Timeline

1966 – 12 October. A national committee for SCIAF is formed consisting of a representative from each diocese in Scotland who would decide how the money was to be used. Families in Latin America and Africa face a food crisis as they can’t produce enough to feed themselves.

1968 – SCIAF sends over £3000 to 300,000 starving Biafran refugees in Nigeria. Martin Luther King is assassinated.

1973 – Famine in Ethiopia.

1974 – India suffers its worst famine in 20 years.

1984 – World becomes aware of famine in Ethiopia. Almost a million people die by the end of the year.

1985 – 20th Anniversary of SCIAF. Live Aid concerts are held, with bands like the Rolling Stones, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath playing, and money is sent to developing countries.

1988 – 30 November. SCIAF moves from Rutherglen to offices in Oswald St. Glasgow. Flooding in Bangladesh leaves 20 million homeless.

1989 – Official opening of SCIAF’s office by the Minister for Overseas Development.

1990 – All Scottish MPs sign a motion in House of Commons congratulating SCIAF on its 25th Anniversary. 20 million people in Africa are at risk of dying as a result of drought, famine and war. Over £933,000 was donated for Africa.

1991 – The first edition of SCIAF Review is published. Bangladesh is hit by a cyclone. Nelson Mandela is released from prison.

1992 – Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchu wins Nobel Peace Prize and visits Glasgow as a guest of SCIAF.

1994 – Archbishop Winning, a Trustee of SCIAF, is made Cardinal. Refugees from Rwanda spill over into neighbouring countries. Over £800,000 is donated to SCIAF to help them. Nelson Mandela visits Scotland.

1995 – 30th Anniversary of SCIAF.

1998 – Hurricane Mitch, one of the world’s most powerful hurricanes, hits Central America claiming over 11,000 lives. SCIAF’s emergency appeal raises over £400,000.

2000 – SCIAF joins millions around the globe in calling for a cancellation of debts for the poorest countries to celebrate the Great Jubilee and coming of the Third Millennium. World leaders from 189 countries commit themselves to the Millennium Development Goals to reduce world poverty.

2004 – The Asian tsunami kills more than 300,000 people. SCIAF raises £2.47 million to help survivors rebuild their homes, communities and lives.

2005 – SCIAF’s 40th anniversary. World leaders arrive in Scotland for the G8 Summit at Gleneagles. SCIAF plays a lead role in Make Poverty History Campaign. A record-breaking 250,000 people take part in the MPH march in Edinburgh.

2008 – 47 million people across the world break the world record by standing up against poverty.