Tree Aid - helping communities in Africa to fight poverty
Last updated 7/24/2008 10:04:22 AM
TREE AID is enabling communities in Africa's drylands to fight poverty and become self-reliant, while improving the environment.
TREE AID is the UK's only forestry-focused development charity providing funding and on-the-ground training and support to local organisations in the Sahel of Africa.
TREE AID's work, which also strengthens villagers' resilience to the impact of climate change, has never been more important.
The founders of TREE AID wanted to provide a long term solution in the wake of famine once the emergency relief efforts ended. They believed that trees could significantly reduce the vulnerability of communities in rural Africa's drylands to drought and famine in the future.
TREE AID's vision is to see thriving and self-reliant communities in Africa's drylands.
TREE AID's mission is to alleviate poverty sustainably, while improving the environment.
The major focus in 2007-08 has been on supporting 164 Village Tree Enterprise groups in identifying products with which they can develop viable businesses. Working with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, we have helped them to produce business plans for these. This gives much greater purpose to our forestry work, in particular planting and protecting trees. It also means much greater impact in terms of long-term poverty alleviation for the villagers we support.
TREE AID couldn't do what we do without the generosity of our donors. Simple as that. When we tell villagers in Africa that we can only help them fight poverty because of the efforts of our supporters they are deeply moved that people so many thousands of miles away care about their plight.