Though I have argued that we should be tolerant of charities if they engage in fundraising activities with which we do not wholly agree, I have a comment to make about a charity which sent out a letter containing a surprise. That charities should become more business like is a mantra that one has heard over many years but if business like means more efficient one hopes that charities learn from the right businesses, perhaps not banks!  The surprise in the envelope from Medical Mission International, a charity which I admire for the work it does among some of the most deprived people in the world, was, at first glance an invoice containing the words “Statement Period” and “Date Due”.  It went on to suggest that I might wish to donate £15.00.  It also indicated a date since when I had been making donations but the communication did not contain something which would have been easy to include, namely a word of thanks!

Now, a few weeks later, the same charity has sent a further catalogue of horror but of a different kind.  This communication detailed the cause of death of four innocent children in Africa and pointed out that with antibiotics, food and shelter these deaths might have been avoided.  Should I, in the light of this information, have expressed concern about receiving what appears to be an invoice, probably not!  What I should have been, and indeed was moved by, was the image of a collapsed child being eyed by a vulture.  Would that my donation could have been more!

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