Scottish Catholic Observer

IT IS all too easy to buy socks, books and other gifts at Christmas which you suspect will quickly find their way into a bottom drawer or dark cupboard, never to see the light of day. As a charity working to help some of the poorest people on the planet we’re urging people to think about buying Christmas presents that will change people’s lives.

You can do this is by giving SCIAF’s Real Gifts. These presents, including essential medicines, goats or chickens, help people in need to improve their lives and work their way out of poverty. You receive a gift card and fridge magnet of your chosen gift and every penny you spend goes directly to one of our projects which gives people that gift or a similar one as part of our work.

This makes a huge difference to people. In Ethiopia Yohannes and Aster have seven children. Where they live there is very little farm land to go around so they struggle to grow all the food they need. The family used to have a cow and Aster earned a living selling butter and cheese she made from the cow’s milk. She was heartbroken when the cow died, and didn’t know how she would provide for her children.

When their situation was at its worst, we gave the family a nanny goat. Goats are such a great help for families in desperate need—they breed more quickly than cows and don’t need as much land. The goat droppings also make great fertiliser so can help the family to grow more than they had ever grown before.

“The goat was like a new hope for the family,” Aster told us. “We were caring for her just like a precious asset. The goat’s milk meant we could feed our children.”

Four years later, Yohannes and Aster have five goats and have been able to sell two others. There are many thousands of families that we help in this way.

Haylay is a young man who lives in Ethiopia with his parents. To help him earn a living we gave him some chickens and training in how to look after them. They now lay enough eggs for them to eat and he sells the rest at his local market. With the money he earns he can make sure his family have everything they need, like medicines and school books. Haylay wasn’t sure what he would have done without our support as there are few opportunities where he lives. Now, he and his family are very positive about the future.

“I have worries like everyone else, but if you strive to do well and you work hard you can succeed,” he said.

In the run up to Christmas we have sent a new Christmas Real Gifts catalogue to many of our supporters. You can also buy the gifts on our website. Both are packed with great ideas including the gift of a toilet which can help to stop the spread of diseases, help to plant an allotment which gives people the seeds and tools they need to grow their own food, and safe water for five families.

There are also gifts which help people with disabilities. Our wheelchair repair kit helps many people in South Sudan who rely on their wheelchairs to get to work, fetch water and play an active part in their community. If their wheelchair breaks down or gets a puncture they can often be left isolated at home, unable to help themselves or their family.

We helped Rebecca, who needs her wheelchair to earn a living selling vegetables at her local market. When her wheelchair broke she couldn’t travel to the market, leaving her with no income and without the freedom to get around. However, with your support, her wheelchair was quickly repaired and she was able to get back to her busy market stall in no time at all. Also, with her wheelchair fully restored, she was once again totally self-sufficient, fetching her own water and cooking her own meals.

Another lady in South Sudan, Vobia, enjoys going to her local church on a Sunday which helps her feel part of her community. Unfortunately, she used to get a lot of punctures in her wheelchair so she couldn’t go. With the help of the Real Gift of wheelchair repair kits, Vobia’s tyres were replaced and she was able to look after herself and get to church.

We also help blind people, giving them white canes and training in how to use them. Amagna Martin is 24 years old and became totally blind after contracting River Blindness when he was 15. When he lost his sight he lost everything. He couldn’t leave the house, go to school or even meet his friends. Our partners, the Sudan Evangelical Movement, have helped Amagna to return to school, read braille and get out and about using his white cane. He’s not trapped at home anymore and is leading an active life, full of human dignity.

“Before I got my white cane I couldn’t go to my neighbours or my friends, I would just stay at home,” he said. “Now if I want to go to church I can go alone. I am back in school and when I finish my education I want to be a teacher.”

Thoughtful Christmas presents like white canes, wheelchair repair kits, goats and many others can really change someone’s life for the better. It can give them the hand up they need to go to school, earn an income and work their way out of poverty. As we get nearer to Christmas we have a chance to celebrate the birth of Christ and our love for our family and friends. We can also reach out to those in need overseas and make sure the joy of Christmas continues long into the future for them.

— For more information or to buy Real Gifts, visit wwwsciaf.org.uk/realgifts. You can also buy gifts and get a catalogue by calling SCIAF on 0141 354 5555