A charity set up in memory of an aid worker from the Western Isles, who was kidnapped and killed in Afghanistan, has raised one million pounds.
It is five years ago today that Linda Norgrove from Uig on the west of Lewis, died in a failed attempt by US Navy SEALS to rescue her from her Taliban captors.
Her parents John and Lorna established the Linda Norgrove Foundation so their 36 year old daughter would be remembered for her contribution to life, rather than her tragic death. The charity’s focus from the start has been to help women and children affected by the war in Afghanistan.
John Norgrove explained: “Our daughter Linda loved the Afghan people and a number of people she met there became close friends. She was in the country because she wanted to make it a better place to live, particularly for women and children. She recognised there were hugely positive aspects to Afghanistan which we rarely had the chance to see because of the constant coverage of the war.
“We don’t have the resources to change the world, but we do help in our own small way to fund projects which have a direct impact on individuals. And because we are small we can keep a closer eye on what we are funding and we can keep our overheads to an absolute minimum.”
He said the Foundation had now raised more than £1m to help fund 76 different grassroots projects. These included scholarships enabling 44 poor girls to attend university, including five training to be doctor.
Then there is SCAWNO, a school in a rough neighbourhood of Kabul which is attended by more than 300, many of whom missed out on earlier schooling. As well as school for the children they also teach commercial tailoring skills to their mothers
“What happened was the school was set up by an Afghan, who financed it. But he died of cancer. We got to hear about it three years ago, and the Foundation has taken over providing revenue funding,” Mr Norgrove said.
There has also been support for Healthprom, which involves digging underground tanks from solid rock to provide safe drinking water to isolated villages.
Meanwhile the Children’s Medical House pays for ten operations a year at the French Children’s Hospital in Kabul, and there is also support for an orphanage caring for children with special needs.
In addition the charity, in partnership with Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, funded Afghanistan Reads!, a network of community- based libraries and literacy schemes for women across the country.
One of the Foundation's major fundraising projects was last week’s annual run. As well as the Valtos 10K on Lewis, runners took part at numerous locations, from Washington DC to Melbourne, and from Edinburgh to Liberia. Unusual locations have included an oil rig off Shetland and a research station in Antarctica where the runners faced temperatures of minus 55 degrees.
But Mr Norgrove said. “Our main source are donations in response to the two newsletters we send out each year, one in the summer to about 450 dedicated supporters and one in the winter to over 1,200 people, Our supporters and existing contacts and those people who got in touch after Linda’s death.”
He and his wife Lorna visited Afghanistan earlier this year, their second trip since Linda’s death in 2010.
Mrs Norgrove said: “Afghanistan feels like a very different place and has changed a lot since our earlier visit. Security remains an issue, but we felt much more relaxed. We enjoyed seeing the difference we have made on the ground and it was a delight to reacquaint ourselves with some of the children from the orphanage we had met on our previous visit.”
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