The man with the van
Luke Matheson is the Foodbank Warehouse Coordinator, based in Glebe Street, Inverness. He started in February 2020 just ahead of the pandemic and is the person people see when
Pack a shoebox like you were giving it to your own grandchild
Coleraine farmer Robert McCahon has been a Blythswood supporter since 2007 when he first visited Romania as part of the Go Relief team, a group of volunteers from the Reformed
God opened your hearts
A mother who cares for a son with cerebral palsy is able to face the winter with glass in her windows once again – all thanks to the gifts of Blythswood supporters which paid to repair the damage done to her home by the Russian bombardment of Irpin, Ukraine. Larissa was reduced to cooking for her family outside over an open fire in March.
Helping families on the breadline in rural Romania
Rural poverty continues to be a harsh reality for people in Romania, even for those like Agi who manage to maintain a brave face. Her husband is incapacitated by Parkinson’s disease and her son suffers from schizophrenia, making her a full-time carer who must also balance the family budget of 500 euros per month. It’s not a lot for three adults.
Maxim is glad that someone takes an interest in his life
Maxim is 13 and lives with his brother who is 20. Their mother abandoned them several years ago when she went to another village to live with a new partner. Their father they never knew. Left to their own devices they shelter in a tumbledown house in their home village, well off the beaten track among the fields and woods of central Moldova.
Daniel Centre a place of safety for survivor of modern-day slavery
After just one month at Blythswood’s Daniel Centre, on the outskirts of Cluj, Romania, Catalin is well on his way to reaching his first target – feeling safe. “When he arrived, he was very scared,” says social worker Lujza Fechita. “He couldn’t even speak for himself. His sister was speaking for him.” Catalin’s fearful frame of mind resulted from his experience of modern-day slavery