This is the first blog from Five Talents, a UK based Microfinance Charity. We have joined up with Donation4Charity to bring news about our work as a charity and news from our projects. The idea is to enable people to read about microfinance – a particularly hot topic in the charity world at the moment - and to enjoy stories and experiences from our projects around the world.

As a charity, Five Talents’ mission is to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives. We do this by empowering the poor in developing countries to start or expand a small business, using microcredit and savings programs, business training and support. Our motto is “giving a hand-up not a hand-out”. We currently support projects in 9 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and have three UK volunteers helping our projects in Uganda, Peru and Tanzania. These volunteers are all keeping blogs, and it is here on Donation4Charity that you can hear their latest news first. So, for starters, here’s an introduction :

Simon is our longest serving volunteer, having been at our project in Uganda for over a year now. He used to be a Finance Manager at Diageo in London and decided to do something unusual in Africa instead. The project supports 1,337 poor clients with small loans. In his blog you can find anecdotes about his time in Uganda, including his recent engagement to be married! Look out for his thoughts on Prince Philip, who is coming to Uganda and will be meeting Simon and other Five Talents Uganda staff at the end of this week. (more…)

Continuing our series introducing Christmas Charity Gift providers we’re going to take a look at the Aspinall Foundation who are a UK based animal charity who also run a zoo meaning you can actually see in the flesh the animal you adopt!

Briefly describe your charity and which areas it works in.
The Aspinall Foundation in conjunction with Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks is devoted to protecting rare and  endangered animals, and where possible returning them back to their natural habitat in the wild.

How are donations via charity gifts spent by the charity?
The charity manages two Wild Animal Parks in Kent where we care for more than 1,000 wild animals, many of which are endangered in the wild due to habitat destruction and the bush-meat trade. This work includes managing two gorilla protection and rehabilitation projects in Congo and Gabon where we have reintroduced over 50 gorillas, most of which were rescued from the bush-meat trade.  In the last 3 years we have celebrated 5 successful births to these gorillas. Most recently we celebrated the first birth to a group of gorillas in the Gabon who include 6 gorillas born at Howletts Wild Animal Park, Kent who were returned back to the wild in 2003. 

What are your top charity gifts for Christmas?
You can adopt an animal online today from just £3 per month where you can choose from 20 different endangered species - Adopt in a box the perfect gift for Christmas at £25 – your very own tiger, elephant for gorilla!

What makes you charit gift unique?
The animals you adopt are being protected and cared for by us at our parks in Kent or in Africa – so you could come to visit your adopted animal – many of the animals are also the stars of BBC2 ROAR!

>> Click here to adopt an animal from £3 a month with the Aspinall Foundation

>> Click here to read more about the Aspinall Foundation

>> View top Christmas Charity Gifts