ON THE NEED TO SEND JUST £2 A MONTH

Due to the coinciding needs of a professional dive qualification and a place to do it on the cheap, I’m currently ensconced in my parent’s house for the next month or so. My parents happen to live about seven miles from anywhere of note, up in the bucolic climes of Aberdeenshire.

Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot stress the need for your donations to help ease the plight of the people of rural Scotland. People here have to contend with day-to-day struggles on a scale that borders on the incomprehensible. Men and women are forced by circumstances to live in tiny dwellings, sometimes referred to as “crofts”, with only a small fireplace or stove within to provide what sliver of warmth is available. The must toil each day, sometimes travelling for miles to find wood, food and supplies, usually only enough to last for a single week. Some even must cook on antiquated equipment, sometimes up to and over fifty years old.

The men are often required to train dogs rudimentary skills in order to hunt large mammals by chasing and trapping them in jury-rigged enclosures. Their outdoor life exposes them to the harshest of conditions: rain, snow, wind and slightly heavier varieties of rain are frequently encountered. Worst of all, the countryside is filled with mud. Gallons of the stuff. I’ve seen these conditions reduce grown men to tears.

The struggle to survive here has recently led to the formation of armed gangs, roaming from field to field and mercilessly slaughtering their rivals, known only as the “pheasants”. Attempts to curtail their activities are rendered hopeless by the slim-to-none police presence.

But there is hope. For a donation of just £2 a month, you can help teach them the skills to build their own Tesco Metro store, which can sustain an entire rural community. Just 30p can end up buying them a Guardian subscription, which will increase literacy and awareness of offers on timeshare gîtes on the Côte d’Azure.

People in Aberdeenshire don’t need to live on handouts. But a helping hand today could bring a brighter, tourist-friendly tomorrow. Act today. Please.

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