SUPPORT AND GENEROSITY VERY MUCH APPRECIATED

Dear Editor, I would like to sincerely thank your readers in Wicklow on behalf of Christian Aid Ireland for their support and generosity during 2016 towards people living in poverty.

This year, your kindness helped us to provide emergency support to families in Haiti whose homes and livelihoods were destroyed in October by Hurricane Matthew.

We helped local organisations to distribute water purification tablets and trained people about the risks of cholera. Families were given seeds and livestock to rebuild their livelihoods, while cash grants supported people who had lost fishing equipment and reserves of food and seeds. Our work was also kindly supported by Irish Aid, the Government’s overseas aid programme.

Through our Christmas Appeal we asked people in Wicklow and across Ireland to ‘ light the way’ for more than 65 million people fleeing violence across the world.

Christian Aid Ireland also launched a new programme of work called ‘ Tackling Violence, Building Peace’. Achieving peace can seem like an immense goal with so many conflicts ongoing in the world. However, with hope in our hearts and with the help of people across Wicklow, we can continue to respond to the urgent needs of people suffering through conflicts in places such as Syria, Iraq, Myanmar and South Sudan, who so desperately need a safe place to call home.

On behalf of Christian Aid Ireland, thank you once again to the people of Wicklow and we wish you a happy and peaceful 2017. Yours sincerely, Rosamond Bennett, CEO Christian Aid Ireland.