We are almost at the end of another year and, as always, we are excited to be participating in the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Last year was hugely successful, despite the challenges which many of us were experiencing this time last year.

In 2021, our focus for The Christmas Challenge will be on communities in rural Sierra Leone. In this area, many children die every year due to dirty water causing diseases such as cholera, and diarrhoea. Many people also die from malnutrition. People cannot use current water sources to safely wash hands, drink or cook. They must walk for hours every day to access water, meaning that they (mainly girls) cannot attend school. Villagers have no health centres or hospitals available to them and must rely on what facilities already exist in their communities, which is almost nothing.

Our aim is to raise £7,500 from your donations of which, every pound will be matched if you donate via this link between 12:00 PM, 30 November 2021 to 12:00 PM, 7 December 2021. This will  provide wells for the villages, supplying clean and safe water. The money will also support the establishment of women-run market gardens where women can tackle malnutrition by growing healthy vegetables and earn income by selling the excess. We will also provide training for young women in natural medicine to improve access to healthcare for villagers, and further empowerment for local women. Lastly but not lastly, we will use the money generated from the campaign to fund an education programme on sanitation, disease (including but not limited to COVID-19) and nutrition, so that communities can protect themselves from disease and stay healthy.

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