Threat accused bailed
A Calderwood man appeared in the dock accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend with violence.
Jonathan Usai, 34, of Pembroke, denied behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on December 28 at a property in Warwick, also in Calderwood.
The 34-year-old is accused of uttering abusive remarks and threats of violence to his former partner during the course of calls made through a social media application and by telephone.
At Hamilton Sheriff Court, trial was set for March 1 with an interim hearing on February 2.
The accused was granted bail under the condition that he does not contact his exgirlfriend or enter Warwick in Calderwood.
A selfless young East Kilbride woman spent Christmas 4000 miles from home to help people living in poverty – and even introduced locals to the Gay Gordons.
Karen Kelly, 23, embarked on a threemonth expedition to India where almost a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
Her humanitarian mission has seen her work in a team of young British and Indian volunteers on a project to empower women, encourage youth development and improve conditions of the local child education and healthcare system.
But when she left her Hairmyres home in October, the journalism graduate – a former pupil of Duncanrig Secondary and Canberra Primary schools – admitted the realisation that she would be missing out on Christmas with friends and family in East Kilbride to continue her good work was tough to take.
But Karen was determined to make a difference in India’s poverty-stricken capital, New Delhi, and create a wonderful Christmas for those less fortunate.
She said: “It didn’t really dawn on me that I’d be spending Christmas away from home until we started planning celebrations for the day here in India.
“It made me sad at first, thinking about how I’ll be missing out on the fun with my family, but then I realised that for a large portion of my team, this was their first Christmas.
“This will be an opportunity to create beautiful memories with them and share a part of my culture.
“So many of the villagers love to dance and I’m going to teach them some Scottish traditional dances – I’ve already shown them how to do the Gay Gordons.
“India is a beautiful, complex place and my time here has been challenging but so rewarding. I was lucky enough to experience Diwali with my host family in October so I was excited to share some Christmas traditions like singing carols and exchanging gifts with them.
“On Christmas Day we planned a party with hats and games – it was like a primary school Christmas party – lots of fun.”
Karen is volunteering on a project to improve education, gender equality and access to safe drinking water in rural Rajasthan. She is also living with a local Indian family whilst in India, so she can fully immerse herself in the local community and better understand the challenges the community face.
Karen added: “The projects have been fairly challenging so far but since early December we have been having more and more successes. We have secured an office for the resource centre and our women’s club had 21 attendees and continues to be met with enthusiasm from the women in the village.
“There are many forms of inequality here for women – often girls leave school at an early age and focus on household chores and raising children – so the women’s club is a space for them to share ideas and be heard. They really seem to love it so far.”
Karen, who returns home next week, went on: “My host family have welcomed me into their home and their hearts, they are such lovely people and we laugh a lot at my attempts to speak Hindi and cook Indian food.
“The grandmother of my host family loves to dance, she taught me a traditional Rajasthani dance and giggles whenever I try to do it. I attempted to host a ceilidh at Christmas and showed them some Scottish dance moves.”
ICS volunteers spend three months in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, working alongside local volunteers on projects that focus on issues ranging from sexual health and youth participation in politics, to climate change and sustainable livelihoods.
Since 2012, ICS, has sent more than 600 young people from Scotland to volunteer on projects abroad, alongside young volunteers from the country they’re in. Young people don’t need cash or qualifications to take part, just the motivation and commitment to make a difference. To find out more about ICS and to apply visit www.volunteerics.org