Christian Aid
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Christian Aid is the relief and development agency of 41 Christian (Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox) churches in the UK and Ireland, and works to support
sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. It works with hundreds of local partner organisations in some of the world's most vulnerable communities in 24 countries. It is a founder member of the
Disasters Emergency Committee The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella group of UK charities which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises aroun ...
, and a major member of The Climate Coalition,
The Fairtrade Foundation The Fairtrade Foundation is a charity based in the United Kingdom that aims to empower disadvantaged producers in developing countries by tackling injustice in conventional trade, in particular by promoting and licensing the Fairtrade Mark, a gu ...
and
Trade Justice Movement {{Citations missing, date=November 2017 The Trade Justice Movement is a British coalition, founded in 2000, of more than 80 organizations campaigning for trade justice. The Trade Justice Movement has a present priority campaign on the Economic P ...
campaigns. Christian Aid's headquarters are in London and it has regional teams across the UK and Ireland, plus country offices elsewhere around the world. Christian Aid also organises the UK's largest door-to-door collection,
Christian Aid Week Christian Aid Week is an annual door-to-door fundraising drive by the charity Christian Aid. The drive is held each year in Britain during the second week of May, when thousands of volunteers post red collection envelopes to households around the c ...
, which takes place in May each year. Its director was Loretta Minghella who was appointed in 2010 but resigned in 2017 to work for the Church Commissioners. She was succeeded by the current chief executive officer Amanda Khozi Mukwashi. The 2012–2013 income of Christian Aid was £95.4 million. Reconstruction after various wars in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
,
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
were major projects, alongside the aid given after the overthrow of dictators
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
in
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
,
Somoza family The Somoza family ( es, Familia Somoza) is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza D ...
in
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
, and
Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
in Cambodia. Yanomami Indians in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
were also supported, in a commitment to marginalized peoples.


Fundraising

Christian Aid raises income from a wide number of sources, such as institutional grants, regular gifts, the
Christian Aid Week Christian Aid Week is an annual door-to-door fundraising drive by the charity Christian Aid. The drive is held each year in Britain during the second week of May, when thousands of volunteers post red collection envelopes to households around the c ...
appeal, general donations, legacies, and emergency appeals. In 2013, the institutional income, part of which comes from the
Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...
and the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
, constituted 41% of the total income. A significant percentage of the remaining income comes from thousands of individuals in churches and communities. The main fundraising moments include Christmas, Harvest, and Christian Aid Week. In 2013, £12.6 million (or 13% of the total income was raised during this week. Throughout the year supporters give regularly using direct debit, cash donations, and
Will Aid Will Aid is a British charity will-writing scheme designed to reinforce the need for everyone to have a professionally drawn-up Will (law), will and to raise funds for their partner charities. Will Aid was founded in 1988 following the example set ...
. Churches and community groups also take part in the annual calendar of events (e.g., walks, soup lunches, and quizzes).


Criticism

The development economist
Paul Collier Sir Paul Collier, (born 23 April 1949) is a British development economist who serves as the Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government and the director of the International Growth Centre. He currently is a ...
in his book ''
The Bottom Billion ''The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It'' is a 2007 book by Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University, exploring the reasons why impoverished countries fail to progress despite inte ...
'' suggests that Christian Aid "deeply misinformed" the UK electorate in 2004 and 2005 with a campaign against reducing trade barriers in Africa. He says the campaign was based on a "deeply misleading" study conducted by an economist without the requisite expertise and whose purported review "by a panel of academic experts" was by two people whom the economist had himself chosen and who were also "not noted for their expertise on international trade". He quotes an unnamed official at the British Department of Trade and Industry as saying "they know it's bad, but it sells the T-shirts". Several of the Britain's leading foreign aid charities, including Christian Aid,
British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
,
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
, and
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
, have been criticized for paying what some alleged to be excessive salaries to some of their managers. In 2013, Christian Aid's CEO was paid £126,206 and four other staff members were paid between £80,000 and £90,000. Christian Aid's response to this was: "We want to reassure you that we make every effort to avoid paying higher salaries than are necessary. We pay our staff salaries the same as, or below, the median of other church-based and/or international development agencies."


See also

* The Climate Coalition * 'Trade Justice' campaigns


References


External links


Christian Aid
official web site * The papers of Christian Aid are held a
SOAS Archives
{{Authority control Christian charities based in the United Kingdom International charities Organisations based in the London Borough of Lambeth Religious action on climate change Religion in the London Borough of Lambeth 1945 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1945