A BEE development group is hoping to create a big buzz and boost its fundraising over the next week.

The Monmouth-based Bees for Development charity has been selected for this year’s online match-funding campaign, The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge 2019, which launched at midday yesteday (Tuesday, December 3) and runs for seven days until December 10.

All donations will be doubled by Ethiopiaid, doubling the impact of all donations.

Bees for Development has set an ambitious target of raising £40,000 during the week, more than it has ever raised before in such a short time.

And if this can be achieved, every penny will be doubled so that existing and new projects helping farmers in the Amhara region of Ethiopia can be supported.

“The wonderful nature of bees makes beekeeping such a great way to help lift people out of poverty,” says Nicola Bradbear, Director of Bees for Development.

“We will be raising money for the projects we run in Ethiopia, helping people secure a future for themselves and their families through beekeeping.”

The international charity’s mission is to transform the lives of some of the world’s poorest people, giving them skills and knowledge to start to make a living through beekeeping.

“Bees are incredibly powerful – they provide livelihoods to some of the world’s most disadvantaged people, play an essential role in crop pollination for food production worldwide, and maintain the planet’s biodiversity,” adds Nicola.

“For 26 years we have helped many thousands of people to keep bees sustainably and profitably.”

One man they have helped is Mulu Abeje, who was supported with training four years ago, and is now able to send his children to school and pay his bills with income raised through selling honey from his own hives, as well as training other people in his local area of Amhara in Ethiopia.

Bees for Development provides free information and support to beekeepers in more than 130 countries, and works directly with community projects currently underway in Ethiopia, Ghana, Somaliland, Uganda and Zambia.

The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge was launched in 2008 by Sir Alec Reed CBE and is now the UK’s biggest online match funding campaign.

It offers supporters and charities the chance to have their donations doubled on theBigGive.org.uk when the campaign goes live. 

Last year, the Christmas Challenge raised £13m.

To find out more about The Big Give or how to donate, visit www.beesfordevelopment.org