It is the Isle of Man's Christian Aid Week from the 14th to the 20th of May. This is the week where volunteers raise funds for Christian Aid by house to house collections, special services, coffee mornings and a wide range of events.

This year’s appeal is for a project in Binga a remote area of Zimbabwe. The project is to directly assist 1,020 disabled children, and their families, access education and services and to have a wider, long-term, impact on education and changing attitudes in the local communities. The project is unique to the Isle of Man and follows up from a Comic Relief funded project which when finished in 2016, highlighted areas of neglect, which this scheme hopes to address.

Binga and the families that live there have a tremendous amount of hurdles to overcome to live anything close to what we would call a normal life. The area is in its third year of drought, with a deep water table it can take up to 40 minutes to pump water. There is no infrastructure in place, this not only includes roads and services, but also very limited schools and clinics. For example, the nearest special education school is 230km away from Binga. Even if the children could access this school, the attendance fees are over $500 (USD) a term. With deep poverty, limited work opportunities and a complete lack of basic health care, living in Binga is a world away from the services and facilities that we enjoy on the Isle of Man.

This Christian Aid Week is our opportunity to make a large and lasting difference to disabled children, their families and the communities in Binga. Every single penny raised goes directly to the project. So if you see collectors out, please help us to help others.

Louise Whitelegg, the Islands regional coordinator for Christian Aid visited the project on a self-funded trip in December 2016 and witnessed for herself the issues in Binga. Louise said: “When I first arrived in Binga I was overwhelmed by the extent of the poverty and was overcome with a sense of sheer frustration and hopelessness. All around I saw major problems at every level. But after spending a few days with these people and talking to the parents, listening to their hopes and aspirations, I saw that there are quite simple things that can be done to help make a tremendous difference to their lives. Their hopes for their children, when we compare them to our hopes seemed so basic and simple. To be to attend a school, to be able to wash themselves, to be able to help fetching water. With kindness and generosity we can make a difference.”