Standing Together: Christian Aid streamlines for greater impact

In the letters sent out by Christian Aids Chief Executive, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, supporters were told that Christian Aid had opened up "a consultation with staff into the steps we must take to deliver greater impact in the communities where we work and to deepen our levels of support."

The letter said:

"As you know, the external challenges are great. The world is waking up to the climate emergency that is hitting the poorest first and hardest, and at least 800 million people will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030 if the Sustainable Development Goals are not delivered.

"We live in a time of political and social intolerance, added to which there is uncertainty in the political and development funding spheres, changes in church membership, an increase in INGO regulation and a more competitive fundraising environment.

"We have begun a process of streamlining our work, to be more focused and deepen our interventions in fewer countries and to do so as good stewards living within our means."

Amanda Khozi Mukwashi went on to write:

"I am motivated by our new global strategy, Standing Together, which calls us to focus our work so that every programme reflects Christian Aid's commitment to the very poorest, speaking truth to power and working, as we always have, with and through local organisations. This will help us to amplify the voice and agency of local partners and ensure long lasting resilient communities able to stand in the face of multiple challenges.

"In Britain and Ireland, we aim to be more effective in our church relationships. We want to retain a local presence, but we will reduce our regional and national offices. The focus will be on deepening our partnership with sponsoring churches by increasing the capacity of the team working on national church relationships.

"We will have home-based on the ground staff to support those churches and groups that need face to face support and a central Supporter Engagement Team supporting the remaining groups."

She added:

"We have announced to staff that we will start the process of exiting our programmes in Angola, Egypt, Zambia, Mali, South Africa, Ghana, the Philippines, Nepal, Bolivia, Guatemala and El Salvador. Our work in Latin America will be managed as a regional programme and our work in the Middle East will be run as a regional programme from London.

"We have started a process of consultation with staff to establish the best way of managing each transition in each of the countries where our presence will be changing."

These changes come at a time when Christian Aid’s overall income has never been higher, but their unrestricted income has been steadily declining. This unrestricted income allows the charity to work with some of the poorest and hardest-to-reach communities.

The letter said:

"Overall, up to 200 staff may be at risk of redundancy and we will be doing absolutely everything we can to support them through first a consultation and then an implementation process, and to manage the change in a way that honours our values.

"Through our national, regional and global partnerships and coalitions, and our work with churches and supporters in Britain and Ireland, we remain committed to standing with the very poorest, to tackling the root causes of their poverty and to using our voice, alongside the voices of others, to call for justice.

"At the end of this difficult but necessary process, I hope you will be able to see a Christian Aid delivering deeper impact for those who are suffering and in extreme poverty. I hope too that you will be able to hear a stronger and more focused prophetic voice calling."