Christmas Appeal 2025 | Christian Aid Ireland

When Chance escaped armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, her baby wore only a nappy. With your support, she can rebuild her family's future.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, let's not forget communities affected by conflict.

While many of us share a joyful and peaceful Christmas in our homes and churches, we invite you to consider families like Chance’s - facing unimaginable hardship after fleeing violence.

Meet Chance

Home: Minova, on the shores of Lake Kivu, East Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Displaced to: Katashola Camp

Children: 8. Her baby was just 2 months old when she fled.

Status: Separated from her husband (due to the conflict), who is feared dead.

Dream: To protect her children so they can grow up in peace and one day see her baby become a journalist who gives a voice to others like her.

Help mother's who've lost everything to protect their children's lives

£36/€42 could provide personal hygiene kits for more than one family, keeping children safe and healthy.

Donate today

Before the fighting, life was simple and full of love

Chance lived in a small farming community in the eastern region of DRC. Her children went to school; she worked as a shopkeeper alongside her husband.

I thought my life would be happy – to work with my husband, feed and educate our children. I never expected to leave my village.

The night we ran

When violence reached her village, Chance had to make an impossible choice – but she knew her family had to escape to survive.

For days, Chance and her children fled on foot, terrified and exhausted, searching for safety. Each step was a fight for survival.

Chance isn’t alone. She’s one of millions forced from their homes in the DRC – one of the largest, and now most urgent, humanitarian crises of our time.

Here in the camp, we need food and financial assistance... We have nothing at all... This is the case for everyone.

No one should have to face this alone

Together, we must support families to survive violence and poverty against all odds.

Donate now

A mother’s resilience

At the camp, Chance found safety, but life is still hard.

With no running water in her shelter, Chance walks long distances to collect water - carrying heavy jerrycans under the blazing sun.

Her days are filled with worry about how to feed her children, keep them healthy and hold onto hope for their future.

Though Chance is a resourceful mother, she's running out of options – because of a situation that's heartbreakingly beyond her control.

How you can help

When every essential is out of reach, our partners offer families like Chance’s a vital lifeline. Your support funds cash grants that help mothers buy the food and medicine their children need.

£15

or €17 could buy the 20kg bag of beans, adding vital minerals to a family’s diet – helping fight malnutrition.
£36

or €42 could provide personal hygiene kits for more than one family, keeping children safe and healthy.
£70

or €81 could fund pots, cups, bowls, plates and spoons for a family who’ve lost everything.

I wish you could help me and my companions who are suffering like me. Please help us.

- Chance.

Every gift matters

Your support is urgently needed so that people like Chance can protect their children from hunger, malnutrition, disease and pain.

Conflict in the DRC: an ongoing humanitarian emergency

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been repeatedly devastated by centuries of violence, leaving homes destroyed, livelihoods lost and families displaced. Today, the DRC faces one of the largest global hunger crises, with over 27 million people in urgent need of food.

Christian Aid is working with trusted local partners to deliver a financial assistance programme, which offers immediate emergency aid to families who’ve fled their homes – supporting mothers to protect their children from hunger, malnutrition, disease and pain.