Couper helps launch Child Appeal
CLAYMORES legend SCOTT COUPER teamed up with the Claymores cheerleaders, Miss Scotland and a TV personalities in Glasgow this week to launch an appeal for World Vision's Child Sponsorship Month.  |
| Scott Couper, the Claymores Cheerleaders and Miss Scotland, Nicola Jolly |
Libby McArthur (Gina Rossi in River City), Miss Scotland Nicola Jolly, Real Radio and television presenter Steve McKenna played the giant three metre square board game along with Scoops and the cheeries.
Instead of traditional snakes and ladders, the game has real life examples of the hardships and poverty faced by children in the developing world. The open-air human snakes and ladders game supports the first week of the World Vision campaign running for the 700 hours in September aimed at recruiting 700 Scottish sponsors to support 700 children in developing countries.
The 'snake' squares on the board describe situations which children can find themselves in, such as:
- Poverty means you have to leave your home in Zambia to find work
- Your sister dies from the common childhood disease, measles
- Your mother is one of 6,500 Africans to die from AIDS each day
The 'ladder' squares show the benefits which child sponsorship brings to these children:
- Sponsorship means that you do not have to work in the sex trade to support your family
- Sponsorship means that you have access to safe, clean drinking water
- Sponsorship means you have books, pens and a uniform and the chance to attend school
There are hundreds of children still waiting for a child sponsor. For these children, being sponsored can mean the difference between life and death.
Miss Scotland, Nicola Jolly, who has previously supported other World Vision campaigns, says, "I am more than happy to continue to support World Vision and the work they do for developing countries. The Child Sponsorship programme is an easy way to make a life changing difference to someone else's life. The £18 the communities receive each month means children can have access to things we take for granted such as clean water and pens, pencils and other equipment for school. We desperately want to hit the 700 sponsors target in September and show everyone how generous we Scots really are!
World Vision spokesman Peter Meadows says, "World Vision is very grateful for the support of these Scottish celebrities. Sponsoring a child costs only 60p a day - much less than the cost of a cup of coffee. Spending this small sum of money can make the world of difference to a child in need. In the UK we take things for granted, such as clean water, basic healthcare and food but poverty kills a child every three seconds. Most people are unaware that 30,000 children die every day in the world from the effects of poverty. Simple things, such as immunisation, are not readily available but sponsoring a child means that he or she will receive basic healthcare. This includes immunisation from the six childhood killer diseases - diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, polio, tetanus and tuberculosis."
World Vision provides emergency relief, aid, development skills and rehabilitation in around 100 countries. More than 88,500 children across the globe are sponsored by people in the UK through World Vision's Child Sponsorship programme. The organisation believes in making a difference with both short and long-term aid and projects. Every year the charity helps more than 100 million people across the world.
To be part of the '700 Sponsors Appeal' campaign by sponsoring a child, log onto www.sponsor.org or call 0800 50 10 10.
08 Sep, 04 | 4:47 pm