Cromarty, Slave Plantations and Hungry Children

This fundraiser is organised by Cromarty Peace Group to help refurbish the kitchen of All Saints Presbyterian (Scots) Church in New Amsterdam in Guyana. Dr. David Alston has been researching the involvement of Cromarty families like the Barklys and Davidsons in plantations in Guyana and the exploitation of enslaved Africans and their descendants by many people from the Highlands. Our historical links with Guyana are as strong as with any other part of the world – but have been largely forgotten.

Now Cromarty Peace Group is raising money to support a project to help children in the town of New Amsterdam – only a few miles from Cromarty and Nigg in Guyana. All Saints Church is 200 years old this year. They already run a Little Angels Centre which provides child care, training for young people, and work with the nearby prison. Next year (2021) they plan to provide free lunches for 50+ of the children in the local primary school, who without this support may not continue in school. The programme will be run by Food for the Poor (Guyana) Inc. the largest charitable NGO working in the country. To make this possible the church needs to refurbish the kitchen in their Development Centre – a 140-year old wooden building next to their 200-year old wooden church. The cost of this is likely to be between £5,000 and £6,000.

According to the World Health Organisation, in recent years almost half of children in Guyana live in poverty on less than £1.35 a day. This is a chance to make a real difference.Our contact for this project is Rev Dr Selby Ross, minister of All Saints.