 |
 |
John Leech MP Marks Christian Aid Week Anniversary
May 25, 2007 12:22 PM
Christian Aid Week is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
John Leech MP has helped to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Christian Aid week in Parliament.
The event was born out of a fund set up by churches to help with reconstruction following the Second World War. The very first Christian Aid week was held in 1957 and helped to raise £26,000 in 200 towns and villages.
Now, Christian Aid week can call upon over 300,000 churches and 20,000 volunteers every year and last year raised £14.3m to help some of the poorest people in the world.
"After events such as Live 8, I think people's awareness of the shocking situation affecting so many in the third world has grown enormously," John Leech MP said. "Christian Aid Week is a wonderful tradition in this country and I know hundreds of people in south Manchester will have been out collecting this year."
"We can't let poverty in Africa to slip off the political agenda again," John continued. "Wars continue across the continent and humanitarian crises like in the Sudan should shock us all. We have to put pressure on our government and on other countries to ensure that the pledges of aid, trade liberalisation, and of debt relief do not turn out to be just words."
John Leech MP has signed Early Day Motion 1457 - 50th Anniversary of Christian Aid Week, the text of which is set out below.
50th ANNIVERSARY OF CHRISTIAN AID WEEK
14.05.2007
Hoyle, Lindsay
That this House notes the 50th anniversary of Christian Aid Week; recognises the importance of Christian Aid Week, which is the largest house-to-house collection in the United Kingdom, with the involvement of over 300,000 volunteers and 20,000 local churches and committees, in raising funds and boosting the profile of Christian Aid whilst attracting vital publicity to campaigns; expresses concern at the extent of poverty worldwide with estimates showing that 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty; and congratulates Christian Aid on its efforts in raising much-needed funds to support the most needy and also raising the profile of the plight of people across the world.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats