Help children and their families fight poverty

It’s the children who are most affected by this…
and they need your help.

“Children are often hungry because their families are unable to support them. We have a school feeding program, but this is not sufficient to meet the needs of the children from all 78 households in the village,” says Jimmy Ngulube, a Head Teacher in rural Northern Zambia.

Chalenga, a women’s group leader in the same village, adds, “We have challenges in our homes. We women do the farming, but it is the men who take the harvest.” Unfortunately, many men then spend the harvest income on drinking and there is none left for the family’s needs, like food and school uniforms.

The pandemic lockdowns dealt long-term serious blows to the local economies in AID’s partner countries from which most have not recovered. Economic problems exacerbate other problems such as alcoholism, family violence, internal displacement, and community conflict.

This is why we need your support.

AID’s Gender Equality Project funds programs that teach men and women about the laws relating to Gender-based Violence in Zambia, provides counselling and reporting services, and sets up small village savings and loans groups so that husbands and wives can work together to get the best outcomes for themselves and their children.

But Zambia is not alone. Similar post-pandemic economic disruption is being felt in the other countries where AID works with our church partners, including Kenya, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Myanmar, and countries of the Pacific Islands.

In the Philippines, for example, the loss of tourism has combined with high debt levels to increase inflation. This means for ordinary people the price of necessities such as rice and bread have greatly increased, leaving them with very little, if any, food. In Kenya and Sri Lanka, the poorest people are paying the price of massive infrastructure debts incurred by national governments. And in Myanmar the ongoing political situation ensures that people continue to struggle to feed themselves and their children.

The worst of the health impacts of the pandemic may be over, but the communities that AID serves still have a long way to go before they are back on track to experiencing the human flourishing that Jesus promised us: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Please help by giving your urgently needed support to AID’s 2023 Tax Appeal. Your donation will make a difference to those living in poverty by supporting projects such as Gender Equality in Zambia, Livelihoods for families living in poverty in Kenya, the Philippines and Myanmar, or feeding programs for children in Gaza and Sri Lanka.

Every donation you make to this appeal will be combined with funding from the Australian Government to reach more people. We have committed to contribute $1 for every $5 we receive from the Australian Government. Your donation will allow us to extend our work and increase our impact.

We hope to raise $100,000.

This appeal is tax-deductible.

Holy Spirit, Heavenly Witness, fill us with kindness, so that we help those who do not know where their next meal is coming from in times of war or instability.

Holy Spirit, Breath of the Almighty, fill us with concern, so that we help those affected by violence or addictions within the family.

Holy Spirit, Advocate, Counsellor and Comforter, fill us with compassion, and let us show our care for those for whom inflation means missing out on meals.

Good Spirit, move us to share our blessings with others. Help us to show them the same open-handedness and lavish generosity that you show to us.

We ask this for your glory.

Amen.