Christian Aid New 39 - Spring 2008

Help us lobby Gordon over climate change

Teens work to raise awareness of HIV

Can you run poverty into the ground?

Human league From health and education to dignity and justice: how Christian Aid is helping the poor in their struggle for human rights Issue 39 p01 Cover.indd 1

Spring 2008

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Location Location Location Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ethiopia. Poverty is rife all around the world.

Too much water in some places, not enough in others. Every week, thousands of children are born into such poverty-stricken places.

Weakest Link Poor farmers in northern Ghana are malnourished because they’re short of food. They’re short of food because they can’t work. They can’t work because they’re malnourished. They’re malnourished because… You get the picture.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

For many people the answer is ‘I don’t.’ Having enough to feed their families once a day would suffice. One billion people live on less than $1 a day.

One Foot in the Grave When flood waters strike Bangladesh or Mozambique, many people find themselves straddling survival and death.The big problem is climate change. These flood waters are becoming worse, occurring annually.

Neighbours The unfortunate people of the world may be living thousands of miles away from us, but we all share the same planet. We’re just lucky that we happen to live further from the equator.

Countdown Time goes by more slowly when you’re hungry and thirsty.

When will I eat again? When will the next delivery of fresh water arrive? Will there be enough for me as well as my children?

A Place in the Sun When you’ve no choice but to cut down the local trees to sell as firewood so that your children can eat, you’re exposed to a lot of sun. And what happens when it rains? No shelter from that either.

There’s no hiding from any of the elements.

Casualty Dengue fever, typhoid and HIV are all spread by poverty, not just people. The yearly casualties from these diseases shame the western world.

My Family With extended families in one home, relationships can get tense.

Imagine having 11family members all living in the same room.

That’s on top of the poverty they’re already enduring.

The News £15 million doesn’t collect itself. Quite simply, Christian Aid needs you. Please help us for one or two evenings during Christian Aid Week. The money we collect in that week helps make change possible: from emergency work to gender education and the provision of essential health services.

Do something more challenging and rewarding with your evening. Believe us, it beats a night in.

Extraordinary People You can get involved in so many ways this Christian Aid Week.

To find out how, please call 08080 006 006 or visit www.caweek.org

Christian Aid Week 11th – 17th May Unless you’ve got something better to do?

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UK registered charity number 1105851; company number 5171525 Northern Ireland charity number XR94639; company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998; company number 426928

020 7620 4444

Editor’s letter

Christian Aid News is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper

F1493

An audio version of this issue is available. Call 08700 787 788 for details

On the Janadesh land rights march in India

Special report

■ 14 FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS REGULARS ■ 4 NEWS Christian Aid wins £10m to fund new volunteer scheme…cyclone and floods: emergency responses in Bangladesh and Africa…and a look ahead to Christian Aid Week, and the launch of Quizaid!

■ 10 CAMPAIGNS Call goes out for millions to lobby PM over Climate Change Bill. And we want your support in a battle to halt new coal-fired power stations ■ 21 REFLECTION What next for Kenya? East Africa programme manager Dereje Alemayehu on the need for reconciliation

■ 26 DO THE RIGHT THING Your organisation needs you! Do you want to become a volunteer?

Photo: Simon Williams

WE’VE WRITTEN MUCH in Christian Aid News about our organisation and its partners’ dedicated work in responding to disasters. Indeed, it may well be that most people’s perception of what we do is coloured by the inevitable emergency appeals that follow natural catastrophes around the world. Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh and the devastating floods in southern Africa, reported on our news pages here, are two more tragic examples.

Climate change and its impact on the world’s poorest communities has also been increasingly covered in our pages – especially the Input section – and is likely to be another recurring theme over the coming months and years.

But in this issue we’ve chosen to focus on a less well-aired feature of Christian Aid’s work: our support for the millions of marginalised people around the world struggling to secure even the most basic of human rights. This year is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so it seemed an appropriate moment to turn the spotlight on the work being done to help the disenfranchised and dehumanised fight for food, water, dignity, justice, education and healthcare – fundamental human rights that we so often take for granted.

From India, Nepal, Gaza, the Philippines, Burma, Guatemala and El Salvador, we report on the work our partners are doing to help people realise their rights. A banner outside our London office reminds me as I come in each day that Christian Aid doesn’t stand for poverty. Well, we don’t stand for these abuses of human rights, either.

Finally, Christian Aid Week will be upon us before you know it. Good luck to everyone taking part, and let’s make this our best-ever!

Roger Fulton, editor

Contents Spring 2008 Issue 39

■ 28 EVENTS Where to go and what to do, plus an appeal for 500 runners to put their best feet forward for Christian Aid ■ 30 THE LAST WORD Actor – and quizzer – Shaun Williamson has all the answers

FEATURES ■ 12 THE GAME OF LIFE From Wales to Sierra Leone: how teens are raising awareness of HIV

■ 22 COMMENT Christian Aid’s policy manager Alex Cobham discusses the role of growth in aiding development

■ 14 SPECIAL REPORT: FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS How Christian Aid and its partners support the struggle of people around the world to realise their basic human rights

■ 24 INPUT Your letters and emails

■ 30 PEOPLE POWER Celebrating a trio of awards

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Christian Aid works with the world’s poorest people in nearly 50 countries, regardless of race or faith.

We tackle the causes and consequences of poverty and injustice. We are part of ACT International, the ecumenical relief network.

■ Cover A group of marchers on the Janadesh land rights protest in India. Photo by Simon Williams ■ Pictures Matthew Gonzalez-Noda ■ Subeditors Lucy Southwood, Louise Parfitt, Catriona Lorie ■ Circulation Ben Hayward ■ Design & production Bonnie Coupland/Circle Publishing, 020 8332 2709 ■ Christian Aid head office 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL ■ Tel 020 7620 4444 ■ Fax 020 7620 0719 ■ Email info@christian-aid.org ■ Stay in touch with us online > News, campaigns and resources www.christianaid.org.uk ■ Christian and ethical service provider www.surefish.co.uk ■ Children and schools www.globalgang.org ■ Our campaigning and student website www.pressureworks.org

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New youth volunteer scheme launched ■ Designer t-shirts go news christian aid

£10m deal to recruit youth volunteers CHRISTIAN AID has launched a massive drive to recruit more young people after winning £10m funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) to run a unique new youth volunteering programme. Over the next three years the scheme will send more than 2,600 young people overseas to experience work and life in a developing country.

The programme aims to raise awareness of development issues among young people who would otherwise be unlikely to visit a developing country. We hope that the experience will inspire them to become activists who raise awareness of global development issues in their

local communities when they return. Christian Aid will stage exciting events around the country for the young people to get involved in.

The programme focuses, in particular, on disadvantaged young people and those from ethnic minorities – both are groups that Christian Aid has struggled to engage with in the past. The travel will be fully funded.

‘This is a new venture for Christian Aid, and we will be offering something that no other organisation does,’ says programme manager Mark Vyner. ‘Working in a consortium with Islamic Relief and BUNAC (British Universities North America Club), we secured the contract in a competitive tender process. This is

the first time we have participated in such a large process, and the win is a huge achievement for everyone involved.’

Beginning in April, groups of young people aged 18-25 will spend ten weeks in developing countries, making a meaningful contribution to their host communities. Some will be working with Christian Aid partners; others with local organisations put forward

by BUNAC. Initially, there will be up to five departures a year of multiple groups of around 12 volunteers to up to nine countries. Numbers will gradually build up – with around 350 volunteers in year one, 800 in year two and 1,500 in year three.

Christian Aid will market

Above: Volunteers on a BUNAC scheme in South Africa

the initiative, recruit volunteers, prepare them for their time overseas and support them on their return.

We will also ensure educational content throughout their experience

Photo: Henry Trumble

Nicole Farhi t-shirts on eBay

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FASHION DESIGNER Nicole Farhi has teamed up with artist John Keane and Christian Aid to launch a range of limited-edition clothing to highlight the plight of millions of children in war-torn Angola. The striking t-shirts, short-sleeved shirts and unisex bag feature motifs from paintings produced by Keane for the Children in Conflict exhibition which launched at Wolverhampton Art Gallery at the end of last year. The range is available from Christian Aid’s eBay shop www.stores.ebay.co.uk/christianaid with prices starting at £30.

Nicole Farhi said: ‘I felt very strongly that I wanted to get involved with a charity that helps innocent children caught up in conflict.

It was very exciting to work with John Keane, an artist of such integrity and talent.’

John Keane’s trip to Angola has been the subject of a one-hour documentary on the Community Channel and his 11 paintings will be on display at Flowers Central gallery on Cork Street, London W1 from 5-29 March.

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on sale ■ £1million Gift Aid blow ■ Royal show coup

GIFT AID BLOW TO CHARITIES

Photo: courtesy BUNAC

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and equip and train them to tell their stories. BUNAC will run the logistical side, including the application process, security checks, and visas. Islamic Relief will recruit and look after 15 per cent of the volunteers.

Matthew Reed, Christian Aid’s church and community director, says: ‘This is an exciting opportunity for Christian Aid to draw many more young people into our work. Young people like to do something tangible to effect change and have a personal experience which they can draw on. This would make a big difference in enabling them to engage with our work, help them understand the issues, and share what they learn with others.

‘We need to reach out to the new generation of supporters and show them that the need is not just there

during emergencies – we need their money and time continuously to help eradicate poverty, and to support our non-emergency projects around the world such as sustainable livelihoods and HIV awareness.

‘When people experience poverty and talk to people living in poverty first-hand, it invariably has a life-changing effect on them. They become committed to doing something to help and more often than not identify with the organisation they went with. We would expect a large percentage of these volunteers to become life-long advocates for Christian Aid.’ For details of the scheme and how to apply, contact 0800 968 6828, or log on to www.gyvp.org

CHRISTIAN AID STANDS to lose out on up to £1million a year due to changes in the Gift Aid scheme which come into force this April.

The changes, set out in the 2007 Budget, mean that from April the basic rate of income tax will be reduced from 22 to 20 per cent. From 6 April, we will only be able to reclaim 25p from each £1 donated via Gift Aid, rather than the 28p we currently receive.

We received £4.7million via Gift Aid last year, and estimate that we will lose up to £1 million annually as a result of the changes.

However, even at a reduced rate of 25 per cent Gift Aid is still vital to us, so if you are collecting this Christian Aid Week please remember to ask everyone to Gift Aid their donations. If you have any questions on Gift Aid, please contact us on 020 7523 2225.

ROYAL COUP CHRISTIAN AID will provide the main feature for the Horticulture, Gardening and Flower Show at this year’s Royal Show, which runs from 3-6 July at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire and attracts 150,000 visitors over four days. Christian Aid’s show garden will focus on its climate change adaptation work with poor rural farming communities in Burkina Faso, west Africa.

Tickets cost £11-£15 each, or £38 for a family.

Buy yours at www. christianaid.org.uk/climate

TALK BACK THE THINGS THEY SAY ‘Climate change is a defining global social justice issue. If we fail to tackle climate change we risk condemning the world’s poorest people to poverty for generations to come. At the same time, we must not allow the climate change debate to neglect – or even prevent – the right of developing countries to grow.

Development and climate change must be seen as inextricably linked.’

Douglas Alexander, international development secretary, announcing plans to spend £100 million over the next five years helping poorer countries deal with the impact of global warming

THE THINGS WE SAY ‘We have to help poorer countries manage the impact of climate change while providing jobs and an improved quality of life for their people without further adding to carbon emissions.’

Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid’s climate change specialist, welcomes Douglas Alexander’s announcement ‘If this funding is about flying in expensive consultants from rich countries to tell poor people how to respond and then flying them out again taking most of their knowledge with them, it will be ineffective.’

Andrew adds a note of caution over the same announcement…

‘President Bush has at last recognised that the occupation remains the main obstacle to a viable solution to the conflict in the Middle East. We hope this will translate into genuine pressure on the Israeli government to dismantle all the physical aspects of the occupation throughout the occupied Palestinian territories. This will be an important step towards peace if, but only if, it comes together with an agreement that guarantees the full sovereignty of both Palestinians and Israelis.’

William Bell, Christian Aid’s Middle East policy officer, welcoming the US president’s statement calling for an end to the occupation that began in 1967

THE THINGS YOU SAY ‘People ask: “What car would Jesus drive?” I think he would have chosen a battle bus.’

Tim Fox, Input, see page 25

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Emergency relief for flood-hit southern Africa ■ How Christian Aid news christian aid The flooded main road linking north and south Mozambique

Photo: Grant Neuenburg/Reuters/courtesy www.alertnet.org

Rapid response to southern Africa floods

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CHRISTIAN AID LAUNCHED an emergency appeal for flooding in southern Africa in January, after unusually early and heavy rainfall led to severe flooding in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique. Since then, Angola too has been affected.

More than 100,000 people have fled their homes, but the death toll remains mercifully low. Learning from previous disasters, such as Mozambique’s catastrophic floods in 2000, people now know to evacuate early.

But with acres of crops destroyed, thousands of poor farming families have been left living in flimsy temporary shelters, facing months of hunger.

In the worst affected areas of Zambia and Mozambique, local Christian Aid partners responded swiftly with £50,000 ‘rapid response’ funding from Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.

ACT International is a global alliance

of church-based emergency response agencies. Christian Aid is a member, as are many of our local partners around the world. With a central budget, which Christian Aid contributes to, ACT can release funds quickly to local partners working in disaster zones.

With ACT funding, partners provided basic emergency supplies including buckets, water treatment supplies (chlorine), plastic sheeting, latrines, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen utensils, soap, toilet tissue and sanitary towels to around 15,000 people.

Since then, Christian Aid has focused its longer-term recovery work in central Mozambique, where, for many families, this is the second time in less than a year that floods have forced them from their homes and destroyed their harvest.

Mozambique is particularly vulnerable to

floods, because most of southern Africa’s international river systems flow through Mozambique to reach the ocean. When heavy rain swells the rivers upstream, all that water eventually ends up downstream in Mozambique.

So far Christian Aid has sent £30,000 to our local partner CCM – the Christian Council of Mozambique – to help people who have fled their homes in the Zambezi river valley for ‘resettlement camps’ to find ways to feed themselves again as soon as possible.

By providing seed kits and fishing nets, CCM is helping 1,200 families who have lost their harvest, to replant and to fish for food in the meantime.

The seed kits contain maize, beans, tomatoes, water melons, okra and cabbage seeds. The vegetables, in particular, are quick-growing, and some should be ready to harvest just one month after planting.

The fishing nets are shared among a ‘fishing association’ made up of three or four families.

For details of how you can donate, go to www.christian-aid.org.uk.

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responded to cyclone in Bangladesh

‘The horror of the devastation was more than one ever could have imagined’ FOUR MONTHS AFTER the biggest cyclone in 16 years struck Bangladesh, the country is facing severe food shortages, making life even more difficult for people already among the poorest in the world.

On 15 November Cyclone Sidr hit southern and southwestern coastal districts of Bangladesh with tidal surges of up to eight metres, killing more than 3,300 people and destroying homes, trees, livestock and crops. More than 55,000 people were injured by flying debris and falling trees, and hundreds of thousands of livestock also died. Wind speeds reached 155mph (250 kph) in some parts, making it a rare, high Category 4 cyclone.

Despite the ferocity of the storm, many lives were saved thanks to early warning systems which meant that a million people were successfully evacuated to speciallybuilt cyclone shelters. Christian Aid partners alone helped move more than 100,000 people to safety. Many of these concrete shelters were built by Christian Aid after a super-cyclone in 1991, which was around the same strength as Sidr but killed many more people – around 140,000 – because the early warning systems that were in place then were not as effective.

However, the low death toll this time masked what was still a huge disaster – with severe damage to homes, livestock and crops. According to the government, 564,000 houses were destroyed and more than 811,000 were damaged and two million acres of land destroyed. Around 2.2 million families (nearly 9 million people) lost their source of income.

In the immediate aftermath hundreds of thousands of people urgently needed food, Photo: Rafiqur Rahman/Reuters/coourtesy www.alertnet.org

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shelter, clothing and medical help. Five partner organisations provided emergency food, cash, clothing, first aid kits, oral rehydration salts and water purification tablets to 100,000 people. Partners then moved on to building temporary shelters, repairing wells and distributing vegetable seeds and will soon start working on longterm recovery efforts such as rebuilding homes, decontaminating water supplies, replanting crops, and replacing livestock.

One of the most immediate problems is food shortages, because so many crops were destroyed: farmers were due to harvest in December. Some areas had already lost their earlier summer crops in the severe monsoon floods of August and September. The Bangladesh government has called the situation a silent famine; half a million tonnes of grain are needed.

Neeti Bhargava, Christian Aid’s emergency programme officer, travelled to the affected area by motorbike, because roads were impassable by car in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone. She said: ‘The horror of the devastation was more than one ever could have imagined – houses were blown away, trees were uprooted. There was debris, carcasses, stunned faces everywhere.

‘With fishing and agriculture badly affected, people – especially those who work as wage labourers – are facing a crisis.

What we heard most in these areas was people saying “give us work.”’

The Disasters Emergency Committee – the umbrella organisation of 13 UK international agencies – launched an appeal to help those devastated by the cyclone, which has so far raised £5 million.

Christian Aid will receive £436,604 of this to spend on relief and rehabilitation. We have also received £223,000 from ECHO (the European Commission’s Humanitarian Department) to help 6,000 families with emergency food for three months.

A separate Christian Aid appeal raised £1.4 million to help people in Bangladesh and India affected by the devastating floods.

After immediate life-saving and rebuilding needs have been met, this money will also be used to help communities reduce their long-term vulnerability to future disasters.

A WORLD OF AID Snapshots of some of the work and issues facing organisations supported by Christian Aid KENYA In the wake of post-election violence Christian Aid has sent £35,000 to our partner IDCSS in Nyanza province – one of the worst-affected areas – to provide food and survival kits, which contain items such as cooking utensils, mosquito nets, sanitary towels and blankets. With £50,000 in rapid response funds, Action

by Churches Together’s Kenya Forum (AKF) – of which Christian Aid is a member – is also providing survival kits to 2,000 displaced families in the most vulnerable areas of Rift Valley, Coast Western, Nyanza and Nairobi. AKF hopes to reach 30,000 displaced people with trauma healing and reconciliation activities, as well as hygiene, sanitation and relief projects.

Where next for Kenya – see page 21 BOLIVIA Despite two consecutive years of the worst floods in living memory, indigenous families in the Amazon, Beni region are celebrating a dramatic increase in the size of their harvests. Christian Aid partner CIPCA is helping poor farmers to plant cocoa trees. The seeds are worth twice as much as rice, and their roots can survive underwater for the weeks when floods hit. The harvests are measured in arrobas, an old Spanish unit of measurement equivalent to about 25 pounds. Harvests have increased from 28.7 arrobas in 2005 to 324 in 2007.

AFGHANISTAN Christian Aid has sent £50,000 to two partners in Herat who are responding to an emerging crisis caused by the harshest winter here for more than 25 years with temperatures dropping to –40º. So far the conditions have claimed 800 lives and led to thousands of cases of pneumonia and frostbite. The money is being used for food parcels and mobile medical clinics.

SIERRA LEONE SLENERELA+, the Sierra Leone branch of Christian Aid partner the International Network of Religious Leaders Living With or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS, launched in Freetown in late January.

Faith leaders are uniquely placed to challenge stigmatising attitudes and encourage their congregations to know their HIV status and to take appropriate Christian Aid News

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Praise for Christian Aid ■ Get your thinking caps on for this year’s news christian aid

Christian Aid wins One World accolade CHRISTIAN AID HAS been named as the top non-governmental performer in the second annual Global Accountability Report produced by The One World Trust. The report ranks 30 of the world’s most powerful corporate, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations on accountability.

Christian Aid not only came ahead of other British non-governmental organisations, with a score of 81 per cent, but exposed the lack of accountability among some of the biggest corporate names including Google, Coca Cola, Pricewaterhouse Coopers International Limited and General Electric who scored between 17 and 65 per cent.

Intergovernmental organisations lead the pack followed closely by non-governmental organisations in the ranking of overall performance; however corporate businesses rank bottom of the three sectors.

The report measures organisations’ policies on transparency, participation, evaluation, and complaint and response procedures.

Daleep Mukarji, director of Christian Aid, said: ‘We welcome this independent external scrutiny and are delighted to be identified as a “top performer” in the International NGO sector. As an organisation which actively campaigns both in the UK and overseas, seeking to hold governments and big businesses to account for their actions, it is vital that we too are accountable to those we affect – poor communities, supporters, institutional donors, the public, our staff and overseas partners. This is core to our values and strategy. However, there is no room for complacency – this is an encouraging starting point but to make the policies truly effective we need to sustain the commitment of individuals throughout the organisation.’

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Quizaid answers the call of Christian Aid Week Q: What gives you two hours of pleasure, leaves you with a warm feeling inside, and only costs £2?

A: Quizaid – the new annual Christian Aid Week fundraising event.

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK, 11-17 May, is nearly upon us, when hundreds of thousands of you in villages, towns and cities up and down the UK will be going from house to house, delivering and collecting more than 17million Christian Aid Week envelopes.

Thousands more will be taking part in sponsored walks, bikes rides, runs and other events to raise funds towards our target of £15million. But this year we’re determined to exercise your brains as well as your bodies and empower people in all parts of our communities to play their part in eradicating poverty.

Welcome to Quizaid – our fantastic Christian Aid Week quiz to be held on Friday 16 May. You can hold a Quizaid event anywhere – in your home, workplace, church, local pub or club – and help to raise thousands of pounds for our overseas development projects.

And, thanks to Divine Chocolate, you could even win a year’s supply

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Christian Aid Week ■ Win Divine Chocolate

Photo: Christian Aid

Water project stands up to the test of disaster THERE CAN hardly be a better example of this year’s Christian Aid Week message of ‘empowering people’ than the fate of one of the inspiring projects featured in the resource materials available to fundraisers.

When Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh last November, it struck land in the exact location of one of the drinking water security projects run by the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), an organisation supported by Christian Aid. In the seven villages in Bagerhat district where the project has been implemented, 155mph winds flattened 457 of the 684 homes belonging to members of the water councils set up

by BCAS. A further 194 homes were damaged. However, while homes were destroyed, almost all of the 77 rainwater harvesting systems that had been installed in the villages were left standing, with few sustaining any serious damage thanks to their sturdy concrete design.

Even more remarkable was the speed at which these communities were able to get back on their feet compared to others. Several days after

the cyclone, a visitor to the BCAS water project villages from Action by Churches Together remarked: ‘What is striking is how well people seem to have got back to everyday life. People in the surrounding rice and brickfields are back at work; women are washing clothes in the river; the narrow, muddy roads are being paved as we pass by and everywhere there are bicycle taxis carrying wooden poles, tin and other construction materials.’

Involving the whole community – especially women and the poorest families – in decision-making around universal issues such as the right to clean drinking water not only gives communities more confidence to address their own problems. It also builds their resilience so that when disaster strikes again they are better able to cope and get back on their feet.

Bangladesh disaster – see page 7

Photo: Christian Aid/Mohammadur Rahman

of chocolate, just by taking part!

We’re calling on quizmasters across the UK to apply for a Quizaid pack, containing questions and publicity materials. Then all you have to do is gather together your friends, work colleagues or relatives, charge them £2 each to enter, and have a great time.

The money you raise will help people in the developing world to build a better life for themselves.

Quizaid is backed by former EastEnders actor and dedicated quizzer Shaun Williamson, who also starred alongside Ricky Gervais in Extras. ‘It’s a great idea,’ says Shaun. ‘Have fun, answer questions and support Christian Aid’s work in some of the world’s poorest countries. I’d encourage everyone to get stuck in to your local Quizaid, or even organise your own.’

To order your Quizaid pack, just complete and return the flyer inside this edition of Christian Aid News, call 08080 005005 or download one from www.christianaid.org.uk/quizaid.

The pack contains 60 questions in 12 rounds – including music, sport, pot luck, history, geography, visual and maths.

It will also include posters, invites, answer sheets, and a certificate for the winning team. You can also download two supplementary rounds online, allowing you to tailor your quiz to your audience.

And of course, you can add your own questions too.

Amanda Borg, head of events and community fundraising, says: ‘Quizaid is witty, energetic, smart and fun. And it really is the taking part that counts.

Every pound raised will go towards helping some of the world’s poorest communities gain access to clean water, education, healthcare and a better future.’

WIN: A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF DIVINE CHOCOLATE (or a luxury hamper or your height in Divine Chocolate!)

Quizaid has partnered with Divine Chocolate to give you the chance to sample some of this heavenly chocolate. Divine Chocolate is made with the best fair-trade cocoa, supplied by Ghanaian farmers who co-own the company.

Everyone who takes part in the quiz will be entered into a prize draw to win a year’s supply of Divine Chocolate. In addition, as an incentive to bank the proceeds quickly, each quiz organiser who banks their funds by 21 July 2008 will be entered into a draw to win one of three luxury Divine Chocolate hampers. Finally, the organiser of the Quizaid event that raises the most money will win their height in Divine Chocolate!

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Keep up the pressure!

From lobbying over the Climate Change Bill to opposition to new coal-fired power stations campaigns specialist Andrew Hogg rounds up a busy period ahead on the campaigning front

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message directly to MPs we are organising a week of action with the I Count coalition from 30 March-5 April. I Count is the UK’s largest climate change campaign, comprising more than 60 organisations with a supporter base of more than 4 million. Visit www.icount.org.uk for details of events in your area.

On 14 February, Christian Aid, together with Friends of the Earth and the World Development Movement, sent Parliament a special Valentine that spelt out our demands. Every MP and peer received a packet of Love Hearts sweets with wrapping that read: ‘Love is…80% + aviation & shipping + annual milestones’.

Why we must say no to more coal power WHILE MONITORING the passage of the Climate Change Bill through parliament, Christian Aid is also backing a campaign to halt the building of new coal-fired power stations in the UK, beginning with Kingsnorth in Kent.

The fate of an ageing coal-fired power station on the Kent coast may appear of little concern to an organisation dedicated to alleviating poverty in the world’s poorest countries. However, Christian Aid maintains that replacing the station at Kingsnorth,

UK registered charity number: 1105851. Company number: 5171525. *Standard text rates apply.

CHRISTIAN AID IS launching a major press drive to urge more than 11.5 million people to join our campaign to lobby PM Gordon Brown and MPs over the government’s Climate Change Bill.

The campaigning advert (pictured right) will be appearing in national newspapers, church press and current affairs magazines – with a combined reach of nearly 11.6 million adults. We hope they and existing supporters will boost our campaign by emailing Gordon Brown and their local MP. The Bill – the first such piece of legislation in the world – is reaching a critical stage in Parliament. We believe its target of reducing UK carbon emissions should be set at 80 per cent over 1990 levels – the global minimum needed to stave off a two-degree temperature rise.

The government is currently committed to 60 per cent cuts.

We also want the Bill to: ● make it mandatory for companies to report their carbon emissions. ● set annual reduction targets. ● include the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions – especially in the wake of a new report suggesting shipping emissions are double those of aviation.

To email your MP to support our action, please go to www.christianaid.org.uk/climatebill. To take our

Sorry to bang on, Gordon, but it’d really help us out if you made companies declare their CO2 emissions.

Millions of the world’s poorest people are suffering because of climate change. The Prime Minister could still make a real difference with his Climate Change Bill by making it mandatory for UK businesses to report their full global carbon emissions. Please make sure he does just that by texting GORDONXX to XXXX and we’ll send a postcard to Gordon Brown (and your local MP) on your behalf. Or go to www.christianaid.org.uk/climatebill to send an email yourself. Climate changed. Let’s cut the carbon.

near Rochester, with another powered by coal, will trigger the building of a new generation of such plants across the UK. With climate change already having disastrous environmental consequences for poorer countries, the additional carbon emissions this would produce will push the world closer to global temperature rises of more than 2°C – the threshold beyond which catastrophic global climate change will take hold.

The prospect is so serious that we are calling on supporters to

Above: This ad will appear in national and church press during March

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Keep up the pressure!

From lobbying over the Climate Change Bill to opposition to new coal-fired power stations campaigns specialist Andrew Hogg rounds up a busy period ahead on the campaigning front

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message directly to MPs we are organising a week of action with the I Count coalition from 30 March-5 April. I Count is the UK’s largest climate change campaign, comprising more than 60 organisations with a supporter base of more than 4 million. Visit www.icount.org.uk for details of events in your area.

On 14 February, Christian Aid, together with Friends of the Earth and the World Development Movement, sent Parliament a special Valentine that spelt out our demands. Every MP and peer received a packet of Love Hearts sweets with wrapping that read: ‘Love is…80% + aviation & shipping + annual milestones’.

Why we must say no to more coal power WHILE MONITORING the passage of the Climate Change Bill through parliament, Christian Aid is also backing a campaign to halt the building of new coal-fired power stations in the UK, beginning with Kingsnorth in Kent.

The fate of an ageing coal-fired power station on the Kent coast may appear of little concern to an organisation dedicated to alleviating poverty in the world’s poorest countries. However, Christian Aid maintains that replacing the station at Kingsnorth,

UK registered charity number: 1105851. Company number: 5171525. *Standard text rates apply.

CHRISTIAN AID IS launching a major press drive to urge more than 11.5 million people to join our campaign to lobby PM Gordon Brown and MPs over the government’s Climate Change Bill.

The campaigning advert (pictured right) will be appearing in national newspapers, church press and current affairs magazines – with a combined reach of nearly 11.6 million adults. We hope they and existing supporters will boost our campaign by emailing Gordon Brown and their local MP. The Bill – the first such piece of legislation in the world – is reaching a critical stage in Parliament. We believe its target of reducing UK carbon emissions should be set at 80 per cent over 1990 levels – the global minimum needed to stave off a two-degree temperature rise.

The government is currently committed to 60 per cent cuts.

We also want the Bill to: ● make it mandatory for companies to report their carbon emissions. ● set annual reduction targets. ● include the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions – especially in the wake of a new report suggesting shipping emissions are double those of aviation.

To email your MP to support our action, please go to www.christianaid.org.uk/climatebill. To take our

Sorry to bang on, Gordon, but it’d really help us out if you made companies declare their CO2 emissions.

Millions of the world’s poorest people are suffering because of climate change. The Prime Minister could still make a real difference with his Climate Change Bill by making it mandatory for UK businesses to report their full global carbon emissions. Please make sure he does just that by texting GORDONXX to XXXX and we’ll send a postcard to Gordon Brown (and your local MP) on your behalf. Or go to www.christianaid.org.uk/climatebill to send an email yourself. Climate changed. Let’s cut the carbon.

near Rochester, with another powered by coal, will trigger the building of a new generation of such plants across the UK. With climate change already having disastrous environmental consequences for poorer countries, the additional carbon emissions this would produce will push the world closer to global temperature rises of more than 2°C – the threshold beyond which catastrophic global climate change will take hold.

The prospect is so serious that we are calling on supporters to

Above: This ad will appear in national and church press during March

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can: campaigns

TO HELP THOSE already suffering the effects of global warming get

Campaigning works PROOF OF JUST how effective campaigning can be has come in recent weeks from two very different quarters. United Biscuits, the UK’s largest biscuit manufacturer, has announced it will substantially cut its carbon emissions and reduce its use of water and packaging. The measures follow lobbying of the company by our policy experts and a visit to one of its plants in west

Will Westminster follow Scotland’s lead?

SCOTLAND IS leading the way on climate change, says Christian Aid as the Scottish government launches a consultation into the proposals in its Climate Change Bill.

The consultation, which will run until 23 April, is the next step in the SNP delivering its manifesto commitment to a Bill with mandatory carbon reduction targets of three per cent a year and 80 per cent by 2050.

‘By recognising the need for an 80 per cent cut in emissions by 2050 instead of the UK’s 60 per cent target, Scotland is showing leadership on climate change that the UK has so far only talked about,’ said Gavin McLellan, head of Christian Aid Scotland. ‘We hope that the UK will wake up and follow the Scottish lead instead of being wedded to an out-of-date figure.’ ● For more details on Christian Aid in Scotland, log on to www.christianaidscotland.org.uk

“

New coal-fired power stations are not acceptable until a way has been found of capturing the carbon emissions

London during last year’s Cut the Carbon march.

It was the efforts of campaigners too that galvanised opposition to the European Commission’s bid to foist damaging economic partnership agreements (EPAs) on 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations by the end of 2007.

Although the Caribbean signed up en bloc, the STOP EPA campaign, supported by Christian Aid, helped to persuade a number of African and Pacific countries to initial only limited EPAs, while 42 countries held out altogether.

Christian Aid believes that many EPAs are flawed, and is calling on the UK government (which three years ago criticised the proposed deals but did little to alter their content) to push for a full review of those initialled and take the lead in challenging the way further deals are pursued.

‘We are concerned that countries will now be pressured to liberalise areas such as investment, the provision of services, and government procurement,’ said Tzvetelina Arsova, Christian Aid’s Africa economic policy officer.

‘The EU has great commercial and strategic interests in including these topics, which will improve the prospects for European firms at the expense of local companies.’

Christian Aid News

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Photo: Jon Tait

Making ourselves heard in Bali

their voices heard, Christian Aid took a disaster risk reduction worker from its Philippines office and a representative from a partner organisation in Kenya to the UN climate change conference in Bali last December.

Mohamed Adow from Northern Aid in Kenya spoke at the launch of a report co-authored by Christian Aid calledThe Right to Development in a Climate Constrained World, which highlights the carbon debt the industrialised world must pay to developing countries if it wants them to cut emissions.

He said: ‘In Northern Kenya, pastoralism as a way of life is being threatened by climate change, with droughts and floods ravaging the area.’

Jessica Bercilla’s message from the Philippines was: ‘Climate change is a present and urgent reality: islands are sinking because of rising sea levels; storm surges are forcing coastal communities to abandon their homes; and flooding affects more communities while typhoons and tropical cyclones increase in frequency and fury.’

“

email John Hutton, secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, using the form available at www.christian-aid.org. uk/climatechange, to demand a public inquiry.

Christian Aid further maintains that the cost of Kingsnorth will be enormous at a time when there is an urgent need to invest in research into renewable forms of energy that could sustain development while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. We also think that building a new coal-powered station at present would undermine the UK government’s public stance that significant carbon cuts are urgently needed worldwide, making other countries – particularly emerging economies – reluctant to take action themselves.

Energy company E.ON’s plans for Kingsnorth were nodded through by the local council – it had no statutory right to object – making a public inquiry essential.

Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid’s senior climate change policy analyst, says ‘New coal-fired power stations are not acceptable until a way has been found of capturing the carbon emissions.

E.ON maintains that the new station will be “carbon captureready” but no one knows when that technology will be available.

The focus instead should be on renewables, improving energy efficiency and reducing demand.’

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25/2/08 17:27:07

can: campaigns

TO HELP THOSE already suffering the effects of global warming get

Campaigning works PROOF OF JUST how effective campaigning can be has come in recent weeks from two very different quarters. United Biscuits, the UK’s largest biscuit manufacturer, has announced it will substantially cut its carbon emissions and reduce its use of water and packaging. The measures follow lobbying of the company by our policy experts and a visit to one of its plants in west

Will Westminster follow Scotland’s lead?

SCOTLAND IS leading the way on climate change, says Christian Aid as the Scottish government launches a consultation into the proposals in its Climate Change Bill.

The consultation, which will run until 23 April, is the next step in the SNP delivering its manifesto commitment to a Bill with mandatory carbon reduction targets of three per cent a year and 80 per cent by 2050.

‘By recognising the need for an 80 per cent cut in emissions by 2050 instead of the UK’s 60 per cent target, Scotland is showing leadership on climate change that the UK has so far only talked about,’ said Gavin McLellan, head of Christian Aid Scotland. ‘We hope that the UK will wake up and follow the Scottish lead instead of being wedded to an out-of-date figure.’ ● For more details on Christian Aid in Scotland, log on to www.christianaidscotland.org.uk

“

New coal-fired power stations are not acceptable until a way has been found of capturing the carbon emissions

London during last year’s Cut the Carbon march.

It was the efforts of campaigners too that galvanised opposition to the European Commission’s bid to foist damaging economic partnership agreements (EPAs) on 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations by the end of 2007.

Although the Caribbean signed up en bloc, the STOP EPA campaign, supported by Christian Aid, helped to persuade a number of African and Pacific countries to initial only limited EPAs, while 42 countries held out altogether.

Christian Aid believes that many EPAs are flawed, and is calling on the UK government (which three years ago criticised the proposed deals but did little to alter their content) to push for a full review of those initialled and take the lead in challenging the way further deals are pursued.

‘We are concerned that countries will now be pressured to liberalise areas such as investment, the provision of services, and government procurement,’ said Tzvetelina Arsova, Christian Aid’s Africa economic policy officer.

‘The EU has great commercial and strategic interests in including these topics, which will improve the prospects for European firms at the expense of local companies.’

Christian Aid News

p10-11 Campaigns.indd 3

Photo: Jon Tait

Making ourselves heard in Bali

their voices heard, Christian Aid took a disaster risk reduction worker from its Philippines office and a representative from a partner organisation in Kenya to the UN climate change conference in Bali last December.

Mohamed Adow from Northern Aid in Kenya spoke at the launch of a report co-authored by Christian Aid calledThe Right to Development in a Climate Constrained World, which highlights the carbon debt the industrialised world must pay to developing countries if it wants them to cut emissions.

He said: ‘In Northern Kenya, pastoralism as a way of life is being threatened by climate change, with droughts and floods ravaging the area.’

Jessica Bercilla’s message from the Philippines was: ‘Climate change is a present and urgent reality: islands are sinking because of rising sea levels; storm surges are forcing coastal communities to abandon their homes; and flooding affects more communities while typhoons and tropical cyclones increase in frequency and fury.’

“

email John Hutton, secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, using the form available at www.christian-aid.org. uk/climatechange, to demand a public inquiry.

Christian Aid further maintains that the cost of Kingsnorth will be enormous at a time when there is an urgent need to invest in research into renewable forms of energy that could sustain development while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. We also think that building a new coal-powered station at present would undermine the UK government’s public stance that significant carbon cuts are urgently needed worldwide, making other countries – particularly emerging economies – reluctant to take action themselves.

Energy company E.ON’s plans for Kingsnorth were nodded through by the local council – it had no statutory right to object – making a public inquiry essential.

Andrew Pendleton, Christian Aid’s senior climate change policy analyst, says ‘New coal-fired power stations are not acceptable until a way has been found of capturing the carbon emissions.

E.ON maintains that the new station will be “carbon captureready” but no one knows when that technology will be available.

The focus instead should be on renewables, improving energy efficiency and reducing demand.’

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26/2/08 17:14:11

Playing the game of life Branwen Niclas, media co-ordinator for Christian Aid in Wales, reports on a remarkable visit by four Welsh teenagers to meet their counterparts in Sierra Leone FOR THE BEST part of a year, four Bangor teenagers have been leading HIV workshops with Christian Aid in Wales, visiting youth clubs to raise awareness of the issue among their peers.

Catherine Peake, Shauna Roberts, Cai Niclas Wyn and Meredyth Griffin have even delivered a petition to Downing Street, calling for more government focus on HIV awareness.

Now the quartet have had the chance to see how their contemporaries in one of the poorest countries in the world are responding to the same challenge, after spending ten exciting days working

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with youth groups in Sierra Leone.

The group spent most of their time in Kenema, with members of Christian Aid partner organisation Youth Against AIDS (YAA), a group of 40 young volunteers who ‘sensitise’ their peers on HIV issues.

They shared experiences and ideas, and participated in various HIV outreach programmes and anti-AIDS clubs.

Twice a year, YAA organise Games for Life, a local football tournament, attracting hundreds of young people, and use the event as an opportunity to talk to the crowd, share information and distribute condoms. ‘I was amazed by

people’s openness,’ remarked Cai, 15.

‘The young people were much more willing to talk freely about HIV and sex than back home. We demonstrated how to put condoms on correctly and during each football game we distributed around 900. If we only managed to stop one person from becoming infected, then I would be happy.’

Catherine, 14, paired up with Christiana, 18, during the ‘Games for Life’ and was deeply moved by her story.

‘Christiana has been a peer-educator for three years,’ said Catherine. ‘Her uncle was diagnosed with HIV and died four years ago. He was stigmatised by the community and even his family.

Christiana and her family were too scared to speak to him. Following her uncle’s death, a friend told Christiana about the YAA and after receiving training she became a member. She told me she deeply regrets how she treated her uncle and wishes he were still alive so she could help him through his illness.’

‘Christiana really enjoys the peer-education work she does. She feels proud of herself that she spreads such an important message and that she changes people’s behaviour and attitude towards HIV/AIDS. ‘I felt privileged that Christiana opened out to me,’ added Catherine. ‘Looking

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Playing the game of life Branwen Niclas, media co-ordinator for Christian Aid in Wales, reports on a remarkable visit by four Welsh teenagers to meet their counterparts in Sierra Leone FOR THE BEST part of a year, four Bangor teenagers have been leading HIV workshops with Christian Aid in Wales, visiting youth clubs to raise awareness of the issue among their peers.

Catherine Peake, Shauna Roberts, Cai Niclas Wyn and Meredyth Griffin have even delivered a petition to Downing Street, calling for more government focus on HIV awareness.

Now the quartet have had the chance to see how their contemporaries in one of the poorest countries in the world are responding to the same challenge, after spending ten exciting days working

12

with youth groups in Sierra Leone.

The group spent most of their time in Kenema, with members of Christian Aid partner organisation Youth Against AIDS (YAA), a group of 40 young volunteers who ‘sensitise’ their peers on HIV issues.

They shared experiences and ideas, and participated in various HIV outreach programmes and anti-AIDS clubs.

Twice a year, YAA organise Games for Life, a local football tournament, attracting hundreds of young people, and use the event as an opportunity to talk to the crowd, share information and distribute condoms. ‘I was amazed by

people’s openness,’ remarked Cai, 15.

‘The young people were much more willing to talk freely about HIV and sex than back home. We demonstrated how to put condoms on correctly and during each football game we distributed around 900. If we only managed to stop one person from becoming infected, then I would be happy.’

Catherine, 14, paired up with Christiana, 18, during the ‘Games for Life’ and was deeply moved by her story.

‘Christiana has been a peer-educator for three years,’ said Catherine. ‘Her uncle was diagnosed with HIV and died four years ago. He was stigmatised by the community and even his family.

Christiana and her family were too scared to speak to him. Following her uncle’s death, a friend told Christiana about the YAA and after receiving training she became a member. She told me she deeply regrets how she treated her uncle and wishes he were still alive so she could help him through his illness.’

‘Christiana really enjoys the peer-education work she does. She feels proud of herself that she spreads such an important message and that she changes people’s behaviour and attitude towards HIV/AIDS. ‘I felt privileged that Christiana opened out to me,’ added Catherine. ‘Looking

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can: frontline From left: Catherine and Meredyth hand out condoms; HIV-awareness art on a wall at the Methodist Youth Resources Centre in Bo; Shauna (centre) joins a YAA outreach in Kenema market. Below: Meredyth and Victoria prepare a duet; Cai makes a friend

messages in Krio, Mende, Welsh and English. ‘It was a fantastic day,’ said Meredyth. ‘I sang a duet with Victoria from YAA – a brand new experience for both of us. The CD was pressed in a day and was played during the Games for Life tournament and in a local disco. We will also use the songs in our workshops in Wales.’

On the last day, Meredyth celebrated her 14th birthday in Freetown. ‘I would have never imagined celebrating my birthday in Sierra Leone, but it has been such a happy and eye-opening trip. I will carry the stories of my new friends in my heart forever.’

Photos: Christian Aid/Branwen Niclas, Jeff Williams

back on how she reacted to her uncle’s HIV status must not be easy. I also felt inspired by the Christian Aid partners who helped to change Christiana’s own point of view.’

Although the official HIV prevalence rate is comparatively low in Sierra Leone at 1.5 per cent, stigma and discrimination surrounding the virus is rife. This shocked Shauna, 14. ‘We met people who were living with HIV, but were too afraid to tell anybody other than their friends in a ‘Positive Living’ support group run by the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone, a Christian Aid partner in Freetown. They had been ostracised by their friends, thrown out of their homes and disowned by their families. We have got to break the silence on HIV and AIDS, challenge the negative behaviour towards HIV positive people and fight the issue of stigma and discrimination.’

Both groups composed and recorded multilingual songs with strong HIV

Right: Catherine pairs up with 18-year-old peer-educator Christiana; members of Youth Against Aids spread the message on HIV via music

Christian Aid News

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25/2/08 17:27:53

can: frontline From left: Catherine and Meredyth hand out condoms; HIV-awareness art on a wall at the Methodist Youth Resources Centre in Bo; Shauna (centre) joins a YAA outreach in Kenema market. Below: Meredyth and Victoria prepare a duet; Cai makes a friend

messages in Krio, Mende, Welsh and English. ‘It was a fantastic day,’ said Meredyth. ‘I sang a duet with Victoria from YAA – a brand new experience for both of us. The CD was pressed in a day and was played during the Games for Life tournament and in a local disco. We will also use the songs in our workshops in Wales.’

On the last day, Meredyth celebrated her 14th birthday in Freetown. ‘I would have never imagined celebrating my birthday in Sierra Leone, but it has been such a happy and eye-opening trip. I will carry the stories of my new friends in my heart forever.’

Photos: Christian Aid/Branwen Niclas, Jeff Williams

back on how she reacted to her uncle’s HIV status must not be easy. I also felt inspired by the Christian Aid partners who helped to change Christiana’s own point of view.’

Although the official HIV prevalence rate is comparatively low in Sierra Leone at 1.5 per cent, stigma and discrimination surrounding the virus is rife. This shocked Shauna, 14. ‘We met people who were living with HIV, but were too afraid to tell anybody other than their friends in a ‘Positive Living’ support group run by the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone, a Christian Aid partner in Freetown. They had been ostracised by their friends, thrown out of their homes and disowned by their families. We have got to break the silence on HIV and AIDS, challenge the negative behaviour towards HIV positive people and fight the issue of stigma and discrimination.’

Both groups composed and recorded multilingual songs with strong HIV

Right: Catherine pairs up with 18-year-old peer-educator Christiana; members of Youth Against Aids spread the message on HIV via music

Christian Aid News

p12-13 Welsh Kids.indd 2

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26/2/08 17:15:37

FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Christian Aid believes that everyone is created equal, with inherent dignity and basic rights. When people are dehumanised – denied food, water, dignity, justice, education, healthcare and the chance to earn a living – Christian Aid stands with them in the struggle to realise their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Over the following pages, our writers report on how some of our partners are helping the poor and marginalised fight for those basic human rights

India

Life on the lowest rung Violence and discrimination are still a daily reality for India’s most marginalised people, the dalits, reports Anjali Kwatra WHEN 75-YEAR-OLD Sukhraji trespassed on a farmer’s field she was attacked with a sickle before being thrown down a well and left to die.

A horrific murder such as this would have been front page news in Britain, but made no headlines in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh because Sukhraji was a dalit.

India’s caste system divides its population into hundreds of social groups, with the dalits, formerly called ‘untouchables’,

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at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Today, more than 50 years after ‘untouchability’ was abolished and made illegal, its practice is still a reality in India.

The National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), a Christian Aid partner, estimates that in India every hour two dalits are assaulted and that every day three dalit women are raped, two dalits are murdered and two dalit houses are burnt down. Violence against dalit communities has risen over the last few years and

many argue that this is because dalit communities are starting to assert their rights.

The estimated 180 million dalits in India are among the most economically and socially marginalised and are therefore a priority group for Christian Aid’s long-term development work.

Christian Aid believes India will not see a reduction in poverty unless caste-based discrimination is addressed and therefore awareness raising and campaigning are essential to bring about international recognition and action on the issue. This is why in the next few months Christian Aid will be releasing a new report on caste.

The violence against dalits is shocking, but just as shocking is the practice of ‘untouchability’ which is adhered to every village in India. Dalits are not allowed

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Photo: Simon Williams

El Salvador /The Philippines

Sarah Wilson and Anjali Kwatra reveal how the ‘war on terror’ is being used to stifle protest in El Salvador and the Philippines

Photo: Christian Aid/Anjali Kwatra

to use the same temples as those from higher castes and in some places cannot drink from the same taps or eat from the same plates. In schools dalit children often are not allowed to

Left: Standing up for rights can work. Last autumn 25,000 people in India, including dalits and adivasis joined a 200-mile march over land rights, backed

by Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad. Their efforts have persuaded the government to set up a national commission to address rural poverty. Below: two men mourn the murder of their mother/ grandmother – a victim of caste-based violence against dalits

Defend the poor and be labelled a subversive

sit on chairs but must sit on the floor and are made to clean the classroom and toilets. Society frowns upon marriage between dalits and non-dalits, and those who do intermarry have to elope or risk being beaten up or even killed. Vincent Monoharan, General Secretary of NCDHR points out that there are 140 forms of untouchability, many of which are invisible to outsiders.

Of the 63 partners Christian Aid supports in India, around 20 work exclusively on dalit issues and ten of these organisations are headed by dalits. Around 35 per cent of Christian Aid’s annual budget in India goes to support projects working for the development and empowerment of dalit communities.

‘We see the work that we are doing in India and internationally to promote dalit rights and to economically empower dalits as part of the solution to the huge problem of caste-based discrimination,’ says Belinda Bennet, head of Christian Aid’s South Asia region.

In 2007 Christian Aid was awarded funding of £656,000 by the European Union Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights for a two-year unique project to monitor violence against dalits in ten states. Eleven partner organisations are involved in finding out about cases of caste-based violence and helping the victims get justice through the criminal justice system.

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CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS in the Philippines believe that US support for the ‘war on terror’ has strengthened the government and military’s hold over the Filipino people and led to a series of unexplained killings.

Since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came to power in 2001 there have been hundreds of such killings, mainly in daylight by masked men on motorcycles.

Rights groups put the toll at 885, although the Philippines National Police say it is around 150. Victims include members of left-wing or human rights groups, lawyers, journalists, church workers, and environmental and anti-mining campaigners. Some are linked to Christian Aid partners and with the exception of a handful of cases, the killings remain unsolved.

One victim, 22-year-old Benjaline Hernandez, worked for human rights group Karapatan and was shot dead at close range by men wearing ski masks and military uniforms. She was on a fact-finding mission.

The police, military and government often link the killings with an ongoing battle against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) which they have vowed to wipe out and which was banned as a terrorist group by the US after September 11. However, a number of reports – by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, the UN representative on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, even a government-appointed continued on page 16 Christian Aid News

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25/2/08 17:28:55

Nepal/India FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS continued from page 15

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‘I’m not I’m a sur v “

Anyone who helps ordinary people and makes them critical of the government is labelled a communist or a subversive

Picture: Christian Aid/Anjali Kwatra

the president of El Salvador, Antonio Saca, was in town and the protestors were accused of throwing stones at his helicopter.

Local press reports said that police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, who were blocking roads and throwing rocks at police.

Karla Albanez, lawyer for the 14 activists, says: ‘This group’s “terrorist weapons” were nothing more than cameras and notepads. But President Saca does not like criticism. He wants to criminalise civil society and scare people from taking political action. The government wants to privatise water and health provision before the election. ’ Beatriz Aguilar, Christian Aid’s country representative in El Salvador, says: ‘We are delighted that the 14 have been unconditionally freed – it is the only just verdict. But they have endured months of uncertainty.’

Lorena Martinez, president of former Christian Aid partner CRIPDES, who was one of those arrested, says: ‘They knew we were activists as we were wearing CRIPDES t-shirts. We couldn’t believe we were accused of terrorism.’

Using the new anti-terrorism law in this way is already stifling public protests, according to Ulises Campos of the Salvadoran Ecological Unit, another Christian Aid partner. ‘People are thinking more carefully about taking part in street protests.’

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commission – implicate the military and police in the murders.

‘We were first told that Beng was killed in crossfire in an encounter between the military and the NPA,’ says her mother, Evangeline Hernandez. ‘But they were shot at close range – their faces blown up; it was murder.’

It is believed the battle against the NPA is being used by the government to crack down on anyone who stands up for the poor. As Sharon Rose Joy RuizDuremdes, of former Christian Aid partner, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, says: ‘Anyone who helps ordinary people and makes them critical of the government is called a communist or a subversive.’

Daphne Villanueva, Christian Aid’s country representative in the Philippines, says: ‘If the government talks about the NPA in terms of stamping out terrorism it knows it will continue to get funding from the US.’ Since the beginning of its active partnership with the US in the ‘war on terror’, the Philippines has received millions of dollars in military equipment, mostly to fight a long-running Muslim insurgency in the south.

Christian Aid partners are concerned about their own security. ‘It is not going to stop us speaking out, but it is a worry,’ says Ingrid Gorre, from the Legal Rights and National Resources Centre – Friends of the Earth Philippines. ● Activists in El Salvador were threatened with up to ten years in jail after being charged with terrorism for taking part in a protest against water privatisation attended by several organisations supported by Christian Aid. After nearly eight months of uncertainty, during which time they had to report to police every two weeks and were barred from leaving the country, the activists were finally exonerated by the courts in mid-February.

On the day of the protest in Suchitoto on 2 July 2007,

In south Asia, victims of child sex trafficking are leading the fight against this most brutal crime, reports youth journalist Fiona Cowood DEEPA*, 13, lives in Maiti-Nepal, a refuge in Kathmandu for young people who have been rescued from sex trafficking. This trade in humans for commercial and sexual purposes is widespread in south Asia, and its victims face the harshest abuses imaginable.

However, Deepa doesn’t see herself as a victim – she calls herself a survivor, one of the fortunate few rescued from a life of modern-day sex slavery. Every year, as many as 12,000 Nepalese children are trafficked into India, Pakistan and the Middle East and sold to brothel owners. Most are teenagers and some spend up to ten years in bondage. The demand for these girls is fuelled by the greed of brothel owners – who can earn up to 20 times what they pay for a trafficked child – and by the demand for young girls by men who pay for sex. Of those who do escape, few return home as they can’t face the inevitable stigma that follows them. Now, through the

Left: Evangeline Hernandez, whose daughter Benjaline was murdered, keeps up the pressure to bring her killers to justice

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recommendations to the Nepalese prime minister and announced them at a packed press conference in Kathmandu. In response, Prime Minister Koirala said he would pursue the matter with his Indian and Bangladeshi counterparts.

YPP member Jasmin Akter, 14, says: ‘In our countries, adults don’t usually listen to kids and teenagers. But now, we’re being taken seriously, and we believe that we can help to bring an end to child trafficking.’

Below: Having been freed from a life as a child sex slave, Deepa now campaigns to helps other victims and for new laws to curb sex trafficking

Photo: Christian Aid/Fiona Cowood

Youth Partnership Project (YPP), which is funded by Christian Aid and Comic Relief, Deepa visits schools in border areas, talking to young people about the dangers of trafficking and the risks of HIV and AIDS. She says: ‘We write plays about our experiences, and perform them. Afterwards we sit down and talk together. It’s much easier for young people to talk to us instead of adults.’

The YPP, which has been running for three years, operates through shelters in Kolkata, Kathmandu and Dhaka. Young people who are at-risk or who have been trafficked support one another, offer help to children in dangerous red-light and border areas, organise awareness campaigns and lobby for changes in the law. So far the YPP has reached around 50,000 children.

Mustafa Rahman runs the YPP in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He cites poverty as the underlying cause of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. ‘When people are desperate, they’ll let their kids go off and work in other places,’ he explains. ‘Most parents don’t realise they’ll probably never see them again. They don’t know the traps they’re falling into.’

Research suggests that the number of young victims of this trade is growing, with estimates as high as 350,000 in India, 40,000 in Nepal and 29,000 in Bangladesh.** Natural disasters are an especially dangerous

time. ‘After Cyclone Sidr, many children were orphaned in Bangladesh,’ says Mustafa.

‘Traffickers know this is a good time to strike so, during and after a major disaster, we send staff to the area. They try to protect vulnerable children.’

Ilona Bhattacharya is India’s national coordinator for the YPP, and has witnessed the project’s positive impact on the girls she works with at Sanlaap, a Christian Aid partner organisation in Kolkata. Ilona explains: ‘Girls who end up at Sanlaap are often used to being in abusive environments.

They don’t trust adults easily and often have problems with drink, drugs or aggression. But through the YPP they blossom; they learn to be in a team and they are listened to – often for the first time. They learn how to read and write and do numbers and this sets them up for a better future.’

A big focus of the project is to encourage young people and victims of trafficking to lobby for changes in the law to better protect children from this trade.

More than 50 YPP members from Nepal, India and Bangladesh gathered in Kathmandu at the end of last year to draw up a list of 13 recommendations for their respective governments.

These included calling upon religious leaders of all faiths to raise awareness of sex trafficking, and insisting that countries who fail to protect children should be suspended from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. They also called for a regional anti-trafficking day and for all survivors of sex trafficking to get full legal identity cards.

The YPP delegates handed their

* The name has been changed to protect the identity of this child ** Figures taken from ECPAT’s Agenda for Action reports on south Asia

a victim, r vivor’

■ The YPP has been funded by Christian Aid and Comic Relief since 2004. It’s managed by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes). For more information, visit www.yppsa.org

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FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS

Gaza

Denied treatment – dying slowly Anjali Kwatra and Sarah Malian report on how the continued isolation of Gaza is having a devastating effect on its most vulnerable inhabitants Palestinians in Gaza who have been effectively imprisoned for months. Since Hamas took control of Gaza last June there have been more and more stringent restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out, with borders closed for up to 80 per cent of the time.

Only a limited list of essential humanitarian supplies is currently allowed in. Gaza is now largely cut off from the West Bank and the rest of the outside world – a situation exacerbated by the political and economic sanctions the international community has imposed on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.

Closing the border crossings has had a devastating impact: Gaza relies almost entirely on imported food, and medicines are also in short supply. ‘I was in Shifa hospital [in Gaza] today but they didn’t have the medicine I needed due to stock

Below: Cancer patient Munir Ahmed Mahmoud and his family. Eldest son Hamed, left, is also ill – with type B haemophilia.

He too needs medical care that only Israel can provide. But for months now, access to this has been denied to him

Photo: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

MUNIR AHMED MAHMOUD is dying. He has thyroid cancer but cannot get the lifesaving treatment he needs because the Israeli authorities will not allow him to leave Gaza.

‘I have advanced thyroid carcinoma,’ he said. ‘I was diagnosed four years ago. I had been unwell for a while but they were not able to diagnose it in Gaza so I travelled to Jordan and then to Egypt, where they finally discovered the tumour. I used to go to Jordan to receive treatment but now the border is closed. I was then referred to Israel for chemotherapy but it’s very difficult to get out because of the closures imposed on Gaza.

I have asked to be transferred to Jordan, but the Israelis will not give me a permit due to “security issues”.’

Mr Mahmoud, 43, is one of the 1.5 million

shortages,’ said Mr Mahmoud.

‘I also needed X-rays, but the machinery wasn’t working as spare parts are not being allowed into Gaza. There is nothing I can do to get the treatment I need. I am devastated. I am dying slowly.’

The Palestinian economy has come to a standstill: 80 per cent of the Gaza population has no income and depends on food aid. And 95 per cent of factories have closed due to a lack of raw materials and a block on exports.

‘Since Hamas took power, Gaza has been subjected to severe restrictions on movement that have allowed in only a drip-feed of aid, preventing a full-scale humanitarian emergency but keeping the population in a state of economic crisis,’ said Janet Symes, Christian Aid’s head of Middle East programme.

In January Israel decided to shut the border completely after a rise in the number of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Three days later Gaza’s only power plant shut down because of a lack of fuel supplies, leaving homes, hospitals and factories without electricity. Water and sewage facilities were also affected, with rivers of untreated sewage flowing into homes.

Christian Aid, along with other humanitarian agencies, has condemned the blockade. The European Union

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Photo: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

Burma

The reality behind Rambo It’s taken the unlikely forum of a Hollywood blockbuster to expose the brutality of life for one of Burma’s ethnic minorities, the Karen, reports Anjali Kwatra EVERY DAY IN eastern Burma civilians fleeing military attacks, torture, rape or arrest cross the border into Thailand.

Many make their way to one of ten refugee camps along the border, where they are provided with food and shelter by Christian Aid partner the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC).

Others would rather stay inside Burma. TBBC estimates half a million people are displaced within Burma itself – either living in government-controlled ‘relocation sites’ or hiding in the jungle on the run from soldiers who have a shoot-on-sight policy.

Some head for camps in rebel-held territory in Burma such as Ler Ber Her camp, home to nearly 800 people. Naw Kay Way, 39, (pictured above) who arrived with her husband and seven children two months ago, wept as she described what had forced them to leave their village.

‘We are farmers but we had to work as porters for the army all the time. If you didn’t go, you would get

beaten. Sometimes both myself and my husband would have to go and have to leave the children at home on their own, even if they were sick.

‘We saw people get killed with a knife if they couldn’t carry things any more. The army has no heart. I am not going back to my village.

Just the other day we heard that a 14-year-old girl there was raped by four soldiers as she was carrying water across the fields.’

Ler Ber Her has been attacked and burnt down by the army in recent years, but is protected by soldiers of the Karen National Union (KNU) who, along with other ethnic groups, have fought the Burmese government for greater autonomy for 60 years.

Mahn Sha Lar Phan, secretary general of the KNU, said the international community must put pressure on Burma’s government to end human rights abuses. In his last interview before he was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on 14 February, he told Christian Aid News

that the international community was essential to bringing peace to Burma.

‘Ninety per cent of people in Burma are against the government. The country is being held hostage by the brutal military regime.

In Karen state, in eastern Burma, the government wants to wipe out the civilian population,’ he said.

Rambo 4, the latest instalment of Sylvester Stallone’s action hero films, is set in the conflict area on the Thai-Burma border.

Says Stallone: ‘I witnessed the aftermath (in Burma) – survivors with legs or ears cut off and all kinds of land mine injuries, and maggot-infested wounds. We hear about Vietnam and Cambodia, but this was more horrific.’

Christian Aid supports partner organisations inside Burma as well as those working with Burmese refugees across the border in Thailand. Our experience shows a long-term political solution will need dialogue involving the government, ethnic nationality groups and pro-democracy groups.

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Photo: Christian Aid/Anjali Kwatra

criticised Israel’s ‘collective punishment’ of Gaza’s population, and the UN warned it could have to stop distributing food to hundreds of thousands of people unless Israel opened the crossings to allow supplies in.

As people in Gaza became more desperate, the border with Egypt was torn down in places and tens of thousands of Palestinians poured through to buy essential food and supplies.

It was resealed two weeks later.

The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), a Christian Aid partner organisation working in Gaza and the West Bank, said Israel’s decision to intensify its policy of collective punishment was having disastrous consequences for the health sector in the Gaza Strip. ‘Hospitals are running on emergency generators and severely depleted fuel reserves,’ said Dr Jihad Meshal, director of PMRS. He warned that if fuel supplies were blocked again as they were in January, hospitals would be forced to close. ‘Within days there will be no power for heart monitors for intensive care patients, dialysis machines for kidney patients, lighting for operation theatres, ultrasound machines to monitor the health of pregnant women and their babies, or even to provide heating for patients in their hospital beds.’

Christian Aid, which works with seven partners in Gaza, as well as 19 others in the West Bank and in Israel, believes Gaza’s isolation must end to create the conditions for an inclusive and effective political process.

‘Isolating Gaza has not stopped Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel and the entire population of Gaza remains vulnerable to continuing Israeli military attacks. All civilians – Israeli and Palestinian – must be protected under international law,’ said Ms Symes. ‘Abandoning the people of Gaza to poverty and isolation will only undermine the credibility of a peace process with Israel and further fuel internal Palestinian violence.’

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Photo: Christian Aid/Sian Curry

FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS

‘We can blossom, like a flower’ Guatemala

Communications officer Siân Curry reports from Guatemala on a novel way to help downtrodden women see themselves in a new light I’M SITTING ON a log with Reyes, trying to describe what a flower looks like, because she has never seen one. We’re high above the clouds in Guatemala’s remote eastern mountains, and flowers don’t grow at this altitude.

Then I remember that among the photos I carry with me is one of my mum in her garden. Reyes is enchanted. ‘They’re lovely, really pretty,’ she exclaims.

I explain that in the UK men sometimes offer flowers as a gift to their girlfriend or wife. Reyes holds back a disbelieving laugh.

‘It would be lovely to be given flowers,’ she concedes.

Reyes, 36, is a grandmother.

She finds it hard to believe that a man could treat a woman with tenderness and respect, and her scepticism is not surprising.

When she was a child, Reyes’ father took care to make clear exactly how valuable she was to him. ‘He told me that girls were worth less than shit,’ she says.

‘Those were his exact words.’

This is the entrenched attitude that Christian Aid’s local partner

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Bethania is fighting against. But it’s a hard slog. As in many poor communities around the world, women are traditionally destined only to serve and to breed.

Brought up to believe they are useless, many walk with their shoulders hunched and eyes lowered, speaking – in a whisper – only when spoken to. Threequarters of women here cannot read or write. The prevailing view, even now, is that girls are not really worth teaching.

Bethania runs a health clinic – a lifeline for these isolated highland villages – and in 2004, Christian Aid helped the clinic start up women’s education classes.

Reyes and her only daughter Gloria, 21, are now both Bethania students. Neither went to school as children; they were kept at home to cook and clean. But now Reyes has discovered education, she is pleased that her daughter is studying alongside her.

‘A girl has a right to education so she can grow, not stay stuck as in the past,’ she asserts.

Bethania’s classes combine

Above: Reyes with the flower mirror she made herself

simple reading, writing and maths with themes such as domestic violence, family planning, child nutrition, herbal medicine and women’s rights.

As they introduce new reading words, Bethania teachers use them as a platform to talk openly about topics that these women have never broached before.

‘When we learnt one word, ‘wound’, we talked first about physical injuries, and then one lady spoke about the pain you feel in your heart when someone tells you that you are stupid and worth nothing,’ explains Dilia de Arriola, from Bethania. ‘Then we started talking about how to heal these wounds.’

And Bethania has found a novel way to heal broken women.

They start off by giving them flowers. The class make these together, cutting out coloured foam to make a simple flower shape. Some women, like Reyes and Gloria, have never seen the real thing and depend entirely on their teacher’s explanation.

Then, in the centre of their flower, the women place a small mirror.

Many have never seen a mirror before either, and are seeing themselves for the very first time. ‘When I saw my face I felt proud because I knew I could be beautiful,’ says Gloria.

The mirrors bring day-to-day dignity, allowing women to start taking pride in themselves and their appearance. They are also a powerful symbol of everything these classes aim to achieve.

‘The mirror’s most important meaning is that there is hope,’ explains Reyes. ‘There’s a flower in all of us and we can grow. We are worth something and we can blossom, like a flower.’

For women raised to believe they are worthless, this is a revelation. And with confidence comes change. Reyes – the girl ‘worth less than shit’ – has just been elected the first woman president of the local education committee. Her daughter Gloria is now a Bethania teacher, coaching a beginners’ group herself.

It seems that flowers can grow at this altitude, after all.

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Reflection In the wake of Kenya’s unrest, East Africa programme manager Dereje Alemayehu argues that Christian Aid has a vital role to play in bringing about a process of reconciliation KENYA IS GOING through its biggest political crisis since independence. The violence that has broken out following the disputed election has caused hundreds of deaths, forced a quarter of a million people to flee their homes, and led to a huge loss of livelihoods and property.

However, the magnitude of the current crisis and the intensity of the violence might also have shaken the very foundation of Kenya as a nation. The irresponsible way the Electoral Commission conducted the election process – in which just 250,000 votes separated the parties in a country of 35 million – and the ruling party’s misuse of government institutions for election rigging and repression might have eroded people’s confidence in national processes and institutions. It might have shattered the belief in the transfer of power by peaceful means – a belief nurtured when Kenya got rid of its one-party dictatorship through the ballot box more than five years ago.

Colonialism was based on the principle of divide and rule.

Creating a nation with a unified political class was neither its policy nor its legacy. A repressive administrative apparatus was the only ‘unifying’ edifice it left behind. The ruling elite, which had state control after independence, used it not so much to forge national unity, but to advance its own clientelist interest. Power became the end goal of political competition. This competition was not based on programmes but on personalities – who mobilised their ‘constituency’ along ethnic lines.

Bringing about national cohesion and ending polarisation

along ethnic lines has now become the country’s most urgent development issue.

Christian Aid believes that a national dialogue on this issue should be encouraged and supported to help bring about national reconciliation. It should lead to a national consensus on a constitutional arrangement that: ● recognises the diversity of the Kenyan polity and precludes domination of the state apparatus by any ethnic group ● ensures the separation of the state from political parties ● strengthens the checks and balances between state organs.

Civil society in Kenya should play a key role in this dialogue. By voicing the common aspirations of the Kenyan people for social justice and the end of poverty, it should challenge the manipulation of ethnic divisions by the political classes for short-sighted political gain. It should further challenge the status quo by making politics and political mobilisation issues-

Below: A distraught victim of Kenya’s violence stands outside the remains of a burned church

based. In its oversight function, civil society should ensure that state institutions are not involved in partisan politics.

The issue of national cohesion has always been at the centre of Christian Aid’s work in Kenya. Our partners, in particular our ecumenical partners in the region, work to end fragmentation along ethnic lines. By upholding ‘politicised neutrality’ in dealing with the powers that be and different factions of the political class, they have the legitimacy to promote national cohesion.

Christian Aid will continue to encourage and support our partners to actively work for national reconciliation.

We shall challenge them to speak in one voice and mobilise their followers to transcend ethnic divisions and stand for sustainable peace and national cohesion which is in the interest of all Kenyans.

We work with and support interfaith dialogue for peace building at the community level; we should encourage them to now engage with the reconciliation process at the national level.

Hoping to achieve development and eradication of poverty without national cohesion is like building a house on a volcanic site. All construction achievements will crumble with the next eruption.

Photo: Reuters/courtesty www.alertnet.org

Kenya: where next?

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Comment

A means but not an end Policy manager Alex Cobham argues that in focusing on growth in the developing world as an ‘exit strategy from aid’, the government risks widening inequality and further undermining the poor SINCE GORDON BROWN became Prime Minister, UK development policy has begun to shift. Two things have moved to become higher priorities: economic growth for poor countries and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set in 2000 and with multiple targets for 2015. Christian Aid has its own priorities, but nevertheless we must respond to that agenda – especially if we have serious concerns over the direction of government thinking.

The government’s twin focus

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may appear inconsistent. The stress on growth is a response to a supposed over-emphasis on supporting basic services like health and education. But the MDGs are overwhelmingly focussed on such goals – from universal primary education to improvements in child mortality and maternal health, and action against major diseases. Many countries are angered that additional resources are driven by the MDGs, instead of being put into addressing the constraints

Above: Agricultural projects in countries such as Burundi should be a priority of growth-based policies

on growth such as basic infrastructure. It is perhaps too easy, however, to question the logic of the government’s approach. Development is by its nature complex – if it were easy, it would have happened already. But this is why clear thinking is vital.

The goal of development is widely shared, within and without government: while nuances and presentation differ, there is effective agreement on a common agenda. Christian Aid’s own particular view of this goal is

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contained in our essential purpose, ‘to expose the scandal of poverty, to help in practical ways to root it out from the world, and to challenge and change the systems that favour the rich and powerful over the poor and marginalised.’ The poverty in question is not simply a lack of money, but the lack of a whole range of human opportunities – including the dignity of personal, social, and political freedom, the expectation of a decent healthy life, a reasonable education and a flourishing natural environment.

The government’s position is that economic growth is needed to generate the funds that will pay for better health and education, and to raise the general standard of living and hence reduce the number of people living in poverty

– specifically, on less than a dollar a day. This position is summed up in the phrase heard repeatedly from ministers and senior civil servants: ‘growth is the exit strategy from aid’.

There are a number of dangers with this view. Above all, it risks elevating growth to a goal in its own right – when it is just one of many possible instruments. If we focus our limited resources on obtaining higher growth, we risk sacrificing the benefits. For example, growth that widens inequality has limited, if any, benefits for the incomes of the poor; and growth that imposes unsustainable damage on the environment undermines the lives of the poor, who tend to be most vulnerable, and of future generations.

As long as we are clear about the instrumental role of growth in achieving our development goals, these traps may be avoided. To take the MDG of halving the number of people living on a dollar a day as an example, broad-based growth must be central to the strategy for achieving this. Reversing the neglect of rural agriculture, where so much of the poorest countries’ resources are based, is an obvious step. Employment is key, and we know that small and medium-sized enterprises contribute more than half of employment in almost every known economy. Growing domestic business, in the formal sector, will generate the volume and quality of jobs to approach this MDG. The government will hold a major event in April, to involve the ‘private sector’ in its MDG plans.

A major concern is that the private sector in question is not the domestic industry of developing countries that could play a role in development-enhancing growth.

Instead, it is the opposite: the largest foreign multinational companies. Not only are these the least labour-intensive businesses, and those most likely to employ foreign workers, they are also systematically less likely to source

their inputs domestically – so the contribution to sustained growth is inevitably limited.

This is not to say that multinationals working with government do not have an important role to play in promoting development. Their scale alone – a handful of the largest have a higher turnover than the GDP of the hundred smallest countries – is enough to guarantee that. It does not, however, follow that taxpayers’ aid money should be used to support these firms’ activities.

“

Reversing the neglect of rural agriculture, where so much of the poorest countries’ resources are based, is an obvious step

“

Photo: Christian Aid/Severine Flores

Do you share Alex’s view? Write to the Editor, Christian Aid News, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT or email canews@christian-aid.org

The contribution of multinationals starts with meeting their existing responsibilities, before considering additional efforts. To take just one important area, estimates quoted by the World Bank suggest that corporate tax evasion is responsible for six or seven dollars flowing out of developing countries for each one dollar of aid that goes in – so this shows the scale of the potential contribution (to the MDGs, for example) of the vital resources that are being denied to the poorest states. If growth is ‘the exit strategy from aid’, it is clear that this only holds if countries are able to generate higher tax revenues as they grow, with which to replace aid – and that prospect would improve if these companies met their responsibilities.

Growth is important as one part of a development strategy, and Christian Aid welcomes the government’s engagement on this – but will press them not to undermine the potential contribution of growth by treating it as a goal in itself. A drive to accelerate progress on the MDGs can also be of great value, so long as it is situated within the broader development goal – and so gives due precedence to the preferences and political freedom of people in the targeted countries.

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Inpuatil your m

Opinion Did you see Robert Beckford’s film? Do you share his view? Write to the Editor, Christian Aid News, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT or email canews@christian -aid.org

Robert Beckford’s report on his Channel 4 film The Great African Scandal struck a chord with readers, who are also still debating the merits and nuances of Christian Aid’s climate change campaign

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in the north which have destroyed all next year’s crops, which will create acute food shortages.

Why is Ghana not progressing? Why is it lagging behind developed countries? Why do educated Ghanaians want to leave their country and not stay behind to lead and help?

Robert’s film was excellent and has highlighted real life in Ghana and some of the issues. Fair trading conditions would make a difference, but somehow we in the West have to help them to help themselves and let the people of Ghana take the profits to improve their lives.

Brian Bowers Isle of Wight In early November it was reported on BBC News that Archbishop Sentamu was promoting fairtrade Chocolate. He was suggesting that we should make a stand to buy only chocolate that is ethically sound in its production and price.

Speaking from York, the Look North interviewer then twisted this to presume that he favoured fair income for Ghanaians over and above jobs for the people of York, at Nestlé. I was incensed at this misinterpretation: in fact he was wishing that Nestlé would take fair trade to heart so that we could enjoy their chocolate too with clear consciences, everyone in the chain being fairly treated and paid. To this end I logged on to Nestlé’s website but was overawed by the impregnable

OVER THE YEARS I’ve always tried clear a new rice paddy. They to do my bit for African talked about how Ghana development – campaigning used to be self-sufficient in rice, against apartheid in South partly due Africa, to the help offered by supporting the Jubilee government Debt in the form of grants Campaign and the fair-trade and subsidies. Such was the movement. And as a success of theologian, justice and the ongoing fight for I did wonder whether change are central to it is in the my writing, West’s interest to keep teaching and film-making.

Ghana, and In 2005 many other nations I made a programme called The like it, in Empire Pays Back – a role of economic dependen this calculation of cy the cumulative financial benefit of the rice industry, that the slave trade to UK there was plc over even a colloquial saying 200 years. ‘as rich as a rice farmer’ that signifi This year, with Christian ed their Aid’s prosperity – and Ghana’s support, I travelled to rice Ghana to farmers were supplying make a film for Channel at least 4 in this 50 per cent of all Ghana’s its 50th anniversary of needs.

But as I looked around me, ‘as rich independence. My goal was to live as a rice farmer’ was definitely on the average national not daily how it felt any more. income of ‘a dollar a IMF and day’ – and try World Bank policies – to understand what the macroforces economic, free-market are that keep Ghana poor driven – when, have been visited upon on paper, it should be African an African countries in various incarnations success story – rich in minerals, for more than 25 years. fertile, a stable democracy and In Ghana’s case, this free from conflict. meant a stop to state subsidies My journey began in while at the the hot dry same time opening its rice north – in the small rice-farming markets to foreign competitors. village of Gbirima. I joined Above: Robert the No surprise, then, that men in their backbreaking cheap rice Beckford in effort to flooded in – much of it subsidised Ghana Christian Aid News

mega-business stance of this multi-national: Nestlé are keen to assure the public of their sustainable land policy and offer no arena for challenge. I was appalled by the issues raised in Robert Beckford’s report. How can we raise awareness amidst the general chocolate-eating public, and campaign for Nestlé and the other big manufacturers to purchase cocoa beans at a fair price and for consumers to accept a higher cost of chocolate?

Jane Tarver via email Credit where credit is due – to Christian Aid and to Robert Beckford for his report. To Ghana, which deserves far more than the present unfair world allows. How long must the voices cry in the wilderness, raging against the IMF and the World Bank?

All His power to your elbows!

Graham Shepherd Halesowen, West Midlands Editor’s note: Robert has just completed a tour of venues in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Liverpool to discuss the issues raised in his film and report.

Carbon friendly I am a permacultural environmentalist and a Christian. For years I have been disappointed that many Christians, in their ignorance or rejection of climate-change or green issues, have shown little regard for human suffering or the beautiful planet we all live upon.

by foreign governments – and Ghana’s indigenous rice industry collapsed in the absence of government protection or support.

So, villages like Gbirima were left devastated and impoverished . And there was more human tragedy as families lost their young daughters to the cities in search of work.

Going in search of two of the Gbirima village girls I found them working in slum areas, risking their wellbeing, somehow surviving in a place where no young woman should have to find herself trying to make a living.

Was this the net result of IMF and World Bank policies drawn up in Washington for Ghana’s poor?

And nor are foreign businesses setting a shining example of how to make trade work for the poorest. Our film looked at Ghana’s two prime commodities – gold and cocoa. Ghana has been Europe’s main cocoa supplier for more than a century, and with chocolate sales as high as ever, I struggled to see where the benefits of this longstanding trading relationship might be.

Those cocoa farmers fortunate to

4

Ghana is an enigma and it is difficult to understand why this country is not thriving and why its economy depends on help from outside. Clearly, access to worldwide markets on an equal footing to developed countries would help, for it is a rich country in what it can produce and has an abundant supply of cheap electricity.

I worked aboard ships in the 1960s, trading to West Africa from the UK and the continent and was a frequent visitor to Ghana. It was one of the major cocoa producers, and the harbours of Takoradi and Tema were always full of ships. I last visited in 2001 with a team from Christian Aid, and like Robert Beckford (Christian Aid News, Issue 38) visited a small cocoa farm and the headquarters of the cooperative, Kuapa-Kokoo, whose motto is Papa-Paa – ‘the best of the best’. There is no doubt that these farmers did benefit from fair trade, but even so, the figures for that year showed that out of 32,000 tons of cocoa produced only 600 was fair trade. On a good day in Tema our ships would load 1,600 tons of cocoa during normal working hours.

On that visit six years ago we visited the town of Wa, in the north west, where rice growing had been abandoned because of the influx of cheap subsidised rice from America. The community in the village of Kaleo switched to producing shea nut butter and was very successful – the Body Shop was one of its main customers. They are a resourceful people.

I keep in touch with friends in Ghana and am aware of their situation. It gets worse – inflation, unemployment, VAT – and now the floods

Broadcaster and theologian Robert Beckford recently an emotional journey to undertook Ghana to film a Channel 4 documentary, The Great African Scandal – a damning indictmen t of the economic policies towards Africa. Here he writes about West’s hidden costs of rice, chocolate the and gold...

Picture: courtesy Channel

Scandalised!

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The Great African Scandal

Ghana’s tragedy

be included in the fair-trade system see real benefi ts but for the rest it’s a very hard life. We discovered that only three per cent of Ghana’s cocoa beans are purchased at the fair-trade price. I was left wondering: ‘Who is really profiting from the cocoa industry?’

It’s certainly not the cocoa farmers.

Gold offered no better a story.

We witnessed shocking conditions in the gold mining areas where people are forced to live with dangerously high levels of pollution around the mines and where poverty drives men to mine illegally. And in Accra, the former Ghanaian finance minister told me r that the country received as little d as three per cent of the profits c from these mines.

It And so I wondered about ta Ghana’s ‘independenc e’. I asked in myself how, when bodies like the IMF and World Bank, or S international businesses have such w widespread influence and control, ac could Ghana exercise any al economic independence at all? Its gr need for loans – and aid – has Af meant its room for manoeuvre has vio been profoundly limited.

I did S wonder, too, whether it is in the par West’s interest to keep Ghana and ant many other nations like it, in this like role of economic dependency?

Chi As someone who campaigned wer for the end of apartheid, I believe or im that a new African struggle is now pub needed – a new war of ‘economic’ It independence. And my experience cont made me appreciate at first hand conu why trade justice is so important toda in this effort. som This is why I will be working An with Christian Aid over the coming get w year to engage more and more Oma supporters who can work with us supp to see trade justice succeed. inter■ Dr Robert Beckford is Reader in terms Black Theology and Popular peopl Culture at Oxford Brookes seeme University. He is also a regular Pos broadcaster with Channel 4 a faraw Religion. The Great African It is pa Scandal was broadcast on interes Channel 4 in September and why. B received favourable reviews in in IBT’s many national newspapers.

‘Is Da

I am delighted that Christian Aid is campaigning to ‘Cut the Carbon’. It was a joy to read the wise words within letters from David Rochester, John David, Patrick Hanley and Chris Jones in issue 38.

As custodians of the world its future is in our hands and it deserves our care. I hope that we can leave a positive legacy for future generations, rather than destruction caused by short-sighted greed. I am not one who believes that we can wait for government to lead with rationing of fuel – unpopular actions do not win votes, so this won’t happen until it is too late! We can, however, endeavour to turn negatives into positives!

‘Peak oil’ is increasingly spoken about and will ultimately result in the loss of a resource much valued and relied upon by western society. To survive the inevitable ‘power down’, we need to build resilience into our towns, cities and villages, which in turn will cut down on carbon emissions, reduce waste and strengthen communities. It could be an exciting transition for us all and one that improves the world for everyone.

Claire Wise Seaton, Devon

Carbon claim OK I admit I’m a climate change sceptic, but David Rochester (Input, Winter 2007) claiming that Jesus was carbon zero takes the biscuit!

Let’s start with his lifestyle: cooking fish on fires

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Inspired? Enraged? Send your views to the editor.

Christian Aid News, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT or email canews@christian-aid.org Enquiries or requests for information should be sent to Supporter Relations at the address on page 3 (John 21: 9) – with the implication that most of the fish were thrown away), killing carbon-reducing fig trees (Matthew 21: 18-20), eating lamb at the Passover (Heather Mills would like us all to go vegan because 80 per cent of the world’s CO2 is produced by livestock and deforestation). Or what about his parables: encouraging people to store up unnecessary oil – just in case (Matthew 25: 1-13).

I’ve yet to find a version of the Bible where Jesus adds ‘and be carbon neutral’, or even speaks out against the great social issues of his day: roman brutality, slavery or the decimation of wild animals around the Mediterranean to fill the blood lust of the amphitheatres.

People ask ‘What car would Jesus drive?’ I think he would have chosen a battle bus: to get round the country and tell as many people as possible the good news.

Yes, Christianity is a social gospel and our faith is shown by our works, but it is first and foremost the Gospel of Christ that solves our greatest need: to be put right with God. Tim Fox Beckenham, Kent

Message in a bottle Like others, I am uneasy that Christian Aid is diluting its core values by joining the crowded bandwagon against global warming. But my unease turns to outrage that you couple this with the promotion of bottled water in partnership with a water cooler company (Christian Aid News, Issue 38). Have you estimated the carbon footprint of re-cooled bottled water by comparison with tap water? How does your cut of 30p compare with the selling price of the fashion product you are promoting? Are you

aware that the Drinking Water Inspectorate has found no reason other than fashion for people to waste their incomes on bottled water?

David Walker Solihull, West Midlands Sarah Gaskin, fundraising innovation officer, replies: AquAid has been supporting Christian Aid since 1998 (not 1988, as we mistakenly printed in our last issue), and in that time has raised more than £2 million for our work. AquAid is a franchise, so the 30p we receive from the sale of each 19-litre bottle (40p going altogether to charity, which is about 7.5 per cent of the average bottle price) reflects a real financial commitment from what are effectively quite small businesses. This partnership also helps us raise awareness of what we do with potentially millions of AquAid customers.

Christian Aid recognises that almost all businesses have some impact on the environment. AquAid do try to minimise their impact, promoting plumbed-in coolers which avoid the need for bottles. However where bottles are supplied, they are reused, usually for several years, and then broken down and recycled. Christian Aid recognises the value of tap water; however, there are times or places where water coolers are needed and it is good that the public can support a firm with an ethical and charitable dimension.

Plastic fantastic You recently published an address of a firm to which people could send polythene.

That is OK in large quantities as long as the polythene is clean and dry. However, for home users, posting it is an expensive way of disposing of polythene. Most stores now take back old carrier

bags and recycle them. These are made of polythene.

Householders can put other polythene in the bags – such as smaller bags, polythene wrapping (but not cling film), polythene envelopes that magazines and junk mail come in, and bubble wrap – in fact, anything made of just polythene.

Richard Camp Telford, Shropshire

Making the cut As the walkers and drivers on the ‘Cut the Carbon’ march, we would like to thank everybody involved in looking after us on our 82-day adventure. We had so much support: cups of tea, beds, showers, food, internet access, chiropodists, and massage were all greatly appreciated. At times we may have been less than appreciative – it was an intense experience and very tiring. But looking back it is wonderful to have enjoyed so much hospitality. A rough guess of how many people were responsible for looking after us would be somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500.

This is a huge number and a

great indicator of how committed people are in their support for Christian Aid. I hope you enjoyed the experience and will continue your commitment to tackling climate change in whatever way possible. Remember to lobby your MP about the climate change bill as it passes through parliament over the next few months.

Angela, Cassia, Chira, Demo, Dwijen, Elise, Fraser, Geanis, Geoff and Kate, John, Mahesh, Mohamed, Merryn, Neil, Pierre, Rachel, Risolat, Rosalia, Rosie, Simon, Stuart, Tim, Bill, Jonathon, Liz and Colin, and Mike

A good read Some readers will remember the Rev Richard Kayes who was a staff member in Yorkshire for many years. He has recently published One Man and His God, written with Richard’s delicious humour and recounting some of his experiences, including overseas, with Christian Aid. The book is published by Author House, Milton Keynes.

Robert Pearce, via email

On the last day of Christmas…

Regarding the Christmas Tree Festival at St Nicholas’ Church, Harpenden (Issue 38), may we please be told what happens to all the trees after Christmas? What steps are taken to ensure responsible recycling of the various items?

Rhys Ab Elis Casnewydd, Gwent Emma Kentish, from Christian Aid in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, replies: ‘At the end of the festival a few of the trees remained in the church for Christmas but most were taken out, and almost one third went to families who would not otherwise have had a tree at Christmas. The remainder were picked up by Ayletts, the garden supplies company, who recycle the trees by chipping them for use as mulch and on pathways in community gardens. As for the decorations, most of the tree decorators came and took away their own decorations, as many of them were beautifully made and can be used another year. Some of last year’s decorations were recycled for this year’s festival.

Christian Aid News

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25/2/08 17:33:01

Do theing right th

We need you!

Mary Milne, head of volunteering and community action, outlines a drive aimed at recruiting more people to become Christian Aid activists CHRISTIAN AID is ambitious: we want to eradicate poverty and end injustice. So we need activists who can spark their communities to get active through Christian Aid on behalf of the world’s poor and marginalised people.

You don’t have to be Superman or Wonderwoman to be a Christian Aid activist – all you need is enthusiasm and the ability to persuade other people to get involved. We provide the ideas and resources; you provide the energy. Together we will engage new people to help transform the world.

Alison Walke had donated money to Christian Aid, but hadn’t been involved in other ways. Then

26

last year she and her husband Kevin took the plunge and organised a gala concert in their local community in Somerset during Christian Aid Week.

‘The idea was to get beyond people who already know about Christian Aid. We put on a variety concert – mainly music and a couple of sketches. My employers helped us print a souvenir programme and my husband’s firm offered to match the money we raised. We also had personal sponsorship – people who wanted to come but couldn’t and gave a donation instead. With that and the ticket sales we raised a total of £2,400. People are now asking if we are going to do it again!’

So what’s changing? How is being an activist different from being a church representative on a local Christian Aid committee?

‘Christian Aid has a fantastic network of local groups and we are hugely grateful for everything that those people have done and continue to do,’ says Christian Aid’s church and community director, Matthew Reed. ‘We also need to engage many more people of all ages in Christian Aid’s critical work. I think a lot of local Christian Aid groups see this too.

‘Nowadays some people are less interested in joining a group – and more interested in doing something that makes an immediate difference. They don’t

Above: Katherine Hogg, volunteer development officer, signs up supporters at the Now Is the Time event, last year. Below: registering more volunteers

Christian Aid News

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Five lucky readers won an instant Rocket Garden in our Do the Right Thing competition in the last edition of Christian Aid News: Mrs Pam Sykes, Brighton; Mrs B Cowan, Luton; Sasha Busbridge, Bude; Julie McCarthy, Hackney; Jack Squires, Annan

READER OFFERS want to feel they’re signing up to something for the rest of their lives. So we need to give people the opportunity to be involved in ways that suits their circumstances – knowing, at the same time, that as people get more involved with Christian Aid, the more committed they often become to social justice because they see the difference they are making.’

Becoming an activist gives you the flexibility to get involved with others: different activists in a community could take on different tasks, either focusing on the church, schools or youth groups, or around activities such as campaigning, fundraising events, worship, prayer or the annual Christian Aid Week house-to-house collection.

‘Christian Aid’s strength is its network of support on the ground here in the UK, Ireland and overseas,’ says Matthew.

‘To have more impact on the lives of more poor people we must make that network accessible to as many people as possible and find many varied ways for us all to make a difference.’

So what are you waiting for? Take the first step towards being active in your local community – email us at active@christian-aid.org.

Photo: Christian Aid/Sarah Filbey

FREE LOW-ENERGY LIGHTBULBS FROM ECOTRICITY

Photos: Christian Aid

PRESENT AND CORRECT AGAIN AS MUCH AS we want to say thanks to all of you who bought gifts from Present Aid at Christmas, we would also like to apologise to those supporters who experienced problems ordering or with their orders.

We are very sorry that some of you received an unsatisfactory experience in ordering from Present Aid, however we would like to reassure you that we have worked extremely hard in resolving the issues and are confident that you will once again receive the level of service you expect from Christian Aid. Present Aid once again proved to be a huge success during the Christmas period, with over £1.3 million pounds being raised.

Particular favourites for Christmas were the children’s Hula Hoops, the flood disaster survival kit and, once again, the ducks.

So, a big thanks to all of you who chose to buy a Present Aid gift for a friend or relative and we hope they liked their gift and downloaded the ring tone.

All of the gifts from the 2007-2008 catalogues are still available and there is even a new item of 18 chicks and two cockerels for £31. So whatever the occasion – whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, father’s day or even a wedding – we’re sure you can find the perfect gift in Present Aid. If you wish to order a catalogue or a particular item, this can be done online at www.presentaid.org, over the phone (0845 3300 500) or through the post.

WANT TO MINIMISE your carbon footprint?

Currently, one-third of all carbon emissions in the UK come from generating electricity by burning fossil fuels. So why not cut the carbon the easy way by switching to Ecotricity – the energy company committed to investing in renewable energy. By using Ecotricity, not only will you be funding the building of new wind turbines in the UK, you will also be helping the world’s poorest people to adapt to the effects of climate change. Christian Aid receives £15 when you sign up, and up to £100 if your church or business switches. What’s more, Ecotricity will match the standard price of your regional supplier and, until the end of June, they’re also giving away four energy-saving light bulbs to everyone who switches, which could save you as much as £36 a year on your bills. Call 0800 0326 100 and quote ‘Christian Aid’ or go to www.ecotricity.co.uk/ christianaid to switch today.

TACKLE POVERTY AS YOU TALK WANT TO CUT your phone bill? Good Call is the landline and mobile service that gives you 13 per cent off your BT line rental, whilst still enabling you to access BT products and services. Better still, you can help build futures every time you talk, as six per cent of the value of your bill will go straight to Christian Aid. You can keep your lines and numbers, and calls between Good Call customers are totally free. An unlimited local and national calls package costs just £7.95 a month. Call 0845 233 0000 or visit www. christianaid.org. uk/goodcall for more information.

Christian Aid News

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Five lucky readers won an instant Rocket Garden in our Do the Right Thing competition in the last edition of Christian Aid News: Mrs Pam Sykes, Brighton; Mrs B Cowan, Luton; Sasha Busbridge, Bude; Julie McCarthy, Hackney; Jack Squires, Annan

READER OFFERS want to feel they’re signing up to something for the rest of their lives. So we need to give people the opportunity to be involved in ways that suits their circumstances – knowing, at the same time, that as people get more involved with Christian Aid, the more committed they often become to social justice because they see the difference they are making.’

Becoming an activist gives you the flexibility to get involved with others: different activists in a community could take on different tasks, either focusing on the church, schools or youth groups, or around activities such as campaigning, fundraising events, worship, prayer or the annual Christian Aid Week house-to-house collection.

‘Christian Aid’s strength is its network of support on the ground here in the UK, Ireland and overseas,’ says Matthew.

‘To have more impact on the lives of more poor people we must make that network accessible to as many people as possible and find many varied ways for us all to make a difference.’

So what are you waiting for? Take the first step towards being active in your local community – email us at active@christian-aid.org.

Photo: Christian Aid/Sarah Filbey

FREE LOW-ENERGY LIGHTBULBS FROM ECOTRICITY

Photos: Christian Aid

PRESENT AND CORRECT AGAIN AS MUCH AS we want to say thanks to all of you who bought gifts from Present Aid at Christmas, we would also like to apologise to those supporters who experienced problems ordering or with their orders.

We are very sorry that some of you received an unsatisfactory experience in ordering from Present Aid, however we would like to reassure you that we have worked extremely hard in resolving the issues and are confident that you will once again receive the level of service you expect from Christian Aid. Present Aid once again proved to be a huge success during the Christmas period, with over £1.3 million pounds being raised.

Particular favourites for Christmas were the children’s Hula Hoops, the flood disaster survival kit and, once again, the ducks.

So, a big thanks to all of you who chose to buy a Present Aid gift for a friend or relative and we hope they liked their gift and downloaded the ring tone.

All of the gifts from the 2007-2008 catalogues are still available and there is even a new item of 18 chicks and two cockerels for £31. So whatever the occasion – whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, father’s day or even a wedding – we’re sure you can find the perfect gift in Present Aid. If you wish to order a catalogue or a particular item, this can be done online at www.presentaid.org, over the phone (0845 3300 500) or through the post.

WANT TO MINIMISE your carbon footprint?

Currently, one-third of all carbon emissions in the UK come from generating electricity by burning fossil fuels. So why not cut the carbon the easy way by switching to Ecotricity – the energy company committed to investing in renewable energy. By using Ecotricity, not only will you be funding the building of new wind turbines in the UK, you will also be helping the world’s poorest people to adapt to the effects of climate change. Christian Aid receives £15 when you sign up, and up to £100 if your church or business switches. What’s more, Ecotricity will match the standard price of your regional supplier and, until the end of June, they’re also giving away four energy-saving light bulbs to everyone who switches, which could save you as much as £36 a year on your bills. Call 0800 0326 100 and quote ‘Christian Aid’ or go to www.ecotricity.co.uk/ christianaid to switch today.

TACKLE POVERTY AS YOU TALK WANT TO CUT your phone bill? Good Call is the landline and mobile service that gives you 13 per cent off your BT line rental, whilst still enabling you to access BT products and services. Better still, you can help build futures every time you talk, as six per cent of the value of your bill will go straight to Christian Aid. You can keep your lines and numbers, and calls between Good Call customers are totally free. An unlimited local and national calls package costs just £7.95 a month. Call 0845 233 0000 or visit www. christianaid.org. uk/goodcall for more information.

Christian Aid News

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Events

Help us to run poverty into the ground!

Photo: Christian Aid/Ian Olsson

Calling all runners! Christian Aid is looking to raise an army of more than 500 people to run for us in various events in 2008, and help raise a quarter of a million pounds to help our partners overseas.

From fun runner to keen athlete, there’s something for everyone and if you’re interested in ones not listed here, let us know!

Below: Rachel Anderson kisses her medal from last year’s Great North Run. Below right: Christian Aid marathon runner Brian Ridsdale needs your support

BUPA Great North Run We’ve got 150 places in the world’s biggest half-marathon on 5 October. It’s a truly mind-blowing event with the most electrifying atmosphere, and we’re asking runners to raise just £300 to take part.

Rachel Anderson from Watford took part

28

last year with her dad Ian. She recalls: ‘I will never forget the moment we crossed the line. We gave each other a huge hug and my eyes filled up to the brim – I didn’t know whether to cry for the fact I was so proud, for the fact it was all over or just because I was utterly exhausted!

I raised more than £400 in the end, and knowing that people had sponsored me kept me going through my training. I know I made a difference.’

BUPA Great Manchester Run If you’re not up for intense running, then why not take part in a 10k? This is an ideal distance for new runners and we’ll give you a week-by-week training plan to help you peak on race day!

We’ve got 150 places in this event that takes place on Sunday 18 May. A great course, fabulous entertainment and the encouraging cheers of the Manchester crowd

have marked this out as one of the world’s fastest-growing runs.

We’re asking runners to commit to raising £150 for this race.

BUPA London 10,000 Be the first to test the new Olympic Marathon route!

On 26 May you can join the Christian Aid team in this brand new race. Ballot places are all gone, so this is your only chance to get involved in the most exciting running event this year. We’re asking you to raise £500 for this one.

our official team and we’ll give you fundraising advice, training plans, a running vest, invites to the ‘chill-out’ zone at our post-race receptions and a dedicated member of staff to help with anything you need.

Call us on 0207 523 2221 or email events@christian-aid. org to request your free pack.

If this all sounds too exhausting, you can still support our runners in these events – and the 2008 Flora London Marathon. Brian Ridsdale, a Christian Aid trustee and organiser of the Chandlers Ford branch in Hampshire is running this year’s race and is pledging that it will be his ‘first and last marathon’.

He adds: ‘I have been training most days, and at this time of year it can be pretty muddy in Hampshire.’

If you would like to support the runners, please visit www. justgiving.com/ christianaid or come along to All Hallows by the Tower, in EC3, on Sunday 13 April to be part of the official cheering party!

If you want a Christian Aid place, or if you’ve already got your own, in any run in 2008, join

Christian Aid News

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visit www.christianaid.org.uk/aboutca for regular updates of events around the country ■ 5-29 March Children in Conflict exhibition Flowers Central, Cork Street, London Contact Karen Hedges on 020 7523 2404 or email khedges@christian-aid.org ■ 21 March Hunger Lunch St Andrew’s Church Hall, Longton, Preston 11.30am-1pm Contact Cath Greenlees on 01772 613500 ■ 12 April Poole & Bournemouth joint pre-Christian Aid Week Open Meeting Kinson Methodist Church, Wimborne Road, Bournemouth 10am-12noon With a guest speaker from K-CAP, a youth arts project in Durban, South Africa.

Contact Southampton office on 02380 706969 Also: 14 April – 7-11pm Trinity URC, High Wycombe 15 April – 7-11pm Our Lady’s Church, Grove Road, Hitchin

■ 14 April Christian Aid Choir North West Much Hoole Methodist Church, near Preston, 7.30-10pm Focus on Africa, with guest speaker David Hardman, North West Initiatives Coordinator. Also: 8 May – 7.30pm Fulwood Methodist Church, Preston 9 May – 7.30pm St Nicholas, Wray Green, Lytham Contact Christine Medd on 01524 64730 ■ 19 April Concert by Simeon Wood St Andrew’s Church, Longton, Preston, 7.30-10pm Contact Cath Greenlees on 01772 613500 ■ 25 April Harvest of Hope Park View Community Centre, Hayling Island, Hants Songs, images and stories of hope inspired by Christian Aid partners in Senegal. With Martin John Nicholls.

Contact Penny Haynes on 01202 840764

■ 26 April Volunteer Teachers Day Manvers Street Baptist Church, Bath 10am-3.30pm A training day for Christian Aid volunteer teachers with all the latest educational resources and tips. Lunch provided.

Contact Helen Harrison 01454 416818 or email natroz@yahoo.co.uk ■ 9-10 May Pentecost Festival St Johns Waterloo, London Pentecost Festival Major events happening in London over the weekend www.pentecostfestival.co.uk Contact David Muir on 020 7523 2159 or email dmuir@christian-aid.org ■ 9-10 May Ethical Expo Castle Park, Bristol, 10am-6pm Be inspired about living a more ethical life, with stalls, resources and seminars.

Contact Martin Parkes 01454 415923 or email mparkes@christian-aid.org

■ 10-16 May Edinburgh Book Sale St Andrew’s and St George’s Church This famous book sale, which has raised over £1.4m for Christian Aid since its inception in 1974, comes to Scotland’s capital once again.

To offer books or assistance email booksale@standrews andstgeorges.org.uk or contact Mary Davidson on 07714 186754 ■ 14 May Christian Aid Coffee Morning Uppermill Methodist Centre, Saddleworth 10am-12noon Coffee morning with home-bake and fairtrade stalls. Free entry.

Contact Rosie Partington on 01457 838543 or rosie2008@tiscali.co.uk ■ 17 May Book sale and café United Church, Union Street, Hyde In aid of Christian Aid. To

Fund-raising on the move Here are some of the sponsored walks, hikes and bike rides taking place around the country to raise funds for Christian Aid ■ 23-24 March Halifax Long March YMCA, Halifax 11.30pm-10am 13- or 26-mile night hike round Calderdale. See www.longmarch.org.uk Contact Alex Jones on 01132 444764 or email ajones@christian-aid.org ■ 29 March Sponsored Cycle Ride Farington Moss; New Longton and Leyland area, Preston, 9am-5pm A 15-20-mile sponsored cycle ride.

Contact Cath Greenlees on 01772 613500 ■ 26 April Tay Bridge Cross Dundee and Newport Sponsored walk across the Tay Bridge.

Contact Marjorie Clark on 01738 643982 or email mclark@christian-aid.org

■ 26 April Erskine Bridge Cross Contact Diane Green on 01412 217475 or email glasgow@christian-aid.org ■ 26 April Forth Bridge Cross Forth Road Bridge, Queensferry 2-6pm This walk is in its 36th year and has raised over £1 million.

Everyone is welcome.

Starting points: North and South Queensferry.

Contact 01312 201254 or email edinburgh@christian-aid.org ■ 5 May Sheffield May Day Trek Starts at St. Luke’s, Lodge Moor, Sheffield 10am Five, ten or 15-mile walks in the Peak District. www. sheffieldmaydaytrek.org.uk Contact Christian Aid in Yorkshire on

0113 244 4764 or email leeds@christian-aid.org ■ 6-7 May Walk on the Wild Side Southernmost tip of Isle of Wight 9am-5pm The walk takes you 17 miles up to West Cowes. For little ones, there is a ‘toddle’ on the seafront at 4pm.

Contact Jim Curtis 01983 526574 or email ca@ppan.co.uk ■ 10 May Lyme Park Sponsored Walk Lyme Park, Cheshire 9am-5pm Contact Becky Hurst on 01925 241222 or email bhurst@christian-aid.org ■ 10 May Humber Bridge Cross Hessle Country Park, Hull 2pm

A walk across the famous landmark.

Contact Christian Aid in Yorkshire on 01132 444764 or email leeds@christian-aid.org ■ 17 May Barnoldswick sponsored walk St Andrew’s Methodist Church Barnoldswick, Lancashire 9:30am Three or nine-mile walk Contact Robert Sneath on 01282 816784 ■ 3 June Ninian’s Walk Priory in Whithorn 10am-4.30pm A sponsored pilgrimage/ walk in ‘Bonnie Galloway’, led by Rev Iain Whyte, former National Secretary of Christian Aid Scotland.

Follow a 12-mile circular route down country roads, along a spectacular clifftop path to the beach at St Ninian’s cave

donate books Contact Sandra Jones on 01613 685468 before 1 May ■ 18 May Journey to Justice – breaking the chains of global debt International Convention Centre, Birmingham 2.30-4.30pm A powerful mix of speakers, interviews, music and film, calling for third world debt cancellation and an end to injustice. Tickets £10 (concessions £5).

Contact See www. journeytojustice.org ■ 22 June Windrush 60th Anniversary Celebration Town Hall, Birmingham A celebration of the Empire Windrush discharging its Caribbean passengers at Tilbury. Featuring guest artists, poetry, and special guest speakers.

Contact David King on 01212 002283 or email dking@christian-aid.org

and back again to Whithorn.

Contact srs@wightcablenorth.net ■ 14 June 5 exercise bikes, 5 days 70+ volunteers, 3,400 miles St Stephen’s Church, Exeter 9am-5pm Christian Aid supporters including MP Ben Bradshaw will be ‘cycling’ the distance between Exeter and Senegal. A Christian Aid shop, star-studded raffle and live African music will also be featured.

Contact Exmouth office at Exmouth@christian-aid.org ■ 17 June Cumbrae Challenge Isle of Cumbrae Across by the ferry from Largs, Ayrshire Any person-powered means of travel round the island of Cumbrae. Maximum 12 miles.

Sausage sizzle provided by Cumbrae Girl Guides en route.

Contact Diane Green on 01412 221 7475 or dgreen@christian-aid.org

Christian Aid News

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People Power MBE FOR VETERAN VOLUNTEER

HIV ACTIVIST HONOURED

PARTNER WINS TOP UN AWARD

Campaigner and volunteer Dr Roy Barry was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list for his services to Christian Aid. The 79-year-old retired lecturer from Sheffield has worked with us for more than 40 years, showing great dedication in the fight against world poverty.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s Roy helped to found the World Development Movement (WDM) and served on its central committee for many years. In the 1980s he was organising secretary for Christian Aid in South Yorkshire.

During this time he substantially raised awareness of development issues within local churches. Roy recently retired from active involvement with Christian Aid and WDM, but continues to inspire those who have taken up the baton.

A humanitarian award has been won by the co-ordinator of a Christian Aid partner in Zimbabwe for his work in reducing the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Pastor Maxwell Kapachawo of ZINERELA was one of 13 activists and organisations honoured at the Auxillia Chimusoro ceremony in Zimbabwe last November. The awards – launched

by USAID in 2000 in honor of Auxillia Chimusoro, the first Zimbabwean person to openly disclose her HIV positive status in 1989 – recognise individuals and organisations making significant progress in addressing HIV and AIDS issues in Zimbabwe.

Pastor Kapachawo, based in Harare, won the Breakers of Silence award, for helping to reduce discrimination within the church and the wider community.

The head of a Christian Aid partner in Bangladesh has won a prestigious environmental award.

Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), will receive the United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth Award 2008 for the Asia Pacific region. The annual prize rewards individuals from around the globe who have made a significant contribution to the protection and sustainable management of the Earth’s environment and natural resources.

Dr Rahman is an influential advocate for sustainable development in Bangladesh – a country highly vulnerable to climate change and flooding.

BCAS has been a partner of Christian Aid since 2005.

Leaving a gift to Christian Aid in your will is no small gesture. Our campaigning work will make a huge impact in fighting the structures that keep the world’s poor communities poor.

And a gift is so easy to sort out. If you’ve already written a will, there’s a simple way to add a PS for Christian Aid (a‘Codicil’). For more information, call Colin Kemp on 0207 523 2173, or email ckemp@christian-aid.org or contact your solicitor. Please, do something wonderful.

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Final Word

EXTRA TIME

Have you ever met an angel?

Not sober.

Our Quizaid celebrity Shaun Williamson rattles off some quickfire answers to our questionnaire

What miracle would you like to work?

To reverse global warming.

What would you save if your house was on fire?

Apart from people/animals, my This is Your Life red book.

Photo: Christian Aid

Which book or song do you most wish you’d written?

Complete works of Shakespeare.

Who would you choose to be shipwrecked with?

Gemma Atkinson.

If you ruled the world, what is the first law you’d introduce?

I’d definitely like to ban speed cameras.

What makes you cry?

Last orders in the pub.

What’s made you laugh today?

Nothing as of 1.30pm….how sad is that?

What’s your favourite food?

Spaghetti Bolognese.

And favourite place you have ever visited?

The Grand Canyon.

Which living person inspires you most?

The boxer, Joe Calzaghe.

Who would play you in a film of your life?

Jack Nicholson would do!

What’s the scariest thing you’ve done ?

Once I got stuck on a mountain for the night.

Shaun Williamson is an actor who is in the unusual position of appearing in three completely different types of television hits. He played Barry Evans in more than 500 episodes of EastEnders from 1994-2004 before starring in both series and last December’s finale of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s satire on the TV industry, Extras. Also last year, he finished third in Celebrity Fame Academy for Comic Relief. Shaun is a self-confessed dedicated ‘quizzer’ and his popularity and experiences in quizzes made him a natural choice to front the inaugural Quizaid, a fundraising drive across the country for Christian Aid Week.

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Final Word

EXTRA TIME

Have you ever met an angel?

Not sober.

Our Quizaid celebrity Shaun Williamson rattles off some quickfire answers to our questionnaire

What miracle would you like to work?

To reverse global warming.

What would you save if your house was on fire?

Apart from people/animals, my This is Your Life red book.

Photo: Christian Aid

Which book or song do you most wish you’d written?

Complete works of Shakespeare.

Who would you choose to be shipwrecked with?

Gemma Atkinson.

If you ruled the world, what is the first law you’d introduce?

I’d definitely like to ban speed cameras.

What makes you cry?

Last orders in the pub.

What’s made you laugh today?

Nothing as of 1.30pm….how sad is that?

What’s your favourite food?

Spaghetti Bolognese.

And favourite place you have ever visited?

The Grand Canyon.

Which living person inspires you most?

The boxer, Joe Calzaghe.

Who would play you in a film of your life?

Jack Nicholson would do!

What’s the scariest thing you’ve done ?

Once I got stuck on a mountain for the night.

Shaun Williamson is an actor who is in the unusual position of appearing in three completely different types of television hits. He played Barry Evans in more than 500 episodes of EastEnders from 1994-2004 before starring in both series and last December’s finale of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s satire on the TV industry, Extras. Also last year, he finished third in Celebrity Fame Academy for Comic Relief. Shaun is a self-confessed dedicated ‘quizzer’ and his popularity and experiences in quizzes made him a natural choice to front the inaugural Quizaid, a fundraising drive across the country for Christian Aid Week.

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CAN39.HW ad:Layout 5

25/2/08

16:50

Page 1

Hadrian’s Wall Trek 4-6 July 2008 Step back in time 2,000 years and enjoy a two-day trek along Hadrian’s Wall!

Register for £99 and help us to end poverty worldwide!

020 7523 2248 events@christian-aid.org www.christianaid.org.uk/events Quote ref CANews

Check out our other exciting events: • BUPA London 10,000 • BUPA Manchester 10k • BUPA Great North Run • Three Peaks challenge • One-day sponsored walks throughout the UK

UK registered charity number 1105851 Company number 5171525 Scottish charity number SCO39150 NI charity number XR94639 Company number NI059154 ROI charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928