Charitable Giving: Overseas

As well as paying for the upkeep of St Mary’s, approximately 20% of all income received is donated to charities and special projects both in the UK and overseas. These charities are usually nominated by members of the parish who have a special interest in their work.

To find out more about our how you can contribute please visit our Stewardship section.

Here are some of the international charities we have recently supported:

• Amnesty International a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.

• The Anglican Diocese of Kumasi is part of the Province of West Africa. The money we have donated has gone towards various projects to help less well-off people in Ghana.

• The main ministry of Barnabas Fund is to send financial support to projects which help Christians where they suffer discrimination, oppression and persecution as a consequence of their faith. The projects aim to strengthen Christian individuals, churches and their communities by providing material and spiritual support in response to needs identified by local Christian leaders.

• Christian Aid works to bring poverty and injustice to an end – regardless of faith or ethnicity. They work through local organisations to deliver direct, practical benefits, and campaign to challenge the causes of poverty.

• Espoir Congo cares for 100 orphaned children in the village of Kikimi, just outside Kinshasa, keeping these vulnerable children from ending up living on the streets and providing them with what they need to have a good start in life.

• Five Talents aims to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by supporting micro-finance initiatives in developing countries. Through training and small loans, the charity helps to establish and nurture small businesses. Each business builds economic independence for the individual entrepreneur, their families and the families of those they employ.

• The Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture is the only organisation in the UK dedicated solely to the treatment of torture survivors. The charity offers medical consultation, examination and forensic documentation of injuries, psychological treatment and support, and practical help. It also strives to educate the public and decision makers about torture and its consequences, while advocacy work strives to ensure that the UK honours its international obligations towards survivors of torture, asylum seekers and refugees.

• Methodist Relief & Development Fund (MRDF) works in partnership with small-scale, locally-based organisations in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, giving grants to help them grow, flourish and become more self sufficient. They seek to empower community members to take control of their own development, for example through skills training or raising awareness of their rights.MRDF also responds to emergencies and raises awareness in the UK about the causes of poverty through campaigning and producing education and worship materials.

• Practical Action is the international development charity working to build the technical skills of poor people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The charity works together with poor communities, developing and using appropriate technologies to provide practical answers to poverty and build a better future.

• Sightsavers works to combat blindness in developing countries, restoring sight through specialist treatment and eye care. It also supports people who are irreversibly blind by providing education, counselling and training. Blind people in the world’s poorest countries are vulnerable to abuse, poverty and early death. Less than half of all children who lose their sight will survive to adulthood.

• McCabe Bethlehem Project

• Toybox is a Christian charity committed to providing hope for the most disadvantaged children, young people and their families, principally in Latin America. Their mission is to work in partnership with indigenous organisations supporting front line work with street children and their communities, being a facilitator and advocate for this work.

• As an Anglican mission agency, United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) works alongside churches and communities around the world, providing the resources - people, money and ideas - that they define as necessary to meet local needs. Their work involves pastoral care, social action and supporting training programmes. Our donation has gone specifically to projects in Zambia and Rwuvuma.

• Workaid tackles poverty in developing countries by supplying disadvantaged people with the tools they need to earn a living. Workaid collects unwanted items from all over the UK, repairs them and sends them to vocational training projects, mostly in East Africa. Workaid has, to date, shipped more than 168,000 items to over 1,350 vocational training projects worldwide.

• Used stamps are collected to raise funds for a charity project in India.