News : Fundraising

Christmas Appeal - Give Hope – 10 Dec 2010

Red ants and snails. When hunger gripped Mol and Tol Tuch and their children in Cambodia, these were the options left available to them. In their village, that we visited last year, one in five children were dying from malnutrition.

‘I was shocked when I saw Mol and Tol’s children eat,’ says Ralph, who recently visited Cambodia. ‘It was as if they hadn’t seen food for a long time and would not see it again. There was something disturbingly “urgent” about the way they chewed and swallowed – as if their lives depended on it.’

A small amount of money can make such a huge difference in a country like Cambodia.

A gift of just €34 can provide a family with two pigs and five chickens, providing food and income for the future.

Mol and Tol have a field. They depend on this for survival. But the rice harvest enables them to grow enough food to feed themselves and their four children for just six months of the year. Then the food runs out.

Tearfund’s partner, the Wholistic Development Organisation (WDO), has begun working in villages across the region to tackle the problem of chronic hunger. Because of their support, things have changed in Mol’s village. ‘They (WDO) came here and helped us. This village was one of the poorest in the area. The work has changed tremendously the way people live.’

Tearfund has enabled its partner, WDO, to loan chickens and pigs to needy families. Mol and Tol are already breeding theirs. They will eventually give back the adult animals, keep the offspring and start a business selling chickens and pigs. Alongside this, WDO has provided crop seedlings – and trained families like Mol and Tol’s to use their land in the dry season, growing watermelons and vegetables.

‘They have helped our family completely’ Mol smiles broadly. ‘This is the outcome,’ he says, pointing to his field full of crops – a contradiction in a country where fields normally lie bare in the dry season. ‘You have helped us to thing of the future. You have given us hope,’ he says.

Could you give just €34 this Christmas? Donate here

Saving for the future

To cope with the uncertainty of the harvest a ‘rice bank’ has also been built. It is a secure shed on stilts used to store rice. In Mol’s village fifty families have already joined the scheme. The church runs the initiative – they were the only ones the villagers trusted to manage it.

‘I took my 20kg of rice to the rice bank’ explains Mol. ‘Then when I was lacking food, the rice bank loaned me 100kg. It really helped us. It is much cheaper than most other ways of getting rice.’

Because of the work of Tearfund’s partner WDO, the Tuch family now always have two meals a day. During the next five years, Tearfund’s partner WDO is on track to reach and mobilise every church in Cambodia to support its community and ensure people have enough to eat.

How your support can transform a community

• €124 can provide 30 families with seeds so they can grow up to eight different crops, which means they don’t just rely on one food group
• €61 can provide agricultural training for eight church volunteers, helping nearly 200 orphaned children to farm their own food
• €34 can provide a family like Mol’s with two pigs and five chickens, providing food and income for the future

• More about: Cambodia
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Haiti: More than €160,000 raised – 31 Mar 2010

Generous Irish supporters have raised more than €160,000 for Haiti earthquake survivors. Some people have held fundraising concerts, others have gone on a sponsored fast and many people have helped raise awareness through their churches and schools. Because of this financial support thousands of families who had not received any aid in Haiti’s earthquake shattered capital are now receiving help from Tearfund staff and partners. More details of their work can be found here. Tearfund in the UK have raised more than €6 million which will address the immediate needs of the people and the longer term reconstruction.

Coping with loss

Getting a handle on the psychological pain caused by the disaster is not so easy but increasingly it is becoming evident. Virtually all survivors can testify to knowing a family member, friend or neighbour who died in the 12 January quake and are therefore carrying the pain of their loss. Add to that turbulent mix the awful hardship in the aftermath of the tremors – no food, water, shelter or medical help, plus lawlessness – and you have the conditions for lasting mental scarring.

A Haitian pastor’s story

One local pastor who has been in touch with Tearfund’s team responding in Haiti summed it up as follows:

‘I can tell you life is very difficult for us nowadays,’ he said. ‘It is really hard to talk and think about the night of 12 January, 2010. It was 4:50pm when this long night began with a strange phenomenon that no one understands.’ The pastor said, ‘Since 12 January, we sleep and live right in the street, without a tent. Right now, my wife and daughter have colds and my daughter has diarrhoea due to bad water. In spite of all, we can claim God is good all the time.’

Long term development

With more than €2 million raised by Tearfund supporters for Haiti, we’re currently responding to the immediate physical needs of thousands of Haitians. We’re also looking to the long term and are drawing up plans to rebuild lives, a process that will be measured in years rather than months. Standing alongside local churches, we’ll be there to help survivors come to terms with earthquake’s psychological, emotional and spiritual legacies.

‘We want to build back better‘ says Reuben Coulter, Chief Executive of Tearfund Ireland ‘There is a real danger if reconstruction is rushed that it will be done badly. If we plan well now and help support our Haitian partners to get back on their feet then we will see sustainable transformation.’

Most of the immediate needs have been met but there is still a need to finance the reconstruction. Donate now online here or by credit card by contacting Christine in our office – 01 878 3200 or enquiries@tearfund.ie or post a cheque to; Tearfund Ireland, 5-7 Upper O Connell Street, Dublin 1.

• More about: Haiti, Emergencies
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An unwanted gift - Christmas Appeal – 23 Nov 2009

Happy Christmas! There are two children who I’ve spent time with over the past year. One is my nephew Noah, who has just celebrated his second birthday this week. And the other is Peah –whom I met in Cambodia in February.

Noah couldn’t be more loved or wanted. My sister and brother-in-law have albums of photos of almost his every waking hour! My parents love showing him off to all their friends!

In contrast, Peah had a very different start to life. He was an unwanted gift. There are more than 100 million children around the world without a family, living in the harshest circumstances. But there is hope. Tearfund’s amazing church partners reach children like Peah every day, and place them in loving families.

Can we count on you for a Christmas gift of €32, €86 or €125? Donate here

Help us to support Little Conquerors in Cambodia and IMCAREs in India to continue their work next year. Tearfund’s church partners work tirelessly to address immediate needs, while also dealing with the underlying issues that cause children to be vulnerable, that means our work is sustainable and has a lasting impact.

Little Conquerors, Cambodia – €27,300 to fully fund this project in 2010

The Little Conquerors project helps children with disabilities to reach their God-given potential in all areas of their lives: physically, emotionally, spiritually, educationally and socially. This ensures these children get vital physiotherapy, specialised equipment and access to basic education. Read more about their work here

IMCARES, India – €29,500 to fully fund this project in 2010

IMCares works with local churches to care for vulnerable people, including children orphaned by AIDS, in the poorest slums of Mumbai. They provide food, clothing and education, and search for loving foster families to take in the orphaned children. IMCares also supports AIDS-affected families with counselling, home visits, nutritional support and other material help, and helps teach children in the slums about the reality of HIV and AIDS.Read more about their work here

• More about: Cambodia, India, Forgotten Children
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