Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.

Ruth Carter Stapleton

For many of us, Christmas is the of year time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with our family and friends. We sit down and eat turkey, potato salads, seafood and Christmas pudding before opening the presents we’ve thoughtfully bought for one another.

However, for families living in India, Indonesia or the Philippines earning less than $2 a day, Christmas can be fraught with the worry of not being able to provide enough food to eat, or children growing up without an education.

The cycle of poverty does not take a holiday.

But with Something Bigger, you can give your friends and family a gift that not only brings a smile to their faces, but also to families living in poverty.

Read on to discover how a buffalo, a packet of seeds and a cooking stall can break the poverty cycle this Christmas!

A buffalo

Leela lives in the small village of Gelwala, India with her four children and husband. Living on less than $1 a day, Leela was stressed about providing food and clean water for her family, let alone giving them an education. She was determined to take control of her family’s future by taking out a small loan that she used to buy a buffalo.

She now sells the buffalo milk at the local markets and has been able to double her familiy’s income, providing them with the essentials of nutritious food and clean water.

Leela, who is illiterate, is beyond excited to think that her children will learn how to read and write and is saving her extra money to send them to school. She is adamant they will have a better life, free from the burden of poverty.

For just $50, you can help feed a buffalo for a month in India. When it's fed, healthy and ready to produce milk, the buffalo helps families in living in poverty earn a regular income and afford food, clean water and proper shelter.

A Packet of Seeds

Myrna was born in the Philippines and for many years it was her dream to become a teacher, however at 16 she was forced to leave school and become a maid to support her family. Soon she found herself with a three-year-old daughter, making $0.75 a day, unable to provide the basics such as food and nappies for her daughter.

Myrna sought out a loan that allowed her to purchase seeds to set up her own vegetable farm. She now sells her vegetables at the local markets and earns $2.25 a day. She is excited because not only can she provide her daughter with healthy food and nappies but she can occasionally buy her a toy.

For just $96 you can provide a family with seeds and fertiliser to start their own vegetable farm, and earn an income just like Myrna!

A Cooking Stall

Beena lives in India with her husband and four children. When her husband was injured and unable to work at his mechanic business for over a year, Beena found herself struggling to pay for his medical bills, food for the family and her children’s schooling. She decided to set up a small canteen business, but this failed to generate a steady income and Beena was forced to withdraw her children from school and ration her meals.

Despite the first failure, Beena was determined to provide for her family and took out a small loan that allowed her to expand her cooking stall and purchase materials such as metal trays to cook the food.

Beena’s business is thriving and she is now able to employ another mother from her neighbourhood. Her monthly income is now around $300 and her children are back at school and able to have a full stomach of healthy food each day.

For $275 you can provide a family with the materials they need to set up their own cooking business and improve their lives just like Beena’s family.

I hope you’ll join me as I share with my family this Christmas why they all received a card with a picture of a buffalo on it.

Give Something Bigger here.

Ariadne Sofianidis is the Communications Intern at Opportunity International Australia. Presently studying a double degree in Commerce and Arts, she generously offers her time, skills and experience to assist in a range of communications activities.