HOW many of us will stop in the street to ask a charity worker what their job entails? Not many.

Christian Aid Week, which takes place in May, is a chance to change that.

Christian Aid works in some of the world's poorest communities, in around 40 countries at any one time.

They act where there is great need, regardless of religion, helping people to live a life free from poverty.

The Colchester Christian Aid group includes 21 churches from Colchester, West Bergholt, Wivenhoe and Layer. Nine churches will be doing house collections during Christian Aid Week.

Bishop Roger Morris hosted, and cooked, a Haitian themed lunch for the group at his home on Fitzwalter Road, Lexden, to celebrate the work they do.

He said: "The big push for Christian Aid Week in May will be the work the charity is doing in Haiti. Christian Aid is training local people and equipping them to build houses that will withstand the severe weather events which strike Haiti on a regular basis.

"It has been a tough time for aid agencies over the last few months. Christian Aid works with local partners in order to deliver its services. Many people in Haiti think Christian Aid is a Haitian organisation. It is run by locals for the benefit of locals."

He said Christian Aid is also focussed on justice. What motivates Christians to be involved is not a sense of pity, or even guilt.

It is a burning desire for justice.

He said: "It is not just regrettable there is poor quality housing and an under-resources infrastructure in Haiti. It is wrong. It is unjust.

"Christian Aid volunteers are at the forefront of fighting this injustice."

Geoff Casey is the chairman of Colchester’s Christian Aid group. He and his wife Jan have been collecting for Christian Aid in Colchester since 1977.

Jan said: “We feel life isn’t fair for so many people. If we can do our bit to adjust the balance, it’s the right thing to do.

"So many things are not fair and if we can help people it feels good.

“When we started collecting, people understood it was right to collect for people who were very poor.

"We do have poverty here, but for those in developing countries, some have abject poverty."

The group campaigns as well as fundraises. They lobbied Colchester MP Will Quince as part of the Climate Coalition’s #showthelove campaign, to ask him to take action in parliament to protect things we could lose to climate change.

The Colchester group has also raised £254,000 during Christian Aid Week over the past decade.

As a worker for the charity, Melanie Hargreaves, from Colchester, knows where the money goes.

At the end of last year, she visited Marsabit in northern Kenya, where partner organisation PACIDA is supporting pastoralist communities living with the effects of two years of drought.

She said: "The ground was rock solid and there was no greenery to be seen for miles. These communities rely on their livestock to make a living and feed their families, and their animals had started to die.

"There was a serious lack of water, food, and they no longer had the means to pay school fees for their children. I spent time with a community who’ve been supported by PACIDA, who’ve provided cash vouchers and feed for the animals.

"This meant the animals were growing strong again, and could be sold at market. In turn, school fees were again being paid.

"It was amazing to see how such a small thing can make such a huge difference to a community, thanks to the generosity of people at home."

It is refreshing to hear of their success, especially following news of sexual misconduct claims.

In the past 12 months, Christian Aid has investigated two incidents of sexual misconduct, both of which occurred overseas.

It announced one investigation led to the dismissal of a staff member, while the other case resulted in disciplinary action.

The charity said in both cases, no laws were broken but staff members involved did not live up to the standards and expectations outlined in the code of conduct.

The investigation came after Oxfam was accused of covering up the use of prostitutes by aid workers in Haiti in 2011.

Despite facing mounting criticism Oxfam received, Christian Aid’s core belief is the world can and must be changed so poverty is ended.

Surely we can all identify with that?