This is a climate emergency
May 23, 2019
Mark Chamberlain, CAFOD Communications Officer, describes how people’s lives are changing around the world because of climate change.
Continue reading “This is a climate emergency”Tag: east africa crisis appeal
Humanitarian aid is more than food. It is a sign of hope.
July 28, 2017
In March 2017, a drought in east Africa, combined with terrible violence between the government and rebels, had created a famine in South Sudan. One of CAFOD’s staff based in the country, Emergency Programme Manager Michael O’Riordan, visited people in March to give out food. At that time he reflected on the emotion and power of the experience.
A haunting refrain
When I was leaving Yirol in central South Sudan following a food distribution, an elderly gentleman in his late 60s kept asking why he wasn’t on the list to receive food. He couldn’t work and therefore couldn’t earn a living. Clearly disabled and using a walking stick, he kept pleading “why am I not deserving?”.
This haunting refrain has echoed in my ears ever since. It is not that he is not deserving; we just don’t have enough for everyone.
You can help food to people who are going hungry – donate to CAFOD’s emergency work
Having returned to this community after just a few months since the last food distribution, we found a bad situation far worse than we could have imagined. Although we are responding as best we can, it is beyond our ability to meet all needs.
Continue reading “Humanitarian aid is more than food. It is a sign of hope.”
Connect2: Ethiopia: Standing with Sebeya
July 6, 2016
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvSKkmwcBg?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Maggie Guy is a CAFOD volunteer from Birmingham diocese. Here she tells us how her parish has been fundraising for the Connect2: Ethiopia scheme.
Our Parish of Corpus Christi in Headington (Oxford) and Our Lady of Lourdes in Wheatley started supporting the community of Sebeya in Ethiopia in 2015. The project has really captured the enthusiasm of the parish and so far we have raised over £3,000.
Sign your parish up to Connect2: Ethiopia
We have raised money through a variety of activities: In April we had an Ethiopian evening where we enjoyed some delicious Ethiopian food, held a traditional coffee ceremony and had an illustrated talk from Tony Fitzgerald, a parishioner from our previous Parish in Camberley, who had visited the area. His pictures of a completed irrigation project in nearby Biera, supported by CAFOD Connect2, were profoundly moving; we could see a green valley, in marked contrast to the surrounding arid region, which should help protect the community from drought. Continue reading “Connect2: Ethiopia: Standing with Sebeya”
Ethiopia Food Crisis: Working in partnership to tackle hunger
June 29, 2016
CAFOD’s World News Manager, Nana Anto-Awuakye has returned from Ethiopia where 10 million people currently face extreme hunger. She visited CAFOD’s partner the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat, based in the capital Addis Ababa, and met with Shiferaw Mamo, the Humanitarian Programme Coordinator. He spoke to her about the role of the Church in tackling the devastating effects of the worst drought the country has seen in 30 years.
Pinned to the walls of Shiferaw Mamo’s office is a large map of Ethiopia with map pins marking the regions that have been hit hardest by Ethiopia’s severe drought.
Donate to CAFOD’s Ethiopia Food Crisis Appeal
The map shows nature’s randomness, with some regions classed as level 1, meaning minimal food intervention, while other regions like Tigray are level 4: Emergency.
There’s another poster pinned behind Shiferaw’s office door which simple states: “FAITH, ACTION, RESULTS” in bold letters. This sums up the commitment and expertise of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia:
“We are small in number [Catholic Church], but we are everywhere, throughout the country, from North to South”, says Shiferaw Mamo, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat.
“We have a history of responding to emergencies be it conflict or drought, and the people know that we are there on the frontline, seeing to their needs.” Continue reading “Ethiopia Food Crisis: Working in partnership to tackle hunger”