July 4, 2019
Hundreds of CAFOD supporters joined us in London for The Time is Now mass lobby, when we told our MPs we need urgent action to address the climate emergency. Emma Gallagher, a CAFOD climate champion, tells us what the experience was like for her.
Continue reading “The time is now to speak up about the climate catastrophe”June 20, 2019
Becky, our Campaigns Writer explores how CAFOD’s London headquarters, Romero House, helps the environment through a wealth of eco-friendly systems.
Continue reading “How our office helps the environment”May 30, 2019
Father Hugh Pollock and Stephen Garsed are CAFOD campaigners and joined us for the climate change summit in Poland. They tell us about a few bits they saw and the fired-up attitude they have brought home.
Continue reading “Witnessing action on the climate crisis”May 21, 2019
Allie Phillip leads Caritas St Lucia’s ‘Youth Emergency Action Committees’ (YEACs), which help vulnerable communities be their own first responders when disasters strike.
St Lucia is in the ‘hurricane belt’ of the Caribbean. The YEACs are run by young people who train other community members to be prepared for, mitigate, and manage responses to extreme weather.
Allie also coordinates the Church’s regional emergency response and the network of YEACs in the Caribbean. Hurricane Irma in 2017 was a particularly bad hurricane, killing people and destroying communities in 14 countries.
Here, Allie offers Sam from our campaigns team her reflections on her current work, climate change and young people.
Continue reading ““Our needs back home are being considered””May 16, 2019
We asked Step into the Gap volunteer Kezia Harow to share her experience on campaigning for net zero with young people and how others can get involved.
Continue reading “Be a Zero Hero and be part of the solution”January 24, 2019
Bernard is a CAFOD Volunteer and Campaigns Coordinator in the Plymouth diocese. He recently visited the COP24 summit in Katowice, Poland alongside CAFOD staff and supporters.
We’re asking the Prime Minister to commit to net zero emissions by 2045: Sign the petition
August 9, 2018
Climate champion Beth has been thinking of ways to enjoy the summer without damaging the world we live in. Here are her top tips.
With everyone enjoying the summer months it is easy to forget the small things that we are doing to cause damage to the planet. Whether you are out with friends, at a festival or jetting off somewhere far away, there are ways to enjoy the summer months and reduce your carbon footprint. You can enjoy the summer season and help save the planet one small step at a time.
These tips should help you make the most of summer but also advise you to enjoy the season with simple hacks that can make this world an even better place.
Got a tip of you own? Tell us on twitter
With Britain experiencing its hottest summer for years, everyone is heading to the nearest park or beach for a picnic. Why not reduce the amount of plastic you waste, whilst enjoying yourselves? Try packing reusable cutlery and plates or even use reusable containers to pack your food in instead of disposable ones. Instead of constantly buying a bottle of water, be more prepared and bring your own reusable bottle. Many areas have water fountains to refill at, and cafes and restaurants will happily refill your bottle with tap water if you ask.
Think about your mode of transport! Although it is hard to stay “green” when you’re going on holiday aboard, it can still be done. Instead of jumping on the local bus or grabbing a taxi, a great way to experience your new surrounds and help reduce carbon emissions is by walking or hiring a bike. You may even explore areas you never thought of by traveling this way. It is another way to truly appreciate our own natural surroundings and all the real beauty the world has to offer!
Serious about stopping climate change? Join our delegation to the UN climate summit in 2018
Continue reading “How to enjoy the summer without damaging the planet”
July 27, 2018
Eighteen CAFOD supporters gathered in Belgium last month at a sustainability camp. They joined other Catholic sister agencies for a one week camp. They got together to reflect on topics related to climate change, ecological living, Laudato Si’, activism and sustainability. Bridgid Duffy, a CAFOD Climate Champion, shares with us her experience.
After a long, hot day of carrying several tents from the UK to Belgium, we reached our destination – Wereldkamp 2018. We were all invited by CIDSE. CIDSE is an international alliance of Catholic development agencies working together for global justice. The smiling faces of the CIDSE volunteers were the first people to greet us. As soon as we caught sight of the camp, there was an undeniable sense of community. Children were playing football on the dusty ground under the hazy sunshine. The adults were preparing dinner on the peripheries of the magical forest. In that moment I realized that everyone was there for one common goal: to learn what our role is in creating a more sustainable world. My heart began to race. I knew it was the beginning of a powerful and inspirational week.
Get inspired and become a CAFOD campaigner
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).
July 4, 2017
Jason Sheehan, a CAFOD volunteer for the Nottingham Diocese, explains how his CAFOD gap year inspired him to continue volunteering, campaigning and fighting for social justice. His latest project involves encouraging people in his community to speak up about the climate after he attended an inspiring camp in Portugal.
After my experience on CAFOD’s gap year programme ‘Step Into The Gap’ I left my year enriched with memories from working with thousands of young people in my placement to witnessing and regularly discussing CAFOD’s work with partners in Zimbabwe.
That became my lifestyle for a year, to fully give myself to making some form of impact inspired by the values of CAFOD no matter how big or small. It was after leaving that structured program that I worried about whether this would be something that I would be able to continue, would there be other opportunities that motivated me to act?
There is still time to sign up for the CAFOD gap year.
That was when I became aware of the opportunity to become a Climate Champion. It’s very easy to sit on the sidelines of change, to put your faith in something or someone else to sort things out but if our world as a collective had that mindset then no progress would be made. For me this opportunity to be a Climate Champion encouraged me to act upon that, to take ownership and action on changing our climate.
Continue reading “How I’m inspiring people to speak up about the climate”
