Ramsey-based AFD Software Ltd donated the money at its annual Charity Night at Ramsey town hall last Thursday.

AFD's staff nominated the charities.

A total of £20,000 was given to Hope for Justice to assist with the investigation and rescue of the victims of human trafficking in Britain.
A donation of £21,148 to Christian Aid will enable the creation of first class educational materials in Kenya to help prevent the spread of malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Closer to home, Hospice Isle of Man, the Hyperbaric Chamber and a number of other Manx charities were also given donations.
The smallest donation to charity was for £500.

David Dorricott, AFD's managing director said: 'In these difficult days for the Isle of Man economy, it is easy to bemoan our plight but millions of people in the developing world would consider us to be fabulously wealthy.

'Healthcare, education, even food and clean water are so hard to come-by for many communities. It is by continuing to do all we can do for those communities that we demonstrate our obligations as citizens of the wider world.'

Last year AFD celebrated its 25th anniversary by donating a new Kodiak 10-seat aeroplane to deliver healthcare and supplies to the people of Kalimantan in Indonesia.

This was just one of the donations AFD Software made to 44 different charities that year — amounting to £1.1 million.

AFD Software began in the west of Scotland in 1983. Its founders were determined to follow Christian principles.

The business, which is a postcode and address management software house, moved to Ramsey in 1997 and now employs 27 staff in the Island and 10 in the UK.

It says its objective is 'to generate profits and use them creatively in the relief of suffering, the improvement of society and furtherance of the Christian gospel'.

To achieve this, every year the staff select charities for the company to offer financial support.

The charities that benefited were: Barnardo's, BibleFresh, Bliss, Bluff Christian Academy, British Dyslexia Association, British Kidney Patient Association, Cancer Research UK, CARE (Christian Action Research & Education), Care for the Family, CCSM, Christian Aid, Clarion Trust, Craig's Heartstrong Foundation, Crossroads Caring for Carers, DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee), DPM (Derek Prince Ministries), Firestarter, GAP Ministries, Grace Third World Fund, Hands of Hope, Help for Heroes, Hope for Justice, Hospice Isle of Man, Rebecca House, Hyperbaric Medicine Facility, Ignite (Big Ideas), Macmillan Cancer Support, MAF, Malawi Fresh Water Project, Malew Rainbows, Manila Disaster Relief Appeal, Manx Diabetic Group, Mothers Union IoM, One World Centre, Oxfam GB, RNLI - Ramsey Lifeboat, SAT-7 Trust, Sherborne Road Church Trust - Global Café, SOS Children's Villages, SUMT (Scripture Union Ministries Trust), Tearfund, The Factory - Church on the Rock, Ramsey, The Friends of Mooragh View, The Manx Stroke Foundation, Trocaire (Northern Ireland), UNICEF UK, Weston Hospice Care.