 Sara Amblo Rosel's are thriving thanks to training in farming methods by the Centre for Research and Training of Peasants (CIPCA) |
 Sara and Clara Amblo Rosel's family have been able to farm new crops such as these grapefruit, thanks to training and seeds from CIPCA |
2005 was a huge year for campaigning, and world poverty was high on the UK government&s agenda. The struggle for justice continues for Christian Aid in 2006 and beyond.
How did the UK government respond?
We heard some encouraging words from the UK government on trade justice in 2005. By trade justice we mean the right of governments to protect and support their vulnerable farmers and industries. The report of the Africa Commission, chaired by prime minister Tony Blair, concluded: "Liberalisation must not be forced on Africa through trade or aid conditions." The Department for International Development (DFID) also announced an end to damaging conditions attached to aid. Even the G8 nations said: "It is up to developing countries themselves and their governments to take the lead on development. They need to decide, plan and sequence their economic policies to fit with their own development strategies, for which they should be accountable to all their people." Overall, we have seen encouraging words on trade, but limited action.
Beyond 2005: what happens next?
2005 was a huge year for campaigning, and world poverty was high on the UK government�s agenda. The struggle for justice
continues for Christian Aid in 2006 and beyond.
Onion farmers in Senegal are better off, thanks to your campaigning. Supported by Christian Aid partner The African Network for
Integrated Development (RADI), campaigners have successfully persuaded the Senegalese government to ban onion imports during the
harvest period, and introduce subsidised fertiliser. Christian Aid will continue to campaign for trade justice alongside partners
in the developing world. Our aim is to ensure that rhetoric is turned into action, and that poor countries have the freedom to
choose trade policies that will ensure poor people benefit from trade.
By sending your prayer and action card during Christian Aid Week 2006, you can make the UK government deliver action & not just words!
As we approach Christian Aid week which is being held this year in May I felt it would be interesting for Parishioners to hear of the work being done both in Mozambique and India.
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Christian Aid in Mozambique. The Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM) is one of Christian Aid's longest standing partner organisations. They began to work together in the 1970's when the money you gave Christian Aid funded an emergency response to the needs of the people who had been displaced by a brutal civil war. Since the war, one of CCM's priorities has been reconciliation and peace building. The innovative " Swords into Ploughshares schemes" has encouraged people to surrender their guns in exchange for tools. Sculptors have refashioned many of the guns into works of art. The extraordinary "Tree of Life", a huge sculpture made from decommissioned weapons, is on display in the British Museum in London. |
 Photo : Christian Aid/Fleicia Webb |
| Mozambique was the centre of the worlds&s attention in 2000 because of
devastating floods. Since then CCM has helped communities to restore roads, wells, health centres and schools. Ensuring that Families have a secure source of food has been central to its work in helping communities grow strong. As part of this it has provided seeds, tools, livestock and ongoing guidance. |
Sara Felizberto (14) sits with her mother Maria Albano, while she sifts through
maize meal, the women standing behind are neighbours who are preparing to pound and grind the maize meal. The family have benefitted from CCM's small livestock restocking programme in Zambezia province Mozambique |
In Zambezia province, CCM has helped families who lost everything
during the floods to replenish their livestock. Families receive goats or
guinea fowl to breed and provide food.
The offspring are passed on to other
families so that they too can benefit. CCM also has a strategic plan for
reducing the rates of HIV infection in Zambezia (where one in six people are
believed to be HIV positive) through education and care.
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Christian Aid in India. One third of the population of India lives in great poverty. However, during the 50 years that Christian Aid has worked there, life expectancy has doubled and infant mortality has halved. There is much to celebrate in the world's largest democracy, but much still to do. The work funded by the money you give Christian Aid prioritises disadvantaged women, child labourers, dalits (the group formerly known as untouchables the lowest caste of Indian society) and communities in areas that are prone to natural disasters. |
 Photo : Christian Aid/Harriet Logan/Network |
| In southern India, Gramya is working to empower women who have been marginalised because of their caste or ethnic origin. In particular it seeks to improve young girls� control over their lives. These girls have often been denied the chance to go to school. | Children's Day at Gramya's 'Bridge School' a residential school for girls in rural Andhra Pradesh, who have had little or no access to formal education. The aim is to enable girl children to join mainstream education. Here the children perform and celebrate the day along with their families and teachers. |
The system of bonded labour in India persists, despite being
theoretically illegal. It traps people into selling themselves or their children
into slave like conditions in return for a loan that will be virtually
impossible ever to pay off.
By organising women's groups (sangams) in villages, campaigning against domestic
violence, and improving the circumstances and registration of births, Gramya has
improved the lives of over 1,600 women. Gramya helps teachers to change the
tradition of giving boys access to education, by encouraging girls to go to
school. It has set up a residential &bridge school& where girls receive
intensive teaching to bring them up to a high enough standard to be able to
transfer to mainstream schools.