This week marks the start of Christian Aid’s 80th anniversary year.
Our work began in 1945 when we were founded by the British and Irish churches to support refugees in Europe following the devastation and upheaval caused by the Second World War. Ever since we have worked around the world to overcome the injustice of poverty and tackle its underlying causes.
For 80 years, we’ve been an expression of faith in the unstoppable power of hope to create a more just and peaceful world.
It is thanks to your support, and that of generations of supporters before you, that Christian Aid and our partners have been able to do our work. Your gifts, campaign actions and prayer continue to enable us to respond to a world disfigured by the effects of conflict, inequality and the climate crisis.
You’re helping to ensure that people’s voices are heard and that local communities are given the means to identify their own solutions to poverty. Our close working relationship with over 250 partners in 26 countries meant that in 2024 we were able to reach 4.5m people directly and 19.3m people indirectly.
A highlight for me last year was travelling with our chair, Bishop Sarah Mullally to meet with our partners in Colombia. I was inspired by a group of lawyers, CCALCP, campaigning for the human rights of environmental defenders, who face threats and intimidation from gangs and paramilitaries. In Santander province, I saw how our partner Corambiente is helping women smallholder farmers adapt their agricultural methods in the face of climate change, and provide for their families.
Christian Aid has always collaborated with national and local organisations, many of them rooted in the churches, which understand their context and can sustain their work over the long term. In Gaza, our partners are delivering life-saving aid to civilians caught up in the conflict. In South Sudan, partners are responding to the needs of almost a million people forced across the border by the brutal civil war in their northern neighbour. In the Middle East, South Sudan, and Colombia – and in other countries beset by conflict – we are working for peace: both at the community level, and in our advocacy towards governments and international institutions.
Thank you for all your ongoing support, which brings hope to people in situations that sometimes appear hopeless.
Wishing you a blessed and hope-filled year ahead.
