Moray MP Douglas Ross says he was “delighted” to meet with the Forces Children Scotland charity in the Scottish Parliament recently.
The charity had an exhibition stand just outside the chamber, which was sponsored by Scottish Conservative MSP Alexander Stewart.
The charity was founded over 200 years ago, shortly before the Battle of Waterloo to help children and young people whose parents had died or suffered life-changing wounds during the war.
The charity has evolved over the years and became Forces Children Scotland upon moving to Scotland in 2016. Since then they have launched youth participation, mental health and wellbeing and support strands to build on existing educational work.
They have now created a ‘Forces Life’ project in the form of a board game and comic book, with much of the work completed over Zoom during the pandemic.
It is now set to be distributed to school and community settings, with those involved hoping civilians will get a better understanding of the lives led by children and young people from armed forces families.
Douglas says he was delighted to hear of “the extremely positive” work the charity are carrying out, especially with the strong military presence at Kinloss and Lossiemouth in his constituency.
He says that he will not shy away from ensuring the voices of children and young people with loved ones in the Armed Forces in his constituency are heard as loudly as possible.
Moray MP Douglas Ross said: “I was delighted to see Forces Children Scotland have an exhibition in the Scottish Parliament this week.
“I appreciated the opportunity to find out more about the extremely positive work they have been carrying out, even given the challenging circumstances of the pandemic.
“Often the experiences of children and young people with loved ones in the armed forces are forgotten and their voices are not heard.
"However, Forces Children Scotland are removing those barriers and ensuring their very creative ideas are heard.
“That’s particularly welcome here in Moray where our armed forces are so important to our communities and the local economy, especially in Kinloss with the Army and Lossiemouth with the RAF.
“I would encourage young people living in Moray who want to talk about their experiences of having family members in our forces to engage with this charity. They are not shy about thinking about doing things differently and having fun.
“I know those who serve in our Armed Forces, and their families, sacrifice so much to keep us all safe so I want to do everything I can to support them when they are based here in Moray."