We're switching the host platform for our podcasts to AudioBoo - an innovative new technology which will mean we can stream audio and record new styles of content. You'll still be able to subscribe to us on iTunes, but please bear with us as we make that switch. For now, have a listen to an introduction to Christian Aid on AudioBoo...
September 22, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
While Kenyans pay tax on the money they earn and on goods and services, many have not seen the benefits trickle down to their communities. In this podcast Antoinette Powell reflects on the injustice felt by Kenyans struggling to provide for their families and the possibility of change provided by Christian Aid's partner - Center for Rights, Education and Awareness. Click the link below to stream or download this podcast.
Useful links:
Christian Aid in Kenya http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/africa/kenya.aspx
Center for Rights, Education and Awareness http://www.creawkenya.org/
Christian Aid’s East Africa Appeal http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/east-africa-food-crisis-appeal/index.aspx
Follow Antoinette and her colleagues on Twitter - http://twitter.com/ca_global
September 16, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
La Granja, an agricultural community in the Andean highlands is already feeling the effects of climate change. There is less water for irrigation coming from the glacier Illimani and many of the community have already migrated away. Click the link below to stream or download the programme.
This is the second of our two podcasts from Bolivia. In this episode by Hannah Richards, we hear how Christian Aid partner Agua Sustentable is trialling pilot projects to store water and help use it more efficiently. Their research allows them to plan into the future and provides a powerful backing to their national advocacy work.
Useful links:
September 09, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Amazon rainforest is like a paradise on earth. 30% of all the world’s flora and fauna can be found there and hundreds of thousands of indigenous people depend on it for their survival. But in Bolivia, the forest is under threat from cattle ranchers who clear the land for their cattle to graze. This is not only catastrophic for the indigenous people who live there; it is catastrophic for all of us. Click this link to stream or download the podcast.
Deforestation releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than all the world’s cars, planes and ships put together. In this podcast Christian Aid's Rachel Stevens explains how fruit and cocoa trees are helping indigenous communities in Bolivia to successfully work their way out of poverty and protect the rainforest at the same time.
Useful links:
September 05, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
When Antoinette Powell visited the Mbeere region of Kenya in March 2011, she spoke to many farmers about the impact failed and poor rains have had on their ability to grow enough to eat over the last few years. Click the link below to listen to or download this latest episode.
Kenya reflections_ Growth amidst drought
As aid agencies including Christian Aid respond to the immense needs of millions left in need of external support in Kenya, she reflects on how a new project is hoping to help communities build their resilience to future droughts.
Useful links
Christian Aid in Kenya http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/africa/kenya.aspx
Christian Aid’s East Africa Appeal http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/east-africa-food-crisis-appeal/index.aspx
Christian Community Service of Mount Kenya East http://ccsmke.org/
August 28, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Unemployment and the rising cost of living are significant problems in Goma, a city in troubled eastern DRC whose residents are battling poverty and conflict to maintain a normal life. But a simple cottage industry is providing communities with hope. Christian Aid Partner CBCA – the Central Africa Baptist Community - have been training cooperatives of men and women in the production of cheap, energy efficient ovens and fuel which should help improve life for them and their community. Click the link below to listen to or download this episode:
Useful links:
August 23, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Earlier this year Christian Aid's Antoinette Powell returned to the Matopeni settlement in Nairobi. As her third visit to the slum, she was keen to see the difference Christian Aid partner Maji na Ufanisi's work had made to the lives of community members. Click the link below to listen or download our latest podcast episode.
In this short podcast, Antoinette explores some of the highs and lows the community has experienced over the last 12 months and reflects on what the future holds for this small community.
Useful links:
August 12, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Dr Salwa Morcos from Christian Aid partner COC Bless in Egypt recently visited the UK. In this podcast she reflects on the upheaval and changes in Egypt, the role that women and young people played, and what the future looks like. Click the link below to listen to or download the episode.
Interview with Salwa COC Bless Egypt
In this episode Dr Morcos also tells us about the exciting work of COC Bless and how whole communities are being transformed by improvements in health and education.
Useful links
August 04, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Jamaica is renowned for being a popular tourist destination but little is known about the human rights situation in the country. Paula Plaza spoke to Angela Harding about the loss of her son in law, and Carolyn Gomes from Christian Aid partner organisation Jamaicans for Justice. Click the link below to play or download this episode:
Carolyn gives a global picture of the human rights situation and the work that her organisation does to educate people about their rights and seek justice for victims of abuse
Podcast contributors: Paula Plaza, Carolyn Gomes, and Angela Harding
Find out more at www.christian-aid.org.uk
July 29, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Almost 12 months on from the Pakistan Floods and Christian Aid partners continue to work with communities on the ground affected by the floods. We have been able to support 20,000 families in the first year of our response, with immediate humanitarian assistance and on-going livelihoods, housing and training programmes. Click the link below to listen, or download the file.
Communications officer Susan Barry has recently returned from Pakistan, where she met a small community who lost 70% of their homes in the floodwaters. In this podcast, one member of that village, Muhammad Anwar, speaks about his experiences of the floods, the impact on his family and how he is now living in a new, brick built home provided for him by Christian Aid partner Muslim Hands.
Find out more about our work in Pakistan here:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/pakistan-floods-appeal/index.aspx
July 25, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In this podcast, Nick Guttmann, Head of the Humanitarian Division at Christian Aid, reports live from the field to Christian Aid staff. He graphically sets out the situation for people affected by the food crisis in Kenya. Via a Skype telephone connection, Nick reports on the situation in Dadaab camp and the work of Christian Aid partners Northern Aid and ACT partner the Lutheran World Federation.
Click the link below to play or download the MP3 file
Contributors: Paula Plaza, Nick Guttmann
Christian Aid appeal site - http://www.christian-aid.org.uk
DEC appeal site - http://www.dec.org.uk
July 15, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
10 million people across East Africa are facing severe food shortages caused by a combination of drought, irregular harvests, high food prices and displacement. The crisis has been building for some time, particularly in Kenya and Ethiopia, and is fast escalating across the region.
Click the link below to play or download the sitrep:
In this episode, Eston Njuki - a member of Christian staff in Kenya - spoke to Susan Barry about the severity of the sitation and the particular needs of communities affected by the lack of water and food.
Useful links:
Christian Aid appeal site
July 04, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Following the Haiti earthquake in January 2010, the first year of relief efforts were made difficult by a range of complex issues: the scale of the disaster, the urban situation, the presidential election and more. Overcoming these barriers was crucial in being able to respond to both the short-term and long-term needs of Haitian families.
In the second of two podcasts, Haiti emergency officer Kate Ferguson talks through the ways in which Christian Aid responded to these challenges. Concentrating efforts on displaced and host families in rural communities, Christian Aid partners have worked under extraordinary circumstances to bring about meaningful change for families affected by the quake. With permanent houses and sustainable livelihoods, the future for Haiti is looking brighter.
June 07, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Increasingly, one of the inevitable outcomes of major disasters is the scrutiny levelled at international aid agencies as they work to meet the needs of affected communities. This was especially the case for Haiti, as aid agencies struggled to cope with the sheer scale and complexity of the emergency.
In the first of two podcasts, we examine in depth the range of issues that Christian Aid was confronting in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. This urban disaster posed particular problems, from the extraordinary amount of rubble to the deflection of relief efforts due to the presidential election campaign. Emergency officer Kate Ferguson explains what the issues were and how significant they were in terms of creating barriers to the relief efforts.
Useful links
Christian Aid's emergency work in Haiti
June 01, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Paula Plaza travelled to Nicaragua to gather some of the stories used in Christian Aid Week this year. During her visit to the country, she interviewed farmers and community members benefitting from the work of Christian Aid partner, Soppexcca. Gustavo Adolfo Talavera is one of the farmers working with the cooperative and talks about how his life has improved since he joined the cooperative.
Click the link below to stream or download the audio file
(please note that the audio for this podcast is slightly more compressed than usual, we hope you enjoy the episode nonetheless)
Podcast contributors: Paula Plaza, Gustavo Adolfo Talavera (Nicaraguan farmer), Mauricio Preciado-Awad (English voiceover)
Useful links:
Christian Aid week site - pray / act / donate
Soppexca audio slideshow (YouTube link)
May 16, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Sea level rise, flooding and the salination of fresh water supplies are just some of the climate change challenges people in Bangladesh face today. Our country manager in Bangladesh, Palash Das, speaks to Gen Lomax about Christian Aid’s work with communities affected and the role that the international community must play.
Click this link to download, or stream, the podcast file
Useful links:
Find out more about our work on climate change:
Find out more about Christian Aid’s work in Bangladesh
May 06, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
On a visit to Zambia's border areas with Angola and Namibia in March 2011, communications officer Sarah Filbey spent time with some energetic community volunteers, known as Malaria Control Agents (MCAs), working with partner the Zambia Anglican Council.
Follow Sarah and the rest of the communications team on Twitter - www.twitter.com/ca_global
Useful links:
Find out more about our work on malaria and other poverty related health issues:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/in-focus/hiv-malaria-health/world-malaria-day-2011.aspx
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/in-focus/hiv-malaria-health/index.aspx
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/in-focus/hiv-malaria-health/poverty-related-diseases.aspx
Find out more about our malaria work along Zambia's borders:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/in-focus/hiv-malaria-health/cross-border-malaria-prevention.aspx
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/in-focus/hiv-malaria-health/world-malaria-day-2011.aspx
April 25, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
March 8th marks the 100th International Women's Day. In this special episode, Christian Aid's Amanda Farrant considers how poverty and a legacy of conflict lie behind high levels of sexual and physical violence against women in Cambodia.
Click the link below to play or download the podcast.
This podcast explores this shocking crisis from the perspective of a five year old girl who is being helped by Christian Aid partner Cambodian Women’s Crisis Centre having endured the frightening experience of a sexual assault last year.
Useful links:
You can also follow the International Women's day project on Twitter:
#IWD
#Internationalwomensday
@womensday
March 08, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
March 8th marks the 100th International Women's Day, a chance to reflect on the role played by women in societies across the world and on the challenges and dangers they face. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, rape has long been used as a weapon of war by rebel and government forces, fighting for control over lucrative mineral reserves in the east.
Click this link to download or play the podcast.
Congolese activist Judith Wanga, who was born in DRC but mainly brought up in England, travelled to the country to make a BBC documentary about the plight of women. In this interview she describes meeting Congolese women who suffered sexual violence and explains why people in Britain have a responsibility to them.
Useful links:
Christian Aid
Congo Now
UN International Women's Day
March 04, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Cyclone Aila hit the coastal regions of Bangladesh in May 2009 - around 300 people were killed, and more than 10,000 people were affected. Gen Lomax reflects on Shushilan work to rebuild people's lives after Cyclone Aila and the long term affects of climate change in this area.
Click this link to listen to the podcast:
Personal reflection on meeting Selina Begum in Bangladesh
In this podcast, recorded in Jatrindronagar village, Satkira District, Gen speaks about Selina Begum, an inspirational women she has met who is volunteering with Shushilan, a partner of Christian Aid. She reflects on Selina's involvement in a saline resistant rice seed project to adapt to increased salinated water - an effect of climate change in this area, and Selina's fight for women's equality in her community.
February 18, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
When Christian Aid's Mohamed Adow visited the Matopeni slum in Nairobi ahead of Christian Aid Week 2010, he was outraged by the conditions in which people were forced to live. With Christian Aid's support Kenyan organisation Maji na Ufanisi have been working with the community to improve their environment and help them take control of their future.
Click this link to listen to the podcast:
January 2011, Mohamed Adow on Matopeni
In this podcast, recorded six months after physical work began in Matopeni, Mohamed reflects on the slum's changes and far the community has come.Useful links
February 11, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
After a month off, we're back with a weekly series of podcasts from the @ca_global team here at Christian Aid. In this first episode of 2011, Christian Aid's senior emergency manager Anthony Morton-King talks to us down the line from Haiti. On a crackly, difficult line he shares the difficulties of working in such an extreme disaster situation, and the way in which our projects reach the most vulnerable.
Click here to play the audio:
Background to the emergency
In January 2010, a devastating earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale hit Haiti. This was their most powerful quake in 200 years, killing 230,000 people and leaving over one million people without homes. Christian Aid launched an appeal in the days following the disaster and, combined with our allocation of DEC funds, raised £10 million. Our partners have been working over the past 12 months to respond to the immediate and on-going needs of those most affected by the quake.
Useful links:
www.christianaid.org.uk/haiti
www.twitter.com/ca_global
February 04, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In July, Christian Aid launched an appeal to help ten million people going hungry in the Sahel region of West Africa. A combination of cyclical drought and irregular harvests had led to severe food shortages in countries including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Christian Aid partners responded to the crisis, providing emergency food relief for those most at risk - particularly children under five - and working with communities to help them better withstand periods of drought. There were hopes that the harvests of October and November would also alleviate suffering in the region.
Download / play the podcast:
West Africa emergency manager Cristina Ruiz recently visited some of the worst affected parts of the Sahel. In this interview, she explains what impact the recent harvests have had on the situation and describes how projects supported by Christian Aid are helping those most in need.
Useful links:
December 31, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
On a recent trip to visit Christian Aid’s work in Ghana, communications officer Sarah Filbey discovered why, for Christian Aid supported farmers, the misuse of agro-chemicals is the greatest issue affecting the health and welfare of poor families across the northern part of the country.
This podcast touches on a little documented and largely hidden, yet widespread problem across Ghana’s rural areas and was recorded in Bolgatanga, the regional capital of the Upper East region – the poorest in Ghana.
Christian Aid is conducting further research into the issue as well as supporting its partners to provide alternatives for farmers affected. A more in depth podcast programme, featuring key health, government and farmer representatives, will be available shortly.
December 24, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
On a recent visit to northern Ghana to visit Christian Aid’s work, communications officer Sarah Filbey discovered how partner SEND Ghana is helping the poorest communities benefit from the Ghanaian government’s ambitious school feeding programme, which aims to provide all school children in Ghana with at least one nutritious meal a day.
In this short podcast, recorded in Wa, the regional capital of Ghana’s Upper West district, Sarah reflects on the challenges she discovered in ensuring the poorest families and communities - those most in need but often far from the main towns and difficult to reach - are not overlooked and do not miss out on vital support that keeps children healthy, attending school and able to study well.
December 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
To commemorate Human Rights Day on 10 December, Rob Hawke from our partner organization Peace Brigades International (PBI) talks about his field work in Colombia, the human rights situation in the country, the gross violations against human rights defenders and the importance of international accompaniment work.
Links to join the campaign: www.colombiadefenders.org
December 10, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
7 year old Juan David watches his house collapse into floodwaters in Guatemala. Is this a result of climate change and what can we do about it?
Climate Change - can we really make a difference_
Communications and Information Officer, Hannah Richards talks to one of Christian Aid’s Climate experts Amanda Farrant about how climate change is already affecting poor communities around the world and what Christian Aid is doing to change this.
Join our Climate Justice campaign www.christianaid.org.uk
Links
December 08, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Christian Aid's Communications and Information Officer Ally Carnwath recently returned from DRCongo where he visited a number of HIV clinics. Here, he reflects on how the project gave thousands of HIV activists a renewed sense of health and self confidence, and also on how much remains to be done.
In Democratic Republic of Congo, the Christian Aid-supported CAHAC campaign led to the introduction of a law protecting the rights of people living with HIV and extended access to life-saving ARV medication to some of the country’s poorest people.
Starting in 2005, Community Action against HIV/AIDS in the Congo, organised a range of awareness-raising activities, including the country’s biggest ever HIV demonstration, which saw almost 10,000 AIDS activists take to the streets for simultaneous marches across all 11 of the country’s provinces. Finance for ARV treatment remains a problem but thanks to CAHAC’s pressure on the government, the number of people under ARV treatment has risen from 4,000 to 32,000 in the past five years.
Useful links:
Christian Aid HIV information
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/issues/hiv.aspx
Follow Ally and his colleagues around the world on Twitter - http://twitter.com/ca_global
December 01, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Few people would think of church leaders if asked to name heroes of the HIV response. But since its launch members of the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with, or Personally Affected by, HIV and AIDS (INERELA+) have been pioneering a new approach to prevention and challenging stigma associated with the virus.
Antoinette Powell talks to one of its founding members, Reverend James Matarazzo, who explains why it was high time for leaders within the Christian church and other faiths to begin championing this work.
Working with faith leaders in this way is integral to Christian Aidís work on HIV. It is complemented by work with other faith-based and secular partner organisations, one of whom, the Methodist Youth Resource Centre in Sierra Leone, recorded the song used at the end of this podcast to support its work on HIV education.
Useful links:
The Methodist Youth Resource Centre music project
November 23, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Poor countries have the riches to help work their own way out of poverty. But a worldwide culture of financial secrecy allows some unscrupulous companies to dodge tax and rob poor countries of more than $160bn a year.
Here David McNair, Christian Aid's Senior Economic Adviser and Rachel Baird, Policy and Campaigns Journalist talk about why we should work on tax now, and the major success of seeing tax internationally recognized as a key factor in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Links
Christian Aid Trace the Tax Campaign
Watch this podcast as a video
November 15, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In this, the fourth and last in a series of four short podcast programmes, Sarah Filbey speaks to Reverend Useni Sibanda of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) about the relationship between international aid ( both long-term development and emergency), governance and Zimbabwe’s endemic poverty, in the journey towards a peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe.
Christian Aid partners ZCA, Habakkuk Trust and the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe (SCMZ), are striving to ensure that the current constitution making process taking place in Zimbabwe through community level consultations is an open and representative one, free from intimidation. In early 2011 Zimbabweans will vote in a referendum to either accept or reject the constitution. This may lead to a general election later in the year. Whatever the outcome, our partners are also doing all they can now to limit the likelihood of the violence that marred the last elections in March 2008.
Useful links:
November 08, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In this, the third in a series of four short podcast programmes, Sarah Filbey speaks to Reverend Useni Sibanda of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) about the urgent need for healing, peacekeeping and reconciliation within divided communities, in the journey towards a peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe.
Christian Aid partners ZCA, Habakkuk Trust and the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe (SCMZ), are striving to ensure that the current constitution making process taking place in Zimbabwe through community level consultations is an open and representative one, free from intimidation. In early 2011 Zimbabweans will vote in a referendum to either accept or reject the constitution. This may lead to a general election later in the year. Whatever the outcome, our partners are also doing all they can now to limit the likelihood of the violence that marred the last elections in March 2008.
Useful links:
Follow Sarah and her colleagues on Twitter
November 07, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In this, the second in a series of four short podcast programmes, Sarah Filbey speaks to Reverend Useni Sibanda of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) about the significance of the ongoing constitution making process in the journey towards a peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe.
Christian Aid partners ZCA, Habakkuk Trust and the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe (SCMZ), are striving to ensure that the current constitution making process taking place in Zimbabwe through community level consultations is an open and representative one, free from intimidation. In early 2011 Zimbabweans will vote in a referendum to either accept or reject the constitution. This may lead to a general election later in the year. Whatever the outcome, our partners are also doing all they can now to limit the likelihood of the violence that marred the last elections in March 2008.
Useful links:
November 06, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In this, the first in a series of four short podcast programmes, Sarah Filbey speaks to Reverend Useni Sibanda of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) about the role of the church in the journey towards a peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe.
Christian Aid partners ZCA, Habakkuk Trust and the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe (SCMZ), are striving to ensure that the current constitution making process taking place in Zimbabwe through community level consultations is an open and representative one, free from intimidation. In early 2011 Zimbabweans will vote in a referendum to either accept or reject the constitution. This may lead to a general election later in the year. Whatever the outcome, our partners are also doing all they can now to limit the likelihood of the violence that marred the last elections in March 2008.
Useful links:
Follow Sarah and her colleagues on Twitter
November 05, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
[Podcast 1 in a series of 4, please manually download the remaining episodes in iTunes]. In September 2010, Christian Aid's Amy Merone travelled to Tajikistan for the first time. In this series of podcasts, Amy reflects on the challenges and surprises she experienced as she visited Christian Aid partners around the country.
Tajikistan is located in central Asia. A former Soviet territory, Tajikistan inherited a superficial sense of infrastructure and functioning society, but just scratch beneath the surface and today you find massive unemployment, massive gender violence issues, corrupt governance, lack of skills to enable people to earn an income, rapidly rising temperatures, severe environmental erosion, lack of food, and a lack of heating and insulation in the freezing winters. Tajikistan is uniquely a country in developmental decline rather than in the process of developmental progress. Follow Amy's journey to find out how some of Christian Aid's partners are attempting to reverse this trend.
Useful links:
October 28, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In September 2010, Christian Aid's Amy Merone travelled to Tajikistan for the first time. In this series of podcasts, Amy reflects on the challenges and surprises she experienced as she visited Christian Aid partners around the country. Episode 2 of 4.
Tajikistan is located in central Asia. A former Soviet territory, Tajikistan inherited a superficial sense of infrastructure and functioning society, but just scratch beneath the surface and today you find massive unemployment, massive gender violence issues, corrupt governance, lack of skills to enable people to earn an income, rapidly rising temperatures, severe environmental erosion, lack of food, and a lack of heating and insulation in the freezing winters. Tajikistan is uniquely a country in developmental decline rather than in the process of developmental progress. Follow Amy's journey to find out how some of Christian Aid's partners are attempting to reverse this trend.
Useful links:
October 28, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In September 2010, Christian Aid's Amy Merone travelled to Tajikistan for the first time. In this series of podcasts, Amy reflects on the challenges and surprises she experienced as she visited Christian Aid partners around the country. Episode 3 of 4.
Tajikistan is located in central Asia. A former Soviet territory, Tajikistan inherited a superficial sense of infrastructure and functioning society, but just scratch beneath the surface and today you find massive unemployment, massive gender violence issues, corrupt governance, lack of skills to enable people to earn an income, rapidly rising temperatures, severe environmental erosion, lack of food, and a lack of heating and insulation in the freezing winters. Tajikistan is uniquely a country in developmental decline rather than in the process of developmental progress. Follow Amy's journey to find out how some of Christian Aid's partners are attempting to reverse this trend.
Useful links:
Christian Aid staff blog - Tajikistan travels
Christian Aid Tajikistan web page
October 28, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In September 2010, Christian Aid's Amy Merone travelled to Tajikistan for the first time. In this series of podcasts, Amy reflects on the challenges and surprises she experienced as she visited Christian Aid partners around the country. Episode 4 of 4.
Useful links:
October 28, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
"We will not balance the books on the backs of the poorest of the world today". On the day of the Comprehensive Spending Review, the secretary of state for international development - Andrew Mitchell - talks about the importance of development spending in a climate of cuts.
Continue to follow the day online here:
October 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Loretta is the Director of Christian Aid and took over from Daleep Mukarji just six months ago. In this speech to 2,500 people gathered at Methodist Central Hall, she reflects on how important maintaining the aid budget is.
Continue to follow the day online here:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/ActNow/dosomething/october/index.aspx
October 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
"Jesus saw the world from the bottom up, Herod saw it from the top down" - the Rev Jess Jackson delivers a powerful call to action at the Christian Aid supporter rally in central London.
Follow the rest of the day here on the web
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/ActNow/dosomething/october/index.aspx
October 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Ray Hasan, Christian Aid's south-east Asia regional manager, has spent the last decade closely involved with Christian Aid's Burma programme. In this podcast, he reflects on his experiences over the years of the Burmese refugee camps and the inspiring work of Christian Aid partner the Thailand Burma Border Consortium which has been providing food and shelter to refugees on the Thai-Burma border for more than 25 years.
Please donate to Christian Aid's Christmas Appeal, featuring newly arrivals in the Burmese refugee camps in Thailand. Visit http://web.christianaid.org.uk/getinvolved/christmas/ and help those sheltering far from home this Christmas
October 16, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Ten million people in West Africa are suffering severe food shortages, as the region struggles to contend with the worst food crisis it has seen in decades. Communities have been severely affected in Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Chad but Niger has been worst hit; more than half of its population of 14 million do not have enough food and nearly 17 per cent of children under five are now suffering from acute malnutrition. Working through partners, Christian Aid is helping those most in need across west Africa. As part of its response, it is supporting food centres in southern Niger which are bringing 5,000 of the most dangerously malnourished children back to health.
Click here to download the file:
Christian Aid emergency officer Niall O'Rourke recently returned from visiting the centres in and around the town of Guidan Ider in southern Niger. In this interview, he describes the progress of children, nursed back to health at the centres, and how many more are turned away, as the staff lack the time and the resources to care for everybody. He also discusses the plight of the young mothers he met, for whom the feeding centres represent the one source of hope in an otherwise desperate situation.
Useful links:
October 07, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Communities living near Guatemala's Pacific coast are at risk of flooding every year during hurricane season. This year they were hit by tropical storm agatha on the very first day of the season. Whole communities had to evacuate, many were not prepared for the season and lost all belongings. This season has brought flood after flood.
Download CIU_GUATEMALA_TROPICAL_STORM_AGATHA
On a recent trip to the region Hannah Richards reflects on the impact of emergencies large and small. christian aid partner CPDL made sure communities were warned ahead of time, and has been on the ground providing food and water in the aftermath.
Useful links
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/prevention/hurricane-season.
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/prevention/storms_gallery.aspx
September 24, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 17, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Episode 3: During her recent visit to Sudan, Christian Aid's Antoinette Powell travelled from Juba in the country’s south to Khartoum in the north and down to Wau. Her journey, covering hundreds of miles and giving some sense of the scale of this vast country, also brought into focus the distances people covered to flee conflict during Sudan’s long-running civil war.
Sudan reflection The road home
While many have already returned, many more will face the decision of whether or not to make the journey home in the coming year. In her final reflection from the trip, Antoinette talks about people she met for whom this is no longer a simple decision and why more needs to be done to cope with the likely scale of movement.
Useful links:
Christian Aid and education in Sudan
Mundri Relief and Development Association
Sudan365
September 01, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Episode 2: When Christian Aid communications officer Antoinette Powell went to Sudan during the final year of its Comprehensive Peace Agreement, there was a clear need to focus energy and resources on supporting the process. But there was also a sense that action must be taken to address other issues that will affect the country’s development after the referendum in January to decide whether the country will remain united or separate into two separate states.
Sudan reflection Dignity and discrimination
In the second of her reflections recorded during her visit to Sudan, Antoinette talks from Khartoum about the experiences of people living with HIV and the pressing need to challenge attitudes that discriminate against them.
Useful links:
Christian Aid and education in Sudan
Mundri Relief and Development Association
Sudan365
August 25, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Since 21 July 2010, heavy monsoon rains across Pakistan have led to the worst flooding in 80 years. Current estimates suggest that 20 million people have been affected by the disaster, and 6 million (half of whom are children) are at risk of cholera and dysentery. Following his visit to the affected areas UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said I will never forget the destruction and sufferings I have witnessed.
Kelli Siddiqui_Pakistan update 18 Aug
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August 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
When Christian Aid communications officer Antoinette Powell visited Sudan just six months before the country’s south votes in a referendum on whether to remain united with the north or to separate and form a new state, she was struck by the determination of the people she met to shape a strong and lasting peace.
In the first of a series of three reflections recorded during the trip, Antoinette talks about the hopes of those she met in southern Sudan and their urgent need to see tangible benefits of the peace process through the basic services they still lack.
Useful links:
Christian Aid and education in Sudan
Mundri Relief and Development Association
Sudan365
August 19, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
As Colombians head to the polls this Sunday 30th May, Christian Aid is calling on all Presidential candidates to end human rights abuses and for the new elected President to fully commit to human rights. In the last two weeks, two community leaders and human rights defenders have been killed in
Hear the podcast or view the interview with Kelly Nicholls from the US Office on
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May 28, 2010 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
