Tearfund is a disaster-relief and development agency on the front line in over 50 of the most destitute countries around the globe and endeavours to eradicate poverty worldwide. Rebecca D’souza, a supporter relations executive at Tearfund, spoke to me about the struggle to meet the needs of disadvantaged people in the current climate and how vital the charity’s work is now more than ever before.
As we are all well aware of, there is an abundance of charities out there with the same intentions and ardour as Tearfund, but it is Tearfund’s ingenious approach to tackling poverty that makes them stand out from the crowd. “We work with local churches in [impoverished] regions… because the local church would know more about what the people need,” said Mrs D’souza. “We don’t pretend to [know] all the solutions, we actually speak to the local people and see what will be the solution for them. That’s what makes us unique.”
Not only that, Tearfund emphasises the significance of creating sustainable developments and teaches people valuable skills they can use to support themselves in the long term. There’s some saying about teaching a man to fish that is relevant here. “We train [the local people] in modern farming techniques... They need help to understand how climate change, for instance, can have an effect on how they sow the seed, what month they sow it and when the harvest will come because all the seasons have changed,” Mrs D’souza explained.
This innovative procedure is evidently effective as last year alone, over 2.4 million people were reached through community development work and over 15,000 churches were mobilised. However, charities are under a lot of pressure at the moment as demand for their assistance has increased exponentially since the first lockdown last year whilst their supplies have plummeted. In fact, Tearfund lost an estimate of 10-15% of its income last year due to supporters cancelling their donations. “With this unforeseen situation last year… There are a couple of projects we’ve had to turn away from. All of our projects involve helping men, women and children so it was a difficult decision,” said Mrs D’souza.
Mrs D’souza wanted to end our conversation with an urgent call to action. “Right now more than ever before, people need your help… Don’t hold out on just giving and supporting charities because charities are struggling.”
