AS we get into the spirit of Christmas I know many of your readers are considering making donations to charity. I therefore hope they will not be dissuaded by the

AS we get into the spirit of Christmas I know many of your readers are considering making donations to charity. I therefore hope they will not be dissuaded by the BBC Panorama programme Addicted to Aid. It showed that aid from Western governments to Africa very often does not reach the poor for whom it is intended.I am a volunteer ambassador for the agricultural development charity, Send a Cow and I know from personal experience, having visited the recipients of our gifts in Uganda twice, Rwanda and Ethiopia, donations are extremely effective when they are channelled through grassroots organisations. Send a Cow always works closely with community groups in Africa to make sure it is giving the type of assistance that is most needed by the most needy.Small-scale charities such as Send a Cow really do use donations from the UK public to enable poor families in Africa to change their lives. I hope your readers will continue to give generously this Christmas.LYNDA M MORRIS - Elm Drive, Hutton