A supply of clean water, six chickens to ensure a daily provision of fresh eggs rich in protein to help a family to overcome poverty, a cow, a sheet and plastic netting to protect against malaria: these are some of the Christmas gifts of the UK to the poor of over 70 developing countries. CAFOD, the leading British “charity” of aid to the Third World, founded by Catholic bishops in 1962, has introduced a really original idea in its Christmas catalogue for this year. For a sum ranging between 12 and 500 pounds, the English will be given the opportunity to make indispensable presents to the poorest people in the world. A training course in cooking, or sewing, or in how to start up a small business, to provide a family with the professional skills that may help it to overcome their poverty, costs 100 pounds. At a cost of just 7 pounds you can buy pencils and pens, pinafores and satchels for schoolchildren, while with a sum of roughly 98 euros you can buy a bicycle. CAFOD’d new Christmas idea, which is arousing the interest of thousands of Catholics throughout the country, testifies to the long-standing effort made by this charity to “help the developing countries to help themselves”, in other words overcome their own debt with their own efforts through training courses and the use of local resources.
