As part of the fundraising for our Christmas Appeal, we joined in the #GivingTuesdayUK campaign, which encouraged shoppers to follow the mammoth spending of 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday' with an act of generous giving.

We had a match-funding pot of £2150, which was generously given by supporters including Berica, who provided £1000! We asked supporters to make donations to our appeal on #GivingTuesday and anything given on that day would be match-funded.

We raised £3093.80 on that day, plus £2150 for match-funding, giving us a total of £5243.80 on #GivingTuesday.

This money is added to our Christmas Appeal totals for our work with children in Ethiopia. We are supporting five pre-schools in rural areas in Ethiopia to give children the head-start they need to gain places in government schools and to excel there. Without support these children, who often must walk miles to attend school, would simply not go. They would stay at home, help with chores, and would never gain the education they need to break out of the cycle of poverty.

Our pre-schools are becoming hugely important in the community. Families are beginning to see the value of educating their children, children are coming from all around to attend and the quality of education they are receiving is standing them in excellent stead for their government schooling.