Author: Laura Ouseley

Colombia’s future hinges on an inclusive peace deal that recognises human rights

July 1, 2016

Monsignor Hector Fabio Henao, CAFOD partner Caritas Colombia
Monsignor Hector Fabio Henao is Director of CAFOD partner Caritas Colombia.

Monsignor Héctor Fabio Henao, Director of Caritas Colombia, is a long-standing partner of CAFOD. For years he has been close to efforts by the Catholic Church to negotiate peace with all parties involved in the conflict in Colombia.

Here he reflects on the news that the Colombian Government and the FARC guerrilla have signed  a bilateral ceasefire agreement; the first time both parties have agreed to put down their arms in over 50 years of conflict.

News that the Colombian Government and FARC guerrillas have agreed a bilateral ceasefire could herald a fresh start for a country that has witnessed the longest-running internal conflict in the western hemisphere.

Find out more about the peace process in Colombia

In the past half-century, at least 220,000 people have been killed in my country. More than 25,000 are missing, more than 6 million have been displaced, and thousands have suffered sexual violence.

Continue reading “Colombia’s future hinges on an inclusive peace deal that recognises human rights”

Hope and grief in Nepal one year after the earthquake

May 13, 2016

Chris Bain, CAFOD Director, writes about his recent visit to Rasuwa district in Nepal one year on from two devastating earthquakes. Watch a short video of Chris in Nepal and read about some of the families who are rebuilding their lives thanks to donations from CAFOD supporters and the tireless work of our partners.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb54G9klxnw]

Just over a year ago, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal north of Kathmandu. A few weeks later, on 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck in the northeast of the country. Nearly 9,000 people died, thousands more were injured, and 600,000 lost their homes and livelihoods. One year on, I travelled to Nepal to meet the communities that were affected, and see the work that CAFOD through our partners in Nepal have carried out to help people recover from this tragedy. It was my third visit to Nepal and I was saddened to see the impact of the disaster on the beautiful landscape and villages we passed.

Join CAFOD’s Emergency Response Team and support our work during emergencies

In Rasuwa, near the border with China, I met Kamala Thalea who lost her young son, two daughters and her mother when the earthquake struck. Kamala’s surviving daughter, Asmita aged 13, told me that she survived the earthquake because she was in a wooden section of their home, while her brother, sisters and grandmother were in a section of the house built of stone. Her hip was injured by falling rubble, but still she saved her two-year-old cousin who lay in the debris next door. Kamala was visiting her mother-in-law in a village three hours away, and arrived home the next day to a collapsed home and her lost children.

She said, “My family and old life are gone now, I only have my eldest daughter left with me.” Continue reading “Hope and grief in Nepal one year after the earthquake”

Nepal earthquakes: rebuilding lives and homes one year on

April 22, 2016

Janet Crossley is CAFOD’s Emergency Programme Manager for Nepal. One year on from the devastating earthquakes which struck Nepal in April and May 2015 watch Janet’s short video from Nepal and read how the generosity of supporters has helped our partners reach the people who were most affected.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wt0jndoVuY?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

When I arrived in the village of Bungkot in Gorkha district, piles of rubble still filled spaces where houses once stood. Grass and crops had already started to grow out of the heaps of stone and dust that families once called home.

Please pray for the people of Nepal

I first visited Gorkha district in western Nepal three months after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday 25 April. It devastated the lives of more than 5 million people, killing over 8,700, and reducing more than half a million homes to rubble. A second earthquake caused further destruction when it hit three weeks later on 12 May.

Continue reading “Nepal earthquakes: rebuilding lives and homes one year on”