As part of the national Campaign for Australian Aid, more than 80 people from Kiama Baptist Church hosted a “What We’re For” event on February 28.
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This event sought to demonstrate that everyday Australians stand for generosity, fairness and doing all they can to end extreme poverty throughout the world.
People met at the church to celebrate the work of Australian Aid, and show their support for giving the world’s poorest people the foundation for a brighter future.
Information on Australian Aid and the impacts of the cuts to Australian Aid on real people were presented in a variety of ways.
After the event there was a sausage sizzle, and a group photograph was taken which will be forwarded to the Campaign for Australian Aid and local MPs.
“Australia is a wealthy and generous country, and Australians instinctively want to help out when they know how much good our aid does,” event spokesperson Dianne Avery said.
“Currently we only invest one per cent of our national budget in Australian aid, and it achieves incredible outcomes that we can celebrate and be proud of.”
In 2014 alone, Australian Aid helped to immunise more than two million children, supplied 2.9 million people with safe drinking water, helped more than one million children enrol in school and provided disaster relief for emergencies in 24 countries.
However over the past few years, Australia’s aid budget has suffered from successive cuts.
The event was part of the national Campaign for Australian Aid, which is a joint initiative of the Make Poverty History and Micah Australia coalitions (representing more than 50 organisations) supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.