Rossnowlagh octogenarian raises €1,000 for the world’s poorest

A Donegal octogenarian from Rossnowlagh has raised more than €1,000 for Christian Aid Ireland’s work supporting vulnerable countries around the world. 

Judith Hinchliff, a parishioner at St John’s Church of Ireland in Rossnowlagh, held a coffee morning fundraiser on Tuesday 21 May at her church hall. Helping her bake scones and cakes as well as pour the coffee were several of her fellow parishioners, assisted by members of St Anne’s in Ballyshannon and Drumholm Parish Church in Ballintra.

Almost 50 visitors enjoyed a coffee and sweet treat in exchange for a donation to support the aid agency’s work. 

There was also the opportunity to buy home-made jam and marmalade to take away. Among those supporting the event were members of the Rossnowlagh Ramblers Walking Club, as well as members of the religious community of the nearby Franciscan friary wearing their signature long, brown robes.

Judith holds her coffee morning annually - despite being in constant pain as she waits for hip replacement surgery. 

Her fundraiser was held to mark Christian Aid Week (May 12-18) which began in the 1950s and is thought to be Ireland’s longest-running fundraising campaign.

ABOVE: One of those supported by Christian Aid’s local partner in Burundi is Aline Nibogora. With the profits she made selling her avocados and peanuts, Aline bought a bicycle to transport her goods further afield. Credit: Christian Aid/Ndacayisaba Epitace

Each year, tens of thousands of people across Ireland and the UK get involved in raising funds to support the charity’s work to reach people living in poverty and crisis.

Now aged in her mid-80s, Judith is a former Anglican nun whose twenty years of service with the Yorkshire-based Order of the Holy Paraclete included spells nursing in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and doing pastoral work in Johannesburg, South Africa. She left the order in 1983 and later married, settling with her husband in Donegal where she has lived since 1988.  

The charity’s Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Judith and the parishioners of the three churches, as well as everyone who donated so generously: “Every year during Christian Aid Week, people across Ireland raise funds, act and pray for their global neighbours in a celebration of hope for a fairer world. Christian Aid Week brings people together to put our faith into action. Every prayer, every gift, every action makes a difference.”

This year’s Christian Aid Week appeal focused on the charity’s work in Burundi, one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. 

Heavily reliant on agriculture, it’s also one of the least prepared to combat the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and landslides. The global cost of living crisis has intensified the challenges, leaving more than 70% of the population living in poverty and more than half of children chronically malnourished.

Christian Aid has been working in Burundi since 1995 when it first offered humanitarian assistance to people surviving the civil conflict. Now, alongside local partners, the organisation helps establish Village Savings and Loans Associations. 

These community-led groups mean people can save and borrow money, making small businesses possible, offering reliable incomes so families can eat regularly, get medicine when they need it, and build safer homes.

One of those supported by Christian Aid and its local partner is thirty-five-year-old Aline Nibogora. A survivor of both domestic violence and homelessness, thanks to a small start-up loan, Aline was able to begin trading avocados and peanuts locally. With her profits, she bought a bicycle to transport greater quantities of goods to markets further afield and now has the money she needs to support herself and her children.