Villagers and visitors in Chinnor were able to follow a fun-filled Trail of 26 scarecrows on Saturday and Sunday, 25th and 26th September. While the scarecrows, like many of us this year, were dreaming of a holiday (the theme for the trail), followers of the trail were asked to help those in greatest need around the world by donating to the work of Christian Aid.
The scarecrows raised more than £800 in donations as they were depicted around the village dreaming of a wide variety of holidays, from Lapland to Hawaii and St Tropez to the Galapagos Islands, featuring activities from horse riding and scuba diving to canoeing.
Organiser of the trail, Mavis Shortman said: "The standard of the scarecrows was very high! The creativity and imagination of the makers was amazing and we are so grateful for all the hard work and time that people gave to this event. The total raised so far is £800 and donations are still coming in. As we were blessed with dry warm weather all weekend, there were a lot of folk walking around the village enjoying all the exhibits.
“Climate change is affecting many countries with extreme weather causing cyclones and drought. In Malawi, flooding has destroyed crops and livestock making food scarce. In contrast, Rose in Kenya does not have enough water to grow crops to support her family and protect them from coronavirus.
“Christian Aid has been working for more than 75 years to create a world where our global neighbours can live a full life, free from poverty. It currently works in 29 countries with people of all faiths and none, to stand together for dignity, equality and justice. Thank you to all who donated for helping Christian Aid to continue making this change.”
Further attractions to be found along the trail included a Christian Aid Café, serving light refreshments, with bacon butties and sausage in a roll, a Fair Trade Stall, selling lots of goods plus homemade jams, musical entertainment from the Cahoots Duo and a Hedgehog Funday.
Donations may still be made at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ca2021chinnor
