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FROM THE FIELD
Christian Aid
26 Oct 2006 09:41:00 GMT
Source: Christian Aid - UK
Present Aid: Give Christmas presents for a change
Website: Website: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/news
Christian Aid is launching its Autumn/Winter 06 Present Aid gifts catalogue packed full of ideas for people who would like to put a bit of meaning back into this year's present-giving. New gifts include tree saplings, baby scales, emergency housing and solar panels.
www.presentaid.org
With climate change weighing heavy on people's conscience, simple sustainable power solutions such as solar panels promise to be a Christmas favorite this year.
In Malawi, solar-powered health centres in rural areas where there is no electricity are saving lives. Just two solar panels for £600 can power a health clinic that provides medical treatment and vaccines to some 30,000 people.
Other eco presents on offer include tree saplings for £35 to help replace forests devastated by indiscriminate logging, a fuel efficient stove for £38 as well as a disaster survival kit for £24 - a necessity in the face of increasing climate related disasters.
Familiar favorites are still available including a community water tap for £45 and farm animals such as cows, sheep, goats, bees, and ducks.
Click here to buy a goat on the Present Aid website
The catalogue contains 30 gift ideas, ranging in price from £8 to £4,100 using examples from countries such as Bolivia, Bangladesh, Angola, Burundi, DR Congo, Mozambique, Honduras, Nicaragua, India, El Salvador, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Kyrgyzstan, and Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Actor Kris Marshall, the star of My Family, Love Actually and Murder City, said: 'I have been given an ethical present before. This year, Christian Aid asked me to see how their Present Aid scheme was helping people in developing countries.
'I met a family in Bolivia who had been given sheep which helped them make a living and send their kids to school. To see the reality of how a gift can actually help people in real life was brilliant.'
People can buy an unusual gift from www.presentaid.org for a loved one who will receive a card and the money goes to a project fund that is relevant to the gift:
agriculture and livestock
emergency and disaster preparedness
healthcare inc. HIV/Aids
power and energy
training and education
water and environment
The deadline for Christmas gift purchases is 15 December. The printed catalogue will be available from mid August 2006.
Call our 24-hour phone line 0845 3300 500 to order a catalogue or do your shopping online at www.presentaid.org.
For more press information, pictures or case studies, please contact Kati Dshedshorov on 020 7523 2452, kdshedshorov@christian-aid.org
Notes to editors:
1. Christian Aid works in some of the world's poorest communities in more than 50 countries. We act where the need is greatest, regardless of religion, helping people build the life they deserve.
2. Christian Aid's climate change work: Poor people are on the frontline of climate change and are already feeling its effects.
Christian Aid is working to help poor communities adapt as their climate changes but action is needed in rich countries to cut carbon emissions in order to avoid future climate chaos, which is likely to kill millions in poor and rich countries.
Christian Aid is calling on the UK government to reduce Britain's carbon emissions by three per cent each year by setting a carbon budget alongside its financial budget.
The agency is also challenging people in Britain to take action to curb their own emissions by saving energy and switching to renewable energy.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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Last updated:Thu Oct 26 09:45:14 2006