Scottish Catholic Observer

Georgia Duffy, a fifth year student at St Mungo’s Academy in Glasgow, recently undertook a sponsored skydive in St Andrews as part of her group’s fundraising activities and raised nearly £600.

Despite the dive taking place some 10,000 feet above land, Georgia wasn’t at all phased by the high-octane activity. “The skydive was a 16th birthday present from my gran and I had been really looking forward to it,” she said. “I wasn’t scared at all, to be honest, because I’m a bit of a thrill-seeker, but we had to postpone it until the weather improved.

“As we at St Mungo’s were raising funds in a variety of ways, I thought this would be another good opportunity to raise funds for the GIG mission experience to Zambia and I was delighted to be able to do that.”

Missio Scotland is the Scottish branch of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which is the Pope’s own charity and the official mission aid agency of the Church.

Martin Mann, a Religious Education teacher at St Mungo’s, who is accompanying the group from the school to Zambia, was full of praise for the fundraising efforts of the five students who have now not only covered the own costs of their trip but raised invaluable extra funds too.

“Through various fundraising events, from bag-packing to race nights, the five pupils participating in the Missio Scotland led experience to Zambia have raised nearly £5,000 which will go towards supporting some of the projects we will visit,” Mr Mann said.

“This is a fantastic example of the young people exhibiting the school’s motto of nil sine labore (nothing without work) as they worked hard to grasp this unique opportunity.

“These young people will also be undertaking the Caritas Award upon their return in S6 and, in so doing, will be taking on a lead role in maintaining the excellent Catholic ethos that has permeated the academy since its foundation in 1858.”

The students of Taylor High School in Motherwell, who are also joining the trip, have been similarly impressive in terms of their own fundraising efforts. During a meeting with Sr Stacey Cameron—who initiated the GIG (Get Involved Globally) mission experience programme in 2016 and has been running it since its inception—the group presented her with a cheque for £7,000, which will also go towards supporting the life-giving projects in Zambia that the students will visit.

“I’m extremely proud of the hard work undertaken by the Taylor High School girls and indeed the efforts of the GIG 2018 group in not only meeting the costs of the trip but raising extra funds,” Sr Stacey said. “This money will make a huge difference to the lives of the people that the students will meet while on the mission experience. I’d also like to thank those who have supported us by donating items such as baby clothes which we will take with us to distribute upon our arrival.”

Thanks in no small part to the hard work of Sr Stacey, Missio Scotland launched its GIG mission experience programme in 2016. The programme aims to offer small groups of adults or students the opportunity to visit church and school communities in an overseas country for 10-14 days.

The programme aims to offer small groups of adults or students the opportunity to visit church and school communities in an overseas country for 10-14 days. The purpose of these mission experiences is for the participants to experience life, Faith and justice from a new perspective and return home inspired to live a personal sense of ‘mission’ in Scotland.

A mission experience aims to touch the heart, engage the mind and nourish the spirit and will see participants spending time with local communities, sharing stories, meeting those who care for the sick, look after orphans, teach children and in many other initiatives run by mission partners.

– If you would like to learn more about Missio Scotland’s GIG mission experience programme visit: www.missioscotland.com/volunteer or contact [email protected]