100 ABSTRACTS - NUMBER 66

We had a good service at Zoom Church this morning during part of which, we celebrated World Refugee Day.  On this day, we are asked to remember and honour the strength and courage of refugees around the world who have been forced to flee their homes and home country.  

In order to escape persecution and conflict, refugees travel away from their homeland then try to settle somewhere safe so that they can try to build their lives again from scratch. This day aims to build understanding and empathy for refugees building their lives in countries new to them.

We have a young lady who joins us from Belgium, who used to attend our church here, and joins us most weeks as her Church there has no Zoom service.  She actually works with refugees, so it is always good to hear how things are progressing and to actually hear it first-hand.

For my Blip today, I decided to use a single red rose out of a bouquet that a friend brought me last week - see my extra shot.  However, in order to make it look abstract, I had to do some fartnarkling, which I did with my iColorama app.  This is Number 66 in my 100 Abstracts Challenge for the Mamie Martin Fund, which enables girls to obtain a secondary school education in North Malawi.

ST MARY’S SCHOOL , KARONGA - This is the second of two schools supported in the city of Karonga. St Mary’s is situated a few kilometres to the south of the city and is accessed by a rough road. The school campus is newly built and well-constructed and laid out. This is a girls’ boarding school which educates 600 girls across four Forms, with three streams per Form.

St Mary’s is owned and run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Karonga. The Mamie Martin Fund started supporting girls in this school in 2019. The six MMF girls here are ‘Alison Girls’, receiving full bursaries through the Alison Cameron Scholarship programme, funded by the Scottish Government for four years 2019-2023. These girls are very poor and the Fund is privileged to support their education.

Perhaps we could all spare a thought today, not only for the Mamie Martin Fund and the many girls it helps, but also for refugees on this World Refugee Day.

“While every refugee’s story is different 
     and their anguish personal, 
          they all share a common thread 
               of uncommon courage - 
the courage not only to survive
     but to persevere and 
          rebuild their shattered lives.”
Antonino Guterres