Scarecrow

This lovely little scarecrow was one of about 20 that greeted us going into church this morning. They were made by members of the Youth group Crossfire, and are being used over the next two weeks to help raise money for Tear Fund for the creation of self-help groups in Ethiopia.
Our minister visited the country as part of a tear fund delegation in January, and saw at first hand how these groups are helping to fund individuals and groups within communities to start up income generating activities that will, hopefully, help them find a route out of poverty. It is a wonderful initiative that is really transforming lives in Ethiopia.

The role of the scarecrows? Members of the congregation can pay £5 to nominate another member to be "scare-crowed". The youth group will then plant the scarecrows in their garden for a day and that person will have to pay £5 to nominate another congregation member and the scarecrows will then visit their garden and so on ..... This will run until the Easter holidays and will hopefully raise a good sum towards the Tear Fund project. I hope they visit my garden! :-).