Ideas For Action On Aid

Daily Bread Co-operative,
The Old Laundry, Bedford Road,
Northampton, England
Tel: 0604 21531

AIMS

To create an enriching, creative. co-operative working environment.

To attract people’s attention to poverty in the Third World and the reasons for poverty, so that greater awareness might lead to increased action to alleviate poverty.

To sell good value nutritional food.

To provide supportive employment for the mentally ill.

METHODS

By advising others on the formation of worker co-operatives.

By selling wholefoods.

By forming links with a community in India.

By giving talks about world trade and world poverty.

By providing paid employment for the mentally ill (temporary workers). Through a limited amount of training and through local contacts we are able to work alongside our temporary workers as they seek to find open employment.

By worshipping together daily.

SUGCESSES

to two years it has been possible to put ourselves on a reasonably firm financial footing. More importantly we have moved some little way towards our social objectives.

In the short term the most encouraging aspects of the business has been the privilege of seeing mentally ill people return to open employment.

FAILURES

Commercial aims tend to dominate decision making. For example we have not begun to tackle the problem of buying direct from worker co-operatives in the Third World. A number of our products (cash crops) do not alleviate Third World problems but accentuate them.

Closer to home we have failed to sell cheap nutritious food to the ‘poor’ of Northampton. We are conscious too, that we have sometimes failed in our work with the mentally ill. Again this perhaps is a reflection of our concern with commercial matters rather than people

FUTURE PLANS

To expand all aspects of our work

HELP NEEDED

Prayer

In the long term: Contacts with Third World co-operatives.

Expertise in international trade.

International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa (Canada)
P.O. Box 1034, Station B, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada K1P 5R1
Tel: (613) 233-5939

AIMS

As the Canadian affiliated committee to the International Defence and Aid Fund for Southem Africa our aims are —To abolish apartheid.

To achieve free, democratic, non-racial societies in South Africa and Namibia.

To aid. defend and rehabilitate the victims of unjust legislation and oppressive and arbitrary procedures.

To support their families and dependents.

To keep the conscience of the world alive to the issues at stake.

METHODS

We carry out an ongoing educational program in Canada on life in Southern Africa through the distribution of IDAF publications, photographic exhibitions and our bimonthly newsletter.

We assist she Fund to provide legal defence to she victims of unjust legislation and oppressive and arbitrary procedures. We also give humanitarian aid to the families of those victims

SUCCESSES

IDAFSA (Canada) has been in existence only since June 1980, although the international organization has been active since the 1950s. In the three years we have managed to establish a firm base of support in Canada and to contribute towards the legal defence and humanitarian aid for families in Southern Africa

FAILURES

IDAFSA (Canada) is not yet self-supporting. We want to be able to rely on membership fees to finance an education program in Canada and help cover administration costs. IDAFSA is not yet well known in Canada and our assistance to the victims of apartheid could be much greater.

FUTURE PLANS

To be able to continue to support the peoples of Southern Africa who are struggling for their freedom.

HELP NEEDED

We need members so organize educational and fundraising events; we need outlets for IDAF publications and we need help in making sure that accurate information on the reality of life in Southern Africa is presented to the Canadian public.

The Leprosy Mission
50 Portland Place
London W1N 306
Tel: 01-637 2611

AIMS

To minister in the name of Jesus Christ to the total needs of leprosy sufferers, to assist in their rehabilitation and to work towards the eradication of leprosy.

To educate alike the healthy and the unhealthy about she disease, thus aiming to break down age-old prejudices and put leprosy in its rightful place as a mildly infectious, curable illness

METHODS

Running or aiding medical centres in over thirty countries, employing national and some expatriate staff. Advising and co-operating with governments and other aid agencies. Organising extensive surveys to detect early leprosy and so avoid much suffering. Treating most cases as outpatients, but providing a full range of hospital care, with physiotherapy, surgery and occupational therapy where necessary. Arranging schooling and vocational training for patients. Giving optimum individual care, while always looking to possible areas of extension of the work.

Training leprosy workers through seminars and an extensive supply of literature. Running health education schemes and exhibitions: supporting some research.

SUCCESSES

Hundreds of thousands of cured patients active once more in their own societies.

Gradual improvement in general attitudes towards leprosy. Increase in number of governments assuming responsibility for leprosy control in their own countries. New. more effective drug treatment being implemented.

FAILURES

To combat the problem on a sufficiently large scale. An estimated fifteen million people have leprosy, of whom only a fifth are under treatment. Many will have lost family, friends.

home and job because of prejudice.

FUTURE PLANS

To continue to treat over 300,000 patients, to implement multidrug therapy and to increase she area of coverage should staffing and funding permit.

HELP NEEDED

Christian surgeons, physicians, nurses and therapists with at least two years’ post-qualification experience to work overseas (for three years or more). Help with the raising of public awareness relating to leprosy, using our publications and audio-visual aids.