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Scottish Catholic Charity Launches Aid Appeal for the Needy in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

Participants in a Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) forum in Ethiopia's Tigray region/Credit: SCIAF

A Scottish Catholic charity organization has launched an appeal for aid to reach out to millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia’s Tigray region following the protracted violent conflict between the federal and regional governments.

In a Thursday, July 8 report, the leadership of Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) says at least five million people are in urgent need of food in the Horn of Africa nation and launches an emergency appeal.

“We hope to reach those in need. Therefore, we are asking for donations to help us do this as quickly as possible. With your donations, we will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical support and other essentials for families who have lost everything,” SCIAF Director of public engagement, Penelope Blackwell, says.

The official adds that the Catholic organization hopes to take part in bringing the country back to normalcy as soon as possible, adding that the charity has worked in the Horn of Africa nation for decades alongside the local Church and is currently providing help to people in the troubled Tigray region.

Mr. Blackwell expresses concern over how Ethiopia’s Northern region of Tigray has, in a couple of years, drifted from a peaceful place to operate to the current state of violence and insecurity.  

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“Two years ago, I was in Tigray. Back then, it was peaceful and prosperous, and I was visiting the organization’s projects successfully without fear of being attacked or being caught between fighting. But since November 2020, this region in Ethiopia has been engulfed in conflict that has destroyed the progress we had seen,” reminisces the Director of the Scottish Catholic charity.

The Catholic charity, Mr. Blackwell says, is now working closely with other organizations to avail assistance to victims who are in far-flung areas.

The on-going conflict in Ethiopia started on 4 November 2020 when forces from the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) allegedly launched an attack on federal government forces in the region.

TPLF, an Ethiopian political paramilitary group, is reportedly opposed to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s bid to centralize power in Africa's second most populous country.

The insurgency has, according to media reports, caused a humanitarian crisis in the country with over 200,000 crossing over to the neighboring Sudan, drawing concern from various humanitarian and religious bodies.

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Last month, Pope Francis, expressed concern over the happenings in Tigray, offering his prayers to the people of God in the country who might have been exposed to famine due to the conflict.

“The suffering, which has been occasioned by a serious humanitarian crisis, in Ethiopia could expose poor families to famine,” said the Holy Father during the June 13 Angelus Prayer

He urged the faithful to remember those affected by the ongoing violence, food shortage, and healthcare deprivation.