Christmas Archives - Page 2 of 3

The Christmas lantern outside our window that says we are home

December 7, 2020

The Philippines has one of the largest diaspora communities in the world, with around 10 million adults living or working abroad. CAFOD’s Digital Communications Manager, Michael Palacios, is one of them, and while he is unable to spend Christmas in Manila this year, a lantern in his family’s window in London means they will still feel at home this holiday season.

Looking for light this Advent

December 3, 2020

Sophia is a Step into the Gap volunteer with CAFOD this year. As we begin Advent, Sophia reflects on her own personal journey of 2020.

Give back this Giving Tuesday

November 30, 2020

This Giving Tuesday, Becky Such our World Gifts Coordinator muses on the benefits of giving to others and how many of us have chosen to give differently this year.

How to give better gifts this Christmas

November 27, 2020

Jack works for CAFOD. He has occasionally received Christmas gifts he didn’t like – but not from you, he loved yours. Here he mulls on the simple switch he (and his relatives) can make, so that Christmas is happier for everyone.

Continue reading “How to give better gifts this Christmas”

Why I’m choosing World Gifts this Christmas

November 17, 2020

Christine Allen, CAFOD’s Director, picks out some of her favourite World Gifts and explains why they’re a great way to give this Christmas.

The power of a Birth certificate – a World Gifts update

December 12, 2018

Rachel works for CAFOD. Here she reflects on how meeting Katy, a CAFOD Gapper, helped her to discover the power of a simple birth certificate, and inspired her to create a new, very special virtual gift for CAFOD’s World Gifts collection that will help babies and children around the world.

The importance of a birth certificate

A birth certificate. Every person needs one, it shows our citizenship, lets us get a passport – it tells the world who we are. And I think that here in the UK, we take this simple legal document for granted.

But for people living in poverty, perhaps in rural areas, where babies are born at home, it is often forgotten. And a child without a birth certificate faces problems.

In Zimbabwe, children without a birth certificate cannot go to school, take exams, apply for an ID card, vote, travel, nor access many other basic essential services.

You can buy a Birth certificate World Gift so that a child can go to school

I’ve worked in fundraising for years and am always eager to hear about how donations help. Katy, who recently travelled to Zimbabwe on a gap year trip with CAFOD, told me about the terrible and long-lasting impact of growing up without a birth certificate.

Katy said, “Children around the world continue to grow up without the basic human right of an identity.”

This startling comment gripped me.

Continue reading “The power of a Birth certificate – a World Gifts update”

Feel good about giving this Christmas with World Gifts

November 28, 2018

Feeling all shopped out

In the wake of Black Friday madness gripping the UK for the last week, I reflect back to years gone by, with footage of people queuing for hours, or fighting to get the last bargain. How those people feeling now? I wonder if they are planning to replace last year’s new purchase with this year’s newer model, or whether they feel genuinely fulfilled by their choices.

Continue reading “Feel good about giving this Christmas with World Gifts”

Feliz Natal from São Paulo – Happy Christmas from our Connect2 friends

December 19, 2017

Some of our Connect2 Brazil friends look back on 2017 and share how they are preparing for Christmas in their communities.

News from our partner MDF and the community of St. Joseph the Worker Pastoral Area

Jenilda and Zeza stand holding Christmas messages beside a Christmas tree in the Cultural Centre in Vila Prudente. There is a CAFOD bauble on the Christmas tree. — Jenilda and Zeza with Christmas messages in the Cultural Centre. Spot the CAFOD bauble!

Jenilda – Vila Prudente Cultural Centre in the St Joseph the Worker Pastoral Area

“At the Vila Prudente Cultural Centre (CCVP) this year we organised different workshops with the children. Each month we had a different area of focus. From solidarity, to the family, the environment, which included a visit to the recycling cooperative. We worked on children’s rights and empowerment, Black History month against racism and discrimination, and in December we will celebrate the arrival of baby Jesus with a children’s concert.

Find out more about Connect2

“Around 60 children from the Cultural Centre will be in the Christmas concert at St. Joseph the Worker church with the theme “How to be a child in the world.” There will be music and dancing.”

Continue reading “Feliz Natal from São Paulo – Happy Christmas from our Connect2 friends”

Christmas in Gaza

December 22, 2016

Mary Lucas, our representative for the Middle East, describes what life is like for one young boy living in Gaza.

mohammed-standing-in-his-destroyed-home-gaza — Mohammed’s home was destroyed in the 2014 conflict in Gaza

Mohammed was just nine when he and his sister, Doha, were orphaned. It was a hot summer in 2014 and the people of Gaza were struggling to survive an extreme military bombardment. Apartment blocks were falling in clouds of dust throughout the territory. Some nights, entire neighbourhoods were given a few minutes’ warning to leave – fleeing their homes to find safety wherever they could.

Donate to our Advent Appeal

Mohammed’s family had to leave their home as it wasn’t safe. They were evacuated to a nearby school and like so many caught up in the conflict, struggled to get the essentials. Water pipes were damaged and food was expensive and running low in shops because of the bombing.

To ensure the family could survive, Mohammed’s parents would wait until there was a ceasefire and run to collect water and food.

That day, they decided to check on the house that they had spent years investing in for their family. As they approached the house, an explosion killed them both instantly. Shortly afterwards, another bomb reduced the house to rubble. Continue reading “Christmas in Gaza”

I’m dreaming of a livesimply Christmas…

December 6, 2016

Livesimply sign at Our Lady and St Edward's church, Lancaster diocese — Livesimply sign at Our Lady and St Edward’s church, Lancaster diocese

This year, CAFOD supporter Stephen Garsed is encouraging fellow parishioners at Our Lady and St Edward’s parish in Preston, to think about living simply and loving abundantly this Christmas. Here are his top six suggestions…

The word we hear so often in the weeks before Christmas is ‘tradition’. It is particularly promoted by the glossy magazines who like to sell us the concept of ‘the perfect Christmas’.

But do we want Christmas to be about things or about family? As the TV adverts encourage us to spend more, my mind turns to thinking of ways we can celebrate Christmas in a simple, more environmentally-friendly and loving way. Continue reading “I’m dreaming of a livesimply Christmas…”