Comic Relief awards ‘largest ever’ grant to UK-based Jewish charity

World Jewish Relief has been awarded what is thought to be the largest ever grant to a UK-based Jewish charity.

Comic Relief is to present a staggering £365,994 to the charity, which works to assist those living in poverty and works with local partners to respond to natural and man-made disasters around the globe.

The cash injection will enable WJR to build on its Livelihood Development Programme, which trains participants in Rwanda to grow high-value fruit and vegetables including watermelons, tomatoes and onions, and helps farmers access markets to increase income.

Chief Executive Paul Anticoni said: “Our community knows only too well the effects of genocide. Our work cannot undo the past, but it can deliver a brighter future. This grant recognises the importance of empowering people to develop life-changing agricultural models so that they can support themselves and their families.”

The charity said the programme will impact on “the lives of nearly 9,000 people over the next three years”, many of whom were orphaned during the Rwandan genocide twenty years ago, many of whom were orphaned during the genocide two decades ago.

“The LDP empowers them to become modern agricultural entrepreneurs, significantly and sustainably increasing their income and transforming their communities,” it said.

One graduate of the pilot programme has earned 447,000 Rwandan Francs in just three months. This is nearly £400, in a country where the average income over the same period is just £101.