This year’s Christian Aid Week house-to-house collection will take place between 15th – 21st May and will raise money to reduce malnutrition in Malawi in Southern African. The sum raised will be matched pound for pound by the Overseas Aid Committee of Tynwald. Local Chairman of the Churches Together in Mann World Development Committee, Paul Craine expects more than 300 collectors to be calling at houses across the Island during Christian Aid Week. “The money raised on the Island will improve the food supply and nutrition of more than 17,000 of the world’s poorest people. It will support people of all faiths and no faith. We hope that the people of the Isle of Man will respond generously.” With the pound for pound matching by the government, Mr Craine believes that there simply is no more effective way of personal giving to help poor people. “This is the second year of a two-year project run by a Christian Aid partner based in Malawi. We know exactly what every pound will be spent on. The largest items are the provision of livestock (chickens and goats); the provision of drought-resistant seeds (maize, beans and groundnuts) and the construction of two dams (to improve irrigation). Some of the money will also be spent on tree nurseries, tree planting, workshops and training. Not a penny goes through governments and every aspect of the scheme is monitored by Christian Aid. Every pound given in the red envelopes, or collection boxes, will be doubled by the Overseas Aid Committee of Tynwald. You cannot make a greater difference per pound donated than this.” Malawi is a small, low income, landlocked country in southern Africa. Ranked 153/169 on the UN Human Development Index, the country is one of the poorest and most densely populated in Africa. Over the past decade the frequency and severity of floods and drought have increased due to the effects of climate change and other human factors, including deforestation. People living in poverty are most vulnerable to natural disasters, and find it hardest to recover when their source of livelihood is destroyed. The area of Malawi that will be helped through the Isle of Man’s Christian Aid Week collection is the Mwanza district in South West Malawi. This is among the most vulnerable areas in the country, with high levels of rural poverty, malnutrition and HIV. There are very few livelihood options in the district apart from agriculture, which puts people in a desperate situation when crops are destroyed by rain or drought. This project will work with 2,500 of the most vulnerable families to help increase their livelihood options and improve food security by promoting more diverse, sustainable income sources. The project will also help communities prepare for, respond to and cope with the increasing frequency of natural disasters. The project being supported by the Isle of Man is outcomes-focussed. The first outcome will be improved nutrition for 14,000 people. This will be achieved through increased agricultural production, storage and preservation of foods to ensure availability in the ‘hungry season’. The second outcome will be increased household income for 1,500 households (over 10,000 people) through setting up small businesses, community orchards and rearing small livestock. The third outcome will be improved soil fertility achieved through developing seed nurseries and planting 25,000 trees along riverbanks and in village woodlots, managed by community-based committees. The two-year project is sustainable and helps people to help themselves. - Ends -