Christian Aid Week gets underway

|PIC1|The fundraising week is a regular fixture in the calendar for many supporters who, this year, are aiming to raise more than £13 million for poor communities around the world.

During the week, some 200,000 people are expected to take part, going door-to-door collecting, joining in a sponsored event, holding novel fundraisers or simply donating online.

There will also be special church services and school assemblies to highlight some of the challenges in the developing world, as well as to help people understand how even a small contribution can make a big difference to impoverished communities.

Christian Aid has produced a series of short films telling the story of Christian Aid and how the money raised is spent.

One film, Out of Poverty, looks at the transformation taking place in coffee-farming communities in Nicaragua.

It tells the story of Gustavo Adolfo Talavera, a coffee farmer and community leader in Jinotega, Nicaragua, who is one of the founding members of a cooperative which has been selling coffee through Christian Aid partner Soppexcca for more than 12 years.

“I don’t know how to read or write and I did not want my children to be like me,” he said.

“I did not have the opportunity to go to school, so I tell my children to study and do what I couldn’t.

“We fight so that the new generation, the children, are able to steer this boat.”

To find out more about Christian Aid Week and download resources, visit: http://www.caweek.org/