Scottish Catholic Observer

A SCOTTISH priest who is helping provide refuge for orphaned children in South Africa has received a £6,000 boost from two parishes in Rutherglen.

Fr Peter Lafferty, originally from Shettleston, has worked as a Holy Ghost Father with the poor in South Africa for more than 25 years.

He has set up a refuge in the country for refugees, some of them orphaned children, arriving daily in an already impoverished area with nothing but the clothes they are wearing.

After hearing that Fr Lafferty’s work receives no funding from government or other official sources, parishioners from the Faith Sharing Group at the linked parishes of St Mark’s, Springhill, and St Anthony’s, Fernhill, decided to put their fundraising skills to work ­helping the great cause.

“As a Faith-Sharing group we were urged to find out about charities involved with the homeless and victims of ­violence and to do something to help,” one parishioner, Ian Robertson, said.

“We heard about refugees fleeing to Durban in South Africa to escape war, famine and drought in their countries in Africa. There is a lot of publicity about refugees who come to Europe but we seldom hear about those who flee south.”

The parish Faith group rattled buckets at parishioners asking for donations after Mass, sold tablet and tea and cakes, and held a‘Therapy Day’ when the therapists involved handed over all the money they raised.

In total, the parishioners ­collected an incredible £6,000.

“Once the refugees are settled Fr Lafferty encourages them to fend for themselves, using their various talents to feed, clothe and educate their children themselves,” Mr Robertson said. “We hope that our efforts will help support him in his work.”