Guernsey Press

Churches still grass roots for Christian Aid

CHRISTIAN AID has a grass root support system in the churches, according to the chairman of the charity’s board.

Published
Christian Aid chairman and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams spoke to local Christian Aid supporters at a breakfast seminar at Les Cotils on Saturday. (Picture by Andrew Le Poidevin)

Dr Rowan Williams was Archbishop of Canterbury for 10 years up to 2012 and he became Christian Aid chairman the following year.

He was in the island to help launch the charity’s Island-to-Island appeal, a three year initiative designed to help island communities build better futures in the face of climate change and to protect themselves from natural disasters.

Speaking to members of Christian Aid Guernsey at a breakfast seminar at Les Cotils on Saturday, he said the charity’s last chief executive had deliberately orientated towards the churches.

‘The greatest gift you can give to people is to let them give, and if that happens then we are doing our job,’ he said.

The charity did not seek to put great numbers of staff on the ground but looked to local organisations, and the partnership principle was key to what it did.

‘We want to create local initiatives and we don’t want to build an industry within its own rights.’

It was a difficult time for charities in general thanks in part to some high profile scandals. He believed Christian Aid had robust and transparent procedures in place to deal with any problems.

‘It’s also a tough time because it’s a tough time,’ he said.

The charity was often asked why it went abroad, but he said there were no limitations on where its duty of compassion ended.

‘We live in an interconnected world and if we shut our eyes to that it will soon come knocking on our door before too long.

‘The Island-to-Island Appeal is a way that we can personalise what happens in Christian Aid.’

The appeal involves not just Guernsey but Jersey, the Isle of Man, and in future The Scilly Isles and some of the Scottish islands. It aimed to raise £150,000

‘I know that the voluntary sector in Guernsey is amazingly creative and active,’ he said.

The charity wanted people to engage personally and not just to send money or tick boxes. It was very concerned about the impact of climate change and was looking for ways to help people respond to that.

‘We don’t want to be just an ambulance organisation but to build something,’ he said.

Christian Aid was not ‘having a go at tax havens’, he said, and only sought transparency and clear public records of interests.