The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, better known by its
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
SCIAF, is the official aid and development agency of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. Established in 1965, SCIAF now works in eight countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America and providing assistance to vulnerable people. SCIAF works with partner organisations and has responded to humanitarian disasters with emergency provisions and support. In Scotland, SCIAF raises awareness of the underlying causes of
global poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
and injustice, work that includes visiting schools.
History
SCIAF was set up in 1965 by Monsignor John Rooney and teacher John McKee with funds of £8,000. Efforts that had begun at a parish level were quickly endorsed by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. In 1980, the organisation raised a record £212,000 for the third world.
When the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami occurred, SCIAF were quick in announcing a £25,000 donation to partner agencies. In 2007, the Scottish Government announced £250,000 would be given to SCIAF to help assist people affected by the
war in Darfur
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups bega ...
.
A response to a drought in the Horn and east of Africa, an emergency appeal raised £1.1million. In 2013, SCIAF launched an emergency appeal to help people in the Philippines who were affected by
Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...
.
In 2015, as SCIAF marked their fiftieth anniversary, their international work included supporting almost 100 projects that provided emergency aid and assistance across at least fifteen countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
In 2017, SCIAF worked with Caritas Bangladesh to deliver aid to
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh mostly refer to Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs) from Myanmar who are living in Bangladesh. The Rohingya people have experienced ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar for decades. Hundreds of th ...
who had fled Myanmar. The following year, in conjunction with Caritas Indonesia it responded with aid after the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami. SCIAF has helped vulnerable young people in Uganda.
, outwith Scotland SCIAF are active in eight countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zambia, Cambodia and Colombia.
Fundraising activities
SCIAF runs an annual ''Wee Box Big Change'' appeal, which encourages people to give up something for Lent and to use the money saved as a donation. In 2015 the appeal raised £3.4million, which was three times the highest amount previously raised. In 2019 the appeal raised more than £0.9million. In 2021 the ''Wee Box'' appeal raised more than £2.8million, which included £1.3million of match funding from the UK government.
SCIAF is one of nine partner organisations of
Will Aid
Will Aid is a British charity will-writing scheme designed to reinforce the need for everyone to have a professionally drawn-up will and to raise funds for their partner charities. Will Aid was founded in 1988 following the example set by Band A ...
, the British will-writing scheme in which participating solicitors waive their usual fee to write a basic will and in exchange invite the client to donate to charity.
See also
*
Caritas International
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Collectively and individually, their missions are to work to build a bet ...
is
*
Caritas Europa
Caritas Europa is a European confederation of Catholic relief organization, development and social service organisations operating in Europe, founded in 1971 as ''Eurocaritas''. The organisation was renamed Caritas Europa in 1992 and is one of ...