Seeker

I've just driven back through cold thick mist from an early morning medical appointment for my husband. It made me long to see the sun and have a bit of warmth again. Some people in the UK seek sun and warmth on their holidays - the Caribbean being a popular destination for those who can afford to travel that far to escape the British winter. Consequently many people associate countries like Jamaica with sun, sea and beach rather than a place where, as well as wealth, there are areas of deep need, such as in the slum areas of Kingston. Christian Aid partner S-corner has been engaged in community work in Bennetland, Kingston, Jamaica for the last 18 years. This is an inner-city area known for poverty and gun crime. S-Corner is named after the shape of the cross-roads where its clinic and community centre are located. One example of its work is providing elderly residents like Frederick with a hot meal .  The Count Your Blessings Lent calendar informs me today that £1.45 wil...

I was annoyed yesterday. On returning to our car in a hospital car park after visiting a sick friend we saw the unwelcome yellow package stuck to the windscreen. It contained notice of an automatic fine, for parking in the wrong place. I should not have been annoyed. I chose to park there, in the hopes of "getting away with it." I didn't and shouldn't have.  What I should have been doing was to be grateful for medical services, free at the point of need, that were successfully providing the expert medical intervention our friend needed. There is a lot wrong with the UK's National Health Service. I don't believe the changes proposed in the government's Health and Social Care Bill 2011 will make things better. But - the availability of medical care here is still a blessing that some people in the world can only dream about. The focus today in Christian Aid's 'Count Your Blessings'  Lent calendar is Burundi . After years of conflict this...

I am a complete wimp when it comes to floods, especially when driving. I will turn round and take another route when faced with even very shallow water across a road. It is so hard to judge how deep the water may become.  Thankfully I have never lived in a house that has been flooded, apart from minor internal plumbing incidents. Where we live now is unlikely to be flooded. Not too far away is a river that regular spreads itself over the water meadows and sometimes over the rural roads, but not this year so far. We have had so little rain. I have never lost a friend, family member or property to floods. I can only imagine how devastating that must be, especially when floods affect a whole community. Christian Aid's 'Count Your Blessings' calendar tells me today about Lal Chand Kumar. Like so many others he lost everything in severe flooding in Pakistan in 2010.  This was the worst flooding in Pakistan's history with 20 million people affected. Christian Aid was...