Government must do more to help charities, says Christian Aid director

Christian Aid Director Dr Daleep Mukarji says the government must do more to help charities that work in developing countries during the present financial crisis.

Speaking in the run-up to Christian Aid Week, from May 10 to 16, he revealed that the plunging value of the pound had cost the charity around £15m.

"We pay for offices, staff and partners abroad. The collapse of the pound has cost us 25 per cent of the value of our money. Put simply, our purchasing power is about £15m less than it was a year ago," said Dr Mukarji.

"This has had a serious impact on our partners and other beneficiaries. We are grateful that the government has not cut the aid budget, but I am sorry they are not funding us to cover some of our costs.

"In the recent budget the Chancellor announced he was putting money into domestic charities, but international charities seem to have been left out."

Dr Mukarji described charities belonging to the British Overseas Aid Group – Christian Aid, ActionAid, CAFOD, Oxfam and Save the Children - as international leaders in the fields of humanitarian relief and long-term development.

"There is no other group of charities in any country that is as well known and as well organised," he said. "The British public and the British government need to recognise the role major development charities play in influencing the international community on behalf of poorer countries and poor people.

"It has got to come to terms with the fact that we are valuable. We play an important role in providing humanitarian assistance. We also, through our human rights work, build up civil society and accountable governance in many parts of the world where the UK government is constrained from that kind of intervention.

"It is sad that while the government can find money to help out the banks and some manufacturers, they can’t find anything for us."

He said the recession was "very real" for the Christian Aid and its supporters but that its impact was "particularly hard hitting" in developing countries where some 1.2 billion people were already living in poverty before it began.

"That number is now growing. That is where need is greatest," he said.

Dr Mukarji said Christian Aid had been forced to cut funding for a number of international projects and to review its domestic activities, but he added that alternative sources of finance were actively being sought.

"We have diversified our income. We are looking at new ways to get funding from governments, trusts, and international bodies," he said.

"And our supporter base is strong and loyal. We are grateful to the many churches and their members who support us in Christian Aid Week and throughout the year.

"I’m confident that at the end of this period of economic difficulty, Christian Aid will emerge stronger than ever."

Dr Mukarji , who was awarded an OBE earlier this year for his lifelong work in international development, went on to defend Christian Aid from claims that its activities were ‘too political’.

"Our political agenda is not party political," he said. "It is to impress on world leaders, and the international community with its multinational corporations, World Bank and International Monetary Fund that certain policies have to be adopted that will get rid of poverty and contribute to social justice.

"We should not get involved in party politics but the charity commissioner has accepted that it is legitimate for charities to campaign and try to influence policy and public debate. After all, poverty is not apolitical. Social justice is not apolitical."

Last Christian Aid Week, supporters collected a total of £14.7m to help the war on poverty.

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To check on the events taking place all over the country, please visit www.caweek.org