Diocese of Argyll & the Isles
SCIAF Sunday is this weekend. This Lent’s Wee Box Appeal will provide clean water in Ethiopia. When I visited Ethiopia I was shocked to see hundreds of small children, who should be at school, walking long distances every day in an attempt to find water. Usually this water won’t be clean and so is unsafe to drink. I saw children desperately dig in dry river beds to find something for their livestock to drink. Seeking scarce water supplies far from home can lead to violent clashes while for women it brings particular dangers. Clean water is a a gift from God intended for every human being. Access to clean water is a human right and essential for life. Recently I carried a sink up a hill to highlight the unjust contrast between how readily clean water is available in Scotland compared to Ethiopia or for countless others across the globe.
Thankfully while in Ethiopia I also saw water pumps installed by SCIAF which effortlessly brought clean water from deep underground to the surface. People could drink safely and provide water for their animals and crops. They were not just surviving but living with dignity.
In Zambia a Grandmother told me “I trusted that God would provide water and He did. God works through people and you in Scotland have cooperated with God by giving us this pump.” I was deeply moved by her profound insight.
Thank you, dear SCIAF supporters, for helping families and communities throughout the world access clean water. You are instruments of God’s love. Unfortunately many more people still need our help. This Lent please support SCIAF’s Wee Box appeal as generously as you can. Thank you.
+Brian
The Barra Teens have done it
Raising more than £3,000, five cousins cycled 50km, swam 5.5km and ran 12.5km across Barra and Benbecula in an incredible fundraising challenge in support of the Wee Box appeal for SCIAF Sunday.