Show of solidarity with the world's poorest countries
| Published date | 25 October 2023 |
| Publication title | Wishaw Press |
SCIAF - the official aid and development agency of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland - was founded in 1965 in St Columbkille's School in
Rutherglen and now works in eight countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing assistance to vulnerable people affected by climate change and the food crisis.
Ben was among delegates at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, at which the Scottish Government made a pioneering pledge to commit £2 million from its Climate Justice Fund to address loss and damage suffered by communities in the world's poorest countries.
This was followed during COP27 in Egypt last year with a further pledge of additional £5million from trailblazing Scotland.
In January 2022, Tropical Storm Ana battered devastated swathes of Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi, causing large-scale displacement, flooding, and damage to public and private infrastructure.
It was followed in quick succession by Cyclone Gombe, bringing heavy rain and flooding to multiple districts of southern Malawi.
The heavy rains resulted in extensive destruction of the area's infrastructure and disruption to water and sanitation systems - the 'perfect storm' for an outbreak of cholera.
In January, SCIAF's Ben Wilson and colleague Claire Cook made the pilgrimage to Malawi as part of a BBC report on how the Scottish Government's ground-breaking financial contribution is being used to assist people in areas that have been hit by these natural disasters which have been linked directly to climate change.
Only six weeks after their departure, Tropical Cyclone Freddy - which was said to be record-breaking in its strength, length and resurgence - struck, resulting in the displacement of more than 1.5 million people in Malawi, Mozambique and
Zimbabwe, and severe damage to schools, health facilities and roads.
"It was the biggest one yet," explained Rutherglen resident Ben. "There was three months' worth of rain in only six days. The communities we had seen were hit again. We had just finished helping them pick up the pieces."
With some of the money pledged by the Scottish
Government fund going to SCIAF, the charity is working to help the people of Malawi recover from the impact...
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