CAFOD Blog - Page 38 of 78 - Just One World with many voices

Hands On Doutchi: Thanks to you they have hope

May 29, 2018

Thanks to incredible regular support from CAFOD supporters, life in Doutchi has changed for the better.

Despite the challenges of living on the edge of the Sahara, the Doutchi community have hope.

Hope in the knowledge that they can prepare for the future with confidence.

Knowing that the tools and skills they have gained over the past 3 years, will mean that they can provide for their family now, and well in to the future.

Niger is the world’s poorest country and is also one of the hottest. Getting enough food to eat is the biggest challenge for people living here.

Continue reading “Hands On Doutchi: Thanks to you they have hope”

Hands On Bolivia: You’re helping dreams come true

May 29, 2018

At the start of your Hands On journey, you met Vladimir. He talked of his desire to provide for his family with good, healthy food.

Thanks to your regular support, and Vladimir’s hard work and determination, he has achieved his dreams.

“When I got involved with Fundacion Nuna, it was as if the door had opened, and I could reach my goals and dreams.”

Our next Hands On project has just begun – find out more and get involved.

The latest news from Vladimir’s neighbours:

Nicanora’s vegetable garden is growing so well that she is now able to sell some of her surplus crops at the local market in La Paz.

Eva runs a training session for farmers using a step – by-step manual that is given to all Hands On farmers.

Comment below to send your message to the community in Bolivia.

5 ways to have your own Royal Wedding

May 18, 2018

Harry and Meghan have been busy in the past few months planning their wedding – and so has Therese! She’s been enjoying some of the slightly different ways that weddings can be celebrated. If you’re planning your wedding, why not see if you can encompass some of these ideas.

Who doesn’t love a wedding?

Full of love, happiness, cheesy music and people dressed in their best. It’s a fantastic day of bringing families and friends together to have a great celebration.

My boyfriend Joe proposed to me last Valentines day and we were amazed with all the messages of love we received. We have (well, really, I have) been keeping a keen eye on the build up to the latest Royal Wedding. I have particularly been paying attention to some little breaks in tradition, like asking guests to donate to their chosen charities rather than gifts. If I were a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding I would be rather relieved by this request, I can’t even begin to imagine what you would buy a Prince and future Princess!

Continue reading “5 ways to have your own Royal Wedding”

Campaigning is easy with prayer

May 15, 2018

Prayer is powerful and it underpins all that we do at CAFOD. Prayer can be a great way to inspire you to campaign too. We can show solidarity with our brothers and sisters throughout the world in prayer, remembering that we are united in one world and one body of Christ. Susy, who works in our theology team shares with us her top 3 prayers for social change.

The World Can’t Wait

Read the prayer : The World can’t wait

CAFOD MP correspondents discussing with their MP Emily Thornberry and Matt Rodda in Parliament

Those of us who work in overseas development agencies and hear stories regularly from our colleagues about the work our partners are doing, know that we have to act now. People the world over are going hungry, they are struggling for their land rights, they are dealing with natural disasters – we can’t wait a year or two to act.

Continue reading “Campaigning is easy with prayer”

The life blood of our Earth

May 10, 2018

Becca Haile is our Bangladesh Programme Officer. She tells us about the negative impact of chemicals in farming and the importance of moving towards more sustainable solutions.

Soil is, quite simply, the life blood of our Earth. It sustains our food production and provides a habitat for millions of living organisms. It can even help regulate our climate. But I’d never truly understood just how important soil is to the well-being of our planet before I visited Bangladesh and spoke to farmers whose lives had been directly impacted by changes to their soil.

In 2017 I met 38-year-old Jamal Hossain. He is a small-scale farmer, father and husband from Jessore in South West Bangladesh. Jamal described to me how just four years earlier he had to stop farming completely. Years of applying excessive amounts of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to his soil had left him in poor health and unable to continue working on his land. Jamal had also noticed that the quality of his soil had worsened over the years and his produce had suffered.

To make ends meet he took up work as a day labourer. He transported stone and concrete to construction sites. “It was hard work and physically draining. I so wanted to start working on my land again but I was too worried about my health,” Jamal told me.

Time is running out to double your donation! You have until 12 May to have your donation matched by the UK Government.

Continue reading “The life blood of our Earth”

‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves’

May 6, 2018

Amy is a blogger that took up the challenge of giving up ‘Bad words’ over the Lent period, to help spread the word about our Lent appeal. Just after Easter, she told us how the challenge had humbled her and helped bring her closer to God.

The end of Lent has come and gone and it is time to reflect on what the last 40 days have truly been about. This journey started for me because I felt like God was telling me that there was an area of my life that I needed to submit to Him. He needed to refine it. A verse that had a powerful impact on me was Luke 6 v 45. It had never occurred to me that bad language could reflect a poor state of your heart. It pained me to know that my heart might not be as it should be.

I can honestly say God has drawn me closer through this journey of Lent. Even during the moments when I have struggled with the challenge I have felt closer to Him. What surprised me about the struggles of this challenge is that when they came along they appeared like the serpent with the apple. They were covered in the ripe red skin of a juicy apple and I took a bite without hesitation. This lack of hesitation came from my own pride and sinfulness.

As we approach Pentecost, we pray that the Holy Spirit may work through us as we seek to transform the world. Prayers for Pentecost

Continue reading “‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves’”

Pope Francis’s new letter to us all

April 23, 2018

The week before last Pope Francis issued his fifth major document since beginning his papacy. It is largely a sustained meditation on the Beatitudes and how they can be lived out here and now. It is called Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be glad); and its subtitle is A call to holiness in today’s world. So what, according to Francis, does it mean to be holy? Susy, from our Theology team, highlights some key points.

According to Francis, if you are by nature timid, morose, acerbic or melancholy, prone to put on a dreary face or swoon in a mystic rapture then you are heading in the wrong direction! Here are four ways of being holy that Francis advocates. I think they will be particularly pertinent to you as a CAFOD supporter:

1. Live out your faith in a practical way

Pope Francis always stresses that we must live out our faith in a practical way (#109). This means, that in our lives and in our work, we are urged to labour “with integrity and skill in the service” of our brothers and sisters (#14).

Put your faith into action. Sign up to receive our monthly emails about how you can get involved in our latest campaigns.

Continue reading “Pope Francis’s new letter to us all”

What our Lent challenges taught us

April 13, 2018

Hal and Cherrie from London based east-meets-west electronic pop group Ooberfuse have finish their Lent challenges! They told us how they felt being free to enjoy their favourite treats, and what they’ll take away from the experience.

Hal: It’s been a long drawn out ordeal. But then that’s the whole point of a 40 day period of abstinence. I never thought I would miss the discipline required to stay faithful to my Lenten pledge. As reported earlier, depriving myself of hot food and hot drinks could not have come at a colder time of the year. It was a perfect storm which made the challenge more intensified.

Cherrie: Weirdly I think I miss the afterglow of depriving myself of what previously I considered to be essential – a daily dose of chocolates.

It’s not too late to donate to our Lent appeal and have your donation doubled by the UK Government

Continue reading “What our Lent challenges taught us”

Renewable energy changes lives in Zambia

April 12, 2018

Sister Clara is a nun from Zambia. She shares with us how climate change is becoming the main cause of poverty and how renewable energy and your support can make a difference.

Zambia has in recent years experienced extreme shifts in weather patterns. These shifts are resulting in profoundly negative impacts on the economy.

The poorest people living in rural areas, like Mbala in Northern Zambia, are most affected because almost everyone is dependent on farming as their main source of living. In addition, most people do not have access to electricity either because it is too expensive or because the country cannot afford a national grid. So the people of Mbala, and other such villages, are often left without this, the most basic of necessities.

Therefore, as a religious congregation working in Mbala, we have been helping the poorest people. We have been supporting them both materially and financially through the Households in Distress Project (H.I.D).

Continue reading “Renewable energy changes lives in Zambia”