January 23, 2015
Our 25 new CAFOD young climate bloggers are launching One Climate, One World for children and young people today at Brentwood Cathedral. They have been training with CAFOD in media and campaigning at the Othona Community in Essex. They will be blogging on climate and environment issues throughout 2015. Here are their very first blogs: Continue reading “Introducing our new CAFOD young climate bloggers!”
January 20, 2015
Alice Stride works in CAFOD’s PR team.
CAFOD is privileged to have many wonderful supporters. One supporter, ‘Marmalady’ Gloria Irons from Norwich, has raised over £10,000 for us with her marvellous homemade marmalade – and her wonderful work has even been written about in the national press.
Gloria’s marmalade success “started by accident”. She said, “I was going to a fete and I had forgotten to bake anything. I grabbed some jars of marmalade I had made and they sold like hot cakes.”
Make a donation to CAFOD’s work
Continue reading “Marvellous Marmalady – The Value of Volunteers”
January 16, 2015
Zeza and Terezinha send you this message from Brazil:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StE3ArlzPso?rel=0]
“Connect2Brazil wishes you all a Merry Christmas! We are very happy with the Christmas cards we received from children and parishes England & Wales, and with the exchange of experiences. The children in Divinéia were really happy with your messages.” Zeza, Divinéia community leader and Connect2: Brazil narrator.
“Connect2Brazil will continue in our hearts forever. This exchange between local communities, this sharing and linking will be with us always. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for all in England and Wales, and especially for the children!” Terezinha, Connect2: Brazil, Divinéia community.
Left: Children in Divinéia with cards from the Connect2: Brazil parishes.
Right: Zeza and Terezinha with Christmas cards.
If your parish would like to join Connect2, you can sign up here.
January 16, 2015
By Jesy Romero, Water Resources Coordinator for CAFOD’s Church partner CEAS
I have seen first-hand the marginalisation and exclusion of the poor communities we work with, who are constantly defending their lands. My Christian vocation compels me to speak the truth and nothing but the truth for the common good. This is why I travelled thousands of miles from my home in Peru to visit CAFOD supporters and campaigners in London last October for the launch of their campaign, One Climate, One World. I wanted to explain the impact climate change is having in Peru and the conflicts occurring because of water shortages, so that people will better understand the importance of caring for God’s creation.
Water shortages and flooding in Peru
Latin America is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, yet some people don’t know about the scarcity of water in Peru. My country has 70% of the world’s tropical glaciers, and in the region where I work I can see how they are melting at an alarming rate. The statistics are catastrophic; the Peruvian government says that by 2030, all the glaciers below 5,000 metres will have melted completely.
Stand in solidarity with climate campaigners like Jesy and sign CAFOD’s climate petition today >>
In addition to the water shortages, which come about because of the disappearing glaciers, there is also an increased risk of flooding, because the displaced ice from the mountains can crash into the lakes. We fear that at any moment there could be another avalanche, like the one in 1970 that killed many thousands of people in my area. Continue reading “Water shortages in Peru: why we should all care for God’s creation”
January 15, 2015
Across the world, disasters disproportionately affect those who are already living in poverty. A changing climate is set to make this situation worse. Cleofas Friego lost her home and her means of making a living because of Typhoon Haiyan (known in the Philippines as Yolanda). She says:
“The typhoons we had before were not that strong compared to what we have now.
“Typhoon Yolanda affected us because it destroyed almost all our coconut trees, which is how we earned our income. It takes about six years for coconut trees to grow back. We used to harvest three times a year. Now we have difficulty finding sources of food for our children.
“CAFOD and Catholic Relief Services helped us to set up a new garden. We will plant vegetables, so we have food to eat. If I ever get to earn a living again, I will rebuild my house, send my children to school and send my disabled child for medical treatment.”
A new start?
Thanks to your donations to our Philippines Typhoon appeal, Cleofas is starting to make a living again. But the Philippines is repeatedly hit by typhoons, which could leave farmers like Cleofas having to start again from scratch.
CAFOD’s campaign, One Climate, One World, asks British political leaders to work with other countries to secure an ambitious international deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and to support the transition from polluting fossil fuels to sustainable energy. Add your name to our climate petition today.
January 15, 2015
Do you have a New Year’s resolution to do more DIY? The people of Kitui do! Their project is about so much more than sprucing up their home – it will make a huge difference to their lives. And it’s possible because of you, and the 1,500 other people who have been getting hands on. Thank you.
We hope you have received your second postal update along with your copy of our Side by Side magazine. If you’ve misplaced your letter, or haven’t recieved it, you can download the January update now.
Please keep Kitui in your prayers as the hard work continues.
Progress and project highlights this month
Nicholas Oloo, CAFOD’s Programme Officer in Kenya is here to show us how the CAFOD Hands On project in Kitui will revitalise the landscape, and why trees are a crucial part of fixing the water supply.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSPu1twAxSM?rel=0&showinfo=0&w=640&h=360]
Continue reading “Getting Hands On in Kitui: the importance of trees”
January 15, 2015
Tobi is a CAFOD young leader and is passionate about getting others involved in campaigning against climate change.
One of the issues CAFOD campaigns about is climate change. Climate change is the biggest threat to reducing poverty, whether it’s floods destroying livelihoods, or unpredictable rains leaving millions hungry.
So how can we stop this? #Fortheloveof is a campaign by The Climate Coalition, and CAFOD is working together with them, to celebrate the things we love and to also call on politicians to tackle climate change. Continue reading “Tobi gets her college campaigning!”
January 14, 2015
As Pope Francis calls for reconciliation in Sri Lanka, Joe William from CAFOD partner Centre for Communications Training reflects on last week’s Presidential election.
Please pray for peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka
After the end of the war in 2009, a rainbow coalition of political parties now provides the best option for sustainable peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
The contest for the island’s eighth Presidential Election began in November when incumbent Rajapaksa called snap polls, two years ahead of schedule. With no serious contender at that time, he was eyeing an unprecedented third term in office, least expecting his own Cabinet Minister Maithripala Sirisena to defect and emerge as a common candidate who would win the support of an eclectic joint opposition platform.
Mr. Sirisena’s departure not only prompted some of his colleagues to move with him, but also caused quite a flutter in the ruling camp. The subsequent turn of events — importantly, Tamil and Muslim parties pledging support to Mr. Sirisena — led to what was one of the most closely fought presidential elections in Sri Lanka’s history. Continue reading “Sri Lanka elections: peace and reconciliation”
January 14, 2015
In a month’s time, we’ll be celebrating Valentine’s Day and, as part of the Climate Coalition, we’ll be asking you to #showthelove and let everyone know why acting on climate change is a crucial part of loving our neighbours.
Twenty-six-year-old teacher, Lazaro Salvador Gutierrez Gonzalez, lives in a village in the municipality of Jinotega in the dry corridor of Nicaragua, an area prone to irregular rainfall and drought. Here he reflects on how the love of God motivates him to care for his environment.
This was a very poor community, difficult to get to, and very few organisations came here. But CAFOD partner Caritas Jinotega came. I can say truly it is an organisation that is concerned for its neighbour, that seeks out love and God sent it here to share this love for its neighbour.
The climate is difficult here because it is hot, so when Caritas brought trees to plant it was a moment of joy for me. I said to myself, I am going to make a change here, I am going to see this area reforested.
This is my dream
So we started to plant the trees, always with the hope that they will grow big, and that we will have cleaner air, a fresher climate. Worm composting gives us organic compost to help the plants to grow and the children that I teach learn to look after the plants, and have the hope of seeing new plants and fruit. This is my dream: to bring nature to the school.
Continue reading “Nicaragua: For the love of God, let’s care for the environment”
January 12, 2015
CAFOD’s Head of Campaigns, Sophie Dodgeon, gives us the lowdown on what to watch out for in the year ahead – and explains why 2015 is such a crucial year for action on climate change.
Sign our climate petition to party leaders
1. It’s a year to say goodbye. In 2015, we reach the end of both the Kyoto Protocol and the Millennium Development Goals. Both are UN processes which set targets for governments to meet.
The Kyoto Protocol covered carbon emissions, and the Millennium Development Goals gave a global framework to measure progress on ending poverty – from improving access to education to reducing the number of women dying in childbirth.
2. It’s a year to make a new start. The end of past agreements means the pressure is on this year to set new goals and agreements to spur us on into the future.
In September, all eyes will be on New York, where there will be a major UN summit to agree a set of new Sustainable Development Goals. How far climate change is recognised in the new goals is still being negotiated. CAFOD is already involved, getting our overseas partners’ concerns heard at the highest level.
Next is Paris. By the end of 2015, all countries need to agree how they will cut carbon emissions and what collective action they will take to respond to the impact of changes in the climate (for instance, what funding they will provide to enable developing countries to cope with adapting to change).
Each country will make a pledge saying what they will do about climate change. The UK will pledge as part of the European Union.
Discussions have already started; some of the main pledges are expected to be agreed by March. The global deal itself needs to be thrashed out at a fortnight-long meeting called the COP 21 (Conference of the Parties) in Paris in December 2015.
For the sake of the communities that we work with, the deal needs to be ambitious, binding and fair to the poorest people.
Take action today and email party leaders telling them why you care about climate change.
Continue reading “Seven (and a half) reasons 2015 is the year for action on climate change”