Scots Donate £200,000 for Darfur and Chad in first 24 Hours
Generous Scots have got off to a flying start by donating £200,000 to save lives in Darfur and Chad within the first 24 hours of the crisis appeal going live.
Launched at a press conference in Glasgow on Thursday, the crisis appeal for Darfur and Chad is led by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in Scotland, which comprises eight of the country’s leading aid agencies.
Four and a half million people – almost the equivalent of Scotland – have been affected by the on-going conflict, with more than two million families forced to flee for their lives and live in camps.
Now aid agencies are facing a £10 million shortfall and are hoping Scots will donate generously to the appeal to help them deliver emergency food aid, shelter, clean water sanitation and medical care before the looming rains make access even more difficult.
Scottish legend, Johnny Beattie, helped launched the appeal by donating £50, which will provide shelter from the rains for two entire families.
He said: “The fact that all these charities have come together to appeal as one, shows the severity of the situation in Darfur and Chad. The Scottish people have a reputation for giving generously to situations like this and the response is usually second to none. It’s the one time we are top of the league, so I hope, no I’m sure, we will rise to the occasion yet again.”
Scottish TV personalities Sally Magnusson and Blythe Duff also lent their support to the appeal by filming moving TV appeals, which were broadcast across Scotland on Thursday evening.
Anne McCulloch, a Scottish aid worker from Kilbirnie in Ayrshire, has been working in Darfur as a child psychologist since 2004, and has just returned.
She commented: ““The ongoing conflict continues to cause many difficulties for the women and children there. Their resilience is remarkable, but I know that even once the immediate crisis is over it will take a long time for these communities and especially their children to regain the confidence to return home and rebuild their shattered livelihoods. We need your support now.”
Note to editors:
Agencies involved in the DEC in Scotland include:
British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Save the Children and Tearfund. Other DEC members include Merlin, Core, CAFOD and World Vision.
Key facts
- More than two million people, nearly one in three of Darfur's population have been forced to flee for their lives into camps. Approximately 107,000 civilians were newly displaced by insecurity and fighting between 1 January and 1 April this year.
- Four million people in Darfur, two-thirds of the population, are dependent on humanitarian aid for their survival.
- 147,000 people are internally displaced in Chad and some 232,000 refugees have fled from Darfur into Chad since the crisis began in 2003.
- Access during the rainy season can be extremely difficult due to the flash flooding and swollen waddies.
- It is really important to preposition food and supplies such as cement, as once the rains come it is almost impossible to move these goods around.
- In Chad the water table rises to within ½ metre of the surface, meaning that latrine design has to take account of that, making them more shallow and in need of constant repair.
Back to Darfur and Chad News, Scotland.
