World Vision has launched its Alternative Gifts’ Christmas catalogue, encouraging the UK public to buy Alternative Gifts this Christmas and help make a life-changing difference to families and communities living with poverty around the world.
TV presenter Michaela Strachan is supporting the international aid and development charity’s Alternative Gifts campaign, which launched at the famous Borough Market in London where a giant 2-meter high, three dimensional Alternative Gifts catalogue stood proud in the heart of the lively community market.
World Vision has also embarked on a multi-city tour with the giant Alternative Gifts catalogue, which exhibits 25 of the real gifts that can be purchased. The 70 original and imaginative gifts in the catalogue are priced from £5 to £3,389 and directly benefit 34 of World Vision’s community projects across 16 developing countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and South America.
All World Vision Alternative Gifts have been requested by communities in the developing countries where World Vision works, so every gift is guaranteed to be wanted and not wasted.
Michaela Strachan is supporting the campaign and said: “All too often people buy gifts that aren’t wanted so I’m thrilled to be involved in World Vision’s Alternative Gifts campaign, encouraging people to buy presents that are really needed such as mosquito nets or a herd of goats. For my friends and family this Christmas, I’ve chosen to buy half an acre of rainforest in Senegal, a scholarship for a child in Zambia and a loo in Zimbabwe!
“Each gift is specifically chosen by people in developing countries, meaning that everything they receive will be wanted and not wasted. So next time you’re not sure what to buy for a friend or loved one, try an Alternative Gift and bring a smile to the face of a friend of relative, and make a real, life-changing difference to communities in developing countries.”
To order a catalogue or buy items from Alternative Gifts, simply go to www.greatgifts.org
The complete list of gifts available from the Alternative Gift Catalogue include:
Mosquito net (Part of comatting Malaria & HIV and AIDS, Zambia)
Sanitise a well (Part of Health And Water Project, Sierra Leone)
School textbooks (Part of Improving Education, Senegal)
Irrigation kit for a family farm (Part of Water Project, Sri Lanka)
Blankets (Part of Emergency Gifts)
Seeds for a family farm (Part of Crop diversification, Zambia)
Fruit trees (Part of Mbella Food Security, Senegal)
A tap (Part of Water Extension, Ethiopia)
A football (Part of Educating Girls, Malawi)
An emergency cookset (Part of Emergency Gifts)
Day trips for a child (Part of Drop In Centre for Working Children, Cambodia)
Meals for children (Part of Drop In Centre for Working Children, Cambodia)
School library books and chairs (Part of Adet Public Library, Ethiopia)
Emergency shelter (Part of Emergency Gifts)
20 chicks (Part of Water Project, Sri Lanka)
HIV awareness pack (Part of Awareness Raising For HIV, Albania)
Scissors, cloth and thread (Part of Employment For Women, Albania)
Build a grinding mill (Part of Livelihood Support To Women, Sudan)
Baby health and nutrition (Part of Tackling Low Birthweights, Cambodia)
Baby weighing bag (Part of Community Nutrition Project, Malawi)
A goat (Part of Livestock Loans, Zimbabwe)
Fish stock for six families (Part of Water Project, Sri Lanka)
Conservation farming plot (Part of Food Security, Zimbabwe)
Emergency hygiene kit (Part of Emergency Gifts)
Cheese-making kit (Part of Food Security, Sudan)
Woman’s apprenticeship (Part of Employment For Women, Albania)
Lessons for children (Part of Drop In Centre for Working Children, Cambodia)
School uniform (Part of Malaria & HIV and AIDS, Zambia)
Vaccinations for children (Part of Health And Water Project, Sierra Leone)
Soap-making kit (Part of Businesses for Women, Ghana)
Emergency clean water kit (Part of Emergency Gifts)
Disability action fund (Part of Ability Advocacy, Zimbabwe)
Seeds, tools and training for a family (Part of Crop diversification, Zambia)
Chicken coop (Part of Improving Poultry Production, Kenya)
School dinners (Part of Improving Education, Senegal)
Scholarship for a child (Part of Programme for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Ghana)
Caregiver for a child orphaned by AIDS (Part of Programme for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Ghana)
A sheep (Part of Model Schools Project, Senegal)
Livelihood recovery kit (Part of Emergency Gifts)
Care kit for a child orphaned by AIDS (Part of Programme for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Ghana)
Cradle for a newborn (Part of Building a Health Centre, Zambia)
A toilet (a bog!) (Part of Household Support, Zimbabwe)
Cowpat stove (Part of Improved Cooking Stoves, Nepal)
Blankets for a whole family (Part of Emergency Gifts)
Equipment for a classroom (Part of Education Project, Zimbabwe)
20 chicks with coop (Part of Water Project, Sri Lanka)
Children’s toys (Part of Emergency Gifts)
A llama (Part of Livestock Handling of Llamas, Bolivia)
Reunite a child with their family (Part of Drop In Centre for Working Children, Cambodia)
Bike (Part of Malaria & HIV and AIDS, Zambia)
Safe delivery of a baby (Part of Building a Health Centre, Zambia)
Ram and an ewe (Part of Model Schools Project, Senegal)
Eeforest half an acre (Part of Mbella Food Security, Senegal)
Herd of goats (Part of Livestock Loans, Zimbabwe)
Llama breeding pair (Part of Livestock Handling of Llamas, Bolivia)
Share of borehole for a school (Part of Household Support, Zimbabwe)
Reforest an acre (Part of Mbella Food Security, Senegal)
Llama stables (Part of Livestock Handling of Llamas, Bolivia)
Milking cow (Part of Water Project, Sri Lanka)
Fish tank for six families (Part of Water Project, Sri Lanka)
Build a well (Part of Water Project, Sri Lanka)
Build a classroom (Part of Education in Jong, Sierra Leone)
Drill a borehole (Part of Household Support, Zimbabwe)
Find out more about the Alternative Gifts and go to www.greatgifts.org