Articles - Miscellaneous

Traidcraft

This a precis of a letter from Paul Chandler, the Chief Executive of Traidcraft, about how the current economic crisis is affecting those producers in developing countries who are supported by Traidcraft Exchange, the charitable arm of Traidcraft.

He points out that a significant reduction in donations, and, the decline in the value of the pound means that overseas projects are costing more. This comes at a time when the poorest people in the developing world are already being hit by weaker local currencies leading to rising food and fuel costs, small businesses having greater difficulty in raising the finance needed to trade and poor people being placed in an increasingly precarious position.

Recently Traidcraft Exchange has received grants from the European Union and from Comic Relief but they still need a further £225,000 in order to start new projects in Africa and Asia supporting, amongst others, cotton workers and textile workers in India, beekeepers in Kenya, and jute farmers in Bangladesh.

Paul Chandler goes on to say that the invaluable and dedicated support of churches such as St Edmund's is already bringing direct benefit to thousands of producers in the developing world, as well as building awareness of fair trade. He asks that we remember the work of Traidcraft Exchange in our thoughts and prayers asking God to give:-

o wisdom to those in authority and the recognition of the impact of their decisions on the lives of 1.4 billion people living in absolute poverty who are being worst hit by the current economic climate;

o all people a heart for justice and that Christians find the way of putting their faith into action;

o the staff at Traidcraft Exchange the tools needed to continue to help the 25 million poor people in Asia and Africa involved in their overseas projects;

o Strength and resilience for all who work tirelessly towards a fairer world;

o Traidcraft Exchange the means to work with another 240,000 producers in Bangladesh, Kenya and India to help them transform their lives.

Jill Vogler

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay