Ethiopia and care for our common home

June 23, 2016

Rachel McCarthy works in the CAFOD Theology Programme. She reflects on the Ethiopia food crisis on the anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on ecology.

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Herit lives in Ethiopia. She says “I have worked hard for a better life”.

It pains me to hear about the devastating drought in Ethiopia.

I have no doubt that our partners are doing all they can to tackle the Ethiopia crisis. Thanks to your generosity, we are able to support families to cope with the drought in a way which respects their dignity.

Read about our response to the Ethiopia crisis

Yet it is still a distressing situation. Herit is a mother who lives in a village in the northern Tigray region. She has toiled for many years to help her family be self-sufficient, so I can only imagine how devastating this must be for her. “I have worked hard for a better life,” she says, “to go back to dependency is very difficult for me. I feel sad, it hurts me inside.”

For me, Herit’s words echo someone I met in Kenya with CAFOD a few years ago. John, a village leader in rural Isiolo diocese, greeted me warmly and walked with me up a hill to where his community were gathered. We looked across the slope of the field, across the swirls of dust where the fruit trees once grew, and there was not a drop of water in sight. Looking into his eyes, I saw the pain as he expressed what this lack of water meant for his people. Hunger.

Please give to the Ethiopia appeal  Continue reading “Ethiopia and care for our common home”

The impact of Laudato Si’ one year on

June 23, 2016

It’s one year Laudato Si’ was published. Pope Francis used this ‘letter to the world’ to call for action on issues such as climate change and for us to rethink our ideas of progress. Liam Finn, CAFOD‘s UK News Officer, looks at the impact of the encyclical:

CAFOD supporters at a study day focused on Laudato Si'
CAFOD supporters at a study day focused on Laudato Si’

“I wish to address every person living on this planet.”

So declared Pope Francis at the start of his landmark encyclical, Laudato Si’ – On Care for Our Common Home, a year ago. The Holy Father called for a “bold cultural revolution”, imploring us to transform ourselves because the human and environmental costs of our current way of life – particularly for the world’s poorest people – are too high. He spoke of the need for measures to tackle climate change and pollution, for greater awareness and appreciation of nature and the planet, and for us to value everyone in all places and at all stages of life.

Act on Laudato Si’ and help people access renewable energy

Laudato Si’ is extraordinary. For a start, it’s the first encyclical focused on the need to care for Creation. It is, as MPs said in Parliament, a “most beautiful document” which is “astonishing and exceptionally rich”. Even so, its greatest power is the way it acts as a mirror to the world with brutal reflections, whether saying that the earth “is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth”, or talking about “the disposable of society” – a description so steeped in satire that it reads more like it’s from the pen of a punk lyricist than a pontiff.

But this encyclical is also extraordinary because of the reaction it generated both before and after its publication. Continue reading “The impact of Laudato Si’ one year on”

Refugee Week: Five ways your parish can help

June 22, 2016

Writing messages of hope
Some parishes have responded by writing messages of hope for refugees

By Daniel Hale, CAFOD’s Head of Campaigns

This week we heard that there are a record 65 million people displaced around the world. The European crisis is mirrored across the planet: in Colombia, in Central America, in the Middle East and many more places, including many of the countries where CAFOD works.

Fleeing war, poverty and persecution, people are moving in search of peace and prosperity – a better life for their families. A few find their way to the UK. There are likely to be refugees living in your parish.

It can seem like these global issues are far beyond what we as individuals and families can do to help. But in this Year of Mercy, we are reminded that we should welcome the stranger. We’ve already been moved and encouraged by the number of schools, parishes and individuals who are showing solidarity with refugees.

There are countless ways to help. These are five ideas to get you started. What could you do, starting this week, to welcome the stranger? Continue reading “Refugee Week: Five ways your parish can help”

Connecting one community to another – A fundraiser’s story

June 21, 2016

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10 million people face hunger, due to the devastating drought rippling through Ethiopia. Through our local partners we are able to reach the most vulnerable with urgent supplies.

 Donate to our Ethiopia Food Crisis Appeal

 Some of our supporters in England and Wales have been supporting communities in Ethiopia for a number of years through the Connect2 Ethiopia scheme. This project links a parish to a village where money raised has been helping people become self-sufficient.

 For six years Henry and Nuala Rosenvinge, have organised their own plant and cake sale for CAFOD. This year’s event raised an incredible £2,500, which was especially poignant given the heartbreaking drought in Ethiopia. Here Henry writes about how one neighbourhood connects to another.

Continue reading “Connecting one community to another – A fundraiser’s story”

One Climate, One World: CAFOD speaker from Zimbabwe tours England and Wales

June 21, 2016

CAFOD partners provide clean water in Zimbabwe using solar energy
Solar energy helps provide clean water in Zimbabwe

In July, Takura Gwatinyanya, from CAFOD partner Caritas Harare, will be travelling across England and Wales to share his passion for tackling poverty and to show how your support is making a difference in Zimbabwe.

Meet Takura and discover more about CAFOD’s climate and energy campaign at a series of special events, starting in London on Wednesday 6 July.

Book your place now >

We caught up with Takura to ask his about his family, his work and what keeps him motivated.

Tell us a little bit about your family.

I am married to Rutendo Avriel, and we have one five-year-old son.

You’re an expert in water and sanitation. What makes you passionate about this area?

My experience in sanitation and humanitarian work has shown me that access to water and sanitation is a fundamental human right. It bring human dignity, with immediate and evidenced results. The need for decent water and sanitation cuts across all ages and all backgrounds, it doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor.

Pumps run on solar power are helping people in the communities where I work to access clean water and are reducing the time it takes people to collect water.

Continue reading “One Climate, One World: CAFOD speaker from Zimbabwe tours England and Wales”

World Refugee Day: Send a message of hope

June 20, 2016

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For World Refugee Day, CAFOD communications officer, Mark Chamberlain reflects on attitudes towards refugees

In the past fortnight a time machine took me back to the late 1980s. I was sitting watching my favourite tea-time programme: a re-run, in glorious Technicolor, of a McCarthy-era, American sci-fi series.

The meek, unsuspecting earthlings were being duped again, by the cold, cunning aliens. More invaders had landed in their town and were taking over. But the only people that could see this were a small boy who kept shouting for people to listen…and me.

Send a message of hope to refugees on World Refugee Day Continue reading “World Refugee Day: Send a message of hope”

Ethiopia drought: we must work together to tackle climate change

June 16, 2016

Ethiopia Food Crisis - Herit in her field
Herit has not been able to grow any crops this year

A crippling drought has hit Ethiopia and 10 million people face hunger. We are working with our local partners to reach the most vulnerable with life-saving aid. Severe and extreme weather shifts, part of the El Niño effect, mean that the rains in Ethiopia have failed twice. It is believed that the severity of the droughts caused by El Niño are worsening because of climate change.

Find out more about the current situation in Ethiopia

Our partners around the world have been seeing climate change affect communities for years now, and things are only getting worse. Abba Teum, the Diocesan Director for Adigrat Diocese Catholic Secretariat, (one of our partners in Ethiopia) told us how climate change has impacted his local landscape and affected his community. Continue reading “Ethiopia drought: we must work together to tackle climate change”

Youth leaders: Get your group ready for the Rio Olympics!

June 15, 2016

Ahead of Rio 2016, Julia from CAFOD’s Youth Team muses on sport, silly and serious, and suggests easy ways to get your group of friends, youth group and secondary students Rio ready with CAFOD!

Julia from CAFOD's Youth Team finishing the Great South Run.
Julia from CAFOD’s Youth Team finishing the Great South Run.

As a youth leader and teacher I’ve run (and played!) my fair share of silly games. From parachute games with HCPT on the meadow in Lourdes, to 500 rounds of North, South, East, West with Guides. From ten pin bowling with plastic bottles in a Loreto school in India to mini-Olympics with tutor groups. I had to get serious when supporting students with physical disabilities to play Paralympic sport boccia at a regional competition,  as moving the ramp accurately according to the player’s precise instructions meant the difference between victory and defeat.

Download CAFOD Olympic resources for young people

Although not an absolute natural, I love taking part in sport too. Aside from a few (very unexpected) shot-put wins at school sports day (my training one year was to throw bean cans as far as I could in the garden), coastal rowing is the sport I’ve been most involved in. The feeling of a win after a two kilometre sprint was elation, but it was the week in, week out training with friends and sunny days on the South coast at regattas that made it fun.

Continue reading “Youth leaders: Get your group ready for the Rio Olympics!”

Ethiopia Food Crisis Appeal – Ten million people at risk of hunger

June 10, 2016

Ethiopia Food Crisis - Dry River bed
Two failed rainy seasons have caused a severe drought

CAFOD’s World News Manager, Nana Anto-Awuakye has returned from Ethiopia where ten million people currently face extreme hunger. She visited CAFOD’s partners in the northeast of the country to see how they are trying to tackle the devastating effects of the worst drought the country has seen in 30 years.

It is truly shocking to hear a mother talk about her children going hungry, to say that she can’t remember the last time she was able to feed her children three meals a day.

Donate to the CAFOD Ethiopia Food Crisis Appeal now

Last month, I was in Ethiopia’s north eastern region, where I met mothers who told me that they, along with millions of others, are facing severe hunger because of food shortages brought on by drought.

One such mother is Herit who lives in a village called Arato in the country’s northern Tigray region. There are around 1,200 families here, and nearly a third of these families are run solely by mothers like Herit. Continue reading “Ethiopia Food Crisis Appeal – Ten million people at risk of hunger”

Volunteers: the heart of CAFOD

June 9, 2016

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As part of Volunteers’ Week, CAFOD celebrated a special Mass to give thanks for the many people across England and Wales who volunteer.  After the Mass, CAFOD director Chris Bain spoke about the passion volunteers bring to CAFOD:

CAFOD Volunteers and staff pray at Mass during Volunteers' Week.
CAFOD volunteers and staff pray at Mass during Volunteers’ Week.

We were started by women who saw things in the world that needed action, who believed that we as a Catholic community of England Wales—particularly the families of England and Wales—should do something about this, and started the very first Fast Day in 1960.  They were volunteers.  CAFOD was a voluntary organisation at its core right from that point onward.

Learn more about volunteering at Fast Day

We rely even today on thousands of committed volunteers in our parishes, in our schools, and around the world.  All of us who work for CAFOD and are lucky enough to be paid by CAFOD should be serving those volunteers in their work.

Continue reading “Volunteers: the heart of CAFOD”