Pigs fly as Trócaire launches campaign
Sending one of the farm animals to Colombia to help poverty-stricken families is part of the aid agency's global gift campaign.
The fundraiser, now in its third year, may lead to some unusual presents but provides much-needed aid for troubled countries.
Last year, Colombia got 20,000 chickens from the campaign and families in Angola were sent 10,000 goats and 1,000 wind-up radios.
In return for making a donation, Trócaire will send a Christmas card with details of the project to a friend of the donor.
There are eight different gift options. Donators can pay for a set of schoolbooks for 10 children in Ethiopia for 15 euro, or buy an artificial limb for a land mine victim in Angola, costing 150 euro.
For 50 euro, a donor can purchase a tool kit for an apprentice in Sierra Leone. The country has been ravaged by a civil war, involving many child soldiers. The project aims to bring the children back to civilian life by giving them a trade in carpentry, masonry or metal work.
Trócaire spokesperson Eimer O'Hare said: "All of the gifts are targeted towards giving people sustainable skills. Trócaire has to look after emergencies but these long-term
development projects are just as vital. You can't just stop the money all of a sudden and leave a country when the emergency's over."
Last year, Trócaire sold 50,000 global gifts, raising 1.6 million euro. This year it is hoping to break the 2m euro barrier.
Ms O'Hare said the constant debt burden of the developing countries made the global gifts campaign even more important.
"A lot of the time the country isn't capable of investing themselves and with the very high level of debt repayments, you can see the suffering.
"So you have to fight on two levels to abolish the repayments but also to do something on a practical level for the people on the ground," Ms O'Hare said.
People who wish to receive a Global Gift certificate before Christmas must order before December 14.
Global gifts can be ordered online at www.trocaire.ie.
The gifts can also be ordered by phoning: 1850 408 408.
