GFA World’s Charitable Christmas Gift Ideas

For many people, Christmas is a time for charity and generosity to those who are less fortunate, so as the holiday season approaches each year, they search for charitable Christmas gift ideas. Indeed, the holidays are the most critical time of year for charities, with many raising 30–50 percent of their revenue in November and December alone. There is even a day following Thanksgiving that is dedicated to generosity: Giving Tuesday. Last year, $3.1 billion was donated on Giving Tuesday. That seems like a lot of money, but it is only a 0.6 percent increase from the amount raised in 2022, and there was a 10 percent decrease in the number of adults who participated in Giving Tuesday this last year.[1]

Despite spending on charitable Xmas gifts not growing much in recent years, the need for charity remains high. Although much progress has been made in global poverty reduction, headway in this area has significantly slowed in the last few years. Approximately 700 million people—8.5 percent of the population—still live below the extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day. Three-quarters of that 700 million live in Sub-Saharan Africa or in fragile and conflict-affected countries.[2]

GFA World’s many charitable Christmas gift ideas focus on helping end the cycle of poverty. Millions of people living in Africa and Asia are entrenched in generations of destitution. Families live hand to mouth, which leaves few resources or opportunities to improve their financial situations. GFA missionaries minister among these families—the ones who have low social status including widows, single mothers and those suffering with leprosy. Our simple, income-generating gifts can help a family rise above the grip of poverty and find a brighter future.[3]

One person who knows this firsthand is Taden.[4] Taden’s father died when he was young, creating a hole in the family and plunging them into financial crisis. The boy and his mother cultivated their land, leaving Taden no time to attend school. Survival depended on working hard. Taden’s childhood consisted of trying to make ends meet, but sometimes crops wouldn’t produce enough, causing more financial tragedy for the family. Taden grew up and got married, and the couple was blessed with two children. He continued to work in the fields around his village, as well as working multiple other jobs, but he earned very little for his backbreaking labor. Even though Taden was doing all he could, it was never enough to pull the family out of poverty. Eventually, the family had to make the difficult decision to travel to a neighboring country for six months of the year to work in sugarcane fields. This meant his two children could not attend school, and it began to look like their future lives would be much like Taden’s.

Then one day, in the off months of the sugarcane fields, the family found a glimmer of hope. GFA Pastor Naimish visited Taden’s family, asking if they needed prayer and offering encouraging words. Taden shared his life story with the pastor, who, in turn, shared about the love and hope of God. The following year, they would see that love in action. Pastor Naimish invited Taden to attend a GFA World Christmas gift distribution program where he and his family received a cow. As the cow grew, it provided more than four liters of milk a day, which the family made into ghee and sold each month. The profit from this was enough to lift them out of the harsh grip of poverty. Taden’s children were able to attend school, opening up many doors for their future through education. The cow later gave birth to a calf, and the income from two cows lifted them even further from poverty.


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