CAFOD

Raised £210 for CAFOD. Thanks to all who helped in this effort.

Like many women around the world, Garmah in Liberia had no legal rights to her home when her husband died. CAFOD worked with local experts to help her and now Garmah and her children live rightfully and happily together in their family home. “I feel safe, my children have a place to rest their head and I can make a garden to feed them and myself. God sent redeemers to fight for my land rights. I am overfilled with joy.”

Thank you for your support which enables hundreds of women like Garmah remain in their homes during times of struggle. Other examples of our work can be found in our World Gifts catalogues or website worldgifts.cafod.org.uk .

“With your help, 2021 was a year of real change. Together we resolved to stand alongside the world’s most vulnerable communities. Here’s how!  

“Walk for Water 

“Last year we asked you to help give the boot to water poverty by joining our Walk for Water challenge… during Lent…. 

“This year we're asking you to help stamp out hunger, one step at a time. 

“There are 200 million children in the world whose lives are at risk from malnutrition. So, this Lent, challenge yourself to conquer 200k (5k a day for 40 days!) and help give hunger its marching orders. “Inspired …? Take on this year’s Walk against Hunger!  

“Campaign against the climate crisis 

“In 2021, with the eyes of the world on the UK as hosts of COP26, we asked you to help reclaim our common home. … 

“This year, it's time to tackle corporate abuse of human and environmental rights. We're calling on the UK government to introduce a new Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to hold business to account when it fails to prevent human rights abuses and environmental harm. 

“Keen to join … in the fight for our rights? Join our new campaign to protect people and our common home!  

“Make your will and make a difference 

“We also invited you to tackle the to-do list and take advantage of our New Year will-writing offer. … many of you took us up on the invitation, enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing the people and causes you love will be taken care of…. 

“Fancy taking up our New Year will-writing offer in 2022? You can make your free will in person, over the phone or online.

                               (With permission), CAFOD, 1 Jan 2022.

https://cafod.org.uk/News/UK-news/New-Year-s-resolutions

CAFOD is responding with support of provision of food, water, shelter, medical assistance and winter kits for survivors. Your donations in recent months have made that quick response possible.  Let us join CAFOD in praying for our sisters and brothers affected by the earthquakes and the winter weather. 

For more details visit CAFOD’s Syria Turkey Emergency Appeal online at https://cafod.org.uk/give.

Devastating floods have hit Pakistan, leaving millions in urgent need of help to survive. A third of the country is now underwater (that’s an area almost the size of Great Britain). Your donation will help CAFOD’s local partners support communities with food and emergency medical assistance. Please pray for those affected and donate now at cafod.org.uk/give

“Millions of people are facing a food crisis that could be worse than any we've lived through. All around the world families are finding it harder than ever to put food on the table. In Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan, up to 20 million people are fighting for their very survival. 

“The Catholic aid agency, CAFOD, has responded by launching a World Food Crisis Appeal - which aims to raise urgent funds to support those facing acute hunger, help people rebuild their lives, and encourage people to take action that can help build a better, fairer food system that works for everyone. 

“In East Africa, many of the people worst affected have been learning to cope with the impact of climate change for years - but collapsing supply chains, on top of four consecutive years of unbearable drought, have put everything they've worked for at risk. 

“CAFOD is responding to the World Food Crisis in countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. 

“Christine Allen, CAFOD's Executive Director, has just returned from seeing the impact of the food crisis in northern Kenya. She said: ‘Even before the war in Ukraine started, the food system was in crisis and the impact of climate change was making it harder for those who grow most of the world's produce to put food on their own plates. The effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are trickling down the already stressed food system, and the poorest are feeling it most acutely.’ 

"’In some of the places I visited in northern Kenya, it has only rained a matter of minutes in the last two years. Climate change has devastated the region. The majority of people I met had already lost their precious livestock to the drought. The women in Tulidimtu village mourned their camel's death like they would a friend's. Livestock are like a savings account and in a drought, the death of livestock is often followed by the death of people.’ 

"’This crisis was not inevitable and is a result of human action. Firstly, the UK Government and international donors must address the funding gap in East Africa: UK aid to the region has almost halved in the past year due to budget cuts. The root causes of the crisis must also be addressed, including tackling climate change, fixing our broken food system, and providing more funding to community level responses.’ 

“The world food crisis is affecting people all around the world - but as with all crises, the most vulnerable are hit hardest. In a remote, mountainous village in Afghanistan, CAFOD is supporting families with cash so that they are able to buy food from the local market. One father told us: 

"’We did not have enough food for days. We had only bread for two mealtimes. For another mealtime, my children would eat grasses. My wife and my boy are hospitalised for eating grasses. Doctors said that their stomachs have problems and their intestines are damaged.’"

 With permission, Independent Catholic News, Laura Ouseley, 20 June 2022,

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44942  

CAFOD are looking ahead to their new campaign Reclaim Our Common Home.

Petition:  As part of the campaign, please encourage as many people as possible to sign CAFOD;s petition to the Prime Minister ahead of the UN climate talks that will take place in Glasgow in November. You can find the petition on www.cafod.org.uk/reclaim.

Pray for Our Common Home:  In collaboration with other Christian NGOs, CAFOD invites everyone to join a year of prayer for our common home. Prayer is at the foundation of our Christian life, and in such challenging times as these, prayer is needed more than ever. Joining the initiative is simple. Pick a day and time you want to pray and sign up at www.cafod.org.uk/Pray/Prayer-without-ceasing.From now until the end of the UN climate talks in November, we’ll be praying without ceasing to renew the earth.

For more information on our Privacy Policy see: https://cafod.org.uk/Legal-information/Privacy-notice

“This Lent, CAFOD, the official aid agency of the Catholic Church, is setting an inspiring challenge to help raise money to fight global poverty.  The challenge is simple - walk 200km over 40 days, while raising money for families impacted by the climate crisis. How and when people walk the 5km a day is up to them, but it can be done alone, with friends, family or with a school….

“While the challenge starts on Ash Wednesday (22 February), people, parishes and schools are already fundraising.  Those taking part are encouraged to share on social media, using the #TheBigLentWalk hashtag….”

See the Big Lent Walk page: https://walk.cafod.org.uk/

With Permission, Independent Catholic News, 12 Jan 2023. For the full article, see https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/46299  

“CAFOD is 60 years old this year….   

“CAFOD traces its origins to a team of women, led by Jacquie Stuyt and Elspeth Orchard, who came together with Catholic women's organisations to organise the first Family Fast Day in 1960. The initiative was so successful that two years later, CAFOD was registered as an official charity.  

 “Sixty years on, CAFOD has a woman director, Christine Allen, who is leading the organisation's work around the world helping those who are facing poverty, inequality, conflict or climate change.   

"’As we look ahead, I am especially inspired by the number of young people participating and engaging in CAFOD,’ she said. ‘Many of them are of an age to be around to celebrate our 100th anniversary. At the Mass we will be giving thanks for their work, as well as that of our global partner organisations, and CAFOD volunteers, supporters and staff, past and present. At this time of war, climate change and the food crisis that is resulting, the need for the help we can give has never been greater.’"

                          With permission, Independent Catholic News, 8 June 2022 

                                       https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44855 

You may have seen the BBC news stories in the last few days on the terrible situation in Somalia.  The devastating impact of the drought in Somalia is part of the wider crisis in East Africa that is the focus of our current Harvest appeal.

On Family Fast Day, CAFOD has made an emergency grant of £50,000 to assist the ongoing response in Somalia being coordinated by our sister Caritas agencies.

We will also continue to fund the work with our partners and local experts in northern Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan, where, as in Somalia, communities are also experiencing a fourth year of drought and the same impact of hunger and growing famine conditions.  

Family Fast Day donations in our parish this weekend enable us to respond quickly, by sending funds where the need is greatest.

Please know that our parish donations show we are all standing with our sisters and brothers in East Africa in this time of crisis.

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CAFOD's Harvest appeal video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmkUwo8ooPk .  CAFOD’s website is https://cafod.org.uk/ . If  you are not able to be at Mass this weekend, you can give online as a one time gift or start a monthly gift to CAFOD. See also cafod.org.uk/fastday.
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Finally, thank you for your parish’s prayers and donations to our DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal. Our partners have been able to deliver immediate food and medical relief to flood affected communities in Sindh Province in Pakistan and will continue to do so.

Further note from CAFOD:

Our current focus on emergencies in the Commonwealth countries of Pakistan and Kenya feels apt as we join with the rest of the UK in mourning the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. She was a good and faithful servant of God and the country and we pray for her. CAFOD has shared these prayer intentions for the Queen and her family on our website and social media pages.

Thank you, as ever, for your support and prayers.

These reflections have been very popular and offer an opportunity to pause and reflect, pray and take action as we prepare for Christmas. Visit our Interactive online Advent calendar | CAFOD for more details. There are also free Advent children’s liturgy resources that parish catechists may find useful. Children's Liturgy | CAFOD