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He was one of the world’s most famous sports superstars. His story of recovery from cancer to even greater triumphs on his bike captured the public’s imagination. But Lance Armstrong’s 7 Tour De France wins were based on a lie… Now meet the man who unmasked Lance and knocked him off his bike and help raise some money for Africa.

The UN has declared 2014 to be the ‘international year of family farming’. Here at Self Help Africa, every year is all about working with smallholder and family farms. However the formal recognition and backing from the UN will help to refocus the minds of policy makers on the key role family farms play in the world economy.

2014 marks an important milestone in the history of Self Help Africa. 3 decades ago , at the beginning of 1984, few in the West were aware of the looming famine in Ethiopia and other food security problems across Sub Saharan Africa. By the end of the year, the plight of so many starving families, had made a major impact on public consciousness. Emergency and humanitarian efforts were mobilised , getting badly needed supplies to those most in need.

Self Help Africa says a big seasonal ‘thank you’ to our incredible supporters. This Autumn alone, in excess of 1,500 friends lent us their support – attending and participating in events and challenges – and in so doing contributing almost €1,000,000 to support our work in Africa.

For 60-year-old Nelisi Tembo, her vegetable garden is a place of hope. She has used money earned from the small plot at her homestead in Mwachilala village in Southern Malawi to construct a new tin-roofed home, to buy a treadlepump for irrigation and to pay school fees for her children and grand-children.

School gardening is a time-tabled activity for the children attending Siamatika Primary School in Southern Zambia. And why not? – virtually all of the kids in the 510 pupil school come from farming backgrounds, and those that don’t usually have some land at home where their family grow maize and other crops.

A sun-dried vegetable project is providing the springboard for a Zambian women’s group to support new enterprise development for their members. Members of the 20-strong self-help group in Lushoma, Zambia, have seen their incomes increase, and have begun to save part of their increased earnings to set up a savings programme.

When 22-year old Clifford Siamatika completed high school two years ago, it was a hugely important milestone for his proud mother Lillian and her husband Ken.

By making your donation through the Big Give Christmas Challenge, you could double your money for Self Help Africa. If you’d like to make your pounds go further and help more African families change their lives, you can make a Big Give donation on 5th, 6th or 7th December 2013.