UK Charities need help first

Pheonix life is about giving and receiving not always money or goods sometimes time, help, care. Remember that when you have to be the receiver you are allowing someone else to be the giver and that is a privilege

Before my Dad died he said to me 'you shouldn't be having to do these personal things for me' I said 'but think of all the times you changed my nappy' he laughed and said '.....but I never did' but he did so much more for me (not always appreciated when I was young)

UK charities are given tax relief. Perhaps we should investigate what some of these charities actually do, how their money is spent and for whose benefit. For instance, private schools have charitable status.

There is terrible inequality and poverty in this country but at least there is access to clean water and healthcare.

As has been said before on similar threads, overseas aid is not wholly altruistic as it usually comes with certain "strings" attached.

I have direct debits with FOE, Wateraid and Practical Action.
It more than covers my Winter fuel allowance.
Practical Action is run by the Schumacher Institute and helps villages to help themselves, setting up wells and solar power, etc.
If you do not want to help overseas charities, you can help the workers by making sure you always buy fairtrade tea, coffee and chocolate.

durhamjen Good point re Fairtrade (and also campaigning against the exploitation of foreign workers). Also, by not supporting slave wage companies overseas, we won't be encouraging the current "race to the bottom" which, in the long run, benefits only the mega-wealthy and huge multinational corporations.

Aid is needed where its needed nothing at all to do with countries How can anyone think the 'poverty' in UK can equate with the poverty of Syria