The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and Christian Aid are joining forces to raise funds and awareness around illegal fishing in Sierra Leone and the negative impact it has on local fishing communities.
The appeal follows a recent documentary called ‘The Toughest Place to be a… Fisherman’. I was among the 2.1m people who tuned in to follow Andy Giles, a trawler fisherman from Cornwall, on his journey to Sierra Leone. As they fished from dug-out canoes, Andy’s hosts introduced him to the threats they faced from foreign trawlers on a daily basis.
Having experienced firsthand the difficulties faced by fishing communities, Andy was motivated to make a difference by offering his help. When he was asked about the EJF and Christian Aid working together to help the project, here’s what he had to say:
“We’d already approached EJF about launching an appeal to support a trawler surveillance project that would help stop trawlers fishing illegally in the area. But people were also incredibly passionate about providing fishing nets, newer safer boats and other community items for the villager. Therefore, we looked further into finding another charity working in the area that could help with this.”
Christian Aid then came on board and extended their food security project to the areas highlighted in the documentary. The partnership between EJF and Christian Aid extended the reach of the campaign, opening it up to supporters of both charities. Not only that, supporters were given more choice in how they supported the appeal.
EJF and Christian Aid grouped their two appeals together with a JustGiving team page, making it possible to donate to either charity from the one page. You can add a photo to a team page, as well as information about the appeal and a collective target. The logo for each charity is displayed on the team page and you can see the total amount raised.
Interested in running your own appeal?
Find out how to set up an appeal page for your charity and read more about about team pages.
Thank you to EJF for providing us with such great photos.
Tags: Christian Aid, EDF