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My passion is this project, because we’re creating opportunities for women to access markets, add value to their produce, and take care of their families.
This was how our colleague, Purity Osumba from Nairobi, summed up some of the work that you'll see featured in this year’s Christian Aid Week resources. Our faith-based partner in Kenya, Beacon of Hope, skilfully supports women who are living with their families in the informal settlements of Nairobi.
Purity mentioned that the generosity of Christian Aid supporters reminded her of the loving kindness shown between Ruth and Naomi in the book of Ruth. There are so many parallels between that short story and Christian Aid’s work.
Naomi, her husband Elimelech and their sons leave Bethlehem due to famine. They arrive as foreigners on the plains of Moab and build a life there. But Elimelech dies and Naomi finds herself as a single woman in a strange place needing to provide for her children. We are not told how she manages that, but she does. Her two sons marry local girls. But their settled life is short lived. Both boys die and once again Naomi is forced to face the challenges that come from being a female-headed household.
When she decides that life might be easier if she were to return to Bethlehem, she tells her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Ruth refuses. And so the two journey together towards Bethlehem – where nothing is guaranteed, and Naomi is once again economically responsible for someone other than herself. In Bethlehem they find kindness and generosity that will transform their lives.
In Kenya, the families who Beacon of Hope support have left land which, due to climate change, is no longer viable to be farmed. Instead, they have made their homes in crowded informal settlements. Space is at a premium, and the task of feeding the family is a constant worry. By learning how to farm in even the smallest of places, women have been empowered and families are eating and selling their harvests. Parents who once lived day to day, making impossible choices on how to meet their children’s needs, are now buying everyday essentials, such as school books, and working for a future that will allow their children to escape poverty.
A million acts of hope
This Christian Aid Week, we have seven days to make a difference for our global neighbours. With every cake baked, book sold, concert organised, collection taken, mile walked, every prayer prayed, and every campaign action taken, you and your church play your part in providing hope to some of the most marginalised people in the world.
While the world seems more divided than ever, millions of people across the UK are showing up for each other, responding to the call to love our neighbour – both local and global – in millions of acts of hope every day. Christian Aid has partnered with A Million Acts of Hope to stand in solidarity with our neighbours near and far. Joining in is as simple as downloading a ‘hope happens here’ poster and displaying it alongside your Christian Aid Week materials.
It’s this hope that fuels Christian Aid Week every year. We’d love to amplify your church activities this as part of this national celebration of hope in action this May.
Thank you
Above all else, thank you for all that you do to support the work of our partners. If we can support what you are doing locally, please let us know at edinburgh@christian-aid.org.
