'I’m amazed by some of the level of political and economic understanding of the partner youth groups and it’s really challenged me to up my game.'

Holly Bruford joins Christian Aid Area Staff on an 'Exposure Tour’ of Central America.

On Sunday 12 February four Christian Aid Area Staff and a member of the Legacy Unit arrived in Central America for a two week exposure tour to visit partners across the region.

As a previous employee of Christian Aid based in the London headoffice I had had little contact with Area Staff so when asked to act as translator for the second week of their visit, I was looking forward to gaining a better understanding of what their work entailed.

There are roughly 200 Area Staff across the UK and Ireland. Their job is to provide an insight into the work of Christian Aid to better inform supporters, campaigners and the general public.

In order to do this, Area Staff need to share stories, or even better, first hand experiences of Christian Aid’s work across the world. ‘Exposure Tours’ are therefore an essential part of their work to better understand how partner projects are run and where the supporters’ money is going.

Visiting six partners across Honduras and Nicaragua, Jack, Jill, Judith, Jenny and Emma talked to staff, coordinators, trainers and the beneficiaries themselves. With the aim of going home and sharing their stories with Church groups, youth groups, local committees and Christian Aid staff, they worked hard to get personal, in-depth reports about the projects, their achievements and further needs.

As Youth Coordinator and EPC Liaison for East Anglia and the East Midlands Jenny Skivington, who last year alone spoke to 2,500 people, explained where their research can be further used. 'We are able to feed into Schools and Youth materials as well as church specialist materials which include Black Majority Churches, EPC Churches and Historical Denominations thus influencing Christian Aid’s worship materials.'

There is potential for their stories to reach resources such as Christian Aid Active, Act Justly Updates and general Bible Studies - a wide variety of material they are dependent on for their work.

As a Christian Aid Legacy Officer Jack Visser explained how the Legacy Unit is equally concerned with talking to staff, congregations, committees and focus groups. '95% of Legacy Income comes from Area Staff or Church Reps talking about Christian Aid. I will speak to roughly 3,000 people in the next 3 years.'

Jill Smith, Area Coordinator for Worcestershire and EPC Church Liaison Officer for the Birmingham Unit, commented on what she had learnt from the trip and the overwhelming sense of hope the beneficiaries of the projects have: 'They really believe that they can change. There is a certain grit in their determination.'

When Jill asked a young teenager currently receiving advocacy training from the Honduran Partner OCDIH* if she had any political ambitions the response was immediate: 'Yes, I want to be President.'

This young girl is taking part in workshops that cover topics such as Ethics and Morals, Political Analysis and Rights Promotion. 'The idea is to then replicate what they have learnt to their peers' Jill explained.

Jenny was equally impressed by the youth empowerment stemming from the variety of projects across the region. 'As a Youth Coordinator I’m amazed by some of the level of political and economic understanding of the partner youth groups and it’s really challenged me to up my game in terms of the content of the youth sessions I run in the UK.'

The commitment of the group as representatives of Christian Aid was inspiring. Although Judith Sadler has only recently taken up the post as North East Unit Manager, she has been a committed supporter for the last 35 years, raising her own funds to take part in a supporter trip to Bangladesh and completing the Great North Run to raise ₤800 for the organisation.

Emma Kentish, now the Volunteer’s Development Officer in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, initially got involved through the Christian Aid Gap programme in 2003 taking a year out to help with campaigns and workshops, recruit new campaigners, receive training and take part in a partner visit to the Philippines.

Inspired, excited and challenged by what they have seen out here and the indisputable success of Christian Aid partnerships, their next task is to get their stories across back home.

From their genuine warmth, commitment and belief in Christian Aid’s work I have a feeling there will be a lot of people listening.

* The Christian Organisation for Development in Honduras

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