CHRISTIAN AID
 

Seven days, so many ways to make a difference.

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Every Christian Aid Week, people across Britain and Ireland raise funds, act and pray for their global neighbours in a celebration of hope for a fairer world.

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This year’s appeal runs from 12–18 May and is focussing on the organisation’s work in Burundi, one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Heavily reliant on agriculture, it’s also one of the least prepared to combat the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and landslides. The global cost of living crisis has intensified the challenges: more than 70 per cent of the population live in poverty and more than half of children are chronically malnourished.

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Christian Aid has been working in Burundi since 1995 when it first offered humanitarian assistance to people surviving the civil conflict. Now, alongside local partners, the organisation helps establish Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). These community-led groups mean people can save and borrow money, making small businesses possible, offering reliable and diverse incomes so families can eat regularly, get medicine when they need it, and build safer homes.

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Thirty-five-year-old Aline Nibogora is the chairperson of a VSLA which supports some 25 families in a remote village, in Makamba Province. Aline escaped an abusive marriage only to find herself on the streets begging for a place to stay.

Her life changed when she went to a three-day, Christian Aid-funded community workshop. With a small start-up loan, Aline began trading avocados and peanuts locally. She’s now a grocery wholesaler and living on her own plot of land where she’s building a home for her family. In the next five years she hopes to expand, so one day she can buy a mill. This will provide a source of income without the need to transport heavy goods over long distances.

“I don't want my children to have a painful life like mine, remembering it makes me weep. I could never have dreamed I would one day have a brick house and be a successful businesswoman, able to feed and clothe my children. This is a plan and I will do it; I am a woman who is an achiever.”

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St Mary's Justice and Peace group is hosting a fundraising event for Christian Aid on Saturday 18th May.

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Come along between 11.00am and 2.00pm to enjoy:

• coffee, biscuits and chat from 11am

• soup and bread lunch from 12.00

• cakes and bakes

• quiz & competition

• finding quality pre-loved clothes, bags and scarves to enhance your wardrobe in an environmentally friendly way

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We would very much welcome donations of baked goods, including scones and bread, as well as clothes, bags and scarves for our stalls.

 

There will be a box in the vestibule to receive contributions of clothing and accessories in advance.

 

Please speak to Margaret Evans if you have any queries.

 

You can also contribute to St Mary's fundraising for Christian Aid online by clicking below - this will enable us to know how much we have raised as a Church, with the assurance that all details of individual donations are known only to you and Christian Aid.