Moving forward with Christian Aid
Christian Aid is a charity sponsored by the Methodist Church that aims to fight global poverty. On their website Christian Aid state:
Everyone is equal in the sight of God. For over 70 years, this truth has inspired us to stand together in solidarity with our most marginalised global neighbours, of all faiths and none. Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of their dignity and lets injustice thrive. We seek to eradicate extreme poverty by tackling its root causes. Together with people living in poverty, we amplify our voices to speak truth to power and create lasting change.
Over the years tackling the root causes of poverty has involved:
1960s….addressing racism and poverty in the USA 1970s….educating UK supporters on the root causes of poverty & campaigning for the UK to increase foreign aid to UN recommended levels. 1980s….mass lobby of Parliament to restore foreign aid cuts. Actively supporting the Anti-Apartheid movement. 1990s….calling for the debt burden on poor countries to be reduced and for giving them Fair Trade terms. 2000s….lobbying for international corporations to pay their fair share of tax in the poorest countries. 2010s onwards…..action on climate change
Many in our Church will have signed petitions and sent off postcards to support the campaigns above. Some will have joined protests and rallies.
Over the past years I’ve been a speaker for Christian Aid at various events from Church services, prayer groups and breakfast clubs. In doing these talks it became obvious that the money Christian Aid raised was being used to tackle the impact of climate change, whether it be floods in Bangladesh or drought in Malawi. Underlying poverty issues were not able to be tackled.
With the UK jointly hosting the COP 26 Climate Change conference in Glasgow this November there will be further Christian Aid campaigning on climate change. The key actions Christian Aid wants are:
- Increase financial support to the world’s poorest countries and push for their debts to be cancelled so they can better confront the climate crisis and other urgent priorities that they face.
- Invest in a green recovery that leaves no-one behind – either in the UK or in the world’s poorest communities.
Stop the expansion of fossil fuel energy and step-up support to clean energy.
So be prepared to again sign petitions, contact your MP or even go to Glasgow !
Wilf Hardy