Charity: Action Aid
Action Aid is a multi-national charity fighting injustices in over 40 countries suffering the social relegation that ultimately leads to poverty. Cecil Jackson-Cole, a UK businessman, originally founded the agency and it began when 88 children were sponsored by 88 UK citizens.
Originally known as ‘Action in Distress’, Cecil’s charity had the primary focus of providing Indian and Kenyan children with the right to an education, but afterwards went on to provide sanitation, health and agricultural development. Rather than Action Aid tackling solely what happens as a result of poverty, it also targets the root cause of it and what can be done to improve long term quality of life for a country’s people.
Now an international charity, Action Aid works with the citizens of poorer countries, using their knowledge and experience to their full potential to secure their rights, control their developments and improve their quality of life. The charity targets the areas of HIV and AIDS, women’s rights, fair trade, government democracy, education, emergency relief and debt cancellation.
10 million people in disadvantaged and poor families across the world have benefited from Action Aid’s work on famine relief, education, trade justice and health care for over 30 years. Their work occurs mainly in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. Six million of those are in Asia alone.
Donating to Action Aid allows each child to register with a local school, get basic education to help them gain qualifications and ultimately work in a profession that will earn them enough to rid their family of poverty. Allowing a child to learn to read and write could influence generations, as this skill is passed down from parent to child. Your donation could also be used to provide a family with tools, livestock and seeds which allows them to feed themselves and earn a living, or a fresh water pump which prevents a whole village from disease, illness and even death.
Amongst donating, Action Aid have a Lotto, where 75p of every pound is donated to help a child gain the education they need and deserve. Each Thursday 5 of the selected players win a cash prize of up to £2000.
Donating to Action Aid costs 50p per day, or a minimum of £15 per month (£180.00 per year) and donators can look forward to receiving pictures and drawings from the child they are sponsoring, updates on their development and information on where exactly their 50p a day is going.
Filed under: Third World Charities