Helping others is a way of life

An interview with monthly donor and member of our Tesifa Club, Colin Adams

7 January 2025

One of the greatest privileges of being part of this wonderful organisation is working with passionate individuals committed to creating meaningful and sustainable change. Our Partnerships and Fundraising Officer, Adrien, experienced this firsthand when he had the honour of meeting Mr. Colin Adams, an inspiring long-haul pilot who flew with Qantas for over four decades. Mr Adams generously shared his time to discuss his motivations for becoming one of Ethiopiaid’s most dedicated monthly donors. 

What inspired you to become a regular donor to Ethiopiaid Australia?  

I saw the need, and I wanted to do something about it. I spent forty years as an airline pilot doing long haul international services, and I saw a lot of the world, including many underprivileged places. I came to understand that I was very lucky to be born in Australia. And when I see the sort of need that terribly poor countries like Ethiopia suffer, I just want to help. It’s as simple as that.

What motivates you to give monthly rather than a one-time donation. 

I’ve always allocated about 10% of my taxable income into my household budget to help others who were not as lucky. This way, I can simply send money to charities on a monthly basis, like I pay all the other bills. It also obviously helps charities with their budgeting, as it gives a regular flow of income.

What kind of impact do you hope your donation is making? 

Female Genital Mutilation is abhorrent, and I think education is one of the big answers, because when anyone realises that some practice has absolutely no merit from any angle and does a lot of harm, they'll stop doing it. I think that if we educate people in areas where they don't have the privilege of an education, like Ethiopiaid does, then it'll cease. I hope that's the impact I have through my donation: to stop this harmful practice. In addition to that, I also hope that my donation contributes to relieving poverty. It's not just about ending FGM, but also about feeding people, helping them to have a safe place to live and some food to eat, and all the other basic things we take for granted in Australia.  

How does your regular donation make you feel connected to the people and the communities that you support in Ethiopia?  

I have seen firsthand the communities that Ethiopiaid support because I've spent a lot of time in Africa in my job as an airplane pilot. I always thought that these communities must feel that the world has just abandoned them. There's no point me going to Ethiopia. I don't have skills to help, but I can certainly send money, and support the work that Ethiopiaid and its partners are doing. I want that the people supported by the projects funded by Ethiopiaid can cease to feel abandoned, and I want to give them hope. That's how I feel connected.

What would you say to someone to encourage them to donate monthly? 

I realise that some people are struggling financially right now, so of course not everyone is in a position to do this. But for people who aren’t struggling financially, who have a little extra, I would encourage them to allocate some of that surplus to charities on a regular basis as part of your household budget. My recommendation is that when you sit down to do your financial planning, that you include some charitable giving as part of that budget. Start with about 10% and see how it works out.

That's what I've always done, and it has worked out really well for me. You have less money when you give money away, but how much do we really need? I mean, we are greatly blessed in this country, and I think a lot of people don't realise that. I certainly do and that’s why I donate monthly to Ethiopiaid.

I feel really good about it, that's the positive part. I feel that I'm really helping others who weren't as lucky as I was to be born in this wonderful country we live in. 

Interested in becoming a regular donor like Colin? Sign up here or get in touch with us for more information about the impact you can have.