Life & Work Magazine
Life & Work Magazine


17 mins

New Guild Projects Announced

NEWS

WORK aiming to improve the lives of teenage mothers living in poverty in Zambia, street children in India and tackling loneliness and isolation in Scotland are among the new projects to be supported by the Church of Scotland Guild over the next three years.

Announcing the six new projects to be supported by the Guild in Edinburgh in April, Guild Convener Marge Paterson said: “Following the success of the last three year fundraising cycle we are very much looking forward to supporting our new projects both at home and overseas.

“I’m particularly delighted that some of the projects will tie in with Scotland’s Year of Young People.

“The enthusiasm with which local members have supported the previous projects has been amazing. “We have just raised more than £600,000 – no small achievement from our 20,000 members.”

In line with the 2018 Year of Young People, four of the six projects supported by the Guild focus on the young. The six projects to be chosen from many applications for support are:

. The Boys’ Brigade which continues through its Christian ethos to enrich the lives of young people, and aside from fundraising they will look to work on intergenerational activities alongside the Guild such as developing IT skills.

. Journeying Together, a partnership between the Guild and the World Mission Council, will help teenage mothers in Zambia living in poverty. Alongside mentoring and training, they will have the chance to return to school. Girls who previously had no prospect of finishing their education will now be able to pursue career goals.

. Malawi Fruits, a charity working in the north of the country, aims to help young people to farm cash crops and to irrigate using solar-powered pumps. This will help to address the depopulation of the north and help farmers to move away from subsistence farming.

. Seema’s Project, which was launched to protect street children in Pune, India who are vulnerable to being trafficked, often children whose mothers are prostitutes. In 2016 the charity built a home for 32 children and the Guild partnership will allow them to double the size.

. Join Up the Dots, a new partnership between CrossReach (the Church’s Social Care Council) and the Guild, which will tackle loneliness and isolation, and encourage each of CrossReach’s services from care homes to youth projects to supporting mental wellbeing.

. The Sailors’ Society, an organisation aspiring to place a chaplain in every port in Scotland to give spiritual and practical support to merchant seamen in Scotland who are often far from home. Help ranges from providing sim cards to contact relatives, to winter gear for those who are unused to Scottish winters, to encouraging church attendance.

The six previous projects supported by the Guild from 2015, included Care For the Family Scotland, a charity supporting new parents, Feed the Minds, a charity working to eradicate female genital mutilation in Kenya, and Street Pastors, a charity that offers practical and spiritual support to people on the streets.

Guild General Secretary Iain Whyte said:

“The Projects Partnership Scheme is one of the most important areas of the Guild’s work as it wonderfully demonstrates our commitment to worship, prayer and action.

“The projects support people in the dark places of their lives and raise awareness of issues amongst Guild members and the wider church.”

The enthusiasm with which local members have supported the previous projects has been amazing.

This article appears in the June 2018 Issue of Life and Work

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This article appears in the June 2018 Issue of Life and Work