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Christian Aid is a charity that funds projects in the world's poorest countries. It helps people to improve their own lives and to tackle the causes of poverty and injustice.
Brief History
By the end of the Second World War, many people in continental Europe had lost their homes and all their possessions in the conflict. The British and Irish churches, troubled by the plight of these families and
communities, set up an organization called 'Christian Reconstruction in Europe'. They raised £1 million through collections, and refugee relief and resettlement work began. In 1948 this work became a part of the
British Council of Churches, and came to be known as the 'Inter-Church Aid and Refugee Service'. Over the next decade, the focus began to shift away from Europe towards the injustices of colonialism, particularly in
Africa. By 1970, the organization, renamed 'Christian Aid', was funding more than 100 development projects in 40 countries. It had set up the World Development Movement to address the issues of poverty, and had
responded to drought in India, an earthquake in Peru and famine in East Pakistan and Sudan. The 1980s saw a major appeal for Lebanon, help in Beirut and Ethiopia. In the 1990s, Christian Aid has maintained its work
in over 60 countries and has campaigned for fair trade and an end to Third World debt and fair trade. It has run emergency appeals for the crises in Rwanda, Montserrat, Sierra Leone and the former Yugoslavia. Today,
Christian Aid funds 700 local organizations in more than 70 countries.
Money Raised
23% of Christian Aid's income of around £48M springs from one week of fundraising, usually in May. This year the efforts of Christian Aid supporters have raised around £11,000,000 during this fantastic event at a
time of dreadful suffering in Ethiopia and many other parts of the world. Alan Road church makes it's contribution through pew envelope collections, street collections which are organized in conjunction with other
churches in our neighborhood, and through a fundraising event which often takes the form of a Sunday lunchtime meal.
76p in every pound is spent on tackling poverty on behalf of the poorest people in the world. 11p is spent on campaigning and education, to change the structures of inequality that keep people poor. 11p is spent on
fundraising. 2p is spent on administration
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