News & Events - 2026 Christian Aid Week

A huge thank you to everyone for their input into this year’s Christian Aid Week.

There was only one event this year, a coffee morning held in the Parish Centre on Saturday, 23 May, and the familiar red envelopes were given out in church the next day.

This year’s appeal, which ran from May 10–16, was focused on work in Nairobi, Kenya, where families are working hard to beat urban poverty and hunger. Intense poverty means families have a daily struggle to feed their children. With secure jobs hard to find, and most people earning less than a dollar a day, the struggle to cover school costs, rent and water, and providing food for every meal is a relentless problem.

But with tools, seeds and specialist training from Christian Aid’s partner, Beacon of Hope, families are learning how to make the most of a small space in the city to grow a steady supply of fresh vegetables to cook or sell. This year, our support is helping women in Kenya grow food, earn an income and care for their children in the face of hunger and rising living costs.

An impactful agricultural project called ‘Imarisha Kilimo’ (which means ‘strengthen agriculture’ in Swahili), run by Beacon of Hope, offers people the opportunity to train as urban farmers. Central to this course of learning is how to tend cone gardens. These vertical planters, with tiers of produce, not only have a small footprint, but retain precious water. They don’t require ground to be dug and can be established in even the narrowest alleyways.

Our efforts at St Matthew’s raised a final total of £606.09 and will also add another £40 thanks to Gift Aid. This will go a long way toward helping others less fortunate than ourselves.

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