Tihan Abera

Stressed out about Christmas? Worried that you haven’t had time to buy your loved that special something? Well relax and don’t worry – Concern Gifts has got the perfect solution.

We’ve got a range of fun and quirky gifts that are perfect for every taste and budget. For keen gardeners we’ve got Vegetable Packs at £33 which could give an HIV sufferer in Zambia the tools they need to grow nutritious and delicious vegetables to eat and sell. For budding sports stars, how about Sports Equipment for just £9? Playing sport does so much for kids living in the developing world – with our help they can keep fit, learn new skills and meet new people. And for those who like to snuggle up on the sofa and keep warm this winter, how about our Blankets at £23 which are a real life-line to those made homeless after an emergency?

For over 40 years Concern has been transforming the lives of the world’s poor and so whatever Concern Gift you buy this Christmas, you can rest assured that it will make a real and lasting difference to people living in extreme poverty.

And every Concern Gift comes with an e-giftcard that can be sent directly to the recipient and you can order right up until Christmas Day so they’re perfect last minute gifts too!

Get a last-minute Christmas gift here from Concern >>

Cows n Things Charity Gifts

Whether it’s Christmas, a birthday or an anniversary, you’ll find a Cows ‘n’ Things gift for every occasion at Cows ‘n’ Things. From cattle, to chicks, to goats, or even an entire house, you can buy gifts that will transform the lives of older people overseas.

Cows ‘n’ Things is an ethical gift scheme, run by Age UK, designed to help the most disadvantaged people in later life overseas get the things they need – which is cows and things. We work in partnership with our sister organisation, HelpAge International, to support older people in more than 40 developing countries.

Whether it’s a cataract operation that can restore sight, a two room house that can shelter an older person and their family, or a cow that can provide milk and extra income, there are many ways your gift can help disadvantaged older people overseas.

It’s a fact that the world’s population is getting older – yet few governments or aid agencies target people in later life. Approximately 100 million older people in developing countries survive on less than 60 pence a day. Older people are often ignored, neglected and discriminated against, even though they’re the ones keeping families together when communities are decimated by conflict, HIV, famine or drought.

Your gift won’t just go towards supporting an older person and restoring their pride, it will have an affect on future generations too. If you buy a cow, or any of our gifts, we will pass it on to an older person in a developing country so they can support themselves and their family.

It might be hard to hide and even harder to wrap, but buy a cow from Cows ‘n’ Things and you could change someone’s life, not just their Christmas.

To buy a gift that would make a world of difference to an older person overseas, simply visit Cows ‘n’ Things.

Concern Rabbit

Concern Worldwide has launched its brand new Gifts website and this year theu have a number of brilliant new presents for that special someone in your life.

One of our favourite Gifts is the cute rabbits which are a bargain at just £10. Rabbits are the ideal gift for that pet lover in your life. And they are also the perfect item for a poor farmer in Malawi as they just love to breed! Two rabbits can quickly multiply with their off-spring being sold to help pay for essentials such as school fees, medicine and food.

Stefano Amos is a farmer and lives in Malawi where he provides for his wife, their five children and three young relatives. Life was really tough for him before he received two rabbits from Concern. As he remembers, “it wasn’t always easy to buy basics such as soap and clothes. Food was scarce. Everything simply got better as soon as the rabbits arrived. Having these animals has completely changed our economic situation”.

Whatever Concern Gift you buy this Christmas, you can be sure that it will make a lasting and real difference to life of people life Stefano. And every Concern Gift comes with a colourful gift card for you to personalise and send to the recipient.

But do hurry! Take advantage of their free postage and packing and order before Friday 10th December in order to receive your gift cards in time for Christmas. If you miss that deadline, don’t worry – you can still order online and send e-cards right up to 25th December!

Get a charity gift from Concern here >>>>>>>

Concern Worldwide

A devastating food crisis is unfolding in the west African country of Niger which is the poorest, least developed country on earth. 50% of the country’s 15million people are now vulnerable to food shortages caused by the failed rains and widespread crop failures of 2009.

Concern has been working in Niger for a number of years and our staff on the ground have seen for themselves the terrible effects of the 2009 crop failures. They have seen how villages and communities had been totally deserted and emptied because of crop failure. And how there have been large rates of migration out of villages by people with no access to food, abandoning homes in search of work in urban areas.

The situation is so bad that the government of Niger has appealed to the international community for urgent help and Concern is there now and helping those most in need.

Concern ’s response

Concern doesn’t just want to treat malnutrition once it’s happened in Niger – we want to try and stop it in its tracks. That’s why in the next few months we’ll be:

• Using mobile phones to transfer emergency cash grants to 2,500 families giving them the freedom to spend the money on essential items for their families.

• Distributing seeds and fertilizer to 3,000 households to help replace the failed crops and prevent future food shortages.

• Providing nutritional support to children under 5 years old and pregnant women who are most at risk of malnutrition.

The people we’re helping

In the next few months Concern’s emergency programme will help over 80,000 people in Niger— people just like Asama Masala.

25 year old Asama lives in Indire in the Tahoua ragion of southwestern Niger where Concern estimates that the global acute malnutrition rate is at 13% – well above the 10% rate that signifies a nutrition emergency.

With six children to feed, Asama found life extremely tough at the start of 2010. A lack of pasture and the catastrophic harvest in 2009 left her with very little food for her family.

But the emergency cash transfer she received from Concern has made a real difference. She recalls “The help is a big relief as it will allow me to buy us necessary things like food for my children.  Thank you for your help, because we have never received any help like this in the past.  My husband is also gone abroad

to find work, so there is no one to help me here.”

How you can help

By purchasing a Concern gift online today you can help Concern be there for the people affected by the food crisis in Niger and other emergencies around the world. We’ve got items to suit every taste and budget including Plumpy Nut sachets to treat childhood malnutrition at £16, vegetable packs containing seeds and tools for £28, and mobile phone technology for just £48. Each gift will make a last and real difference to the lives of people living in poverty around the world.

Do something amazing today and buy a Concern Gift!

1 Action Aid

With Action Aid, you know that you’re making a difference. Action Aid’s child sponsorship programme is helping children all over Africa fulfil their dreams.

>> Donate now

2 Practical Presents

Practical Presents does exactly what it says on the tin. Choose a charity gift that will make a difference to someone’s life – sometimes drastically so!

>> Donate now

3 NSPCC

One of the UK’s largest charities, helping distressed children all over Great Britain.

>> Donate now

4 Concern Gifts

Whether you choose to donate on a monthly basis or get a gift for someone, your money gets to the right people quickly with Concern Worldwide.

>> Donate now

5 World Gifts

Here’s a great site where you can get two gifts in one – one for the person you want to buy a Christmas present for, and one for someone who really does need it – have a look here

>> Donate now

6 Greenpeace

One of the most active charities on the planet, and you can either shop in their charity gift store or set up a monthly direct debit to Greenpeace here.

>> Donate now

7 The World Land Trust

Gifts, donations and even personalised donations are to the fore here at the World Land Trust – a brilliant charity that helps save the rain forest. Save your own acre, or save it in someone’s name here.

>> Donate now

8 The RSPB

An established charity that looks after birds – and someone really has to. Problems threaten their environment – man-made problems, and only one organisation helps wildlife, and it’s the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

>> Donate now

9 Save the Children

More charity gifts here, and ones that could help children in the third world – Save the Children is a great place for gifts.

>> Donate now

10 The Red Cross

There are fewer charities that have such a world class presence as the Red Cross, who have helped in almost every incident around the world of late. You can help them continue helping people by setting up a monthly direct debit here…

>> Donate here

A few years ago, we might not even have stopped to think that presents don’t actually have to be for the person we’re giving them to. Even if that doesn’t make sense, charity gifts do. Whether it’s buying someone a goat or a buffalo, or even something that will help their lives a little bit easier – you don’t have to spend enormous amounts of money – and your money will go further than it does in the UK. So in the true spirit of Christmas, here is our Top 10 Charity Gifts for you to choose from.

10. A piglet: £7

When 15 year old Paul Nyombi lost both his parents to AIDS he had to fend for himself. Concern gave him two piglets and training on how to care for them. When the pigs produced their first litter there were 12 small piglets in total. Paul was delighted and called the sow ‘Mama’ because she had been so productive.

9. Scholarship for a child: £19

Over 44% of Cambodian children aged 5 to 14 years are working. They face serious health risks – many are abused or exploited. At the drop-in centre in Battambang, working children are safe from harm and can just enjoy being kids for a while. The World Vision drop-in centre is open 5 days a week. This little haven is a place where children can sit down for snack or a meal, get a medical check-up, talk to counsellors who care, sit quietly in the library, or join in with games and sport activities.

8. School books: £8

Help build the school from the ground – with just £8 you can provide school books for children at WorldVision’s Cambodian project.

7. A goat: £20

In Sudan and Bangladesh, a goat can be a lifesaver, providing enough milk to keep the whole family healthy. Goats can also be bred and sold, allowing poor parents to generate the income they need to pay for education and vital medicines for their children.

6. Fermented cow’s urine: £20

I know what you’re thinking (Scroll down on the link – to the left). Are you taking the piss? Haha and all that. But no…

Fermented cow’s urine is a great natural pesticide, but you have to know how to use it! FARM-Africa can teach farmers how to keep their crops free from greedy insects and ensure yields are as high as possible. This gives them the best possible chance of feeding their family.

With FARM-Africa, you can choose how you want your recipient (i.e. YOUR friend) to find out about your gift – online, by e-card, or with a photo gift pack (which costs a tiny bit extra).

5. Bees – £15

Farm Africa’s Farm Friends project is brilliant – Many communities they work with are dependent on the forest around them to survive, but unsustainable practices are damaging the forest and their livelihood. A FARM-Africa beehive and the training that comes with it offer a family alternative, sustainable ways to survive without damaging their environment. The honey harvested is an excellent food source, and can be sold at market and used for medicine too.

4. Chickens – £21

Give an older woman in Angola with health and mobility problems the perfect way to make a living… chickens. Not only do the eggs improve diet and health, but selling the surplus helps her to buy basic items such as medicine, salt and sugar.

3. A football referee – £43

To keep the competing teams in order during the Kick HIV tournament every year in Sierra Leone, a trained referee is essential. The tournament is organised by the Bo Youth Centre, and not only does it provide an exciting competition for young people, it is a great opportunity for peer educators to mingle in the crowd and provide education about HIV and AIDS.

2. Worms – £7

Woah? Worms! You’ve got to be crazy…  hang on…

A wormery will make a big difference to poor, marginalised women in India. By turning waste organic material into rich fertiliser, a wormery helps to turn wasteland into productive soil. With the crops that they tend, the women can feed their families. And any surplus produce can be sold at the market to provide a much-needed additional income.

1. A well – £495

An X-Box, a PS3? Or – would you like to help an entire village. Digging and constructing a 100ft well will make a huge difference to a whole village in rural Kenya. With no clean water nearby, it falls to the women and girls to walk miles to the nearest river – often repeating the journey several times a day. But with a well in the village, the supply of clean fresh water close by means that women can work and contribute to their family’s income.

Mental Health Foundation

The image on the right tells you all you need to know. 1 in 4 people have mental health problems in the UK, which is an astonishing statistic.

The Mental Health Foundation raises awareness of this issue, and fights to help people with mental health problems.

• They reach millions of people every year through their work with the media to encourage a better understanding of mental illness
• Over 2.5 million people who need their help visit this website. It is the most comprehensive source of mental health information in Europe
• They send out more than 100,000 advice booklets helping people who are experiencing mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and self-harm.

Concern

Now, I know what you’re thinking – that’s nuts, it’s a recession and Little Tommy wants the latest whizz-bang thing on the shelves that’s going to cost 25% more than last year, but at Concern Gifts they’ve got loads of stuff that goes to people who really need it.

And I’m sure you can probably get that laser gun for Little Tommy too. Right, so what do they have?

Pigs. Well, OK, a piglet – and they’ve got 6 chickens too. A piglet is just £7 – and can help feed a family. This is what Concern have done:

When 15 year old Paul Nyombi lost both his parents to AIDS he had to fend for himself. Concern gave him two piglets and training on how to care for them. When the pigs produced their first litter there were 12 small piglets in total. Paul was delighted and called the sow ‘Mama’ because she had been so productive.

That’s pretty cool. For £7 you can start something like that. And if you’re rolling in it, £305 will get a buffalo. They’re a bit more expensive and high maintenance, but you can imagine the amount of milk they get.

Quips aside, you can buy essential drugs, water pumps and everything people in poverty around the world actually need. And no laser guns.

So if you’re looking for a charity gift that really does mean something, hit the image above or visit Concern here.

Christ, I do.

I haven’t spoken to them since. And neither have they spoken to me. That leads me nicely onto something I should have done – and maybe they still wouldn’t have spoken to me, but I would have felt a little better about myself having wasted all that money on a stupid Denby gravy boat.

Worldvision’s “Must Have Gifts” catalogue is chock full of charity gifts that you can give as wedding gifts, or even birthday gifts.

And now you can see why I used the analogy, yes?

You can select from a range of wedding gifts of all prices – that will all have uses in parts of the world where there really is no need for a Denby gravy boat. Or gravy.

So – you can help. Just by providing one gift, you can give someone out there a helping hand. It’s not much. And it will cost you less than a Denby gravy boat. And if Bob and Sue don’t like it, then don’t speak to them, because they probably weren’t worth talking to in the first place. Make a difference to people who really need it. Buy a charity gift here.

The good people at Send A Cow are asking for just £10 a month to help families in some of the poorest parts of the world. That’s really not much when you think about it.

You choose the family you want to donate to, and you’ll become a Family Friend. You’ll receive a welcome pack and all the information you could ever want about the family, with photos and regular email and text updates.

Your contribution will help them get a cow or try new vegetables – and find out how the weather is affecting the harvest. It’s your opportunity to help a family out of poverty.

That’s 33p per day – the price of a tabloid newspaper, or the price of a packet of crisps. Donate today, and start making a real difference.