Five meaningful gifts to brighten lives this Christmas

You can put a smile on your loved one’s face while also bringing brighter futures to thousands of vulnerable families around the world by providing health, livelihoods and education… and more.

A bike is one Concern gift that’s a ‘wheelie’ good addition to any vulnerable household, making it quicker and easier to get to work and to market, so families don’t have to put the ’brakes’ on their income.

For Maliya and her family in Chikwawa, Malawi, life was once a daily struggle. There was often not enough food at home, and Maliya had to leave school because her family couldn't afford essentials such as meals, notebooks and other school supplies. Things began to change when her mother joined a Village Savings and Loans group. The family could afford school uniforms, notebooks and, importantly, a bicycle.

A bicycle can make a huge difference to a child's life. It helps children travel to school more easily and safely, while giving families a practical way to transport goods and access markets. This can help boost incomes, making it easier to pay for essentials like food, school supplies and fees.

More than just transport, a bicycle opens up opportunities, independence and a brighter future for children and their families.

A goat isn’t just for Christmas, because this sustainable gift can help create opportunities that last for years to come. That’s something that’s hard to ‘bleat’.

Eliza (64) and her husband Elia sell maize grain and other crops in Malawi. With seed capital from Concern, they were able to invest in their farming business, purchasing goats, ducks and a solar panel.

The impact has been life-changing. Using the extra money she has made from her business, Eliza has been able to help send her grandchildren to school, and for the first time, the family have an electric light in their home.

And she can look to the future, with plans to use the profits from her farming business to build a small house that she can rent out to support her family. Reflecting on the changes the project has brought, she says: “I never knew I could sleep in a house with a solar panel, I could do business, I can rear animals. Because of Concern, the money I got from the project helps me, helps support my children to go to school.”

From helping the family put food on the table to supporting their grandchildren’s education, the benefits continue to grow. That really isn’t ‘baaa-d’ at all.

A mobile library can help turn a new page for children, bringing books and learning opportunities directly to communities that need them most. Now that's a story worth telling.

Buying this charity gift will help fill the shelves of a mobile library and bring books directly to children in remote communities. By putting stories into young hands, it helps spark imaginations, build reading skills and nurture a lifelong love of learning, opening up a world of possibility.

But the impact goes beyond reading. In Niger, students Ismael (12) and Abdoul (12) love reading books from the mobile library set up in Balleyara Chateau primary school in Tagazar commune, and Ismael,  an internally displaced student, gets to share his favourite books with his friend. 

By bringing displaced and host community children together around books and educational games, the mobile library plays a vital role in helping to foster a sense of community and mutual support.

Helping children discover the joy of reading while bringing communities together is a chapter everyone can enjoy. 

A gift like this is one that truly gives back. It helps ensure no one is left waiting for the care they need, bringing healthcare closer to families in hard-to-reach areas. That's just what the doctor ordered.

This special gift covers a month's worth of support from a nurse, helping families in hard-to-reach areas access healthcare. In Sierra Leone, nurses reach more than 100 women and children each month with vaccinations, health checks and treatment, so little ones like Francis can grow up healthy and ready to thrive.

On a busy clinic day, mothers queue with their babies for routine vaccinations, while others arrive seeking emergency treatment.  

This charity gift will help parents access the knowledge and support they need to keep their children healthy, and ensure malnutrition is no longer a major concern in the community.

Helping babies get the best possible start in life really is the perfect prescription.

Getting the ‘write’ tools for learning can make all the difference. You might even say it's the first step to a bright future.

For families facing poverty, being able to access the materials a child needs to get by in school can be difficult. But with a school kit, which includes essentials such as a bag and a notebook, more children in Chad can go to school.

Batoul, age 13, says learning has become easier. “I remember my lessons better and I'm more motivated.”

Two years ago, Batoul went to class without a backpack. “I carried my notebooks in my hands like most of my classmates,” she says. Her school was also a makeshift shed where students struggled to concentrate amid the oppressive heat.

Today, her situation has completely changed. She and her classmates now have backpacks and notebooks and Concern also supported the rehabilitation of her school. Now even more children can receive a quality education, meaning they have a brighter future.

From providing the essentials children need for school to helping create a better learning environment, this ethical gift can help open the door to education. Now that's getting all the write results.