Imagine buying a gift this Christmas that would not alone bring joy to your loved one, but could also help to transform the life of a rural poor family in Africa?

The good news is that you can – with the launch of Self Help Africa’s Lifetime Gifts seasonal catalogue of alternate festive presents.

Whether it’s a stocking filler for the kids or a thoughtful alternative seasonal gift for a friend or relative, the catalogue allows you to invest in chicks, goats, bees and cows, and support livestock programmes that are providing new sources of food and income for hundreds of thousands of rural poor families, each year.

You’ll receive a digital certificate or gift card for each purchase, while your Christmas gift will be invested by Self Help Africa in an amazing range of practical products that can have a real impact for families in Africa. 

Alongside its lifestock products, Self Help Africa is also giving online shoppers a selection of other great alternate gifts, ranging from sack gardens and fuel stoves to farm tools, bicycles and family health kits.

Each year, tens of thousands of Irish shoppers invest in charity gifts at Christmastime, and for Self Help Africa, it’s become an important source of support at an important time of the year, says Head of Fundraising, Ciara Tallon.

“Irish people are very generous at this time of year, and they also want to do something for others,” she says, adding that “over the past 20 years we have raised more than a million euro from people – funds that have allowed us to provide real and practical support to African families.”

“For just €20, we can provide a woman with a clutch of improved breed chicks, allowing her to develop her own flock and provide eggs for family nutrition and eggs and chicks that she can sell to others,” she added.