One of my favorite Christmas carols is Now a thousand Christmas lights are lit and ideally, Carola should sing it so that the Christmas mood sets in while the mulled wine boils on the stove and the gingerbread cookies in the oven spread a lovely aroma. The text that sounds from the speakers in the Christmas-decorated living room is about the earth's dark roundness, and a thousand, a thousand rays also on the sky's deep blue background.
There is much that is dark in our world right now, wars are going on in several places such as Ukraine, Gaza and Myanmar, the climate threat is growing, people are on the run, people are struggling to give their children education, food on the table and access to healthcare. We see people, families and communities being harmed by alcohol and other drugs all over the world. More than 2,6 million people around the world die every year from alcohol and how many children grow up in the insecurity that it means when a parent has an alcohol problem, it is impossible to measure.
But just as the Christmas carol says, there are a thousand rays shining in the sky and we as the IOGT-NTO movement get to be part of these thousand rays of light. Some problems, such as war, are difficult to influence, while the harms of alcohol around the world are a huge problem that we can actually influence.
Your gift changes lives
Through the international work of the IOGT-NTO movement, you help support local organizations that work for strengthened public health, gender equality and children's rights!
Our activities reach hundreds of thousands of people, but that is a drop in the ocean considering how many are harmed by alcohol and other drugs. That's why we need your help.
In October I visited Tanzania and met Mkejina Tamla, an elderly woman living in the village of Kisarawe. Mkejina's home is a bar. Together with her husband, she brews alcohol during the day, which she then sells in the evenings when customers come to their courtyard. The same courtyard where her grandchildren play. When we sit and talk with Mkejina, it is clear that this is not a life she wants for herself or wishes for anyone else. But the circumstances of life have led her here and she wonders how to break free. Free to a life where alcohol does not harm her life, family, society.
When we told her about the project we support in Kisarawe, she immediately wanted to sign up to become a leader, she doesn't want more people to end up in the situation she is in. She wants something different for herself and the neighbors in the village.
BECOME A MONTHLY DONATOR
For you as a member of The IOGT-NTO Movement is it possible to join and change the lives of people like Mkejina in Kisarawe and others around our world every month. As a monthly donor, you are our most important donor. You give an amount of your choice every month via direct debit and we use the money where it is most needed. You can change the amount you give at any time. As a monthly donor, you are an important cog in our immediate and long-term work - and it is the most cost-effective way to give, as it requires minimal administration for us. More money comes in, quite simply.
As a monthly donor, you support projects that deal with reducing alcohol consumption in communities where harm is widespread - and children and women are hit hard. And where change is possible! Where we work, drinking decreases, and security and health increase, and there is money left over to buy food or school books for the family.
It's easy to be a monthly donor, your chosen amount is deducted every month from your account, thus making your gift sustainable and long-term useful. Your gift is reviewed by Swedish collection control and we guarantee that the money will arrive and I also promise you that you will regularly receive information from the international work so you know what your money enables. Go to our website and follow your heart Give a gift
I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Greetings
Johanna
Johanna Daven
General Secretary – IOGT-NTO Movement
