SCIAF Stations of the Cross In this Way of the Cross, we meet people supported by SCIAF’s partners in India, a country which is home to roughly one third of the world’s poorest people

First Station We remember those in India, and around the world, who are condemned to a life of hardship by extreme poverty, and in particular, those living with disabilities for whom this daily struggle is even greater.

Second Station Over 70 million Indians live with a disability, often as a result of preventable diseases like polio. Many of them take up their cross every day, excluded by poverty and disability from education and employment.

Third Station When Madhusudam’s legs were crushed under a train he faced a bleak future. But with your help he was given a specially adapted wheelchair and is now training to become a graphic designer.

Fourth Station Poor mothers in developing countries watch helplessly as their children succumb to hunger and preventable diseases. Almost 21,000 children under the age of five die because of poverty each day.

Fifth Station Like Simon, we help carry the cross of those who suffer. SCIAF’s vision of a just world invites us to stand in solidarity with the poorest and most vulnerable of our global neighbours, in their struggle to overcome poverty and injustice.

Sixth Station Yamanappa is just one of the 70 million Indians who live with disability. Polio left him unable to walk. But with your support, he is training to become a gardening teacher.

Seventh Station Jagadeesh comes from a poor village where most people are hired by the day to do back- breaking physical labour in order to make ends meet. When he and his younger brother were born deaf, his parents feared for their future.

Eighth Station When Dvikla was a baby, both her legs were affected by polio. Her mother wept. With your help, SCIAF gave Divkla the opportunity to gain an education. Now she helps others living with disabilities to campaign for their rights.

Ninth Station Vemala contracted polio when she was four months old. She struggled to stand. But SCIAF helped provide her with leg callipers and medical care, and today she can walk. She wants to become a social worker and help people, as she was helped.

Tenth Station When she first came to APD, Fauzia was unable to walk. She was given crutches, physiotherapy and the opportunity to study. Now she is a teacher, helping future generations gain the skills they need to free themselves from poverty.

Eleventh Station Jesus is fastened to the cross - huge nails are driven through his flesh. Each blow of the mallet brings excruciating pain. All over the world, the poorest and most vulnerable are nailed like Jesus, to a cross of pain. They challenge our comfort and our complacency.

We see the face of Jesus in the suffering of all those who die of hunger and disease. In the lives of those who work tirelessly for justice. And in the compassion of all those around Scotland who reach out to them through SCIAF. Twelfth Station

Thirteenth Station Jesus is placed in the arms of his grief-stricken mother. Many mothers and fathers in developing countries experience the loss of a child. In India, a quarter of children die before their fifth birthday.

All over the world, millions of people are forgotten by society. They live out their lives in poverty and pain, overlooked and ignored. Fourteenth Station

Fifteenth Station Out of death comes new life; out of destruction, hope, and out of chaos, transformation. We see the transforming love of God in our relationship with others; for those far away and those near at hand.