THE public in Ireland have bought more than one million life-changing gifts since the year 2000 to support some of the world’s most vulnerable families, Trócaire has announced at its annual Christmas Gifts launch. 

Launching the agency’s annual Gifts of Love Trócaire’s Head of Region for Northern Ireland, Siobhan Hanley, said: “This one million gifts milestone is testament to the extraordinary generosity of the public here at home. Despite the immense challenges of the last few years our supporters have continued to be incredibly generous to those most in need.” 

She said the Gifts of Love are hugely popular with Trócaire supporters and amidst all of the consumerism and spending associated with Christmas they give people an opportunity to buy a meaningful present from as little as £5 that will change the life of somebody in dire need.  

Ms Hanley said: “Currently an estimated 274 million people around the world need humanitarian assistance and we are relying on the public again this Christmas to support our work.” 

She added: “The COP27 Climate Summit put the needs of people in the developing world who are battling to survive the effects of climate change in the spotlight. The climate crisis, along with Covid-19 and conflict, has resulted in 44 million people currently facing life-threatening food shortages in East Africa. Our gifts aim to ensure that people don’t reach the traumatic point where they have to rely on emergency humanitarian aid.”  

This year’s Gifts of Love collection includes two new gifts – the ‘Gift of Winter Essentials’ (£20) to support Syrian families forced to flee their homes to refugee camps in neighbouring Lebanon – and the ‘Family Food Basket’ (£30) which provides basic food essentials and high nutrient food for malnourished children facing catastrophic hunger in the Horn of Africa due to the ongoing drought.   
The broad range of gifts also include dignity packs to help young girls out of period poverty (£10) and mental health support for women and children traumatised by the ongoing conflict in Gaza (£40).  

The gifts can be purchased online at trocaire.org/gifts or by calling 0800 912 1200.   
There are 23 Trócaire gifts to choose from ranging in price from £5 to £1,000 and each gift will support critical work across the developing world.  

List of Worldwide Gifts 2022    

1. Soap £5    

2. Chicks £7  

3. Menstrual Dignity £10  

4. Seeds and Tools £10    

5. Solar Lamps £10    

6. Clean Water £15  

7. School Lunches £15

8. The Gift of Winter Essentials £20  

9. School Kit £20    

10. Family Food Basket £30  

11. Water Filter Kit £35  

12. Mental Health Lifeline £40

13. Goats £40    

14. Grandparents £40    

15. Baby Kit & Maternity Care £45    

16. Honeybees £55    

17. Trees £75  

18. Water £85    

19. Women’s Empowerment Gift £85  

20. Human Rights Heroes Gift £85  

21. A Safe Home £125  

22. Ox Plough and Farming Tools £170  

23. Fix a Well £1000