The best charity gifts help develop the independence and sustainability of struggling economies. In the hands of local people, a small business can be a powerful weapon in the fight against poverty.

Even when the law is not a direct disadvantage to them, it often fails to ensure basic human rights for women.

If a country cannot educate or medicate its people, it doesn’t have much chance of putting an end to poverty. Whilst it is important for countries to receive aid for the building of these facilities, there is another short-term solution.

Few recognise how important play can be – particularly a team sport such as football. This has all changed since the major charities set up charity gift schemes.

A massive 40% of the UK's carbon emissions come from energy used in the home and for travel. Small measures to increase the efficiency of personal energy usage can therefore make a significant difference to this global problem.

When the countryside is in full bloom it is hard to resist getting out there and enjoying it. Many will feel, however, that they don’t know how to get the most out of their natural surroundings.

Why not purchase an RSPB membership this summer? With a year’s membership you will get the following benefits:

With global warming bearing down on us all, it has become vital for every individual, family and organisation to consider their carbon footprint.

Diseases such as malaria, polio and measles, which would be quickly and effectively treated in developed countries, often become fatal.

Fujian-based legal activist Ji Sizun was originally detained in August 2008. He was handing in to a police station an application to protest at the Olympic games in Beijing.

Amnesty International has teamed up with other human rights organisations to campaign for a stay of execution. The protest concerns Troy Davis who is accused of killing a police officer in the state of Georgia, in the USA.

The Ethical Superstore, the Internet’s premier ethical retailer has begun to stock a new range of ethical jewellery. Peaches Geldof has developed the range of eight designs especially for Made Jewellery.

As civilians pour out of the war zone in northern Sri Lanka, seeking safety in temporary displacement camps, the need for medicines, food and shelter is growing quickly says World Vision.

A global survey has demonstrated that support for Fairtrade is on the rise.

The UK’s largest fair trade hot drinks company, Cafedirect, has been struggling in recent years due to competition from supermarkets’ own fair trade certified tea and coffee lines – and this is despite £2m annual advertising outlay.

Poor countries rarely have adequate sewage systems. In Nicaragua for example 80% of people live on less than £1.10 each day, and unsurprisingly, cholera and malaria are rife. Worst affected are the densely populated shanty towns, where sewage often runs unprotected at the side of streets.