Christmas gift guide: Charity gifts

For £17 you can give the gift of sight to someone in the developing world. A cataract operation takes only a few minutes to restore someone's sight and with it their independence. Charity: Sightsavers International Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Buy your loved one a bottle of fermented cows' urine for £20. If used correctly, fermented urine can be a great natural pesticide. Farm-Africa teaches farmers how to keep their crops free from insects and ensure yields are as high as possible. Charity: Farm-Africa Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

A donation of £35 will cover the costs of a phone line manned by volunteers for 24 hours. The Samaritans provide confidential emotional support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week Charity: The Samaritans Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

African Medical and Research Foundation (katine pic) Comfort a new-born baby in Uganda. For £35 you could keep a newborn baby healthy, safe and warm by enabling the African Medical and Research Foundation (Amref) to buy baby linen and other tems for one baby born in the maternity wing at the Katine clinic in north-easts Uganda. Some mothers who come to the clinic are too poor to buy clothes, nappies or blankets for their babies and this could keep them supplied for their first critical months Charity: Amref Buy it http://www.gifts4good.co.uk/gift/index.php?collection=53&charity=121&price_min=&price_max=&search=Search">here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

For £36 you can help protect some of the best nesting sites for puffins on RSPB reserves around the UK. Puffins are one of Britain's best loved birds, but, partly because they only lay one egg a year, they are particularly vulnerable to disasters like oil spills at sea. Charity: The RSPB Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

For £50 you can pay for two emergency food parcels for HIV-positive people who have just left hospital. According to The Food Chain, research has shown that a programme of nutritious food is one of the most powerful weapons available for fighting the effects of HIV/Aids Charity: The Food Chain Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

For £100 you could meet the costs of an activity weekend for a young person who has (or has had) cancer or leukaemia After months in hospital it helps them restore self-confidence, regain independence and rebuild a social life. Charity: CLIC Sargent Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

A donation of £150 you can pay for room and board in a hostel for an A-level student in Uganda for an entire year, through the Mvule Trust. Staying in a hostel near the institutions in which they are studying means they don't have a commute of up to three hours by foot or bike every day, which means more time to study. The Mvule Trust is the beneficiary of the Guardian and Observer's Christmas appeal this year. Charity: The Mvule Trust Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

For £240 you can help one young adult in Africa become financially independent by providing the equipment needed to become a hairdresser. Charity: AfriKids Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk

f you're feeling particularly generous, you can splash out on a new water system for indigenous communities in Peru for £2,250. This system of piping and storage tanks in could help provide the indigenous Awajun communities with safe, clean water and cut the rates of disease and infant mortality caused by water-related illness. If this price is a little steep, Practical Action has a number of other cheaper Christmas gifts Charity: Practical Action Buy it here Photograph: guardian.co.uk