By Keith Miller - Christian aid organiser for Keighley Churches Together - THE first Christian Aid week in the new millennium is next week, Sunday to Saturday May 14-20 and the theme is 'Children make our Future'. Christian Aid focuses on children in Nicaragua in Central America which you will remember was recently devastated by hurricane Mitch. Children along with adults are currently striving to re-build their lives and towns and villages after devastation caused by the hurricane. Children in Rwanda and India are equally supported this year, they having their own special needs.

So what kind of welcome does the new century offer to children? Christian Aid poses this question and responds by asking - Will we welcome them into a world with an inescapable cycle of poverty, poor health and inadequate education, or will we support them in their right to thrive, to learn vital life skills to build communities without fear and to enjoy their childhood?

Jesus told us "Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me" and this year we also think of the plight of children in countries like Mozambique now struggling to rebuild towns and villages after the terrible flooding there.

Who can forget the pictures of the child born in a tree? With a world of unstable weather patterns it is almost inevitable that as Christian Aid week comes round each year there is a natural disaster to speak of somewhere and now as I write the people of Ethiopia give rise for deep concern.

In our country health and education are now top priorities for Government funding. It is our taxes that meet the cost and no one could deny that they are both priority causes. In very poor countries like Nicaragua however, spending on the health and education of children and adults depends greatly on generous donations and practical help through organisations like Christian Aid.

Through the house-to-house collections in Christian Aid week this year we have the opportunity to help children in lands overseas but wherever we live 'Children make our Future'. They are the guardians of it.

Please give generously as you can in the envelopes that will come through your letterbox. If you are a UK tax payer and can find time to write your name and address in the space provided on the reverse side then the among given can, from this year, be treated as a charitable gift to be 'grossed up' for tax proving almost a 30 per cent increase that can be claimed back from the Exchequer by Christian Aid.

Finally, may I thank everyone who will again give of their time to join in the house-to-house collections and thank in advance the people of Keighley who will once again give as generously as I know they can. Last year nationally, 300,000 volunteers, collecting house-to-house contributed to a record £10.5m.

A fantastic achievement involving 21,560 churches. I would describe that as a Christian 'Talking Point'!

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