This Christmas, send a goat to Africa!

Thanks to people who have purchased gift certificates in our charity e-shop www.skutecnydarek.cz (www.real-gift.org), this year we can help children in an orphanage in Congo, farmers in Ethiopia, or women in Cambodia. We try to distribute assistance carefully and so we are able to provide our donors with a detailed and transparent report on how we used the money raised in the campaign The Real Gift, said Šimon Pánek, director of the organization.

Real Gift Website

The Real Gift (in Czech: Skutečný dárek) was launched 2 years ago in order to support villages and families in the countries where PIN holds their development and relief aid missions, such as Angola, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Congo, Namibia and Sri Lanka. It is inscribed in a four-module programme: WATER, SCHOOLS, LIVELIHOODS and HEALTH. These four projects represent our priorities within the humanitarian and development assistance PIN provides. Many people die of or are infected by illnesses caused by polluted WATER. That is why people on the missions in these countries dig and drill wells, build water reservoirs or educate local children on good hygiene habits. People in Need believe that access to SCHOOLS and education leads the way out of poverty, which is why they build and equip new schools. Provision of the LIVELIHOOD leads to economic independence and enables people to work and survive without any further assistance. Within the project HEALTH PIN helps to build new hospitals and clinics or, for example, to train midwives.

How does The Real Gift work then? Very simple. You go to the website http://www.real-gift.org where you can browse through the gifts of your choice, such as a Happy goat (€36,00), Baby food for Namibia (€20,00), Twenty chickens (€10,00) 100% Cow (€299,00) or even A donkey with a cart (€299,00). In order to avoid unnecessary transport expenses, as well as to support the local markets, goods and livestock are purchased in the countries targeted for their onward distribution. As a result, you donate the money to a very concrete gift. After you choose your gift online, then place it in the basket and complete the payment, you immediately receive an electronic certificate. The electronic certificate enables you to give a Real Gift to a friend or relative in a paper free format by sending it in an email. In the e-shop you can also write your personal message and the recipient’s email address at which he or she will receive a PDF form of your gift certificate. You can also choose to send your gift at a later date.

Thanks to The Real Gift project, in 2010 People in Need was able to buy approximately 634 goats, 167 sheep, 85 cows, 6,422 chickens, 45,363 trees, 240 jerry cans of water, equipment for several schools, material to build wells, and medical and other equipment necessary to save the lives of women during childbirth. And it really works!

On the website of The Real Gift people’s testimonies prove that the project really improves the lives of many, just like it happened to the 93 children living in an orphanage in the village of Katana in Congo. For them the 5 cows and 10 goats donated through The Real Gift mean fresh milk as well as providing an opportunity to attend a school. It’s a huge help that provides children with part of their nutrition. We keep cows exclusively for milk which we use to make cheese and curd, says Mama Sifa, who runs the orphanage.

I’m trying to raise money wherever I can. Just to purchase food for children costs me $1000 a month so it’s great that we have, thanks to the goats, fresh milk and cheese from our own production. Each child gets a bit and I sell the rest in town, which enables me to buy flour, rice, fish, fruit and vegetables which the children also need, says Mama Sifa.

On the website you can read many more fascinating and moving stories of people who, just like the children from Katana orphanage, already benefited from The Real Gift project. Having recently launched the Slovak version of the Real Gift, People in Need is now addressing particularly the English speakers with the new English version of the e-shop. So if you still haven’t decided what to buy for Christmas for your family and friends, don’t wait and go to http://www.real-gift.org This Christmas, send a goat to Africa!

For more information please contact:
Šimon Pánek, director of People in Need, 777 787 913, simon.panek@clovekvtisni.cz
Tomáš Vyhnálek, fundraising coordinator, 777 787 940, tomas.vyhnalek@clovekvtisni.cz
Tomáš Urban, media coordinator, contacts to other countries, 777 787 943, tomas.urban@clovekvtisni.cz