Flying the Flag For SCIAF

A fundraising group set up by one of Paisley’s best loved grandmothers has raised more than £44,000 for SCIAF over the years.

Pat McCarthy, better known to many as ‘Granny Pat’, founded the Glenburn Ethiopia Group in the early 1980s.

Shocked by TV footage of the devastating famine unfolding in Ethiopia, she decided to do something to help. Her idea was to set up a community fundraising group which would collect money for SCIAF.

Despite its name, this band of dedicated fundraisers helps to support SCIAF’s work in more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. In just 25 years the group, which is based in St Peter’s Parish, has raised more than £44,000 for the charity. This money has been used to provide emergency relief and long-term support for communities that have been ravaged by poverty, war and natural disasters.

Granny Pat passed away four years ago but thanks to her daughter Ann Henry, and a host of willing volunteers, the group she worked so hard to establish is still going strong. A beautiful Ethiopian cross, which was gifted to parishioners at St Peter’s by SCIAF Chief Executive Paul Chitnis, serves to commemorate her fundraising efforts.

Ann said: “Granny Pat made the Glenburn Ethiopia Group so special. She managed to inspire and motivate every section of the community. When people learned about the hardships in places like Ethiopia and other parts of the world they just wanted to help.

“She showed people that SCIAF was for everyone. It doesn’t matter which church you go to, or even whether you go to church at all. The communities that need SCIAF’s help don’t care if we’re Catholic or Protestant, they’re just grateful to have been given the opportunity to enjoy a better quality of life.”

The group hold a series of fundraising activities throughout the year, including Sunday soup mornings, WEE BOX events and an annual charity dance. They also run stalls at community gatherings across Glenburn.

“Often people who don’t know about SCIAF will come over to one of our stalls to find out more. As soon as we tell them what we’re raising the money for they want to make a contribution. Someone always turns up with a bag full of change which they’ve been saving up all year and kids bring along their loose pennies. Everyone gets involved because they know how far even a small amount of money can go. It’s amazing how it all adds up.

“Raising money for SCIAF is a joy. Knowing what a big difference even just a small amount of money can make to some people is a great motivation. When a disaster strikes and we read that SCIAF is one of the first to respond, we think, ‘that’s us, that’s the money we have raised’ and it gives us a lift.

“In the grand scheme of things, our contribution is just a drop in the ocean but we take great pleasure in knowing that SCIAF will use it to make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Ann and fellow fundraisers, Caroline and Bill Martin, visited SCIAF’s offices at Park Circus recently to present a cheque for £4,000.

SCIAF’s Latin America Project Officer, Chris MacLullich said:

“I would like to thank the Glenburn Ethiopia Group for their generous donation. Without the money we receive from SCIAF supporters across Scotland our work overseas would not be possible.

“In El Salvador many poor communities struggle to get by. Homes and crops are being destroyed by an increasing number of droughts, floods and hurricanes and unfair trade rules force many small-scale farmers to sell what they grow for very little money.

“This cheque for £4,000 is enough to help 12 families work their way out of poverty. It covers the cost of seeds, tools, training and loans so that they can grow organic certified crops which sell for higher prices. It will also help them to cut out the middle men and sell directly to overseas buyers, avoiding the unfair trade practices which make it so difficult for small-scale farmers to escape from the cycle of poverty and injustice.”