Christian Aid funds projects that help people regardless of their beliefs. Some of the work they fund is done through local Christian organisations, but it is for the benefit of all.
Christian Aid give their help by supplying food for people who are undernourished and who suffer from malnutrition. They try to “help the poor to help themselves”. What they mean is that they can teach them how to help themselves and others rather than being dependant upon others all the time. Jesus said “Give a man a fish and he can feed himself but teach a man to fish and he can feed his family”. They also provide health education, medical supplies and help with dealing with people in times of disaster. Most aid is given in the form of training and education. This is to teach people to encourage others in their village to help themselves and improve their lifestyle. Christian Aid prefers to fund local organisations in a place of need as they believe that this is how they can meet local needs. Therefor using a local labour force provides work in the area for the people helping to overcome poverty. There are many different types of aid given by Christian Aid, they are:
- Continued aid - This is for helping refugees as part of a relief programme. They supply food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless and medical care for the ill.
- Emergency aid - Emergency aid is given to help people in sudden need when homes are destroyed and people die during natural disasters.
- Aid in Britain - This is set out to help people in Britain understand the causes of poverty and the reasons why third world countries find it hard to change their situation.
Christian Aid helps people because they are motivated by their beliefs. Jesus said “ Love your neighbour as yourself”. This means that everyone on this earth is my neighbour there for I should treat them equally to myself and help them in times of need. Christian Aid do this because they try to do God’s work on earth.
Christian Aid operates because Christians believe that all on this earth is lent to the inhabitants for the brief duration of their lives. So because everything on this earth is God’s and Christians follow God’s son Jesus’ teachings then everything should be looked after so therefor they should help others. Christians are obligated to help others by Jesus’ teachings about wealth.
The Christian teaching is that wealth is a gift from God and so it is to be used the way God wants; not necessarily the way the individual wants. So money should be given to the Christian Aid to help others.
It is important to the people who run the Aid because they are helping to develop the world and help people, which is following their belief and doing God’s work. It is important to the people who benefit from the Aid because they know that there are people who care and with the help of Christian Aid can gain help to help themselves. It also gives these people dignity and self respect. Jesus said : ‘ I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; sick and you took care of me...When ever you did this for one of my family, you did it for me.’
Out of every pound Christian Aid receive, 75p is spent on tackling poverty on behalf of the poorest people in the world, 11p is spent on campaigning and education, to change the structures of inequality that keep people poor; 12p is spent on fund-raising; 2p is spent on administration.
