12 September 2012

Start a miracle this Christmas ...buy a shorter tree!

Kirstine

This Christmas, international development charity, TREE AID, is asking people in the UK to start a small miracle by purchasing a slightly shorter Christmas tree and using the difference in price to plant trees in Africa.

Buying a 5ft tree instead of a 6ft tree will save around £10*.  With this £10 a family in Africa can gain crucial access to a vital source of nutrition through the gift of a Moringa tree.

Otherwise known as the ‘Miracle’ tree, the leaves of the Moringa contain more protein than peas, more beta-carotene than carrots, more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more potassium than bananas and more iron than spinach. 

In Sub-Saharan Africa where 30% of the population (the highest percentage in the world) is undernourished, access to such trees can be the difference between life and death.

“The difference is very clear between a child fed on moringa and a child who is not.  A child fed on moringa is very healthy and rarely ill. If he is ill from malaria, he will heal very rapidly. Children fed on moringa very rarely suffer from malnutrition,”

Nurse Marie Bassole, CASE Orphanage, Burkina Faso.  

Key Facts

  • The Moringa tree is just one of the £10 gifts that will be appearing in TREE AID’s Christmas gift catalogue this year. Other £10 gifts include:
  • The Mango Tree: Mango trees provide one of Africa’s best known and most delicious fruits. Mangos are packed with vitamins, and can be dried to provide a vital out-of-season food source and product for sale at market. They also provide an at hand source of food when other crops are unavailable.
  • The Baobab Tree: The gift of a baobab tree means its leaves can be gathered for free providing women on limited income with a healthy diet for their children. Baobab leaves are rich in vitamin c potassium, spinach and magnesium – and its fruit has 6 times more vitamin c than oranges and twice as much calcium as milk.

In rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, tree foods play a particularly important role because other sources of nutrient rich foods such as vegetables are only available for a few months during the rainy season.   Unlike crops that can be affected by lack of rain, trees are generally resistant to drought and they can yield produce fruit all year round.

This Christmas start a miracle. Simply sacrifice 1 ft off your Christmas tree and buy a miracle tree for a family in Africa.

For more information on all TREE AID’s gifts visit https://donate.treeaid.org.uk/onlineshop/

For every gift ordered we will send you a beautiful greetings card and an information card describing your gift. We will put your donation to work straight away, helping to transform the lives of the world’s poorest people. All the gifts in this catalogue are regularly provided by TREE AID and your donation will be used wherever the need is greatest. This way, you can be sure your support makes the maximum difference in helping to transform lives, permanently.

Notes to editors

* UK research:

  • The most popular type of Christmas tree bought by people in the UK is a six foot Nordmann fir.  The average difference in the price between a five foot and a six foot Nordmann fir tree is £9.16. This is based on an average of six Christmas tree companies from across the country.

Case studies:  

Quotes

“The difference is very clear between a child fed on moringa and a child who is not. A child fed on moringa is very healthy and rarely ill. If he is ill from malaria, he will heal very rapidly. Children fed on moringa very rarely suffer from malnutrition,”

Nurse Marie Bassole, CASE Orphanage, Burkina Faso.

“Baobab tree leaves contain lots of iron which gives us strength. Some children are quite weak and that’s because they don’t get enough iron nutrients. You feel that when they start to eat baobab leaves they feel stronger thanks to the iron.”

Alimata Bambouquo, Bangmiuougou, Burkina Faso

“We know that times are tough – so all we’re asking this Christmas is that people buy a shorter tree. What is a small difference for a family in the UK, could mean a family in Africa is able tackle one of their biggest challenges – feeding their family,”

Philip Goodwin, TREE AID Chief Executive.

Related Links

Key PR Contacts

Kirstine Dunhill

Kirstine Dunhill

Communications Officer

TreeAid

Marian Rose

Marian Rose

Director of Fundraising and Communications

TREE AID

Company Links

Media Library

  • Nurse Marie Bassole, feeding child with pasta fortified with Moringa powder
  • Mango’s provide a readily available, at hand source of nutrition when other crops are unavailable.
  • Children eating sauce made from Baobab leaves