Coventry charity fighting international hunger launches Christmas campaign
A Coventry charity which works to fight international hunger, is urging people to get behind a new Christmas campaign to help meet a record increase in demand.
Feed The Hungry is appealing for as many people as possible to become ‘Life Givers,’ in a bid to extend the ‘season of goodwill’ throughout the year.
The Christian humanitarian organisation is regularly helping more than 485,000 children with meals, working with partners in 25 countries around the world to fight hunger due to poverty, war, famine and natural disasters. This is delivered home and abroad mainly through feeding programs and encouraging sustainability and Community Farming projects as well as holding packing events at the Halo Centre warehouse in Binley.
And it’s a cause particularly close to the heart of Feed The Hungry’s CEO, Gwyn Williams who this year alone has overseen the charity’s relief operations in, among other areas, South Africa, Somaliland, Romania, Burkina Faso and Ukraine, including the setting up of a Community Farm in Zimbabwe.
But he says: “It has been one of the hardest lead-ins to Christmas that we have had both at home and abroad. Yet we are determined to walk alongside people's pain and put them on the road to recovery, and we are thankful for people's generosity in drawing from deep wells of resources to help others at their point of crisis.
“Christmas is known as a season of giving and we are so grateful for the inpouring of acts of love and kindness at this time of year, which help us deliver this essential aid. But, this year more than ever, we need to maintain that level of spirit of goodwill beyond the Christmas period and this is why we are appealing for people who want to support us, to sign up to being a Life Giver, committing to monthly donations.”
The campaign message is that £5 could help to feed a child with hot nutritious meals for a month through school-based programmes.
Gwyn added: “This year I walked in places of devastation, without which I would not have been able to conceptualise the destruction at such an unimaginable scale. Yet in those places I have seen hope flower as people receive the unexpected parcels, that speak to them that they are not forgotten.
“Despite all that has happened as an organisation we have increased the number of children we encourage to attend schools by providing a meal for more than 485,000. It is such a great privilege to open doors and release these boys and girls into the fullness of who they are meant to be.
“Only last month we had a discussion with a young lady who attends one of our local community pantries, having been isolated because of abuse, and struggled to look after her children, blossom and start volunteering to help others, growing in confidence as a person and as a mother. And we heard from others who have been released of their debt and no longer in need of food assistance due to our Pathfinder program.
“In Zambia, we saw another young lady struggling with her disability, flourish as a student in her last year of training to be a pharmacist. These sorts of stories bring us great joy both at home and abroad thanks to people’s generosity. But sadly, it will continue to be needed as more and more people suffer from the tragic events and attrition both home and abroad.”
The words come as Gwyn and the charity also stands ready to offer its support and aid, should it be needed, in the wake of the Israeli Gaza conflict. They are currently distributing relief aid to families affected by the earthquake in Nepal earlier this month.
To find out more about the All Year Round Campaign or donate visit: https://fth.org.uk/life/
Find out more about Feed the Hungry’s work at home and abroad at: www.feedthehungry.org.uk/projects
