Scotland’s leading Catholic charity got an unusual fundraiser from an orthopedic surgeon in northern England, who literally made some waves to help Ethio-pians in need.
Consultant Orthopedic Sur-geon Matthew Cartwright-Terry is a supporter of SCIAF, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, and recently raised money by swimming the Mersey River in North West England.
“I was inspired to support SCIAF through a flier I was sent concerning the distress of the Ethiopian people. The swim was a bucket list activity, with the timing [providing] the perfect opportunity to provide some support,” he said.
Michael Hamilton, the Community Manager Office of SCIAF, said the surgeon’s fund-raising will go towards an Emer-gency Appeal for Ethiopia that was launched this summer.
“Ethiopia is experiencing its worst drought in recent history and there is no sign of the situa-tion improving. With support like Matthew’s, we are working to help alleviate people’s suffering in the south of the country,” he told.
“We can ensure families can survive by providing immediate access to critical food supplies and financial support. We work with partners in Ethiopia to deliver this support,” Hamilton said.
The Catholic charity notes that millions of people are experiencing an extreme hunger crisis after the worst drought in recent history, with rivers dried up, crops withering, and livestock dying.
It reports that in March, SCIAF received $154,000 from the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund to provide food supplies and access to safe water affected by the crisis.
“We can ensure families can survive by providing immediate access to critical food supplies and financial support,” Hamilton told Crux. “We work with partners in Ethiopia to deliver this support.”
Cartwright-Terry said the September swim couldn’t have been on a better day.
“Finally, we set off trying to remain in our group, the 58 society, as per safety instructions. The six of us managed to remain together for the entire crossing with a couple of stops to admire the view from the middle of the river and even take some selfies,” the surgeon said.