARATHON 

21 April 2013 

BUPA GREAT 

MANCHESTER RUN 

26 May 2013 

EDINBURGH 

MARATHON 

26 May 2013 

HADRIAN’S WALL 

WEEKEND TREK 

12-14 July 2013 

LONDON TO PARIS 

BIKE RIDE 

17-21 July 2013 

CATHEDRALS TO 

COAST BIKE RIDE 

31 August – 

1 September 2013 

QUIZAID 

September 2013 

BUPA GREAT 

NORTH RUN 

15 September 2013 

ROYAL PARKS HALF 

MARATHON 

6 October 2013 

EAT THIS! TAKE ANOTHER BITE OUT OF POVERTY 

LOOKING FOR A NEW 

FUNDRAISING idea? Whether 

you’re boosting your 

sponsorship for a challenge 

event, planning a Christian Aid 

Week fundraiser or just looking 

to do your bit for Christian Aid in 

general, you can take inspiration 

from Team Poverty marathon 

runner Luke Harman. 

Luke has been holding weekly 

curry clubs in his office to 

supplement his marathon 

fundraising, providing yummy 

grub to the hungry masses on 

Mondays. Drawing on culinary 

skills and recipes he picked up in 

India, Luke caters for up to 20 

people each week, charging £5 a 

head. He says: ‘Not only has this 

been a great fundraising 

initiative, but getting together at 

lunchtime for the curry club has 

Lucinda Kerr 

brought that little bit of extra joy 

to the workplace. I’m currently 

working on organising a quiz 

and raffle next month, and there 

are plenty of other fundraising 

tricks and tips out there. Curry 

club will continue until the week 

of the race in April, and maybe 

even beyond.’ 

• Order your copy of our free 

DVD-rom fundraising pack, My 

Christian Aid, packed full of 

resources, tips and advice, at 

christianaid.org.uk/yourway 

SANTA DASH 

5K FUN RUNS 

December 2013 

BIG CHRISTMAS 

SING 

December 2013 

BURNS SUPPER 

21-28 January 2014 

SPONSORED 

ABSEILS 

February/March 2014 

Visit christianaid. 

org.uk/events to 

find out more

LAST WORD 

A reflection on playing a part 

in the fight against poverty, 

and living life in the wider 

family of Christian Aid 

WHERE LOVE 

TENACIOUSLY 

CLINGS TO HOPE 

In January the Bishops of 

Bath and Wells, Worcester 

and Limerick visited 

Christian Aid partners in 

Israel and the occupied 

Palestinian territory. 

This reflection on their 

time there expresses the 

hope generated by what 

they saw 

Though he (God) slay me, yet I will 

hope in him, I will surely defend my 

ways to his face. (Job 13:15 NIV) 

OUR TIME IN JERUSALEM brought us 

face to face with the political and social 

tensions resounding in Israel and the 

occupied Palestinian territory. The 

tensions of the land and the hope 

created by Christian Aid’s partners 

immediately reminded us of the words 

of Job (above). 

On the first morning we visited 

Christian Aid partner B’Tselem, an 

Israeli human rights organisation. One 

way it supports the rights of Palestinian 

communities has been to provide them 

with video cameras to record the 

sometimes violent confrontations from 

some Israeli settlers. The footage is 

presented to the legal authorities as 

supportive evidence. Later that same 

day we visited Yad Vasham, the 

memorial to the Jewish Holocaust. This 

reminded us of the recent history that 

contributed to the founding of the state 

of Israel in 1948. 

Two peoples living on a tiny area of 

land, both of whom have the right to a 

peaceful, safe and flourishing life. But 

historical enmities run deep and, as 

Christian ministers who daily use the 

Bible as a source of inspiration, we 

were all aware of the context and 

sensitivities of our visit. We were 

challenged and provoked. 

The new Israeli settlements, many of 

which divide Palestinian communities 

– including separating them from their 

agricultural land – are a sign of hostility. 

Seeing patches of olive groves where 

Christian Aid/Geoff Daintree 

Bishop John Inge (Worcester) and Bishop 

Peter Price (Bath and Wells) with children 

at the centre in Gaza run by the Culture 

and Free Thought Association 

the trees have been cut to the ground, 

spoke of an abuse of human rights. It is 

examples of broken relationships such 

as these that B’Tselem is drawing to the 

attention of the legal authorities, 

bringing protection and hope to those 

who would otherwise be powerless and 

unable to defend themselves. 

Later in the week we had the 

opportunity to visit Gaza. Driving from 

Jerusalem to the crossing into Gaza 

was like driving through a European 

country. The roads were good, the 

agricultural development on both sides 

of the road lush, and the housing areas 

excellent. Having negotiated the 

security of the crossing, we were met 

by a consultant working for Christian 

Aid in Gaza. We drove to visit some 

partners through an environment that 

shares similarities with many 

developing nations; many goods are 

moved by donkey carts and the 

roadside stalls are poor and dilapidated. 

Our hearts were lifted by the work we 

saw in a clinic and children’s centre run 

by the Culture and Free Thought 

Association: a place where psychosocial 

counselling is bringing hope to young 

broken hearts. The centre is a beacon 

of light in an overcrowded, povertyburdened 

community, where suffering 

has cast a dark shroud over the 

whole community. 

Seeing children performing a puppet 

show, and describing drawings they’d 

made that contrasted a sense of despair 

with a bright and optimistic future, 

helped us to appreciate the huge value 

of Christian Aid’s work in supporting 

such partners. 

We ended the trip with a mixture of 

emotions. On the one hand we are 

deeply saddened by the poverty and 

hardship in which so many Palestinian 

families and communities find 

themselves. On the other hand there is 

optimism that, in the midst of the 

suffering, human kindness and love are 

tenaciously holding on to hope. 

Christian Aid’s partners are resilient 

and committed, providing as much 

protection and security as they are able. 

The Church must play its part in adding 

to this work, and do all in her power to 

strengthen hope for a bright and 

flourishing future for all who live in this 

holy land. 


Contact us for your 

free guide to Wills 

and legacies 

With a Will, you can look after all the people you care about. 

It may look like a dry legal document, but a Will is really an act of care. Or even love. 

When you make a Will, you make a commitment to look after your family and 

friends even when you’re gone. And if you wish, you can do something even 

more extraordinary. 

By including Christian Aid in your Will, you can extend that loving care to people in 

other parts of the world. To a young woman in Afghanistan eager for an education. 

To a community in west Africa ravaged by food shortages. To the people you are 

already doing so much to help in your lifetime. 

To find out more about the caring power of Wills, complete and return the form 

below – or contact Kerry at kmcmahon@christian-aid.org or on 020 7523 2173. 

Please send me The Christian Aid Guide to Wills and Legacies 

Title: First name: Surname: 

Address: 

Postcode: 

Email: 

13-360-J1172 

Telephone: 

Once completed please return to: Christian Aid, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT 

A016427

CHRISTIAN AID NEWS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?