Christmas Appeal

This Christmas, will you double your impact?

Countless people around the world like Malich (pictured above) are stuck unable to provide for their family. This Christmas, you can help families around the world break the cycle of poverty and bring joy.

If you’re based in Northern Ireland, your gift will be matched by SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO and ViVOXTRA up to £350,000 until 31 January 2025. And if you set up a new monthly gift in response to this appeal, the first three months of your giving will be matched too!

Breaking the cycle of poverty

Hellen, a 55-year-old widowed mother and grandmother, lost almost all of her goat herd and livelihood, meaning a daily struggle to feed her family. ‘We struggled to get food… I was at the lowest moment of my life,’ says Hellen.

In Turkana County in Kenya, where Hellen lives, 82.7 per cent of the population lives in poverty, which is the highest rate in the country. They have been among the worst hit by droughts of ever-increasing severity.

Parents have been forced to choose between letting their children die from starvation or from eating rotting dead animals. Women like Hellen will walk up to 60km to gather wild fruit, at great danger to themselves, just to give their families something to eat in the hope of survival.

Hellen’s situation isn’t an isolated case. Across Kenya, the changing climate has been crippling farming communities. A relentless cycle of drought and flooding has pushed people even deeper into poverty.

Hellen had resorted to burning charcoal to sell so she could feed her children. To help her community survive, Tearfund’s church partner responded quickly with emergency support. The provision of three goats helped Hellen get back on her feet.

A long-term solution was needed. Our church partner has been working in Turkana, where Hellen lives, providing her and others with life-changing training to vary the ways they earn income. Hellen was inspired to start weaving baskets and floor mats, and to join a women’s cooperative, which enabled her to start turning her life around.

Many more people around the world urgently need the life-changing training Hellen’s community had. Your kind gift doubled this Christmas could help someone like Hellen leave poverty for good.