Tag Archives: water

by saraheve | May 16, 2012 · 1:07 pm

Thirst for change: A pilgrimage of faith into action nears its end

On my pilgrimage, I have had plenty of time to reflect on how faith and action relate to each other.

As I neared the final stretch of my walk with my host Fabian Hiscox, I encountered a waterways chaplain for the first time. These volunteers, organised by Watford Churches Together, put their faith into action by ministering to the needs of the people who live, work, fish, cycle, walk on or near the canal.

Walking alongside chaplain Malcolm Lee, I got yet another view on canal life. Although the role of waterways chaplain was unfamiliar to me, it was clear that the same human needs and problems are found everywhere.

It also provided another opportunity to discuss how campaigning can also be a way of expressing faith in action. When I tell people about my walk, they expect that I will be fundraising. But for many, campaigning is new and unexpected. Continue reading →

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Filed under CAFOD, CAFOD Birmingham, Campaigning

Tagged as home, Jim Quinn, thirst for change, water

by saraheve | · 9:48 am

Thirst for change: Father Rob goes to Downing Street

It was so good to be part of the little group handing in the Thirst for change petition at 10 Downing Street.

This event summed up for me in so many ways what CAFOD, and this campaign in particular, is all about. Read more about the hand-in >

There we were: school students, a parish priest, a campaigner who’d walked to London along the canal network from the West Midlands, and a highly skilled water engineer from a CAFOD partner organisation in Ethiopia, the nation so dramatically linked in the public mind with water shortages at the time time of the 1984 famine that led to Band Aid.

And the five of us were making the voice of the world’s poorest heard by the powerful. This is what CAFOD does so well: uniting different generations and very different life-settings around a shared faith and a commitment to work with people in poverty to build a better future. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Andrew Mitchell, David Cameron, Downing Street, Father Rob Esdaile, home, thirst for change, water

by saraheve | May 14, 2012 · 7:00 am

Thirst for change: One day to go, we spread the campaign to Spain

Tomorrow, we hand in your Thirst for change campaign cards into Number 10. Sarah Harman and the students at St Monica’s Catholic primary school, Warrington, spread the campaign to Spain. How far can you spread the campaign message, with just one day to go?

Take action now, it’s as simple as sending an email >>

This year we really wanted to do something for Lent. CAFOD’s campaign fitted in so well with our progress towards an international schools award. It helped make national politics relevant to the children. They loved the idea of David Cameron opening the door of No.10 and being bombarded with a flood of water droplets.

Year six students devised and led Lent activities every break time. These included a quiz, a fashion show where everyone wore or made something blue, and selling biscuits made in the shape of raindrops. Activities, like Lent lunches, were going on the parish too, so the whole community was involved, parents too. Continue reading →

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Filed under CAFOD, CAFOD Shrewsbury, youth action

Tagged as CAFOD, home, Malaga, thirst for change, Warrington, water, Wythenshawe

by pfxd | May 13, 2012 · 7:00 am

Thirst for change, two days to go: We took a ferry across the Mersey

Do you look good in blue? Ever thought of dressing up as a water droplet to raise awareness about CAFOD’s Thirst for change campaign? James Tyrrell in Liverpool did. There’s only two days to go until we hand your actions to David Cameron, but it’s not too late to be part of the change.

Take action by emailing David Cameron today >>

We wanted to do something to raise awareness in Liverpool about the lack of access to water that so many people face. So we decided to have a ‘water’ rally. Lemlem Behre, who works with CAFOD in Ethiopia joined us and she spoke about her work as a water engineer. Then we all took a ferry trip on the River Mersey. Earlier in the day we visited some of the Ethiopian Orthodox community in Liverpool and one of their members – Tedla Kiflemariam Chekol – came with us on the ferry.

The Mersey is very significant for Liverpudlians. I think it must be so famous because of the song. It’s also symbolic for us Catholics as the river connects the two dioceses of Liverpool and Shrewsbury. Continue reading →

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Filed under CAFOD, Ethiopia, greatgeneration

Tagged as CAFOD, ferry across the mersey, home, Liverpool, thirst for change, water

by saraheve | May 12, 2012 · 7:00 am

Thirst for change: Three days to go, I abseiled down a water tower

With three days to go until we hand your actions to David Cameron, we look at some of the exciting (and slightly mad) things that CAFOD supporters have been doing to promote Thirst for change. Tom, 16, abseiled 110 feet from a water tower.

Luckily, it’s still possible to take action- and keep your feet on the ground! It’s as easy as sending an email >>

I’ve been to watch CAFOD abseil down the water tower in Essex for the last five years. My mother did it to raise money for CAFOD last year. I said to her, ‘It’s not that high, I can do it next year.’

I’ve been on adventure holidays before so I’ve done lots of outdoor activities, but nothing like on this scale before – this was 110 feet tall! Continue reading →

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Filed under CAFOD, greatgeneration, Local CAFOD event

Tagged as CAFOD, CAFOD Brentwood, home, thirst for change, Tom Jarvis, water