Christian Aid Global

Christian Aid recently took the decision to phase out our programme in Peru. In this podcast we explore why this decision has been made, reflect about our work and our achievements in this country, where we have been working for 30 years.

The war in Colombia has affected everyone in the country from writers to footballers. Football, however, also brings people together especially those affected by the conflict and those living in safe zones. This podcast brings football, war and a Colombian writer together.

Chair of Christian Aid talks about the challenge Live #BelowTheLine and how he lived on £1 a day for five days in solidarity with the 1.2bn people around the world who live below the poverty line

Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines on 8 November 2013. In this podcast, Christian Aid’s Ted Bonpin looks back at the courage and strength of people affected, the generosity of supporters, and the inspiration he’s drawn from the communities he’s visited. In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan we were there, in the hardest hit parts of the Philippines, delivering vital relief to thousands of families caught in the path of the storm. More than 14 million people were affected by the typhoon, and a further 4 million forced from their homes. Six months on and for many, already facing a future without precious loved ones, the anxiety and worry of making ends meet remains – the struggle to feed, clothe, house, educate and care for themselves and their families persists. Our local partners have been helping people restore their lost livelihoods and rebuild their lives. Find out more http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/philippines-typhoon-appeal/index.aspx (Photo –a community market day organised by Christian Aid partner Coastal Core-CERD brings together households and sellers of fish, fruit and vegetables. Beneficiaries are given cash vouchers. Not only does this enable them to buy vital food items, it also helps stimulate the local economy)

‘We can now live together safely and this brings my children courage and hope. This is so important to us so that we can now begin to forget.’ In this podcast we hear the story of Anoon Aleu, who returned to South Sudan to build a better life for her family and to rebuild her country following independence in 2011. She feared for her children’s safety and wanted a life of freedom for them in their homeland. Anoon and her husband, Madut, have built a new home, with a cash grant received from Christian Aid partner HARD. Anoon sees this new house as a symbol of hope bringing together her family safely under one roof. Christian Aid's partners in South Sudan are working with families like Anoon's to provide long term development solutions, whilst also responding to the current escalation in violence and the crisis facing many of those displaced from their homes.

#caweek #conflict #southsudan #development #emergency

In the 1980s the Ba’ath regime, led by the then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, launched a genocidal campaign against the country’s Kurdish people. Thousands of Iraqi Kurds were killed in chemical attacks and whole villages destroyed. Today, while many communities have rebuilt their homes and villages, poverty in rural northern Iraq is still prevalent. In this podcast, former communications officer, Antoinette Powell, shares her reflections on visiting a village in northern Iraq where Christian Aid partner REACH works to support a community whose lives were destroyed by conflict and ensuing poverty. #caweek #conflict #peace

How do we know how much benefit our development work actually achieves, and for whom? A recent research study carried out for Christian Aid by the new economics foundation calculated that every £1 of funds spent generated £8 of financial and social benefits not only among people directly targeted by the Filling the Gaps project, but also for their wider communities. Understanding where and how we are delivering value for money is an increasingly hot topic as supporters and donors rightfully expect us to demonstrate our accountability. Measuring this value is complex and there is much debate across the sector around how to do it meaningfully and cost-effectively. In this recent report using a Social Return On Investment approach, we look at the social and financial benefits achieved by two partners in Kenya involved in the Comic Relief funded project to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV through increased access to treatment and therapy. Find the full report here: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/images/Filling-the-gaps-social-ROI-analysis-May-2013.pdf

This Easter, we hear from two Christian Aid staff members who went to visit our partner, CIPCA, last year. CIPCA work with indigenous communities in the Bolivian rainforest helping them to earn a secure income, to produce more food and also to protect the land they live on. Part of Christian Aid’s support has enabled CIPCA to build a chocolate processing factory in the rainforest allowing cocoa growers to transform their beans into more valuable chocolate bars. CIPCA also provide families or groups of families with different types of small animals like sheep and hens which have adapted to thrive in the rainforest environment providing them with an extra source of protein and income.

With the latest findings from climate scientists making grim reading Christian Aid has published a new report Taken by Storm which outlines how 7 different countries are being affected by climate change and what Christian Aid partners are doing to help. Co-author of the report, Christian Aid's Senior Climate Change Adviser, Dr Alison Doig, explains what the latest science means for the planet.

#IPCC

Crisis in South Sudan