Katie Hunter |
At the weekend Alistair Dutton, Director of SCIAF, attended mass at St Leonards School to talk about the life changing work carried out by the charity and how vitally important our donations are.
SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) works in over 16 of the poorest countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where it provides emergency aid and practical long term support to people affected by hunger, poverty, war and natural disasters.
During lent you can collect (and return) a Wee Box from church and use it to save your spare change or the money you would have normally have spent on chocolate or sweets during lent. All money collected from the Wee Box appeal will be doubled by the Government for the second year running. To show what a significant impact this can have, Alistair told the congregation that last Lent £1.8 million was collected in donations which resulted in a final figures of £3.4 million following the Government’s pledge.
This year the Wee Box features the Sara family. Mum, dad and their three children are cattle herders and live in a remote village in Southern Ethiopia. When a drought hit their village their cattle died and they were left with no money and were desperately hungry. With money raised from the SCIAF appeal they were given goats, camels and a donkey. As a result they had milk to drink and could sell surplus milk to buy food and clothing.
If we can make an effort to fill a Wee Box just think of the difference it will make to families like the Sara’s. We should reflect on how fortunate we are and the basic things in our lives we take for granted such as food, drink and clothing. Please give generously to this incredibly worthwhile cause.
