Christ the King Primary School Owairaka assistant principal and Year 5 and 6 teacher Billy Hadnett came up with the idea for the initiative, which began in 2015.

Hadnett established Cans for Christmas as a project to initially create community and unity between Catholic schools in Auckland.

"The idea started after attending an Edmund Rice conference and becoming involved in a discussion about how helping in our own backyard is the first place we should start," Hadnett says.

"This, combined with the knowledge that all Catholic schools already do individual service projects, brought about the idea of schools pulling together as one to donate at one time and in a large capacity."

Students taking part gain a sense of involvement, as well as being a part of something bigger.

"All children and schools involved get to help with their little bit to be part of the larger donation - it means they can feel like they have helped in a big way, just by donating one or two cans."

Cans for Christmas has been operating for two years. In its first year, 10 schools and the Auckland Diocesan (sic) took part, and collected approximately 4000 cans, and last year 19 schools and the Auckland Diocesan gathered approximately 8000 cans.

These 8000 cans were estimated to be worth $11,000, which was only a small portion that St Vincent de Paul hand out at Christmas time each year to families in need.

This year, Cans for Christmas has grown to include 30 Catholic primary schools, seven secondary schools and the Auckland Diocesan, and it also involves two Dunedin-based primary schools.

It is hoped approximately 14,000 cans will be collected, Hadnett says, which is still a small proportion of what the St Vincent de Paul Society pass on to families in need at Christmas, every year.

Source

• Education HQ
• Givealittle
• Image: Education HQ

For Funaki Vehekite, 53, the sweet potato is all the sweeter because it allows him to support his family and keep his five children in school.

At his farm in Tongatapu, Tonga's largest island, he also produces food crops such as kape, taro, yam, cassava and squash.

Funaki is the secretary of a farming collective called the St Anthony of Padua group, which is part of Caritas Tonga's sustainable livelihoods programme.

With funding from Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, the programme aims to boost the income of over 400 families in Tongatapu and Vava'u by providing small loans which farmers can use to set up micro-enterprises.

Community members are trained in business management, produce development and marketing so that the income they gain will allow them to become financially independent.

"Caritas Tonga's Sustainable Livelihoods programme is our way of helping poverty stricken families in Tonga," says Sr Senolita Vakata, director of Caritas Tonga.

"We support poor farmers who cannot afford any collateral for their loans and otherwise would have no other way of acquiring financial support either from a bank or other private institution." Continue reading.

Today, 10 December 2013, the Caritas International federation launches its One human family, food for all campaign, supported by Pope Francis, aiming to end food hunger by 2025

Source: Caritas International

Image: Hunger Campaign