St Vincent de Paul and Our Lady of Lourdes come together for SCIAF

Written by Michael Hamilton, SCIAF Community Engagement Officer.

Through Lent, tens of thousands of people support the WEE BOX Appeal in Scotland. This can be through praying, collecting change in their WEE BOX, donating through parish collections, fundraising or by taking part in the Big Lent Walk.

The Big Lent Walk is a challenge SCIAF runs in partnership with our friends at CAFOD. We encourage individuals to set out and walk through Lent or host one-off walks with their communities. We ask participants to fundraise and to reflect on the people that SCIAF helps around the world.

This year, two parishes came together to complete the walk, and my colleagues Maria & Jennifer and I joined them!

St Vincent de Paul and Our Lady of Lourdes parishes both set out to complete the walk around Stewartfield Loch in East Kilbride. Organised by SCIAF Parish Volunteers Marie & Lizanne, 36 people came together to walk together in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world struggling in poverty and to fundraise.

Thankfully, we were blessed with fantastic weather. The sun was shining and parishioners from both parishes were meeting and walking with each other – it was a great day. The only slight issue was the midges on one side of the loch!

As part of the Community Engagement team, I am blessed to meet people all over Scotland on a weekly basis who are passionate about their faith and in making the world a better place through SCIAF. These two communities coming together certainly are making the world a wee bit better which is fantastic to see. So far, at the time of writing, they have raised a combined £1587.50!

For over 60 years, communities in Scotland have changed the world for the better through SCIAF. They provide water, food, shelter and hope for some of the world’s most vulnerable people. I am not sure if many are aware of just how big an impact they have had in the world. By supporting SCIAF, like others in their community and like their parents & grandparents have done for decades, they can continue to be a positive light in an increasingly troubled world. Not just through donating, but by coming together, highlighting the issues faced and being a voice for those who need it. They are inspiring!

Our thanks to Marie, Lizanne, Fr Romanus, Fr Kenny and all who helped to organise, promote and take part in the walk to build a better world.