christian aid magazine spring/summer 2014

11–17 MAY

The quarterly magazine for supportersSpring/Summer 2014

Sky’s the limitHelp us reach new heights this Christian Aid Week

www.caweek.org

Let the light shine through Cathedral to Coast Bike Ride 2–3 August 2014

Cycle from the stained-glass majesty of Guildford Cathedral to Dorset’s golden coastline and put the brakes on poverty.

Photo: iStock 14-062-J2464

What will inspire you to ride?Register now at christianaid.org.uk/whatcounts or call 020 7523 2248

christianaid.org.uk/whatcounts

3

4 Loretta’s letterA message from Loretta Minghella.

News4 Vigil for SyriaPlus: fears grow over DRC’s ‘triangle of death’; join the ‘fast for the climate’.

Frontline8 Healing a heart broken by conflictStories for Christian Aid Week: from South Sudan, a woman finding a new beginning after a life of tragedy.

12 What no child should have to seeFrom Colombia: how humanitarian zones are helping communities find peace after decades of war.

14 The Big Picture From Iraq: the village embracing ‘normal’ after nearly being destroyed.

16 Christian Aid Week 2014How the numbers add up.

18 Taken by stormHow we help communities dealing with climate change.

Comment20 Opinion: The politics of povertySimon Kirkland argues that we need to lobby politicians to tackle poverty.

21 Reflection: How Christian is Christian Aid?Susan Durber considers how much theology should influence our work.

23 Letters Your views.

Life and Soul24 Ready, Eddie, go!In praise of local organisers.

25 RecipeTry egg arepa for a taste of Colombia.

26 Every step countsOn the road for Christian Aid.

27 Challenge events

28 Book reviews

29 Crossword

30 Five minutes with… Nick PageA quick chat with the Christian author.

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Contents12

Christian Aid MagazineIssue 2: Spring/Summer 2014

Editorial teamEditor Roger FultonSub-editors Andy Jacques, Catriona Lorie, Caroline Atkinson, Louise ParfittArt editor Gavin Micklethwaite Pictures Joseph Cabon, Matthew Gonzalez-NodaProduction Cedric TaylorCirculation Ben Hayward Published by Christian Aid 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL

tel: 020 7620 4444 email: [email protected] christianaid.org.uk

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 © Christian Aid April 2014. The acceptance of external advertising does not indicate endorsement.

Cover storySara Wahid enjoys the newfound peace of her village in northern Iraq.Photo: Christian Aid/Antoinette Powell

Other photos this issueAll photos copyright Christian Aid except where stated below. This page, Andy Hall/Oxfam for the Climate Coalition, Christian Aid/Andrew Testa/Panos; pages 4-5, Andy Hall/Oxfam for the Climate Coalition; pages 6-7, 350.org; pages 8-11, Christian Aid/Andrew Testa/Panos; pages 14-15, Christian Aid/Sarah Malian.

F2277

26

Christian Aid is a member of

Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

christianaid.org.uk

New

sI am lucky enough not to know at first-hand what

it feels like to have my world ripped apart by conflict. I am so grateful for that – and humbled

by the sacrifices of so many others to create and sustain our security.

Violence, however, is a constant in the lives of nearly a quarter of the world’s population, meted out by soldiers or militiamen in countries at war, or by armed gangs in those parts of the world where government holds scant sway.

In all cases, lack of security is a significant driver of poverty. Conflict forces people to abandon their homes, jobs and the land they farm, while amenities are destroyed, infrastructure shattered, trade disrupted and investors scared off.

Christian Aid Week this year, May 11-17, focuses on the theme of peace and reconciliation. It will highlight our work with partners in more than a dozen countries where there is conflict, and in a dozen more where there is now peace and we are helping communities recover.

This issue of your magazine looks in detail at our projects in two such places: South Sudan, where there is renewed fighting, and Colombia, where the prospect of a lasting peace has proved so elusive.

I hope such accounts will inspire you to support Christian Aid Week again this year and perhaps in a way that you’ve not done before. On page 16, you’ll find out more about the week and where to access resources to help with organising a door-to-door collection, as well as lots of ideas and materials for fundraising events.

Whatever you do, please join in, and be part of the largest single annual act of Christian witness in the UK.

4

Loretta’s letter

Loretta Minghella, Chief Executive

‘Drowning Street’ At a water-logged replica of 10 Downing Street, Christian Aid joined representatives from the Climate Coalition to raise awareness of climate change.

The replica, set up opposite Parliament, showed David Cameron and Nick Clegg looking dejected on sandbags outside No 10. The stunt urged Mr Cameron to push for new EU targets on climate and energy for 2030.

Under pressure from campaigners, the PM acknowledged that: ‘We want the EU to play a strong leadership role in efforts to secure a global climate deal.’

However, he and other EU leaders delayed their decision at a meeting in March. So we will need to keep up the pressure for ambitious action.

Without it, communities around the world will continue to bear the brunt of climate change (see page 18).

To read a digital version of this magazine, go to christianaid.org.uk/cam

christianaid.org.uk/cam

Vigil marks third year of Syria crisisFrom Trafalgar Square in

London to Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, thousands of people around the world stood together in a global vigil for Syria on 13 March. It marked the third anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict, and was held to urge world leaders to commit to ending the conflict before another year passes.

Syrian voices joined a coalition of 115 humanitarian and human rights groups – including Christian Aid – from 35 countries. They called for urgent action to ensure Syrians can access humanitarian aid.

‘The human cost of the crisis is staggering,’ says Janet Symes, head of Christian Aid’s Middle East team. ‘More than 130,000 dead, nearly 50% of the population in need of humanitarian aid, almost a quarter of a million living in besieged areas where they are unable to access help.

‘It’s important for the population to know that we care and that we are demanding world leaders find a political solution to the crisis.’

Christian Aid Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 5

Up/downThe stories making headlines: for better

or for worse

Thanks to your generosity, our Syria Crisis Appeal has already raised more than £2m, enabling our partners to support communities in desperate need.

In the months ahead, our partner REACH will expand its work to help refugees in Iraq earn a living so they can provide for their families.

In Lebanon, our partner the Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union will help Syrian refugees with disabilities to access specialist support such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy, as well as vocational training.christianaid.org.uk/syriaSee also withsyria.com

Major supermarkets stock The Real Easter Egg, the UK’s first

Fairtrade charity egg to tell the real Easter story.

christianaid.traidcraftshop.co.uk

The Church of England General Synod agrees to strengthen its position on climate change and to review the Church’s ethical investment

policy on fossil fuels. bit.ly/synod-climate

Communities in Malawi reap the benefits of keeping beehives – and

it’s good for the environment . bit.ly/malawi-bees

We’re excited about the upcoming Coast to Coast cycle ride on 24 April. Be inspired to take on

a challenge of your own. christianaid.org.uk/whatcounts

More than 400,000 people have been displaced in Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo as

fighting between government troops and rebels escalates.

bit.ly/katanga-crisis

More than 70,000 families have been affected by flooding in Bolivia.

bit.ly/bolivia-floods

An estimated 7 million people are at risk of severe food shortages in South Sudan and there could be

a famine there by 2015. christianaid.org.uk/south-sudan

christianaid.org.uk/syria

www.withsyria.com

christianaid.traidcraftshop.co.uk

www.bit.ly/synod-climate

www.bit.ly/malawi-bees

christianaid.org.uk/whatcounts

www.bit.ly/katanga-crisis

www.bit.ly/bolivia-floods

christianaid.org.uk/south-sudan

The southern Democratic Republic of Congo province

of Katanga is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

Fighting between government troops and Mai Mai and Bakata Katanga rebels has displaced more than 400,000 people, according to the UN.

Over the past six months, more than 60 villages have been burnt to the ground in the northern Katanga territories of Manono, Mitwaba and Pweto, dubbed the ‘triangle of death’. The violence has intensified since January.

As the number of people forced from their homes continues to rise at an alarming rate, malnutrition is rife, security is almost non-existent and living conditions are deteriorating daily. Our partners are providing 1,000 families with temporary shelter, clothing, blankets, cooking utensils and hygiene kits.

‘The situation in Katanga is desperate – we are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis,’ warns Salome Ntububa, Christian Aid’s regional emergency manager for Central Africa.

‘Fleeing with only the clothes on their backs, most families lack cash to purchase even basic shelter; while children under 14

are eating only one small meal a day, at best. Malaria, diarrhoea and cholera pose huge health threats and contaminated well water means people are forced to drink from polluted rivers.

‘The escalating violence in recent weeks remains a huge concern regarding the delivery of emergency aid.’

Christian Aid Magazine Spring/Summer 20146

Thousands join ‘fast for the climate’

A moving speech from Yeb Saño (above), lead delegate for the Philippines at last year’s UN climate negotiations, inspired thousands of people around the world to go without food

in solidarity with those hurting because of climate change.

This year, that global movement is growing. A regular fast will take place on the first of every month throughout 2014.

Fasting has huge spiritual significance, and is often used as a means of repentance – a turning away from harmful practices while dedicating ourselves once again to choosing a new, better path. Fasting can have a huge political significance too.

This regular fast will send a clear message to our leaders

that we are committed to tackling climate change; that the time for action is now.

The General Synod decision to reconsider the Church of England’s £8bn worth of investments in light of climate change demonstrates the sort of commitment that we will need to meet the problem head on. Regular fasting, with time set aside to reflect and pray, is one way to make a personal commitment to build the kind of future we want to see. – Sign up at christianaid.org.uk/fastfortheclimate

Fears grow over Katanga’s ‘triangle of death’

christianaid.org.uk/fastfortheclimate

Christian Aid Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 7

News

Call for global action against gender inequalityWorld leaders must take

action against gender inequality if they are serious about eradicating global poverty – that’s the message from Christian Aid following talks in New York last month.

We joined delegates from global governments for the annual Commission on the Status of Women, which addresses women’s universal rights and gender equality. The talks focused on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that will follow from 2015. The commission declared its support for a standalone goal to address gender inequality – our primary ask.

In a new briefing paper, Gender Justice for All, we highlight the need for such a specific goal in the post-2015 era. Helen Dennis, Christian Aid’s senior adviser on poverty and inequality, said: ‘While progress has been made in vital areas such as girls’ education, other areas, such as tackling violence against women and girls, remain under-resourced.

‘We believe poverty cannot

be eradicated in a world where gender discrimination prevents women and girls from exercising power over their own lives and bodies, within their household and their community.

‘We welcome the clear support from the Commission for a standalone goal to address gender inequality.’

But she warned: ‘Although this is a good step forward, it is important to note that the negotiations on the new goals, which will follow the MDGs, will not be concluded until September 2015, and the standalone goal is yet to be agreed by world leaders.’

Speaking truth to power Christian Aid has published a new resource designed to help Christians campaign for the world’s poorest people. The Prophetic Church outlines the theology of advocating for justice, uses historical examples to illustrate the long Church tradition of ‘speaking truth to power’ and highlights what Christians are doing today to challenge the structures that keep people poor.

In the 48-page booklet, theologian Dr Marijke Hoek considers how Moses and Esther provide us with examples of ‘speaking truth to power’ and looks at how Jesus’ ministry focused on the poor and marginalised.

The booklet is free to download. Free hard copies can also be ordered at christianaid.org.uk/thepropheticchurch

Tax dodging breakthrough Following the UK government’s decision to create a public register of company owners – highlighted in the last issue of Christian Aid Magazine – Euro MPs have recommended new measures of their own to tackle tax dodging.

Central to this is the creation of public registers of the real owners of all European companies. This is a great step forward in the fight against phantom firms that rob poor countries of billions of dollars, and we’re grateful to the many of you who have kept the pressure on by writing to your MEPs. See christianaid.org.uk/tax

Law firm aids families’ fightIn helping to protect the rights of indigenous communities in Colombia, Christian Aid and its local partner have been aided by pro bono help from international law firm Simmons & Simmons. There are powerful bodies and individuals trying to stop families from securing their land rights, but Simmons & Simmons will work with us until a successful outcome is achieved.

christianaid.org.uk/thepropheticchurch

christianaid.org.uk/tax


Healing a heart broken by conflict

Fro

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9Christian Aid Magazine Spring/Summer 2014

Frontline: Christian Aid Week

Healing a heart broken by conflict

She breaks down as she describes how members of her family were forced into their home and burnt alive by militia. Anoon escaped to the bush with her mother and brothers where they survived on wild foods, before fleeing from the south of Sudan to Khartoum to escape the violence.

Brought up by her brothers, Anoon worked in a clothes factory, met her husband Madut Ayom Dong, a teacher, and had eight children.

There are some stories that need to be told. This is Anoon Aleu’s.

It is a burning hot morning in northern South Sudan and I sit with Anoon on a dusty floor beneath a temporary grass shelter.

She looks me directly in the eye as she speaks. She wants to tell her story to ‘heal her heart’ and so that we do not forget the people of South Sudan.

Like so many here, Anoon’s childhood was devastated by civil war.

The following pages highlight our Christian Aid Week theme of helping those affected by conflict. Here, Gen Lomax meets a woman from South Sudan who embodies her country’s struggle to be reborn.

10 Christian Aid Magazine Spring/Summer 2014

But sporadic outbursts of violence against southerners living in the north threatened the safety of Anoon and her family. ‘I feared for the life of my children. I wanted them to be safe,’ she tells me.

So, when July 2011 brought peace and independence to South Sudan, Anoon was desperate to return to her homeland and start a new life.

But it was to prove a harsh and ultimately tragic homecoming. The family was allocated land in Apada camp, an open wasteland that now houses more than 40,000 returnees.

‘When we arrived in Apada it was just bush,’ Anoon says. ‘We spent the first seven days living under a tree. We did not have any shelter.’

Despairing, Anoon sold what little they had to buy food. Her eldest son David even took his beloved bicycle apart so he could mend other people’s bikes for money.

But David was already ill with pneumonia and died suddenly. With him died all the hope that Anoon had

brought with her for life in South Sudan. ‘When you hold a child inside you, when you see them grow, you have such hope,’ she says.

Anoon’s family fell apart. Her husband tried to take his own life, her eldest daughter Eliza could not talk or eat and Anoon was taken into hospital. Gradually, however, they began to rebuild their lives.

Sitting with Anoon nearly two years after she first arrived back in South Sudan, I ask how she found the strength to carry on. What kept her going, she says, was her community,

Population: UN estimate 9 million Capital: JubaMain economy: Subsistence agricultureChief of state: President Salva Kiir Mayardit

• South Sudan became the world’s newest country on 9 July 2011, following nearly 40 years of civil war in Sudan. • We have been operating there since the 1970s. We opened our field office in Juba in 2008.

South Sudan

Sudan

South Sudan


Frontline: Christian Aid Week

‘I built my house next to my son’s grave and I will not leave it’

Above: the grave of Anoon Aleu’s son, outside the new home being built by her husband Madut; Anoon’s youngest son stands in the doorway. Below left: a HARD sign near the entrance to Apada camp. Previous page: Anoon with five of her children.

her faith in God and the work of our partner Hope Agency for Relief and Development (HARD).

HARD gave the family the emergency supplies they so urgently needed: plastic sheeting, cooking pots, mosquito nets. Crucially, they then followed up with a grant for the family to build a secure, brick house.

‘This is important to us,’ Anoon told me. ‘We can now live together safely and this brings my children courage and hope. I built my house next to my son’s grave and I will not leave it.’

Although the political situation in South Sudan has deteriorated since I met Anoon, the area where she lives is currently free from the increasing violence that has hit many other states. With the continuing support of HARD, Anoon’s family are planning to grow crops and Anoon has started a small business, making biscuits to sell at the local school at breaktime.

And her story does not end there. Since we met her, she has a new baby girl, Achol. Hope springs eternal.

Crisis grows in South SudanMore than 900,000 people have been displaced amid escalating violence in South Sudan since 15 December 2013. The UN estimates that considerably more than 10,000 people have been killed and at least 75,000 people have taken refuge in UN compounds.

Political tensions have been building in South Sudan since President Salva Kiir – leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – dismissed the entire cabinet in July last year.

Despite the signing of a Cessation of Hostilities agreement on 23 January, violent clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and opposition forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar have continued unabated.

An estimated 7 million South Sudanese people face hunger this year, with the UN warning of famine at the beginning of 2015.christianaid.org.uk/south-sudan

christianaid.org.uk/south-sudan

12

The paintings of a nine-year-old boy, living in a ‘safe zone’ set up with the support of Christian Aid, bring home the reality of the decades-long conflict that has torn Colombia apart.

What no child should have to see…


Population: 45.7 million Capital: BogotaMain economy: coal, oil, gas and mining exportsPresident: Juan Manuel Santos

• Colombia’s civil war has run uninterrupted since 1964.• More than 70,000 civilians have been killed or have disappeared in the past 20 years, with 4 to 5.5 million people becoming internally displaced.• We have been working in the country since the 1980s.

ColombiaFrom a distance, Edile’s painting looks like one you might see in any primary school

classroom in the UK. It’s only when you take a closer look that you realise the distressing truth: no nine-year-old should ever feel compelled to draw scenes like this – of armed men firing bullets into a house.

Edile is growing up in the midst of a vicious conflict in Colombia – one that has killed at least 220,000 people over the past 50 years.

It is a war for land, characterised by appalling human rights abuses: executions, ‘disappearances’, people forced at gunpoint from their homes by armed groups, who often sell this land at a huge profit to timber, banana and palm oil companies. They use the threat of violence to prevent the people they displace from returning.

Edile’s father was murdered by an armed group when Edile was very little. He is now afraid that paramilitaries will kill other members of his community. His painting gives form to his fear. ‘I am afraid of people dying, that they are killed, that the paramilitaries will come here.’

His fears haven’t gone away yet, but Edile now feels – and is – much safer than he was. He lives with his mother and grandma in a ‘humanitarian zone’, an area backed by international law and created by communities to protect themselves from the violence around them. Anyone bearing arms is denied entry.

The space just to be children Edile’s newfound security means he can now enjoy lessons and educational activities. The teachers keep an eye on the psychological wellbeing of Edile and his friends, who have been through so much in their short lives. They also have the space just to be children again. ‘I am happy here,’ says Edile, his eyes shining. ‘It is fun, we play ball, I have many friends.’

The Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP), one of our partners, played a crucial role in

Left: Edile with one of the paintings reflecting his fear of attacks by armed groups. Inset: detail of the finished painting.

Frontline

setting up the 15 humanitarian zones that help to keep these children safe.

Father Alberto Franco is one of CIJP’s charismatic leaders. You’d never guess that this warm, relaxed man in a Panama hat has been the target of death threats. He refuses to be intimidated. He says he will continue devoting his life to speaking out to defend the rights of Afro-Colombian communities against paramilitaries and a government that is often complicit in their atrocities.

He explains the importance of the humanitarian zones. ‘If you’re on your own, you can get killed and nothing happens. But if you get together with your neighbours, people know what happens to you, where you are, how you are. People start to defend each other.’

Living in the zones accelerates the healing process, too. ‘The humanitarian zones enable people to share the pain and talk about their situation, or cry. They create the space for people to be listened to.’

CIJP helps communities understand the law and provides lawyers to represent communities in the courts, so that perpetrators of violence can be brought to justice.

The tyranny of violence is being challenged by the strength of communities such as Edile’s, the bravery of men such as Father Alberto and the rule of law. But the conflict is not over, and there are still around 5 million displaced people in Colombia: people wrenched from everything familiar and dear. There are many, many more people like Edile who need your help.

No child should have to go through the kind of fear that Edile has had to experience. With your support, we can help more communities like Edile’s to live a life free from fear.

To order a DVD featuring Edile’s story, or to download the video and other Christian Aid Week films and resources, visit caweek.org/resources

www.caweek.org/resources

15

Hope where there was despair

This is 10-year-old Sana who goes to school in Zanan Bchuk, a village in northern Iraq. The scene seems so utterly normal that

it’s hard to believe it would’ve been almost impossible 30 years ago.

Zanan Bchuk’s peaceful atmosphere belies its turbulent history. In 1988 the village was destroyed during the Ba’ath regime’s genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people. When the community returned, the destruction was so profound that people struggled to identify even their own homes. In the years that followed, they worked hard to rebuild the community.

Our partner REACH has been working in Zanan Bchuk for several years and has helped the community to transform their village.

A dam now harvests water and greenhouses mean the community can grow crops. REACH has also helped villagers lobby the local government for access to essential services, such as electricity and the tarmac road that now connects the village to the local market.

And, of course, children like Sana go to school. Zanan Bchuk is a village with a hope-filled future.It’s a heart-warming image to keep in mind this Christian Aid Week. caweek.org

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Frontline: The Big Picture

www.caweek.org

£13 millionWe hope to raise

Christian Aid Week 2014 Held every May since 1957, Christian Aid Week is the biggest single act of Christian witness in the UK. It sees churches and communities across the country stand in solidarity with the world’s poorest people.

500,000 cakes will be baked during Christian Aid

Week 2014

We estimate... We know of... We hope...

35 annual sponsored

walks organised by Christian Aid groups,

raising an average of £820 each

11-17 May

30,000 churches will get

involved in Christian Aid Week 2014

11–17 MAY

150,000– the number of collectors we hope

will take to the streets this year

Raising money

changes lives

£289 could buy a new home

in South Sudan for a family in need of shelter

£110 could buy three pigs to provide families in

Colombia with protein and an income

£5 could buy a family returning to South

Sudan some cooking utensils, a jerry can

and plates – household essentials

to help them start a new life

£47.50could buy 19 blankets for displaced people in

South Sudan to get them through the cold nights

£480could buy enough

blankets, mattresses, pillows and cooking sets for eight Syrian

refugee families

8 million – the number of households we hope

will receive an envelope

14 x London to Sydney

– the distance we estimate collectors will walk during Christian Aid Week

London

Sydney

For all your Christian Aid Week resources, visit caweek.org

www.caweek.org

Taken by storm

BRAZIL The Amazon rainforest helps regulate the world’s climate. Indigenous communities are often expert in protecting the forest, while living off the resources it provides. We help them secure land rights and fend off big companies.

This year in the UK, we’ve experienced some of the chaos that climate

change can cause: widespread floods and storm surges, especially along the coast. Although we can’t attribute any single weather event to climate change, rising sea levels and increased rainfall are expected to be an inevitable consequence of the changing climate.

But climate change is already

having an even more damaging impact on the world’s poorest people. It will force more people into poverty and hit global food production, making more children go hungry.

We work with communities across Latin America, Asia and Africa who are already facing storms, floods and droughts, and the catastrophic effect on their lives and livelihoods.

We teach farmers new

methods, provide animals better able to cope with extreme weather and help communities prepare for disaster.

This ‘adaptation’ work is vital, but only a temporary solution. What we need is global action to tackle the root cause of the problem. We’re calling on world leaders to use opportunities in the next 18 months to push for a concrete global climate deal.

Climate change isn’t a distant threat; it’s hitting the world’s poorest people right now. Here we highlight some of the devastation caused by climate change around the world and the vital work we’re doing to help communities face the future.

‘It was because we held the collective land rights that we were able to stop the timber company coming here’

BOLIVIA Because of water shortages caused by glacier melt, we’ve built irrigation systems and helped one community build a reservoir that provides 40 families with water.

EL SALVADOR Already facing earthquakes, climate change adds another dimension to El Salvador’s struggles. We help communities prepare for extreme weather, find more sustainable ways of making a living and advocate for change.

‘Climate change is increasing [but] as poor people we don’t have a voice – we are invisible to others’

‘We don’t have enough water to grow our crops. There are conflicts over water between communities’Alivio Aruquipa, a farmer hit by the impact of glacier melt.

Domingos Printes, community leader of the Amazonian quilombola people.

Storm Floods Drought ErraticRainfall

Melting ice Rising sealevels

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Maria Martinez’s community are supported by our partner Procares.







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HOW THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IS ALREADY BEING FELTStorms. Extreme weather events

like cyclones and hurricanes are becoming more frequent and intense, destroying people’s homes and livelihoods.

Floods. An increase in both coastal and urban flooding creates significant problems for many communities, who have less time to recover between floods.

Drought. Rising temperatures bring the risk of prolonged drought where food is already scarce.

Erratic rainfall. Many farmers rely on stable weather patterns in order to grow a decent crop. Increasingly erratic rainfall makes food production much more difficult.

Melting ice. Warmer temperatures mean glaciers are melting, leading to landslides and water shortages for those who rely on them to survive.

Sea-level rise. More seawater means that groundwater becomes increasingly salty, destroying agricultural land.

PHILIPPINES We help communities at risk of floods to monitor river levels and organise evacuations.

Frontline

MALAWI 90% of Malawi’s rural population live off the land, so climate change-related dry spells are dangerous. Our work helps farmers boost crop yields and increase their chances of survival.

‘This water means so much to us. We can grow, where before there was just dust’

KENYA We help farmers get vital weather forecasts by text message, so they know when to plant and harvest, even when rainfall is erratic.

‘Crucially, we’ve learned how the weather changes. We trust the information and act on it’

‘Rainwater continued to rise. I grabbed the megaphone and sounded the siren for evacuation’

BANGLADESH We´re helping people adapt to saltier water and climatic changes by cultivating floating gardens and introducing saline-resistant breeds of duck.

‘Ducks get diseases because of the salty water. Now I’ve received training and a different breed of duck’



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Read more in our latest report, Taken by Storm: responding to the impacts of climate change, with a foreword by Dr Rowan Williams. Available to download at christianaid.org.uk/ taken-by-stormJoin our campaign for climate justice: christianaid.org.uk/climatechange

Farmer Roban Biswas, who we’ve helped adapt to climate change.

Belen de Guzman coordinates volunteers in her community.

Farmer Faith Njiru receives important text alerts.

Lazaro Kagular now gains an extra harvest in the ‘thin’ months.


christianaid.org.uk/taken-by-storm

christianaid.org.uk/climatechange

Charities have been caught up in controversy about a new law to curb political lobbying. Simon Kirkland, Christian Aid’s UK parliamentary and political adviser, explains why lobbying is an important part of our work.


Com

men

t The politics of poverty – why do we lobby?

L obbying is integral to our democracy – from individuals making direct representations to

their elected officials, to experts and interest groups contributing to public debate – informing and improving public policy and the laws of the land.

At Christian Aid, we have always been unashamed in our view that poverty is political. Poverty is not inevitable; it is the result of political decisions. As the wealthiest generation in human history, we believe that we have the greatest opportunity to overcome poverty, but it will require a different set of political choices. It means we must engage with the political decision-makers of the day. We must lobby.

But lobbying has been under the spotlight in recent months as the Lobbying Act has passed through Parliament. The Act creates a register of consultancies that lobby on behalf of clients and limits the amount of campaigning that non-political parties can do in the run-up to elections, where it is intended to influence the results.

So what is all the fuss about? Surely transparency in lobbying is a good thing? Well, in seeking to regulate this area, the government, by accident

or design, opened up a fractious debate about the role of campaigning charitable groups that seek to influence politics.

While the Act is not now as bad as we had originally feared, it still has the potential to disrupt our campaigning plans, especially those we undertake in coalition with other organisations. Our parliamentary staff are going to be taking a careful look at the guidance notes that will be produced and the legal advice being developed for NGOs.

In Christian Aid’s day-to-day lobbying and advocacy, we communicate with a wide range of MPs, peers and ministers about a range of topics that concern people in poverty. Our staff and supporters live out their faith by speaking up for the voiceless. And when we speak truthfully and loudly, very often it works. Look at our tax campaign – who pays tax, and how much, are among the most fundamental political questions there are.

Some people would take the view that a charity should raise funds and deliver services to the poor, not involve itself in such debate. But we see this as precisely our role; challenging inequitable global rules

Opinion


How Christian is Christian Aid?Susan Durber, Christian Aid’s theology coordinator, considers the vexed question of just how much Christian to put into Christian Aid.

There were two theologians giving a lecture together

about Jesus. In the time for questions at the end, someone asked: ‘Which of you is the more radical?’ One replied that he didn’t think he could say, but that Jesus was surely more radical than either of them!

Sometimes I get asked questions about how ‘Christian’ Christian Aid is. There are views about whether and how we should be ‘more’ or ‘less’ Christian, whether we’re too Christian now or not Christian enough. And I suppose you could count the number of Christians who work for Christian Aid, or you could chart the Biblical quotations in each policy document, but few of us really think that’s the important question.

My own hope for Christian Aid is that we will never stop trying to fathom what Jesus was really about; whether that’s his own teaching and example or what people have experienced of God, in and through him, since. And I hope that we will never lose the sense that in terms of a vision of a different world – one more just and loving, more life-giving and beautiful, – Jesus is always ahead of us or deeper than us: more radical still.

One night on the BBC’s

Question Time, the author Jeanette Winterson, who is often a challenging voice for the Church, spoke, in the midst of a discussion about poverty, about what Jesus said and did, with a passion I’ve rarely seen anywhere.

She told an astonished audience: ‘If you read the Bible, I don’t see any sign of Jesus advocating tax breaks for the rich. I see him feeding the five thousand. I see him going to the rich man and saying “give away everything you’ve got to the poor if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven”. I see him sitting with prostitutes.’

Jesus is always ahead of us or deeper than us: more radical still

And she got a round of applause. The teaching of Jesus cut right through that discussion, and it has so much power to move hearts and minds. He’s still more radical than any voice on any panel you could get together. To be Christian is to hear that voice and keep on trying to listen to it. That’s how I’d like Christian Aid to be Christian.

Susan is a minister of the United Reformed Church and a former Principal of Westminster College, Cambridge.

– decided by politicians – that allow wealthy individuals and companies to hide their profits and avoid tax. Aid and charitable giving, while vital in the short term, will never solve problems that require systemic, political solutions.

Last year, the UK Government agreed to introduce a public register of who owns what in the UK, making it harder for companies to avoid tax. The response followed direct campaigning by more than 17,000 Christian Aid supporters. It was a great success and wouldn’t have happened without our lobbying. We will be looking closely at the government’s draft legislation, when it is published, to ensure it is the best it can be for developing countries.

We are also refocusing our efforts on tackling climate change. We are beginning to see the effects of the changing climate in the UK, but developing countries have been feeling its impact for years. We need to reduce the devastating consequences of climate change on developing countries by lobbying the UK Government and other global institutions to put in place a worldwide binding agreement to reduce carbon emissions further.

On these and many other issues, advocacy is an important tool to help us bring about our vision – an end to poverty. Our charitable status rightly restricts us from engaging in party politics, or in trying to influence the results of democratic elections. But we must be forever vigilant of our right to engage, with full throat, in the political debates that shape the lives of the poorest.

Be a local lobbyistIf you are interested in getting more involved in the political lobbying work of Christian Aid in your area, please do have a look at our Local Lobbyist scheme. christianaid.org.uk/locallobbyist

Reflection

christianaid.org.uk/locallobbyist

1.

2. Get crafty! This is one way our talented supporters raise funds for Christian Aid Week. So if you have a skill (making cards, necklaces, dried flower arrangements, candles, etc) make sure you put it to good use and hold a craft sale during Christian Aid Week.

3. Everyone loves a bargain Hold a second-hand clothes sale. Ask everyone you know for unwanted clothing. Children’s clothes sales are always very popular with mums and dads.

4. Hold an auction of promises Ask your friends and local businesses to donate a service free of charge, from singing lessons, language lessons, an hour’s gardening to dinner for two at your local restaurant.5. Organise a sponsored aerobathon and enlist the support of your local gym, leisure centre or sports shop. 6. Bad taste day Charge your work colleagues or school mates £1 to spend the day wearing their loudest tie, brightest blouse or ugliest shirt and award the winner with a prize.

11–17 May

7. Can you do-ce-do? Swing into action and organise a barn dance. Hire a caller and traditional country band. Serve food and cider and charge an entry fee.

8. Hold a film night Recreate an evening of vintage cinema by showing classic films and musicals at a community venue.

9. Battle of the bands Invite local bands and musicians to play at a venue and ask the audience to vote for a winner. Charge an entry fee to the audience.

10. Who wouldn’t want the chance to ‘beat the goalie’? Score a goal and win a prize. Footballers make a small donation to take part. 11. Anyone for scrabble? Invite friends over for fun and games, play Scrabble, Monopoly, Cluedo and more. Charge an entrance fee or a fee per game.

12. Guess the baby Ask your colleagues or school friends to bring in baby photos and to make a donation to guess who is who.13. Hire a bouncy castle Bouncy castles are great for keeping kids entertained at bigger family events. Charge a bouncing fee or if you really want to tire out the kids, organise a sponsored bounceathon!

14. Organise a poetry evening Invite local poets to read aloud their work, serve drinks and nibbles and charge an admission fee to guests. 15. Bake and sell! Who can resist a cake sale? Hold a traditional cake stand at fêtes or fairs. Don’t forget to check health and safety regulations.

16. Hold a treasure hunt Walk or cycle from clue to clue in search of hidden treasure. Teams pay to enter. Ask a local business to donate a prize to the winning team.

17. Car wash Set up a car wash at your local shopping centre, office or school car park and prepare to get wet! If you are holding a car wash on private property, make sure to get permission first.

18. Charity ball Raise money the sophisticated way by organising a themed ball with dinner and live music at a hotel. Charge for tickets and boost your earnings with games, raffles and auctions.

19. Wacky races Get sponsored to race a set distance in a shopping trolley, bathtub or wheelie bin. Ask for donations and for competing teams to pay an entry fee.20. Wedding dress exhibition Everyone loves a wedding! How many ladies in your congregation still have their wedding dresses? Why not stage a wedding dress exhibition in the church? You can charge an entry fee and include wedding photos and written recollections from the bride and/or groom.

21.

100 fundraising ideas Get involved!100 ways to fundraise for Christian Aid Week 2014

21

Football tournament Schedule fixtures and charge teams to enter. Ask local businesses for prizes.

1

Fête Reach the whole community by holding a fête, or team up with organisers of an annual event.

Children from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, took part in a four-hour sponsored bouncy castle bounce and raised £400 – that’s enough to buy shelters to house sheep in Nicaragua, enabling coffee farmers to diversify their income.

UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525 Scot charity no. SC039150 NI charity no. XR94639 Company no. NI059154 ROI charity no. CHY 6998 Company no. 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid 2013 Printed on 100% recycled paper.

Photos: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images (top), Christian AId/Andrew Testa (bottom) 14-803-J1964

F5026E

11–17 May

War tears lives apart. Love can piece them back together.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Give, act and pray this Christian Aid Week.

‘My stronghold and my refuge,

my saviour – you save me

from violence’

2 samuel 22:3fearless

Seven amazing days of love in action

UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525 Scot charity no. SC039150 NI charity no. XR94639 Company no. NI059154 ROI charity no. CHY 6998 Company no. 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid 2013 Printed on 100% recycled paper.

Photos: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images (top), Christian AId/Sarah Malian (bottom) 14-803-J1964

F5026E

11–17 May

War tears lives apart. Love can piece them back together.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Give, act and pray this Christian Aid Week.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ Matthew 5:9

fearless

Access the fi lms on this disc by inserting it into

the disc drive on your computer or into your DVD

player to watch on your TV.

Playing the discs

on a Windows PC

Minimum system requirements:

Windows XP®, 1.3 GHz

processor or equivalent,

256MB of RAM (512MB

RAM recommended).

Playing the discs on a

Mac OS X computer

Minimum system requirements:

PowerPC G4, G5 or Intel

processor, Macintosh OS X®

10.4.11 or better, 256MB

of RAM (512MB RAM

recommended).

To watch the fi lms using your

computer, insert the disc

into the DVD drawer of your

machine. Depending on the

computer settings, your disc

will either start straight away

or you will need to double

click the silver DVD icon

on your computer desktop.

This disc will also work

in a standard DVD player.

Having problems?

Please email us at

[email protected]

or call 020 7523 2225 (Britain)

or 01 611 0801 (Republic

of Ireland) or 028 9064 8133

(Northern Ireland).

Sleeve printed on 100 per cent recycled paper.

UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525

Scot charity no. SC039150 NI charity no. XR94639 Company no.

NI059154 ROI charity no. CHY 6998 Company no. 426928

Front cover image: Christian Aid/Andrew Testa/Panos

The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid

© Christian Aid November 2013 14-802-J1938

11–17 MaY

Scenes from

the Christian A

id Week fi lm

s

F5015E

Films for Christian Aid Week 2014 and beyond.

11–17 MaY

fearless

You will fi nd

other great

Christian Aid

Week resources

online at

caweek.org

14-802-J1938-FilmDVD-Disc-sleeve-AW.indd 1

04/11/2013 15:15

Order your resources today:caweek.orgor contact your local Christian Aid officechristianaid.org.uk/inyourarea

Will your church be taking part in Christian Aid Week? Watch films to inspire you and your church, read our guide to the 100 best fundraising ideas, order resources and much more.

Download free monthly resources for church-based children’s groups. All-age talks, games, craft ideas and more. Printed activity sheets available for Christian Aid Week, Harvest and Christmas.

christianaid.org.uk/childrens-resources

Helpchildren

understand

global issues

bit by bit

House building challengeWrite or draw the building materials, listed right,

on separate pieces of paper (or use the template

on the next page) and hide the papers around your

meeting place. You will need one full set of materials

for each team you will split your group into. Split your group into teams and ask them to ‘build’

a house by finding all of the necessary materials. For older children, you could tell them that a new

home in South Sudan costs £289, and challenge

them to work out if they have all of the right

materials by adding up the costs on the papers

that they find. For younger children, you could show them the

picture (below) of a completed house labelled

with the things that they need to find.

For one home in South Sudan1,000 bricks

£34Roof

£196Bamboo poles to hold up roof

£27Strong door

£14Strong window

£7Important items for the house

£11Total

£289When the teams have found all the materials

they need, explain that Christian Aid partner

HARD is helping families to build a new home

in South Sudan. After many years of conflict,

a safe place to live gives people the security

they need to start again.

Extra activities

You will need• The building materials for a new house written on separate pieces of paper.

• Paper cut out in brick shapes.• Sheets of paper or a roll of lining paper (available in DIY shops).

• Eggs and different materials to wrap them in.• Colouring pens or pencils.• Optional – A Safe Place to Live, a Christian

Aid Week film about Edile, available online

at caweek.org or on the Christian Aid Week

DVD, Fearless.

Strong door

Bricks

Roof

Strong window

Bamboo poles to hold up roof

Important items for the house

Presentation■■ Ask for four volunteers to do four simple tasks. ■■ Give the first volunteer a carrot and ask them to peel it for you. Give them a tin opener. ■■ Give the second volunteer a tin of beans and ask them to open it for you. Give them a bottle opener. ■■ Give the third volunteer a nut in a shell and ask them to crack it open for you. Give them a vegetable peeler. ■■ Give the last volunteer a soft drink in a glass bottle and ask them to open it. Give them a nutcracker. ■■ Ask the volunteers to get on with their tasks. When it becomes clear they can’t do the task they’ve been assigned, see if they can come up with a solution. Only if they work together and use the right tools will they be able to complete the job. (If you can’t get hold of the kitchen gadgets, show the pictures from slide two and ask the children to tell you what each object is used for.)

■■ Explain that all of these objects are designed for a very particular purpose. They are excellent at doing the task they were designed for, but by themselves they can’t carry out

all the kitchen jobs that we need to do. If you wanted to prepare a meal with some of the foods that we celebrate and share at harvest, you might need all of these different tools, as they are each created for a special purpose. ■■ Show the picture of Dielem Viana Printes [slide three] and introduce her. Dielem is eight years old and lives in the rainforest in Brazil, South America. She is from a quilombola community, descendants of people that escaped from slavery long ago and hid in the Amazon rainforest for safety. The rainforest is a very beautiful place full of plants and animals. Dielem gets to swim in the river after school and her school bus is actually a boat!

■■ Dielem and her family harvest most of the foods they need from the forest. One food is particularly important to them: the Brazil nut. (Show the children the bowl of nuts.) The nuts provide essential nutrients that are good for Dielem’s health, and the community can also sell the nuts to make money to pay for some of the things they can’t gather in the forest – important items like clothes, medicines and schoolbooks.

A sPeciAl role in A sPeciAl PlAce You will need:■● A special role in a special place presentation, available from christianaid.org.uk/harvest ■● a tin of beans, a soft drink in a glass bottle (such as a J2O), a nut inside a shell and a carrot■● a bottle opener, vegetable peeler, tin opener and nutcracker (or pictures of these from the presentation)■● bowls of Brazil nuts, enough for each member of the congregation to take one each. (Remember to be aware of people with nut allergies.)

Project name Harvest 2012Job number 14-101-J1398

Item name All-age talkProof stage v3

Client Pippa DurnProof date 28/5/13

Client team Churches and young people Feedback due 30/5/13

HArVesT All-Age TAlkAn Advent

Journey

Monday 2 December

What are your hopes for this

Christmas? What do you think Waleed

might hope for? Waleed’s mum hopes

that when Waleed grows up he will be

able to feel safe.

Tuesday 3 December

Listen to your favourite song and think

about how the music makes you feel.

Wednesday 4 December

Leave a note for somebody in your

family to tell them that you hope they

have a good day.

Thursday 5 December

If you are buying Christmas chocolate

treats, try to buy Fairtrade chocolate.

This makes sure that the farmers who

grow the cocoa beans are treated fairly

and means they have a hopeful future.

Sunday 1 December

Waleed is 13 and he lives in the

West Bank, which is part of the

occupied Palestinian territory. There

has been a conflict between Israel and

the Palestinians for many years. Israeli

soldiers control where Palestinians (like

Waleed and his family) can travel, so it

can be hard for people to get to see a

doctor or go to hospital. Waleed didn’t

get the help that he needed for his

deafness when he was little. He grew up

very shy and found it difficult to speak

out and make new friends.

With an adult, light a candle

for hope. Think about the

difference the light makes to

the darkness.

Join us for an Advent discovery

countdown! There’s no chocolate to eat or

windows to open, but plenty of fun to be had,

facts to discover and a new friend to make.

We’re following the story of Waleed Badir, a boy who lives in the

occupied Palestinian territory. Waleed is deaf and until recently he had

never heard his family’s voices. Find out what has changed for him and learn something about

his life each week.

There are also things you can do to help to spread hope, peace, love and joy throughout Advent.

Each time you do one of these things, colour in the star on the last page. When you get to

Christmas, you will have a colourful reminder of your Advent journey.

christianaid.org.uk/childrens-resources

www.caweek.org

christianaid.org.uk/inyourarea


Counting the daysWhy does Christian Aid peddle the myth that Lent is 40 days? It is of course 46, as your own Count your Blessings shows and as I confirmed over the last two Lents when I abandoned my evening glass of wine. Just because Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days doesn’t mean our Lenten tradition has developed in the same way.Clive Robinson, via email

Left and rightAnyone supporting Christian Aid has to be a caring person. However, there are some strange views around. Why

a critic of sky-high executive salaries should be labelled right wing puzzles me, as more probably they’d be left wing or even apolitical.

The financial transactions tax was expressly designed by the EU Commission to reduce the income of the City of London in relation to Frankfurt and Paris. Any business lost to us all in Europe would quickly move to Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai or New York. As the City of London produces a very large part of the UK tax income, our funds available for pensions, the NHS, foreign aid and subsidising Christian Aid would drop noticeably. Cameron and

Osborne should be commended for vetoing this EU proposal.Alex Scott,Knutsford

Greenbelt Festival Christian Aid’s Andy Jackson is making a plea for help:May I ask for volunteers to help at Christian Aid’s venues at this year’s Greenbelt festival? The festival takes place over the August Bank Holiday at Boughton House near Kettering in Northamptonshire, and we will be running the main worship and spiritual venue as well as a café. If anyone is interested, please email [email protected]

Have your sayInspired? Enraged? Send your views to: The Editor, Christian Aid Magazine, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL or email: [email protected] You can also share your opinions on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Letters

So what do you think of the new-look magazine?

Just a note to say how much improved I think the Christian Aid Magazine is. I particularly

like the sharpness of the articles and information, eg the graphics re the Syrian war. The information is easily assimilated. I also welcome the reflective/biblical column.Rev Canon Adrian Alker,Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

The interview with Norman Okello, the former boy-soldier in Uganda, was fascinating

and revealing. Many thanks for including it in the revamped mag. It opened my eyes to the ongoing problem, which I’m glad Christian Aid and its partners are tackling.

Also the piece by Jineth Bedoya Lima, the Colombian journalist, was brave and well worthwhile.Mike Morrisey, Saltburn-by-Sea, North Yorks

I read with interest the article in Christian Aid Magazine on sexual violence against women in Colombia. It is deeply disturbing that the author, Jineth Bedoya

Lima (herself a rape victim), estimates that 98% of perpetrators go unpunished. However shocking that feels, it should be borne in mind that the figure is not much different in the UK. Latest statistics suggest the figure here is about 93%. That’s a lot of guilty men never fully called to account by a largely male-dominated police and legal system.

Violence against women, both sexual and other, is a global phenomenon. We need to put our own house in order.Pamela Hall,Didsbury, Manchester

3

4 Loretta’s letterA message from Chief Executive Loretta Minghella.

News4 Chasing the tax dodgers, New Year Honours, and life in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan.

Frontline8 Cover story: In Kony’s Shadow A new exhibition highlights the impact of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army on communities in Uganda.

12 A world of confl ictAround the world, Christian Aid helps victims of confl ict build a better future.

14 The human cost in SyriaHow refugees are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their old lives.

16 Syria: the cost of warA graphic analysis of the confl ict.

The big picture18 DRC: plight of the displaced

Comment20 Opinion: Why women’s voices must be heardA plea for justice for victims of sexual violence in Colombia.

21 Refl ection: A safe houseKathy Galloway on being inspired by the faith of a young woman in Brazil.

22 Letters: Your views.

Life and soul 24 Beyond a lifetimeA Haiti legacy, plus calling clergy for Christian Aid Week.

28 RecipesServe up a super soup lunch.

29 Book reviewsA new section, highlighting some inspirational new releases.

29 Crossword

30 Five minutes with… Paul KerensaA quick chat with the Christian comedian and writer.

8

306

Contents14

Christian Aid MagazineIssue 1: Winter/Spring 2014

Editorial team

Editor Roger FultonSub-editors Andy Jacques, Catriona Lorie, Louise Parfi ttArt editor Gavin Micklethwaite Pictures Joseph Cabon, Matthew Gonzalez-NodaProduction Cedric TaylorCirculation Ben Hayward

Published by Christian Aid 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL

tel: 020 7620 4444 email: [email protected] christianaid.org.uk

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 © Christian Aid February 2014. The acceptance of external advertising does not indicate endorsement.

Cover storyNorman Okello was abducted in Uganda by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army and forced to become a child soldier. Now he is trying to return to a normal life. Photo: Will Storr

Other photos this issueAll photos copyright Christian Aid except where stated below. This page, Will Storr, Christian Aid/Natalie Naccache, Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan; pages 8-11, Will Storr; pages 14-15, Christian Aid/Natalie Naccache; pages 24-25, Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan; page 28, Christian Aid/Jodi Bieber

F2265

24

Christian Aid is a member of

003_CAM_1.indd 3 06/02/2014 12:47

Solution to the crossword on page 29. ACROSS: 6 Spectator 7 Gulf 11 Ageing 12 Emphasis 13 Red tape 15 Treadle 16 Wide 17 Other 18 Atom 22 I ask you 24 Tool kit 25 Dementia 26 Ignore 28 Dole 29 Astounded. DOWN: 1 Splendid 2 Scandal 3 Tax 4 Commitment 5 Pulsed 8 Foster mother 9 Narrow minded 10 Shoes 14 Enthusiasm 19 Take over 20 Lying 21 Dodging 23 Simple 27 Cow.


Life

and

sou

l

24

Ready, Eddie, go!Christian Aid Week relies on the tireless efforts of local organisers like Eddie Wilson. Eddie lives in Morley, Yorkshire, but there’s probably an Eddie near you too.

Chairing the Christian Aid group in Morley, near Leeds, Eddie

Wilson feels very fortunate indeed. ‘I get really excited as our group gears up for Christian Aid Week,’ he says. Volunteers from nine churches in the town unite throughout the year to support Christian Aid, and whether they’re walking, singing, dancing or – of course – collecting, they’re passionate about raising vital funds for the world’s poorest people.

Devising fresh and exciting fundraising is Eddie’s speciality, and he’s always ready to appeal to new people in the community. Concerts are a firm favourite, from singing groups to the more unusual sound of handbell

ringing. One of the group’s biggest successes has been a ‘snowman drive’, a wintry version of the classic beetle competition. Each church hosted a drive, with Fairtrade hampers for the winners. With around 50 people attending in each church, the event was a great way to bring the town together and raised £1,000 for Christian Aid.

Christian Aid Week is a busy time in Morley, with nearly 80 people taking to the streets to collect house to house. Eddie is ever-ambitious. This year he is aiming to expand the effort further into the suburbs of Leeds.

An annual sponsored walk is also in the calendar. Walkers love getting out into the countryside, and are greeted


with drinks at a hostel at the end of the route. It usually raises a respectable £100, and the group is already looking forward to this year’s ramble around Wakefield on Saturday 10 May.

Eddie has much more planned, including a visit from a professional chocolatier, who will be giving a seminar on the history of chocolate at St Peter’s Church in Gildersome. ‘Chocoholics should form an orderly queue,’ he teases. ‘But before then we’ve got a ceilidh, which is exciting.’

The group’s secretary, Hazel Rennison, is on top of things when it comes to communicating events in the local media and making posters to put up anywhere from churches to the chippy!

Last year, the Morley group raised £7,013 during Christian Aid Week. This year is sure to be even more amazing.

Colombian Egg Arepa (Arepa de huevo)

Our series of world recipes continues with an egg arepa from Colombia, one of the countries featured in this year’s Christian Aid Week materials.An arepa is a flatbread made of ground corn (maize). In Colombia it is served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, often with cheese, avocado, mince or jam.

Ingredients250g ground cornflour (not cornmeal) 1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoon sugarWarm waterVegetable oil 1 egg, beaten

For the salsa: 3 tomatoes, a handful of fresh coriander, 1 red onion, 2 tsp white wine vinegar, 2 tsp cold water, salt, black pepper, red chilli (optional)

Method1. Place the cornflour in a bowl, along with the salt and sugar. Gradually add water to form a very soft but manageable dough, which doesn’t stick to your hands. Rest the dough for 10-15 minutes. 2. Shape the dough into balls, a little larger than a golf ball, and then flatten them until half a centimetre thick. 3. Heat enough vegetable oil in a pan to cover the disc of dough. Fry both sides. The dough should puff up. 4. Remove the arepa from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. 5. When cool enough to handle, cut a small hole in the arepa and pour in some egg. Use raw dough to fill the hole, return to the oil and cook for another 3-4 minutes. 6. Serve with a simple salsa: finely chop the tomatoes, coriander and onion. Add the vinegar and water. Mix together and season to taste. Add the chopped chilli.

25

From campaigning with shadow chancellor Ed Balls to Christian Aid Week. It’s all in a day’s work for Morley organiser Eddie Wilson (right).


Long-standing supporters John and Nancy Eckersley

know a thing or two about exploring Britain on foot.

The retired couple from Yorkshire have already walked the land from top to toe for Christian Aid – making it from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2011. Now they’re doing it again! In February, they set off from Dover to walk the 600 miles to Carlisle.

Their pledge has been to raise £5,000 for a Christian Aid

literacy project in Afghanistan. The programme will help more than 1,000 Afghan women and young people to speak out for change and participate in local and national decision-making.

To make the Eckersley’s efforts even more worthwhile, the EU will provide match-funding – so their £5,000 will become £20,000!

Nancy, who was Vicar of Heslington in York, commented: ‘Women in Afghanistan don’t have the same opportunities.

It feels so unfair. If I can help that by walking, then I’ll walk.’

John, a former geography teacher, says he sees sponsored fundraising as ‘a demonstration of putting faith into action’.

If you would like to know more about how your church or group can connect with some of our vital community projects across the world, email [email protected]

You can follow the couple on johneckersley.wordpress.com/dover-to-carlisle

Every step counts

Giving the green light to good investmentWe have teamed up with ShareAction, the movement for responsible investment, as part of an innovative approach to stopping climate change.

The Green Light campaign is aimed at making sure our pension funds are invested for the

world we want, rather than in risky projects that have the potential to ruin our planet as well as our pensions.

With £3 trillion invested in UK pension funds, they wield a huge amount of power in shaping the economy. But

they are also made up of ordinary savers’ money, so we have a say in how they are used.

The campaign will run over the next three years, with online actions targeting certain pension funds. The first step is to ask pension funds to

investigate how much is invested in carbon-intensive industries and the risks this might have for the value of our pensions.

To find out more, go to christianaid.org.uk/greenlight and also see shareaction.org

www.johneckersley.wordpress.com/dover-to-carlisle

christianaid.org.uk/greenlight

www.shareaction.org


Every step countsLife and soul

Rise to the challengeWhat are you doing this

summer? If you fancy getting active and raising some funds to support our work around the world, we have a cycle challenge event with your name on it!

You can ride from Cathedrals to Coast, whizz round three great European cities and follow the Olympic road race route into the Surrey countryside. Here’s what you need to know:

Cathedrals to CoastWhere: Guildford to WeymouthWhen: 2-3 AugustRegistration: £50Minimum sponsorship: £350Join us on this unique 140-mile, two-day bike ride, inspired by some of the most breathtaking cathedrals and

scenery. Setting off from the magnificent Guildford Cathedral, we’ll follow a signposted route through beautiful countryside, visiting cathedrals along the way. On day two we follow the Jurassic Coast and finish on Weymouth seafront.

RideLondon–Surrey 100 bike ride Where: London-Surrey-LondonWhen: Sunday 10 AugustRegistration: £20Minimum sponsorship: £600The 100-mile route is on fully closed roads, taking in parts of the Olympic road race route. It starts in the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, then follows closed roads through the capital and on to Surrey’s

stunning country roads and hills.

Euro City Cycle Challenge Where: London, Amsterdam, BrusselsWhen: 10-14 September Registration: £149 Fundraising target: £1,725One of the best cycle challenges in Europe, this takes in a 300-mile route, spanning three countries, visiting three capitals – London, Amsterdam and Brussels. It caters for every level of cyclist.

For details of all these great summer challenge events, contact the Events team on 020 7523 2073 or at [email protected]

Raise £5,000 and we’ll make it £20,000Help us change the lives of mums and children in Kenya

Be part of it. If you and your community can commit to raising £5,000 over two years, the European Commission will give £3 for every £1 you raise – turning your donation into £20,000.

Photograph: Christian Aid/Susan Barry 14-360-J2469

To find out more, contact your local Christian Aid office or email [email protected]


Feeding Frenzy: The New Politics of FoodPaul McMahon(Profile Books, 356pp, £8.99)

If we produce enough food to feed 9 billion people, why do so many go hungry? How can we reform an unjust food system in the face of climate change, the biofuel surge and an ever-growing global population? This insightful book tests popular theories against the evidence and offers up solutions – some of which may surprise you. Humankind caused the problems we’re facing – can we overcome human nature to fix them?

Women in Waiting: Prejudice at the Heart of the ChurchJulia Ogilvy(Bloomsbury, 224pp, £12.99)

Twenty years after the first female priests were

ordained in the Church of England, Women in Waiting tells the personal stories of 12 prominent women

who have each experienced the clash between their gender and their church.

Women bishops are a hot topic, but author Julia Ogilvy wisely avoids a narrow focus on this one aspect of the tension between gender and faith. In fact, the book is much richer for the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives brought by the women she interviews: lay and ordained, lawyers and academics, American, Scottish and Catholic, as well as Church of England figures.

Some share with great openness their deeply painful experiences of being mistreated by

Stories of striving: women in church tell their tales

those who opposed their roles, like the Rev Lucy Winkett, who found herself in the media spotlight as the first female canon of St Paul’s Cathedral.

There is at times a clear sense of anger as the interviews explore the wider implications of women’s treatment by the Church, especially when it comes to issues such as sexual violence, education or cultural attitudes.

Ogilvy is a trustee of aid agency Tearfund, and – along with Elaine Storkey, Jane Williams and others – brings social justice into the heart of the conversation.

Yet despite the obvious strength of feeling, this is not a book of extended rants, finger-pointing or exercises in self-pity. Instead, it is filled with mature, hopeful reflections, marked out by grace rather than bitterness.

While the near-verbatim reporting of the monologues can seem a little grating in places, even this is a strength as much as it is a foible. It is a reminder that these are authentic voices, all the more powerful in their raw state, of women who have an extraordinary amount to offer the churches they love and serve.

Thirty GirlsSusan Minot(4th Estate, 400pp, £16.99)

Susan Minot’s latest novel is based on the real-life abduction of a group of schoolgirls by Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. The girls’ suffering is expressed through Esther – held captive, raped and forced to kill by the brutal rebels. Her story, intertwined with that of an American journalist reporting on the abductions, gives a raw account of the torture endured by northern Ugandans at the hands of the LRA.

I Spend, Therefore I Am: the True Cost of EconomicsPhilip Roscoe(Viking, 272pp, £16.99)

Economics has invaded the most personal aspects of our lives, corroding our relationships and guiding our biggest decisions – from who to date to who should get a kidney transplant. Even more disturbingly, it is changing who we are, turning us into efficiency-obsessed ‘economic man’. That’s the grim assessment of Philip Roscoe and whether you buy it or not, he makes a powerful case that we need to change course.Ed

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29Christian Aid News Spring/Summer 2014

Life and Soul

15 Doubly altered the foot operation (7)

16 A new idea’s content is broad (4)

17 Mum doesn’t start that one (5)

18 A cat is very, very small (4)

22 I make a request - can it be true? (1,3,3)

24 Also kilt is adapted it’s what you need to do it (4,3)

25 Confused inmate Ed, has this (8)

26 Take no notice of gin mixed with powdered rock (6)

28 Event the French get when unemployed (4)

29 Don’t use Ad stupidly – you’ll be very surprised (9)

DOWN1 Wonderful to get a bit

of sport – Len did (8)2 One of ten surrounds

cloth head – we think poverty is it (7)

3,21 Christian Aid is challenging those

involved in axing: got DD (3,7)

4 Officer gets Military Medal: it meant without a requirement for Christian Aid supporters (10)

5 Doctor’s first after heart rate throbbed (6)

8 He went to Gloucester with Mum – she was caring for others’ kids (6,6)

9 Not 16, objected to thinking with illiberal outlook (6,6)

10 Find pumps with gardening tool in old sports car (5)

14 Corrupt unit shames Christian Aid worker’s requirement (10)

19 Steal six balls and gain control (8)

20 Not telling the truth may be relaxing (5)

21 see 323 Impels change – it’s

not hard (6)27 Beast discovered in

little County Wicklow (3)

Cryptic crossword

Solution on page 23. As an alternative, you can view a set of quick clues for this crossword, and download a grid at christianaid.org.uk/cam

ACROSS6 Viewer may stop crate

(9)7 Gap in which girl

understood lingua franca initially (4)

11 An egg I scrambled as I

was getting older (6)

12 Phase sim out – make a point of it (8)

13 Studied output of teleprinter they said, it was full of legalities (3,4)

christianaid.org.uk/cam

www.divinechocolate.com


Five minutes with…

How did you get into writing about history? I’ve always been interested in writing history. But in terms of biblical history, I was sitting listening to a less-than-riveting sermon about Zaccheus and I thought to myself, ‘How tall was he?’ The Bible says he was small, but I wondered how small was small in those days? And so I tried to find out – which meant reading a lot of articles about measuring 1st-century skeletons, but also lots of other fascinating books about the social and historical world of the New Testament. And I thought, ‘Why don’t I hear about this stuff?’ So I decided to write about it. That’s my aim really: just to write interesting stuff about things that matter.

What do you find most interesting about Jesus? His Jewishness, for one thing. We only know two things about Jesus’ physical appearance: he was circumcised and wore a fringed Jewish prayer shawl. Nothing illuminates the gospels more than understanding something of Jesus’ Jewish background. Then there’s his disregard for rigid religious observance – he was always eating with the wrong people

and doing the wrong things and generally annoying the religious authorities. But, personally, I find the most interesting – and challenging – thing is that he urged us to do the same. He actually intended us to be like disciples and live a life like his.

Where’s your favourite place to write?Outside; on a hot summer’s day, in a shady spot with a glass of something chilled. Sadly, I only achieve this about once a year. Most of the time it’s indoors at the kitchen table.

Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?Three heroes: G K Chesterton, George Orwell and John the Baptist. Conversation, controversy – and the latter, particularly, would be good for the washing up.

What should churches be doing more of?Teaching people to be like Jesus. It’s quite important to know stuff about Jesus, but it’s far more important to be Christ-like ourselves. That’s what churches should be: local groups of Christ-shaped people.

‘Jesus intended us to be like disciples and live a life like his’

Nick Page The writer, historian and self-styled ‘information-monger’ is the author of more than 70 books, including one of our favourites, The Longest Week, an account of the last seven days in the life of Jesus.

In 2007, Nick led a re-enactment of the events of The Longest Week in his home village of Eynsham, Oxfordshire. To help other churches enjoy the same experience, he developed this into Longest Week Live. With these resources you can recreate the events of Holy Week where you live. See nickpage.co.uk/books/jerusaleynsham/

nickpage.co.uk/books/jerusaleynsham/

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With a Will, you can look after 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 Angola eager for an education. To women, men and children made homeless by storms or floods in the Philippines. 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 [email protected] or on 020 7523 2173.

christianaid.org.uk/legacies

Title: First name: Surname:

Address:

Postcode:

Email:

Telephone:

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

Please send me The Christian Aid Guide to Wills and Legacies

Contact us for your free guide to Wills

and legacies

A019967


...is coming11–17 May 2014

caweek.org

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Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

Derbyshire youth get hungry for justiceA group of young people aged 10-16 and three youth leaders held a 24-hour fast to raise money for Christian Aid.

The six young people are part of the X:tra Club, a youth group from All Saints Church, Wingerworth, in Derbyshire. The group held its fast and sleepover in their church centre, surviving on just water. They raised more than £900 for Christian Aid.

The X:tra Club were inspired by the day-long Christian Aid Collective youth festival last June in the Bishop of Derby’s garden.

During the fast they made gingerbread men with holes in their tummies to represent the hundreds of millions of people across the world who go to bed hungry every night. They then gave these out to the All Saints congregation.

The Christian Aid East Midlands team would like to say a huge thank you to the X:tra Club. The money raised will make a massive difference to people’s lives around the world.

Puppets talk poverty around the West Midlands

This Christian Aid Week, look out for Jack, Grandad, and their puppeteer Andi

Markham as they tour major cities around the region to highlight the work of Christian Aid.

For Andi, using his well-loved puppets to get people thinking about global poverty is a chance to delve deeper into issues he’s always cared about: he still remembers seeing the Christian Aid Week envelope appearing on his doormat as a child.

Six-year-old puppet Jack doesn’t know much about Christian Aid yet, but is looking forward to meeting lots of people on the tour. Grandad, being much older and wiser, hopes the tour will connect with people of all ages and enable younger generations to start making links between global challenges and the need for local action.

This tour is another step in Andi’s decade-long journey with Kids UK, which works to engage children and families so that they see the Christian faith as fun and relevant to all ages.

Andi has taken his puppets to perform in front of hundreds of children in schools, clubs and churches, and his resources have now been taken up by a national publisher.

He will be visiting each of the West Midlands’ seven cities in seven days to see Christian Aid volunteers in action. Interviews with bishops, church leaders, collectors, donors, and children in assemblies and clubs will all be turned into short films shared through blogs and social media. This will take our exciting stories of transformation to a wider audience and put the fun in fundraising during the week.

Central Spring/Summer 2014

Christian Aid Central christianaid.org.uk/inyourarea

Puppeteer Andi Markham with his friends Grandad and Jack.


Christian Aid Central Spring/Summer 2014

Central England events diary

Christian Aid Week sponsored walksSaturday 10 MayHumber Bridge Cross2pm start, Humber Bridge, Barton- upon- Humber.Join us at this annual sponsored walk and cross the bridge as many times as you can! There are registration desks and refreshments at both ends of the bridge, so you can join from either side. For more information on the event, please contact the East Midlands office on 01509 265013 or [email protected]

Saturday 17 May Walk in the Wolds9am, Louth Methodist Church Centre, Nichol Hill, Louth LN11 9XQ. Take your pick from three walks:Walk 1: Nichol Hill to Tathwell, 3 miles Walk 2: as Walk 1, then on to Tetford and Scamblesby, 15 milesWalk 3: as Walk 2, then on to Donington-on-Bain, Welton-le-Wold and back to Louth, 32 miles.To register, contact Derek or Julia Gibson on 01507 602746.

Saturday 17 MayTake a walk in the National Forest9.30am for 10-mile walk, 10am for 5-mile walk, Overseal Baptist Church, Burton Road, Overseal, Derbyshire DE12 6JJ.Both walks have back-up support. You can come along without sponsorship, just make a donation to support Christian Aid’s work. For more details contact Ray Thompson on 01283 535463 or [email protected]

Saturday 26 AprilCoffee morning10am, Wem Methodist Church, Aston Street, Wem, Shropshire SY4 5AU.

Sunday 27 AprilLoughborough simple Sunday lunch12.30pm, All Saints with Holy Trinity, Steeple Row, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 1UX.

Monday 28 April – Friday 2 MayLive Below the LineFind out more at christianaid.org.uk/livebelowtheline

Wednesday 30 April Rothley Christian Aid quarterly lunch12 noon, Old School Rooms, School Street, Rothley.Book with Helen Playdon on 0116 230 4634.

Thursday 1 MayThe UK Gold Holy Innocents, Kidderminster DY11 6LA.Contact the Birmingham office on 0121 200 2283.

Saturday 3 MayAuction in support of Christian Aid10am, Acocks Green Methodist Church, Botteville Road B27 7YE. Viewing 10am; auction at 11am. See story opposite.

Saturday 3 MayChristian Aid coffee morning10am, Aldridge Methodist Church, Anchor Road, Aldridge, Walsall WS9 8PT.

Thursday 8 MayThe UK Gold 7.30pm, The Trinity Centre, Mill Street, Sutton Coldfield B72 1TF. Contact the Birmingham office, as above.

Friday 9 MayGareth Davies-Jones: Now But Not Yet7.30pm, Casey Joe’s Bar, 1293 Warwick Road, Birmingham B27 6PU.Singer-songwriter Gareth Davies-Jones in concert in support of Christian Aid. Tickets £7.50. For more details, phone

0121 707 5722 or email [email protected]

Saturday 10 MayThe Vaughn Singers Concert7pm, St John’s Church, Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield B76 1QN.For more information, contact the Birmingham office on 0121 200 2283.

11-17 May Christian Aid Week

Saturday 10, Sunday 11, Saturday 17, Sunday 18 MayPlant sale for Christian Aid 2-5pm, 4 Paradise Lane, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 0DS. For more details, email [email protected]

Saturday 10 May Christian Aid Week coffee morning10am-12 noon, Grangewood Methodist Church, Wollaton NG8 2SJ. For more information, contact Betty Grimley on [email protected]

Saturday 10 – Saturday 17 May Busking for Christian Aid WeekBirmingham city centre. Contact Anna Burden at 0121 200 2283 or [email protected]

Saturday 10 – Saturday 17 MayKids UK tour Follow them on the West Midlands webpage and on twitter #7citiesin7days

Wednesday 14 MayCathedrals and Cappuccinos2.30am, Bannersgate Community Church, Sutton Coldfield B73 6UH. Talk by author Trish Rogers in aid of Christian Aid. Call Val Davies on 0121 445 6781.

Sunday 18 MaySinging for Fun ConcertAfternoon, Rothley Parish Church, Rothley LE7 7PD.

Saturday 7 JuneOne Bright Day Town Park, Telford.Free afternoon of family fun.

christianaid.org.uk/livebelowtheline

Christian Aid Central Spring/Summer 2014

Hear how your money changes livesColombian priest and human rights activist Father Alberto Franco will be bringing Christian Aid Week stories to life this summer.

Father Alberto heads up the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP), one of our partners that protects communities displaced by Colombia’s violence. He’ll be sharing insights into his work during a speaking tour of the West Midlands and North West this summer.

John Howell, our intern in the Birmingham office, met Father Alberto on his trip to Colombia last year.

He says: ‘I was really challenged by the work of CIJP. I will always remember how thankful these communities are, and how their lives have been transformed. I am really excited

that Father Alberto is doing a speaking tour in the summer, and hope many will come to hear his inspiring stories of how your efforts really make a difference in Colombia.’• For more details about Father Alberto’s tour, please contact the Birmingham office.

Supporters wait for the hammer to fall

All items, new and old, are called for as supporters in Acocks Green

organise their first auction for Christian Aid. With experienced auctioneer Alan Bennett in their congregation, and with the support of other churchgoers, the event looks set to be a great success.

‘Our church has had many charity auctions in the past,’ said Alan. ‘It is a good way to involve the public in raising funds for Christian Aid, and recycle goods at the same time.’

Local organiser Kate Harding commented: ‘We’re not in competition with Bonhams or

Christies, so your Rembrandts can stay on your walls and the family heirlooms in your bank deposit boxes!

‘We are looking for household goods to sell. We need small items of furniture, kitchen equipment, books, games, DVDs, crockery and cutlery, garden items, in fact anything except clothing and items too big to fit in a car boot. Any electrical items offered will be tested prior to the sale.’ • To find out how to offer goods for sale, contact Alan on 0121 707 0044 or Kate on 0121 711 2362.

What would Woolman say?Quakers in the West Midlands have teamed up with Christian Aid to present the case for tax justice in a particularly relevant way.

They’ve been inspired by John Woolman, sometimes described as the only Quaker Saint.

He was a central figure of 18th century Quaker faith and many still take guidance from his writings when considering their responses to social injustices. Some Friends believe that if Woolman were alive today, he would regard the global economy as our version of slavery, and tax dodging as one of the ‘seeds of war’.

The presentation has already been taken to meetings in central Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Warwick, and will visit other venues in the near future. • For more details about the Quakers and Tax Justice tour, contact the Birmingham office.

Nine global lessonsLoretta Minghella, our Chief Executive, addressed senior leaders from schools in the Diocese of Birmingham in March.

She shared her experience in ‘nine lessons’ from partners around the world. She moved many as she talked about enthusing the next generation to eradicate poverty.

She promoted our schools resources, our Learn website and our volunteer teacher scheme.

If you are experienced in speaking with children, and have some time to go into schools to take assemblies or lessons, please ask your local office about becoming a volunteer teacher.

Father Alberto helps displaced people return to their land.

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Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

Be part of the Circle the City walk for justice!

Christian Aid Week hasn’t even started yet, so it may be a bit odd to hear us say

we’re looking forward to when it finishes! But that’s because on Sunday 18 May, hundreds of you will join us on one of our favourite Christian Aid Week events – the Circle the City sponsored walk.

Now in its 17th year, Circle the City is an ideal way to end Christian Aid Week and celebrate all the amazing things you do for the world’s poorest people. It is also an opportunity for groups, churches and families to have a brilliant day out exploring fabulous buildings not usually open to the public.

A short service will start the walk off at 1pm in St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside. From there you can take a choice of two routes – 10k or 5k. You should probably allow about 2-3 hours for the longer walk. If map reading isn’t one of your strong points, we have two

large, guided groups setting off at 1.30pm and 1.45pm.

Along the way, 17 venues will be hosting events, including live acoustic music, face painting and interactive exhibitions highlighting Christian Aid’s work in conflict-affected countries.There will also be an opportunity for reflection at our prayer points.

We are inspired by the many of you who have registered already and we hope that you are collecting lots of sponsors. Will you rise to our challenge for every walker to raise £80 each? That’s enough to provide nearly 50 families with hygiene kits to prevent disease spreading in war-torn and disaster-stricken areas.

You can register at: christianaid.org.uk/circle-the-city• To order posters and flyers to publicise the walk in your community, please email [email protected] or call us on 020 7523 2321.

Students speak upIt’s easy to look around at the injustices we see in the world and feel powerless. When I took part recently in the Student Christian Movement conference in Derby, I met loads of young people angry about injustice.

But rather than sitting around complaining, they were actively exploring how to be a follower of Jesus in response to these challenges.

I was similarly inspired at the Speak Network’s conference, which was also full of students celebrating their faith and speaking out for justice. The theme that weekend was ‘turning the tables’, which reflected on how we can step up to change situations of injustice.

Despite enormous challenges facing us, such as climate change, we can be encouraged that young people like these are actively taking steps to see justice prevail in our lifetime.

Kit PowneyLondon region intern

To learn more about inspiring young people, contact [email protected] or [email protected]

Christian Aid London

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Getting set to Circle the City and see some of London’s top sights.


Christian Aid London Spring/Summer 2014

I was just thinking…Speak out with conviction

My dad is changing! He has finally retired after more than 50 years

as a plumber. With retirement comes a new freedom of speech. Gone are the days when he was measured, conscious of not offending clients, listened with intent and didn’t have a bad word to say about friend or foe. My siblings and I have been warned, ‘Don’t tell me any secrets as I will tell it as it is.’

Part of me wonders if this is a reaction to holding his tongue for so long. However, he has also provoked an important question in me: what if all those with nothing to lose spoke out with conviction about justice and on behalf of the poor? Well, it would surely cause a stir.

But it would also be outrageous not to speak out just because we want to protect our careers, reputation, friendships or whatever else is at stake.By living with a compromised conscience, and keeping silent

when we could speak out, we assent to injustice.

Jesus did not think of his reputation, nor was he put off by the indignant, when he tuned over the money changers’ tables (Matthew 21:12) because only then did the lame and blind come into the temple and the children burst into song.

The issues of justice, poverty and the affairs of the poor are begging us to cast off restraint, to say it as it is, without fear for whatever we stand to lose. Let us be encouraged by the bold declaration to the Hebrews, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’

Mark Sturge, Head of London Region

Dates for your diary:Thursday 19 June Supporter thank-you tea and evaluation sessionsFrom 3.30pm, Interchurch House, 35 Lower Marsh, Waterloo SE1 7RL.Come along and give us your feedback on Christian Aid Week. What worked well? What can we do better? The event is also our chance to say thank you for all your hard work in May and throughout the year.3.30-5pm: afternoon evaluation session.5-6pm: thank-you cream tea.6-7.30pm: evening evaluation session.

Saturday 27 SeptemberSponsored walkRichmond Park, LondonEnjoy this annual sponsored walk in London’s largest royal park, amid the fallen leaves and fallow deer. On a clear day, from its highest spots, you can see St Paul’s Cathedral!

More than just a weekWe’re feeling thoroughly inspired by the amazing commitment of Lambeth North Christian Aid Committee, for whom supporting Christian Aid is a year-round affair – not just one week in May.

Among the many activities held last year was a trade justice event, attended by local MP Kate Hoey.

‘Another popular event is the annual Movable Feast,’ Rodney Ovenden, the committee’s treasurer, explains. Last year, happy diners walked the streets of north Lambeth, enjoying a main course in one place and a dessert in another, and raised nearly £900.

‘Folk in the local churches are encouraged to follow the Count Your Blessings leaflet through Lent and members are keen to find different ways to help Christian Aid,’ says Rodney.

‘Children at the local church primary school, Archbishop Sumner, raised more than £400 in November for our Philippines typhoon appeal.

‘In Christian Aid Week itself, apart from house-to-house collections, the group always collect at local underground and mainline stations. At the end of the week, some take on the challenge of the Circle the City event!’Ph

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Some of the group’s collectors gather on Kennington Lane.

Christian Aid London Spring/Summer 2014

Reflection: Driven to act

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus stood in the synagogue and outlined his strategy for eradicating poverty by ushering in his Kingdom in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:17-18).

So can Jesus’ example inspire us as we approach Christian Aid Week and wrestle with the same task?

On a recent church visit to Keston in Bromley, I was shown the oak stump where William Pitt encouraged William Wilberforce to fight for the abolition of the slave trade. It reminded me of another abolitionist, Thomas Clarkson, who also dedicated his life to fighting the slave trade. Clarkson spent two years tirelessly riding around England, alerting people to the horrors of slavery.

The struggle of Wilberforce,

Clarkson and others bore fruit in 1807 with the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act – but it was a long, hard fight.

They could not have succeeded without the Spirit that drove them, the same Spirit that drove Jesus to set the captives free.

As we approach Christian Aid Week, may the same Spirit drive us to keep going, not to tire of doing God’s work to eradicate poverty, and make us bold enough to say: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.’David Pollendine, Regional Coordinator

Partnership key to meeting challenges

At this year’s Annual Supporters Evening, our Chief Executive

Loretta Minghella and David Pain, our Director of Supporter and Community Partnerships, explained how partnership is at the heart of all that we do.

Both described the challenges facing an international development agency in the 21st century: addressing evolving issues such as conflict, gender and climate change, while ensuring project priorities are met and resources used effectively.

Speakers who had witnessed firsthand the projects featured in this year’s Christian Aid Week DVD, Fearless, shared their inspiring experiences. Supporters also spoke about how they motivate others to raise money to transform communities and help rebuild broken lives.

Please put next year’s event in your diary now – Thursday 29 January 2015, at 2pm and 6pm.

If you have not yet started preparing for this year’s Christian Aid Week, or have never participated before, we’d love you to take a look at the resources available at caweek.org

If you have not received your Welcome Pack, please contact your regional coordinator. In the pack, you’ll find useful resources to help you celebrate and promote Christian Aid Week – including the Fearless DVD which has resources for all ages; posters; resources order form; an order of service; and your station- and supermarket- collection permits form.

If you have any questions about your preparations for Christian Aid Week, please email [email protected] or telephone 020 7523 2321.

Campaign for climate and tax justice!After the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and the recent floods in the UK, climate change is back on the agenda.

We’re working to help communities survive and recover in the face of increasing natural disasters, and we need you to send a clear message to our leaders, telling them to commit to tackling climate change. Visit christianaid.org.uk/ActNow to find out how.

Thank you to everyone who wrote to their MEP about tax. The EU has taken an important step with the European Parliament voting in favour of strong regulations to tackle money laundering and tax dodging.

Why does our faith call us to tackle tax injustice? Find out with our new Pocket Guide to Tax and the Bible – available to download from christianaid.org.uk/ActNow

christianaid.org.uk/ActNow

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Hand in hand: join us in showing your support

Poppy Winks, youth and student intern in Yorkshire, travelled to Nueva Vida in

Colombia to meet people who lost their families in the country’s long conflict.

It’s claimed that safety comes in numbers, and for the communities living in the Nueva Vida (New Life) Humanitarian Zone in Colombia this sentiment has never been truer.

With the help of Christian Aid, this humanitarian zone provides a safe place for the people who live within it. It gives them a chance to rebuild their lives, following the trauma of being forced out of their homes and land at gunpoint. A wall of clay hands stands in memory of all those from the community who lost their lives.

Father Alberto Franco, from our partner the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace, explains the importance of such zones: ‘If you’re on your own, you can get killed and

nothing happens. But if you get together with your neighbours, people know what happens to you, where you are, and how you are. People start to defend each other.’

Zones accelerate the healing process, too: ‘The humanitarian zones enable people to share the pain and talk about their situation, or cry. They create the space for people to be listened to.’

Christian Aid has decided to portray solidarity by collecting handprints, whether on faces or walls, as cut outs or selfies of your palm with your name written on, to send a message to all those living in fear: you are not alone!

Join us by posing with your handprints for a photo to send to local press and social media for Christian Aid Week. Contact your local office for help.

A few thoughts from a volunteer… Why do I volunteer with Christian Aid? For a start, I feel passionate about Christian Aid’s vision to eradicate global poverty. Then there’s the amazing regional staff, who find interesting things for me to get involved with: I’ve made props, given talks, visited schools and created some resources. In turn, I’ve received training and other help.

For Christian Aid Week 2014, the stories from Iraq, Colombia and South Sudan are focusing on giving people a future without fear. It has been a privilege to share these with adult worshippers, youth clubs, afternoon tea groups and school assemblies.

A particular highlight from last year was when a local secondary school that I’ve been working with was chosen to go to 10 Downing Street, during the IF campaign. Schools from across the country wrote messages to the prime minister on paper plates, focusing on the issue of global hunger. My school got very fired up and was selected to hand in all the paper plates to the PM!

Who are volunteers? We all are, aren’t we? After all, Christian Aid is us.

John Griffith

Christian Aid North

Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

North Spring/Summer 2014christianaid.org.uk/inyourarea

Our volunteers certainly know how to turn the other cheek.


Christian Aid North Spring/Summer 2014

North England events diaryThursday 24 April Gareth Davies-Jones in concert7.30pm, Cantley Methodist Church, Goodison Boulevard, Cantley, Doncaster DN4 6BT.Enjoy an evening with singer-songwriter Gareth Davies-Jones. Christian Aid intern Poppy Winks will be speaking about her experiences in Colombia. For more information, contact Rev David Goss at [email protected] or 01302 342047.

Saturday 26 AprilCeilidh with Bad Bargain Band8.30-10.30pm, St Luke’s Church, Burton Stone Lane, York YO30 7BE.Tickets £5. For details, contact [email protected]

Monday 5 May Sheffield May Day TrekGrab a picnic and lace up your boots for this family-friendly 5-mile walk from Bents Green Methodist Church out through the Porter and Limb valleys. For more information or to register, email [email protected] or visit sheffieldmaydaytrek.org.uk

Thursday 8 May – Friday 9 MayThe Big Christian Aid Plant Sale and Refreshment Days10am-3.30pm, St Edward’s Community Hall, Tadcaster Road, Dringhouses, York YO24 1QG.All welcome.

Friday 9 May Homemade cake stall9am, Yeadon Market Square, Leeds.For more details, contact Alison Lockwood at [email protected]

Friday 9 May Chocolate evening7.30pm, St Peter’s Church, Gildersome, Leeds.Learn how to make chocolates. For details, call Mary Goldsworthy on 0113 285 4995.

Saturday 10 MayWesterhope Plant Sale Extraordinaire10am, Westerhope Methodist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne NE5 5HA.A coffee morning on a grand scale, with stalls selling plants, books, cakes and crafts. Come early to bag the best buys! For information and donations, contact the Newcastle Christian Aid office at [email protected] or call 0191 228 0115.

Saturday 10 MayWalk the Waterfront10.30am, Otterspool car park, Liverpool.Raise money or simply join us for a walk of witness. This easy, 5-mile, flat walk along Liverpool’s beautiful waterfront offers stunning views across the Mersey. It finishes with a short service at St Nicks. For more information, contact Eirlys on 01925 573769 or [email protected]

Saturday 10 MaySponsored walk 10.30am, Sandal Castle car park, Manygates Lane, Sandal, Wakefield WF2 7DS. A 5-mile walk, taking in Pugneys Water. Details and sponsorship forms available now from Hazel Rennison (Morley Christian Aid group) on [email protected] Saturday 10 May Humber Bridge Cross Sponsored Walk2pm, Humber Bridge, HU13 0LN.For details and to register, contact Gill Dalby, on [email protected] or 01482 504203.

Saturday 10 May York Minster Christian Aid Evensong5.15pm, The Quire, York Minster. All welcome.

Saturday 10 May Christian Aid concert7.30-9.30pm, Salvation Army Citadel, 40 Wood Street, Malton YO17 9BA.For more information, contact Eddie James, [email protected] or call 01944 758807.

Saturday 10 May – Sunday 18 MayLet’s Bake Cake!Join us in baking, selling and eating cake to raise money and learn about the work of Christian Aid. We have branded cupcake cases. Contact us at [email protected] or 0191 228 0115.

Monday 12 May – Saturday 17 MayWooler Christian Aid Week Shop 9am-5pm, Wooler High Street, Northumberland.For information, to make donations or to volunteer, please contact Sarah Moon on [email protected] or call 0191 228 0115.

Wednesday 14 MaySwish!7.30pm, As You Like It, Archbold Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1DB. Bring some good quality, pre-loved clothing and support Christian Aid. Tickets £5. Contact the Newcastle office. See story opposite.

Friday 16 MayBlucher Family Fun Night7-11pm, Blucher Social Club, Hexham Road, Blucher NE15 9SN.With music, games, quiz and karaoke, plus MC Bob Weaver. Price: £6, including buffet supper (under-13s, £4). For tickets, call Mary Weatherall on 0191 229 1814.

Saturday 17 MayChristian Aid Coffee Morning10-11.30am, Haxby and Wigginton Methodist Church Hall, The Village, Haxby, York YO32 2JJ. All welcome.

Sunday 18 MayGreat Manchester RunThe nation’s favourite 10k running event. To run for us,

sheffieldmaydaytrek.org.uk

Christian Aid North Winter/Spring 2014

Making merry this Christian Aid Week

Here are some ideas to help your Christian Aid Week go with a swing.

Family fun dayInvite friends and neighbours over for singing, dancing and party games. Try asking everyone to bring a dessert or savoury dish, and if you have a lot of interest you could even hire a community hall.

This is a great way to get people of all ages involved in raising money.

Let’s bake cake!Join us in baking, selling and eating some delicious cakes – all in aid of our life-changing work. Why not try putting a twist into the traditional cake sale by adding a theme? Try new flavour combinations in ‘experimental baking’ or challenge yourself with a cake look-a-like competition. We have plenty of resources available to help, including special Christian Aid cupcake cases and poster templates. See caweek.org

Business sponsorshipArrange with a local restaurant to take it over for a set dinner and a quiz one evening. Fill it with Christian Aid supporters and ask the owners to set a cover charge that includes a donation to Christian Aid on top of the meal price.

Hold a raffle and ask local companies to donate prizes and sell tickets.

Ask your local supermarket to donate food for a BBQ and invite friends and family to make a donation in exchange for sausages, burgers and buns.

Swish!A swishing party is a low-cost, environmentally friendly way to update your wardrobe – while raising money for Christian Aid. Bring good quality, pre-loved clothing and swap till you drop! Charge a small fee for entry and refreshments.

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contact [email protected] or visit christianaid.org.uk/events

Sunday 18 May Liverpool Cathedral EvensongChristian Aid director Christine Allan will be preaching. For more information, contact [email protected]

Saturday 14 JuneBede’s Way Sponsored Walk 10am-4pm: 12-mile walk, St Peter’s Church, Monkwearmouth to St Paul’s Church, Jarrow. 1.30-4pm: 4-mile, all-age

walk. Starting and finishing at Bede’s World.Join the new Bishop of Durham and TV presenter John Grundy. Minimum sponsorship £50 or families £75. For posters, flyers and further information, contact [email protected] or call 0191 228 0115.

Saturday 28 June Sponsored AbseilHoly Trinity Church, Southport.We are giving you the opportunity to take a leap of faith for Christian Aid. For more information, visit christianaid.org.uk/abseil

Saturday 28 June Sheffield Night Hike8.30pm, starting from St Luke’s Church, Lodge Moor.A 17-mile night hike from Lodge Moor to Hathersage and back. To register, see sheffieldnighthike.org.uk or email: [email protected]

Friday 4 JulyThe Bard Doesn’t Bite7.30pm, St John’s Church, Barcroft Grove, Yeadon LS19 7XZ. A recital of music and poetry by Hope Theatre Group. Tickets £5. Contact Alison at [email protected]

Saturday 12 July Christian Aid ‘Open Garden’From 11am, Scarcroft, 41 Red Scar Lane, Newby, Scarborough YO12 5RH.For more information, contact Maggie Bridge at 01723 362091 or [email protected]

Saturday 12 JulyRipon Cathedral AbseilMinster Road, Ripon, HG4 1QS.For more information or to register, visit christianaid.org.uk/abseil or contact Rebekah Turner at [email protected] or 01925 582826.

Christian Aid North Spring/Summer 2014

Hold an evening at a local restaurant and make some dinner money!

christianaid.org.uk/events

sheffieldnighthike.org.uk

christianaid.org.uk/abseil


www.caweek.org

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Supporters build bridges for peace

Communities around Scotland are coming together this spring to

help build bridges towards peace in some of the most fragile and difficult places to live in the world.

Churches and supporters involved in our annual sponsored Tay, Forth and Erskine Bridge Crosses expressed their creative side recently. They built bridges of their own to encourage others to join them in raising funds for our life-saving and peacebuilding work in emergency and conflict situations around the world.

The Bridge Crosses offer participants the chance to join together with others across the community to take on as many circuits of their chosen bridge as they can handle.

Money raised from each event will help Christian Aid to

support communities in war-ravaged countries; providing emergency supplies to those caught up in or displaced by fighting, and offering long-term support to people affected by trauma or those trying to earn a living again after losing everything.

Amy Menzies, Events Fundraiser for Christian Aid Scotland, said: ‘The Bridge Crosses have been very successful each year, thanks to the dedication of all those involved in making them happen, and who turn up year in, year out to show their support.

‘This year, we spotted an opportunity to let the wider community know a bit more about Christian Aid’s work to help people caught up in conflict situations, and so we came together to build bridges in what was a very visual representation

of what is happening through the work with our partners.’

John Littler, from Bishopton, said: ‘The horror of war can seem remote to us, but we know that for millions of people conflict is part of their daily life. We are delighted to be involved in our local Bridge Cross because it gives us a chance to respond as a community, and to join with other communities to do something positive.’

The Bridge Crosses take place on Saturday 26 April (Tay and Forth) and Saturday 10 May (Erskine), and if you are still feeling strong, there is also the Cumbrae Challenge sponsored walk on Saturday 7 June. For more details, contact Amy Menzies on 0141 241 6138.

Christian Aid Scotland

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Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

Scotland Spring/Summer 2014christianaid.org.uk/inyourarea

Bridge crossers build a bridge of their own to raise awareness of the forthcoming sponsored events.


CHRISTIAN AID WEEK EVENTS:Monday 5 May – Saturday 10 MayFalkirk Book SaleFalkirk Trinity Church, Manse Place, Falkirk FK1 1JNMonday, 7-9pm; Tuesday, 10am-4pm and 5-8pm; Wednesday-Friday, 10am-4pm; Saturday, 10am-3pm.This well-established Christian Aid Week curtain-raiser offers a wide assortment of titles, fiction

and non-fiction, paperback and hardback, all at bargain prices. For further information or to donate books, please contact the Falkirk Trinity Church office on 01324 611017 or Hamish Scott on 01324 632387.

Saturday 10 May – Friday 16 May40th Anniversary Book SaleSt Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, 13 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PA.Saturday, 10am-4pm;

Monday-Wednesday, 10am-3.30pm; Thursday, 10am-7pm; Friday, 10am-3.30pm. The sale, which has taken place on George Street every year since 1974, returns with its unrivalled range of books and more. Books, paintings, printed ephemera, sheet music, antiques, records, stamps and postcards, and toys for donation, may be brought to the church from Monday 28 April onwards. For timings, call the church office on 0131 225 3847.

Saturday 10 May – Saturday 17 MayHoly Corner Book SaleMorningside United Church, Chamberlain Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DJ.Saturday, 10am-4pm; Monday-Friday, 11am-6pm; Saturday, 10am-4pm. The Holy Corner Sale is a major fixture in the Christian Aid Week calendar. Books, CDs and DVDs for donation may be brought to the church on Mondays to Thursdays, 9am-3pm, and on Fridays, 9am-12 noon.

Saturday 17 MayDay of Mozart St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AW.An all-day celebration of the music of Mozart, at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral. For more information, please contact Alastair at [email protected]

Christian Aid Scotland Spring/Summer 2014

Sunday 27 April Crombie Sponsored Walk 2-5pm, Crombie Country Park, Monikie, Broughty Ferry DD5 3QL.Meet at the car park for an energising 2.75 mile spring walk around the loch, followed by burgers! Shorter walking routes are also possible.

Tuesday 6 May Africa, Debt and Tax event7-9pm, Howard Centre,

5 Portland Road, Kilmarnock KA1 2BT.Last of our events teaming up with Jubilee Scotland and the Church of Scotland World Mission Council to look at how tax and debt continue to affect Africa.

Saturday 24 May – Sunday 25 MayEdinburgh Marathon FestivalThe Christian Aid Scotland team are participating at various levels – why not join us? You don’t have to do the

full marathon, you could give the half marathon a go or be part of a relay team. edinburgh-marathon.com

Saturday 7 JuneCumbrae Challenge Sponsored Walk10am-4pm, Cumbrae Slip, Isle of Cumbrae.

Friday 20 June – Sunday 22 JuneSolas FestivalThe Bield, Blackruthven, Tibbermore, Perth PH1 1PY.solasfestival.co.uk

Tuesday 24 JuneIsrael and the occupied Palestinian territory evening7-9pm, Dundee, venue to be announced.An opportunity to hear stories from Christian Aid, the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church about recent trips to the Middle East.

For further information on any of these events, please contact the Glasgow office on 0141 221 7475.

Scotland events diary

Loretta Minghella, Dr Rowan Williams and Kathy Galloway were among the visitors to last year’s book sale on George Street, Edinburgh.

http://www.edinburgh-marathon.com

solasfestival.co.uk

Christian Aid Scotland Spring/Summer 2014

12 days of Commonwealth

Scotland is hosting the 20th Commonwealth Games and we are excited!

Kicking off on 23 July, teams from across the 53 members of the Commonwealth – representing 2.2 billion people – will be coming to Glasgow to compete in 17 sports over 11 days.

To mark the occasion we’ll be bringing you stories of people in the Commonwealth countries where we work, including staging our own Commonwealth Poverty Monologues event in Glasgow on 15 July.

We have partners and projects in 12 Commonwealth countries. Many of our values reflect those set out in the Commonwealth Charter – such as human rights; international peace and security; good governance; sustainable development; protecting the environment; access to health, education, food and shelter;

and gender equality. In the run-up to the Games’ opening ceremony we’ll be focusing on a different country each day, inviting you to find out more through the sharing of experiences, and providing you with a range of opportunities to respond and get involved through giving, acting and praying.

You can find out more on our website christianaid.org.uk/12daysofcommonwealth or by following us on social media: facebook.com/christianaidscotland or twitter.com/christianaidscotland (#12daysofcommonwealth).

We hope many of you will put your name down to hear more about our Commonwealth Poverty Monologues event in Glasgow on 15 July – with performances to tell the stories of people from 12 countries. We expect there to be a lot of interest, so book early via Amy Menzies at [email protected] or on 0141 241 6138.

Leave a legacyWe’ve just welcomed Jo Dallas to the Christian Aid Scotland team. Jo has joined us to spread the word on leaving a legacy as an act of compassion for future generations. Find out more at christianaid.org.uk/legacies or by emailing [email protected]

Youth group living below the lineWe’re delighted to hear that a youth group from St Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Dumbarton are taking on the Live Below the Line challenge! The girls, aged 13-14, will be spending five days in May living

on no more than £1 a day for all their food and drink, to highlight the difficulties faced by 1.4 billion people who survive on that amount every day. If you’d like to take part, please call Amy Menzies on 0141 241 6138.

Sport makes a difference to the lives of youngsters in many countries where we work.

christianaid.org.uk/12daysofcommonwealth


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‘We can all do something to show we care’

Amy Lockwood spent seven months as a volunteer intern in Christian Aid’s

Oxford office. She’s certainly had a busy time – including a trip to visit our partners in Colombia and ending with an abseil down an Oxford church tower.

‘I could write thousands of words about how incredible the internship has been, but particularly inspiring was a trip to Colombia to meet beneficiaries of Christian Aid’s projects, including those featured in this year’s Christian Aid Week resources.

‘One of our partners, the Interchurch Commission for Justice and Peace, does amazing advocacy work with displaced communities, who have been violently evicted from their land by paramilitaries, and have suffered for many years as families were torn apart and loved ones lost.

‘Together, Christian Aid and Justice and Peace are

empowering these communities with the knowledge and skills to set up humanitarian zones – pockets of land that are safe for families to move back to. Everyone I spoke to had wanted for years just to be able to get on with their daily lives. It was such a simple ask, but in the chaos of the conflict it seemed like a distant dream. Education and advocacy turned this dream into a reality.

‘I came back to the UK completely fired up about the impact campaigning can have. We can all do something to show that we care: speak out against injustice, pray for change, raise money to continue the vital work. Just do something.’

• To find out about sponsored abseils or other events, go to christianaid.org.uk/events

Christian Aid South EastDover and out for walkers!Retired couple John and Nancy Eckersley from Yorkshire set off from Dover in February to walk 600 miles to Carlisle to raise £5,000 for a Christian Aid literacy project in Afghanistan.

John and Nancy started their walk from the statue of Captain Matthew Webb on Dover’s seafront. Nancy is a distant relative of Captain Webb, who was the first person on record to swim the English Channel in August 1875.

Members of Dover Christian Aid committee met with John and Nancy to give them a good send off.

If you fancy a (slightly shorter) trek of your own, why not join us for our sponsored Trek to Canterbury (16-17 August)? The weekend pilgrimage will take you from Maidstone to the historic cathedral city of Canterbury to raise money to support our work around the world.

Along this stunning 28-mile route, we will stop regularly for prayer and reflections, concluding with a service at the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral.

To find out more and to register, please go to christianaid.org.uk/treks or find out more by calling the Events team on 020 7523 2073.

Richard Lycett Photography

Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

South East Spring/Summer 2014christianaid.org.uk/inyourarea

Amy Lockwood was among 29 brave souls who abseiled down St Mary Magdalen church tower, Oxford, in March, raising over £5,000.


christianaid.org.uk/events

christianaid.org.uk/treks

Christian Aid South East Spring/Summer 2014Christian Aid South East Spring/Summer 2014

South East events diarySaturday 10 May East Herts Sponsored ChallengeStart time: 8.30-9.30am for walkers; 10am for runners. Start: Wodson Park, Ware SG12 0UQ.Finish: St John’s Hall, Hertford SG13 8AE.Registration fee: adults, £10; children aged 11 and under, free.The course is divided into 5km sections and you can choose from 5km to the full marathon distance of 43km (26.2 miles). For more details, contact Liz Horner on 01920 465714 or Richard Lord on 01992 464000; email [email protected] or visit christianaidwalk.org.uk

Saturday 10 May and Saturday 17 MayEssex and Kent abseilsFor information about sponsored abseils we are planning in Essex and Kent, contact 020 7523 2105 or [email protected]

Sunday 11 MayTaplow Girls Choir Concert7.30pm, Christ Church URC, Oxford Road, Marlow SL7 2NL.Come and hear this excellent choir, made up of girls aged 9-15, that has attracted much acclaim. The programme will include music by Purcell, Don Besig, Douglas Coombes and Bob Chilcott. Tickets £10 from 01628 486227, or for further details, see musicinmarlow.org.uk

Saturday 17 MayGuildford Cathedral sponsored abseilGuildford Cathedral, Stag Hill, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7UP. We are looking for ministers, vicars, pastors and priests to abseil from the top of Guildford Cathedral for Christian Aid Week. Register for £15 and raise a minimum sponsorship of £100. Register at christianaid.org.uk/abseil or contact Laura Mead for more details on 020 7523 2110.

Saturday 17 MayWalk the CountryStarts and ends at Bix Village Hall, Bix, Oxfordshire RG9 6BS. Walk 5, 10 or 15 miles in stunning countryside. Great fun for all the family and this year includes a tasty BBQ sponsored by The Good Little Company. Registration between 8.30 and 10am. Register now for a sponsor pack or donate a minimum of £10 on the day. Contact us on 01865 246818 or [email protected]

Saturday 17 MayChristian Aid Week quiz night in Brentwood7.30pm, St George’s Church Hall, Ongar Road, Brentwood CM15 9HR.Enjoy an evening of mind-stretching questions and musical entertainment. Tickets are £8, and include a ploughman’s supper with music from Pete & Em. To purchase or reserve your tickets, call 07952 222911.

Sunday 18 MayCircle the City sponsored walk 12.15pm, St Mary-le-Bow EC2V 6AU.Family-friendly sponsored walk around the historic churches of the City of London. Arrive and register from 12.15pm, and join us for a short pre-walk service at 1pm. To order posters and flyers to publicise the walk in your local community, please email [email protected] or call the London team on 020 7523 2321.

Thursday 19 JuneCharity Open Day – Bledlow Manor House Gardens, BucksThe Manor House, Church End, Bledlow HP27 9PB.Enjoy a rare opportunity to browse Lord Carrington’s beautiful private garden. Suggested donation: £5. RSVP on 01865 246818 [email protected]

Thursday 19 JuneChristian Aid Week evaluation and cream tea3.30pm and 6pm, Christian Aid, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL.Enjoy scones and cakes made by the South East and London teams, tell us how Christian Aid Week went in your area and help us improve the resources and support for next year. Evaluation meetings take place from 3.30-5pm or 6-7.30pm with a cream tea at 5-6pm. Let us know if you are coming by calling

020 7523 2105 or emailing [email protected]

Saturday 12 JulyChristian Aid at Bradwell PilgrimageSt Thomas’ Church, Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex CM0 7PY.If you are joining the annual Bradwell Pilgrimage from St Thomas’ Church to the Chapel of St Cedd, do pop in and see us at the Christian Aid stall in the marquee. Contact Rosie Venner on 020 7523 2363 or email [email protected] for more information.

Saturday 16 – Sunday 17 AugustTrek to CanterburyJoin Christian Aid on a weekend pilgrimage from Maidstone to the historic cathedral city of Canterbury. Registration is £60 and we ask you to raise £400 or more. Along this stunning 28-mile walk, we will stop for prayer and reflections, concluding with a service at Canterbury Cathedral. All meals and camping accommodation provided. Register online at christianaid.org.uk/treks or call our Events team on 020 7523 2073.

For more information on news and events in the region please go to christianaid.org.uk/inyourarea – we can also publicise your events online if you let us know the details.

christianaidwalk.org.uk


musicinmarlow.org.uk

christianaid.org.uk/treks


Christian Aid South East Spring/Summer 2014

A tale of transformation

Sarjon Toma, from Christian Aid partner REACH in Iraq, travelled around the south of England in March, sharing inspiring stories of the work his group is doing to empower communities affected by conflict.

Sarjon spoke about the

village of Zanan Bchuk in northern Iraq, and the transformation seen there since REACH started working with them.

‘Life in the village feels a lot safer,’ he said. ‘There is no longer the fear of violence, and the problem of drought has been solved, so the villagers are happy to stay in their homes.

‘Our partnership with Christian Aid over the past 15 years has been so helpful, and we want to spread the successes we have had to reach even more people. I want to thank churches in the UK whose generosity has helped to improve the lives of the people I work with, and to encourage you to keep going.’

Top tips to boost your Christian Aid Week house-to-house collection

Last year, 20,000 churches across the UK helped raise £12m for Christian Aid

Week, with a large proportion of this coming from house-to-house collections – and the famous red envelope.

The parish of Canvey Island in Essex is one area that has seen a successful boost in house-to-house collections.

It’s home to 45,000 people and is served by three churches: St Anne’s, St Katherine’s and St Nicholas’. Although the parish is large, there is a strong sense of community, and engagement with Christian Aid Week is growing. Each year collectors are adding new streets to the area they cover. Here are some of the top tips gleaned from Rev David Tudor and his team: • Clear the diary. Avoid having

church meetings during Christian Aid Week. That way, everyone can be involved.

• Meet together before collecting. Spend some time together in fellowship, remind everyone why you are doing it and share some stories from the Christian Aid Week resources. Give a pep talk!

• Practise what you will say. Help people to feel confident about answering questions about Christian Aid on the doorstep.

• Team up. Don’t ask anyone to collect alone. Ask people to sign up in pairs or in groups of four for long streets so that you can encourage each other. New collectors might like to go to the door with an experienced collector to begin with.

• Ask young people in your congregation to help deliver the envelopes. The local Girls’ Brigade help with the Canvey Island deliveries. Children aren’t allowed to collect the envelopes alone, but if they accompany an adult and learn how it works, they will hopefully feel happy to do it themselves when they are older.

• Hold up the envelope when you get to the door so that it’s clear why you are calling.

• Thank your collectors. Let them know how much was collected in the area they covered. If you would like to know

more, or would like support and ideas to get more people involved, please get in touch with your local office.

Take action!This is a workshop available for your church to explore campaigning. Together we will look at the practicalities of campaigning for justice as well as the following questions: • Is poverty political?• What does the Bible have to

say about justice?• What is the role of the church?• Can campaigning really make

a difference?

This Take Action! workshop can be delivered at your church by a member of the Christian Aid team. For more details, contact the Oxford regional office on 01865 246818 or email [email protected]

Sarjon Toma (centre) pictured with supporters in Chichester at an afternoon tea event.

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Swindon cooks up a storm!

Inspired by the 2012 Paralympics, Swindon Old Town’s Partnership of

Churches more than doubled its fundraising target to help people living with disability in Lebanon and the West Bank.

Within nine months, three churches – motivated by the fact that the EU would treble whatever total they reached – smashed their target of £5,000, raising an incredible £10,356 for the Christian Aid project.

Christian Aid’s regional coordinator for Wiltshire, Katrine Musgrave, said: ‘Huge congratulations go to the project’s supporters from Christ Church, Bath Road Methodist Church and Immanuel URC, Swindon. Their drive has been incredible and this is reflected in the total which will top £31,000 with EU partnership funding.

‘Around the world, people

living with disabilities often face more obstacles to being fully involved in society than the rest of the population. This project, delivered in partnership with the Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union and the East Jerusalem YMCA, will directly benefit 30,000 people over its three-year lifetime.’

One of the coordinators, Margaret Williams of Christ Church, said: ‘Hopefully we have made a difference to disabled people’s lives.’

Swindon Churches Together also raised money for a Christian Aid community partnership – this time to empower people living in slums in São Paulo, Brazil.

Around 20 churches took part in the scheme, reaching their target of £5,000 after a year-long programme of fundraising events.

• On top of its Christian Aid Week fundraising, Mevagissey’s Christian Aid Group is similarly aiming to raise £5,000 in a community partnership scheme to help revolutionise maternal healthcare in an area of south-west Kenya where 435 women die in childbirth for every 100,000 births.

A sponsored walk around Heligan was held this April, there are lunches and cream teas planned and make a date for Songs of Praise on the jetty on 17 August (see listings).

• To find out more about how your church, business, school or other community group can partner with a project, visit christianaid.org.uk/partnerships/

Christian Aid South West

Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

South West Spring/Summer 2014christianaid.org.uk/inyourarea

A Ready, Steady, Cook evening puts the fun in fundraising. Teams from each of the three Old Town Swindon churches pitched their culinary wits against each other to raise money for Christian Aid’s work. Left to right are Eliza Leadbeater, and son and father Michael and Steve Burchell.


christianaid.org.uk/partnerships

Christian Aid South West Spring/Summer 2014

South West events diarySaturday 10 MayPoole to Bournemouth seafront sponsored walkWalk the full distance or join in en route. For more details, contact Joan Percy (Poole) on 01202 737659 or at [email protected] or Kathy May (Bournemouth) 01202 580112 or at [email protected]

11-17 May Christian Aid Week

Sunday 11 MayJump for Justice 12 noon-6pm, St Sampson’s Church, Cricklade SN6 6AT.See story below.

Friday 16 MayConcert featuring Canoryan Lowen7.30pm, Riverside United Church, The Quay, Looe PL13 2BU. Contact the Southampton office at

[email protected] or 023 8070 6969.

Saturday 17 MayNewton Abbot Racecourse sponsored walkNow in its 47th year, this 10km walk is a great family day out. Contact the Southampton office.

Saturday 17 MayChristian Aid Week Fair10am-2pm, Stapleton Road Congregational Chapel, Bristol BS5 0QZ.With drumming workshops, Jamaican hotpot, bric-a-brac, cakes and live music.

Friday 30 MaySponsored climbMaya Goldsworthy, eight, sister Erin, four, and their parents will climb Mt Snowdon for Christian Aid Week. justgiving.com/Kelly-Goldsworthy

Saturday 31 MayQuiz evening7pm, St James Road Methodist Church, Southampton SO15 5HE.The evening includes a talk from our regional coordinator Charlotte Page. For details, contact the Southampton office.

Friday 6 JuneChristian Aid dinner Civic Centre, Warminster BA12 8LB. Enjoy a three-course meal as Gulliver Ralston does Noel Coward. Tickets £15. Contact Sheelagh Wurr on 01985 216056 or Harold and Carol Stephens on 01985 301137.

Sunday 8 JunePentecost Party in the ParkAll day on College Green and in Bristol Cathedral, Bristol BS1 5TJ.

A family day put on by Churches Together in Greater Bristol.

Saturday 21 JuneHeanton Punchardon abseilFor more details, contact the Southampton office.

Sunday 29 JuneSt Pinnock Brass Band concertWest Looe Centre (near St Nicholas Church). For more details, contact the Southampton office.

Sunday 17 AugustSongs on the Jetty7.30pm, Mevagissey, Cornwall.For more details, contact the Southampton office.

To keep up with events in the region see our Facebook page facebook.com/ChristianAidWest

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Mission Possible: Jump for JusticeSupporters will leap into Christian Aid Week in style at Cricklade, Wiltshire, on 11 May, with a 70ft free fall abseil inside the tower at St Sampson’s Church.

Among those already signed up to ‘Jump for Justice’ are the Bishop of Swindon, the Rt Rev Dr Lee Rayfield, who is recovering from lymphoma, and father-and-son duo Graham Stockill and 16-year-old Dominic McBratney.

The jump is part of the Cricklade Big Day

Out. It features food and entertainment from 12 noon to 6pm, including performances from the Sing 4/4 Cricklade Community Choir, a lunchtime BBQ, afternoon tea and cake, plus a bouncy castle and the prestigious teddy bears’ parachute competition.

Graham, a member of Cricklade United Church, said: ‘When I heard about Jump for Justice I had to give it a go. I might regret it when I’m standing there at the top, but it seems a great way to raise

money for those living in circumstances which we can’t imagine.’

Bishop Lee said: ‘Christian Aid is a charity close to my heart and this Christian Aid Week they are helping us focus on countries ravaged by war.

‘Having visited the north of Uganda and heard what men, women and children suffered at the hands of the Lord’s Resistance Army I have some idea of the deep and sustained work needed after such violence.’

Could you ‘Jump for

Justice’? It costs £15 to register, with a minimum fundraising target of £200. For more details and to register, call Katrine Musgrave on 01454 415923 or email [email protected]

Graham and Dominic eye the 70ft tower.

www.justgiving.com/Kelly-Goldsworthy

www.facebook.com/ChristianAidWest

Christian Aid South West Spring/Summer 2014

All revved up en route to Paris

A trio of intrepid cyclists are among those

gearing up to take part in Christian Aid challenge events this summer.

Calling themselves All Revved Up, the team consists of Salisbury’s diocesan director of ordinands the Rev Charlie Allen, and the Rev Jo Naish

and Elizabeth Perry from the parish of Woodford Valley with Archers Gate, Wiltshire. They’ll be cycling from London to Paris at the end of July.

Elizabeth, wife of Woodford Valley’s vicar, Mike, and a former regional coordinator for Christian Aid, took on the challenge six years ago. She’s signed up despite vowing never to do so again!

She said: ‘Last time it was the thought of our partners that kept me going. I have seen their determination in the face of adversity; I have seen the life-transforming results of their work. These memories are the inspiration I need – along with the thought of the vin rouge and

patisseries awaiting me in Paris.’

Another supporter embracing a challenge to raise funds this summer is Bournemouth-based cyclist and singer Paul Farwell, who will tackle our London-Amsterdam-Brussels cycle ride in May.

Alongside his training commitments, baritone Paul also found time to put on a free Valentine’s Day concert with friends, which raised over £125 for Christian Aid.

The power of coffee and cooperationNicaraguan coffee producer Margarita Espinoza has poignantly highlighted the difference Fairtrade makes to the health and welfare of men, women and children in her community.

Speaking at a Fairtrade Fortnight event in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, in March, Margarita told Christian Aid supporters and MP Steve Webb how a minimum price guarantee kept her business viable at a time of rapidly falling prices. Fairtrade meant children in her region could get a better education and healthcare was improved.

Margarita is a member of a Christian Aid partner organisation

Soppexcca, a cooperative overseeing 18 smaller co-ops with 650 members, 200 of whom are women.

She said: ‘Through membership of a Soppexcca cooperative, as well as harvesting my coffee, I have been able to achieve many other benefits. These include training on reproductive health, gender equality, the environment and others.

‘There have been real health benefits. Through the coffee that our women produce we have established a special plan for the prevention of cervico-uterine cancer, a disease with one of the highest death rates among women nationally.

‘Thanks to the work of Christian Aid supporters, in solidarity with Nicaraguans, we can empower ourselves and develop our rights and interests.’

GIVE THEM ALL YOUR SUPPORTAll Revved Up at justgiving.com/teams/WVAGLondontoParis

Paul at justgiving.com/Paul-Farwell

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www.caweek.org

Words that will stay with me forever

As churches and communities in Wales gear up for Christian

Aid Week, Manon Defis, the Christian Aid intern for Wales, has these words of inspiration from her trip last year to Colombia – one of the focus countries for the 2014 event.

‘I could not see what I see, and know what I know, and NOT act.’

These words will stay with me forever. They belong to Father Alberto, the inspirational co-founder of our partner Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP), which helps communities in Colombia forced to flee their land during decades of violent conflict.

Nothing could have prepared me for meeting these displaced communities, for seeing their tears as they shared their

harrowing experiences or for hearing about their family members and friends who were killed. The ongoing war has left them feeling voiceless, powerless and alone. Many are women and children who are living with poverty and oppression.

However, we saw for ourselves how things are changing. In Las Camelias, in north-east Colombia, we stayed with one community living in a ‘humanitarian zone’ – a safe area set up by Christian Aid where people can thrive in peace in the midst of conflict. These zones have been vital in keeping rural communities safe. They have transformed their lives – enabling them to return to their land and start earning a living again.

Albilio Pena works for CIJP

as a human rights defender – a dangerous job in Colombia. But Albilio said that he could not ignore what was happening in his country.

From the outside, a peaceful Colombia can seem like a distant vision. But after seeing our partners standing in solidarity with communities, it is clear that there is a hopeful future. I will never forget those I met or their stories. I will never forget the happiness of people who have been through so much pain. We must keep supporting them in their fight for justice and continue to give them a voice. Please add your support this Christian Aid Week.

Christian Aid Wales/Cymru

Don’t forget:

Christian Aid Week

11-17 May

Wales/Cymru Spring/Summer 2014


The inspirational Father Alberto, who fights for the rights of people forced from their land by violence.


For a full list of Christian Aid Week services and events visit: christianaid.org.uk/Cymru

Mercher 30 EbrillCyflwyno Cymorth CristnogolYn Sasiwn Genhadol Chwiorydd y Gogledd, Capel Ebeneser, Dolgellau am 2.00. Siaradwr: Anna Jane Evans, Trefnydd CC dros gogledd Cymru.Mwy o fanylion gan Cymorth Cristnogol ar 01248 353574 ar [email protected]

Sunday 4 MayFear Less – Ofni DimChristian Aid Week Service/Oedfa WCC10.30am, St Paul’s Church, Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay LL29 7TE.Speaker/Siaradwr: Anna Jane Evans.

Thursday 8 MayChristian Aid Week supper7pm, Llanwenarth Baptist Church, Station Road, Govilon, nr Abergavenny NP7 9RE.With Mari McNeill from Christian Aid Wales. Contact Rev Dr Peter Baines on 01973 831619.

Thursday 8 MayChristian Aid Week concert7pm, St Donat’s Church, Aberdare Road, Abercynon CF45 4NY.For details, call 01443 740241.

Iau 8 MaiNoson ar gyfer WCCCymdeithas Eglwysi Cymraeg Caerdydd, Capel Bethlehem, Gwaelod y Garth CF15 9HJ am 7.00 yng nghwmni Manon Defis, Cymorth Cristnogol. Bydd Manon yn son am ei thaith i Colombia – un o wledydd WCC 2014. Manylion pellach gan Denzil John ar 029 2034 4391 Saturday 10 MayChristian Aid Week coffee morning10am-12 noon, Penmaenmawr Community Centre, Conwy Road, Penmaenmawr LL34 6AB.Contact 01492 622672 for further details.

Saturday 10 MayChristian Aid Week Plant Sale10am-2pm, Llanishen Baptist Church, Fidlas Road, Llanishen, Cardiff CF14 5LZ.See story opposite. For details, contact Beryl Bisset on 029 2075 3056 or [email protected]

Sadwrn 10 MaiFfair Wanwyn WCCEglwys y Tabernacl, Yr Ais, Caerdydd CF10 1AJ rhwng 10 a 12.Stondinau amrywiol, te, coffi a chacennau, gwobrau i’w hennill a chyfle i gwrdd a chyfeillion. Manylion pellach gan Nans Couch ar [email protected]

Sunday 11 MayFear Less – Ofni Dim Christian Aid Week Service/Oedfa WCCFour services:10.30am, Capel Seilo, Tregarth LL57 4PH.Speaker: Cathrin Daniel, Head of Christian Aid Wales.3.30pm, Port Talbot United Service, St Mary’s Church, Forge Road, Aberavon. Speaker: Peter Donnison, Christian Aid.6pm, United Service at Llanishen Baptist Church, Fidlas Road, Llanishen, Cardiff CF14 5LZ. Speaker: Robin Samuel, Christian Aid6pm, United Circuit Service at Whitchurch Methodist Church, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 2AA. Speaker: Peter Donnison.

Mercher 14 MaiCinio Cynnil WCCCapel y Porth, Heol Madog, Porthmadog LL49 9DB rhwng 12.00 and 2.00.Manylion pellach ar 01766 123456.

Friday 16 MayChristian Aid Week coffee morning10am-12 noon, Pen-lan Chapel, Pwllheli LL53 5DD.Contact 01758 613886 for further details.

Sul 18 MaiOfni Dim – Oedfa WCCCapel Maesyneuadd, Trefor LL54 5HH am 10.30Siaradwr: Llinos Roberts, Cymorth Cristnogol.

Wales events diary Digwyddiadau yng Nghymru

Christian Aid Wales Spring/Summer 2014

Phone call opens new doors in Wales

Rev John Collier, a priest with the Church in

Wales in the Monmouth diocese, was called as part of the pre-Christian Aid Week ‘Clergy Calling’ campaign at the end of last year. Here he talks about the positive effects of that phone call.

‘I arranged to meet my regional Christian Aid coordinator, Mari McNeill, and it was good to make contact with such an enthusiastic person. Some of her zest seems to have rubbed off.

‘I have made a personal commitment to hold an event during Christian Aid Week. Hopefully, this will bring members of our churches together in support of Christian Aid. We also plan a quiz night at our local pub to grow our relationship with the local community.

‘House-to-house collecting has faded a bit in this area, but it is an opportunity to reach out to the community. We will also be building the work of Christian Aid into our services, and including an article in our parish magazine.’

christianaid.org.uk/Cymru

Christian Aid Wales Gwanwyn/Haf 2014

Reflection To be part of the problem is to be part of the solution

Moses Tutesigensi, a mission enabler with the Presbyterian Church of Wales, was an intern with us in 2012. Here

he reflects on what Christian Aid Week means for him.

It has been said that if you are part of the problem then you are also part of the solution. This is of huge importance when we think about Christian Aid Week, as it brings to the forefront a problem: we are all part of the injustice of poverty.

The big question is: how do we challenge it while we ourselves are living in a country of varying degrees of poverty?

For example, micro-financing initiatives are becoming an increasingly popular tool for the fight against poverty in the UK. In Sierra Leone I saw how a credit union is helping many families begin the climb out of abject poverty. We should enjoy sharing such stories whenever we meet as a community of God’s people.

It seems to me that the answer is clear; we are part of the problem and so we are/will be part of the solution.

Jesus says, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst’ (John 6:35). We must start from there, remembering that the love of Jesus known through us will change the world.

Let’s consider the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25: 31-46) as both a challenge and an encouragement to spur us on to be actively involved not just this Christian Aid Week but in the day-to-day work of our individual churches.

From little acorns…Back in 1979 the Bisset family in Llanishen, Cardiff, set up a stall outside their home to sell plants from their garden for Christian Aid Week. They raised the princely sum of £9.

Thus began the Llanishen Plant Sale, now one of the premier Christian Aid Week events in Cardiff and regularly bringing in around £2,500.

This is its 35th year and Beryl Bisset is still very much involved. She recalled: ‘For our second year, the mothers of our children’s friends baked cakes, and other friends and neighbours dug up plants from their gardens and gave them to us to sell.’

The event grew quickly, and when Beryl realised that they needed a bigger venue – and help

with the organising – she turned to her church, Llanishen Baptist.

‘The church is on the main road, and we were able to display the plants outside and in the foyer. We could also use the church hall to sell bric-a-brac, books and toys and serve light refreshments. Some of the members agreed to be on an organising committee.

‘Although people still give plants they have grown themselves, we also buy in bedding plants from a local garden centre, which gives us a good discount. We also have annuals, perennials, shrubs, herbs and flowers. The stalls bring in a lot of money, and as well as tea, coffee and cake, we now do sandwiches and hot food.

‘It’s a real community day, with all ages helping. The church and pavement looks so colourful, with all the plants and flowers. We have even had enquiries from other local communities about the event and how we organise and run it.

‘It is hard work and we worry a lot before the day, but it’s well worth it. We know that the money is supporting a good cause in Christian Aid.’

christian aid magazine spring/summer 2014

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