Back in November we told you about a new CAFOD Campaign for 2012. We are pleased to say that Thirst for Change has now been launched!
It got off to a great start – with regional fun runs in Liverpool and Shrewsbury, where CAFOD campaigners dressed as water droplets to raise awareness of the campaign.
The campaign urges David Cameron to call on world leaders to end water poverty at the G8 Summit in 2012. We want them to make concrete political and financial commitments to ensure the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on water and sanitation is met by 2015 and endorse the international ‘Sanitation and Water for All’ initiative to turn these promises into reality.
David Harewood, star of the Golden Globe nominated drama Homeland, recently pledged his support for Thirst for Change. While signing his message to the Prime Minister, David explained why the issue is so important to him: “I think it’s an absolute scandal that in 2012, one in eight people in the world does not have access to clean water. Something we take for granted in Britain and America is just a distant dream for millions of people in the poorest countries. I could not believe it when I read that diarrhoea is the single biggest killer of children in Africa – how can we possibly stand back and let something so easily preventable carry on?”
In your Thirst for change action pack you’ll find:
Thirst for change action card
Thirst for change community action guide (with activity ideas, a short talk, media tips and more)
Facts from the taps: all you need to know about water poverty
Let waters flow prayer cards
To order more action cards and resources, email us at campaign@cafod.org.uk or call us on 0300 011 5680.
Other resources, including an inspiring Thirst for change film and Thirst for change resources for use with young people in schools and youth groups, are available online. Go to cafod.org.uk/thirst
Dust off those walking boots and take some time for reflection and a sense of tranquillity…
Did you make any resolutions for the New Year? Or perhaps you decided that you’d do something new, but haven’t yet decided what that will be? We would like to present you with a very special opportunity for 2012…
CAFOD are encouraging supporters to join together and walk the final 100 miles of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, on two dates in 2012. By walking in community, you will be able to share the journey and your reflections along the way.
The ‘route of the stars’, named so because it lies beneath the Milky Way, takes pilgrims along the beautiful and peaceful countryside across the north of Spain, ending at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The route has existed for over a thousand years and offers a physical, mental and spiritual challenge to those who take it on.
CAFOD will be supporting groups of walkers who want to do this on two dates, from the 2nd of June and the 15th of September. There will also be a training weekend on the 5th and 6th of May, giving the walkers a chance to meet each other, talk to past pilgrims and plan together. CAFOD will be supporting partakers all the way – as they help CAFOD to raise funds.
For more information or if you’d like to register to take part, please visit the website.
CAFOD is a member of the Haiti Advocacy Platform: Ireland and UK (HAPI-UK), organisers of an event that will take place on the 11th January 2012 to mark the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.
You are invited to this panel event, which will include Rosie Cooper MP, John McAslan (John McAslan & Partners) and others (TBC) to discuss reconstruction in Haiti over the two years since the earthquake and how the UK can support future development and recovery.
Details:
The event is to be chaired by Rev. Lord Leslie Griffiths of Burry
Wednesday 11th January 2012
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Committee Room 4A
Houses of Parliament
If you are interested in attending then please RSVP to Lizzette Robleto-Gonzalez at Lizzette@progressio.org.uk by Monday 6th January 2012.
Only 70 places are available so please book early.
John McAslan & Partners, an architectural and design firm, was appointed by Irish entrepreneur Denis O’Brien to rebuild and restore the historic Haitian “Iron Market” intime for the first anniversary of the January 2010 earthquake. Since then, John McAslan has been involved in other housing projects in Haiti. John McAslan was part of a UK business delegation that visited, alongside UK parliamentarians, the Dominican Republic and Haiti at the end of November.
Rosie Cooper MP is a Member of Parliament for West Lancashire. She is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Dominican Republic. Ms Cooper was a member of a UK parliamentarian delegation that visited the Dominican Republic and Haiti at the end of November 2011. During her trip, she met with Haitian government officials, Haitian civil society organisations and UK-NGOs working in Haiti.
Wishing you and your families a very peaceful, happy and holy Christmas.
Thank you for all your help as a donor, volunteer or supporter. Your time, donations and prayers help make all the difference to lives less fortunate than ours.
“T’was a cold, cold day in Winter on Clapham Common”
CAFOD’s first-ever Nativity Run took place on December 17th. We had an amazing turn-out as people dressed-up as their favourite nativity character to join family and friends on a 5km walk/run around Clapham Common.
Despite the cold, everybody taking part had an excellent festive time.
Watching the CAFOD flocks on Clapham Common
Many, many thanks also to the CAFOD race stewards. We’ve had comments back from some runners saying how impressed they had been by the support of the race stewards, and how much in contributed to their day. It is massively appreciated – you made the day so straightforward!
Are you involved with a school or a group of young people?
The word “Advent” means coming and the Advent season is traditionally a time of year to reflect on what lies ahead for us all.
Uaing CAFOD’s Interactive Advent Calender for Secondary Schools, join us with your class as we reflect on the story of Surenthiran, from Sri Lanka. Each day has two slides including a reflection, prayer and action – perfect for daily registration time.
This year’s Advent calendar is based on the Jesse Tree.
Have you ever seen a family tree?
In ancient times, when few people could read, the ancestors of Christ were sometimes shown as part of a ‘Jesse Tree’, named after the father of King David in the Old Testament. During Advent, the Jesse Tree reminds us of Biblical characters and events that prepared God’s people for the birth of Jesus.
Surenthiran lives in Aayithiyamali village, in a house newly built by EHED, a CAFOD partner in Sri Lanka. She and her husband live with one of their four children and five grandchildren. This Advent we will journey with her.
Join us as we use the Jesse Tree this Advent to pray for our partners around the world, and in particular to reflect on Surenthiran’s inspiring story. Download the Advent Calender for Secondary Schools here.
CAFOD also have an Advent Calender for Primary Schools. This fun interactive advent calendar is the perfect way to start the day throughout December. Children can click on the numbers for Christmas craft activities, prayerful reflections and to learn about the lives of some of the people CAFOD works with.
Download the Advent Calender for Primary Schools here.
November 28th 2011 was a very significant day in the lives of the citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): for only the second time in their 50years of independence, they were able to take part in free and fair elections. For more than 30 years, the country was ruled by the tyrant Mobutu Sese Seko, who prioritised lining his own pockets and those of his family and friends; there was turmoil in the country following his overthrow in 1997 and much of the country was engulfed in conflict until 2006, when the first elections were held. Conflict still persists in Eastern Congo and many tens of thousands of people live in fear of armed militia active along the borders with Congo’s neighbours.
Elections in the DRC are no mean feat to accomplish. The country is vast and the infrastructure is almost non-existent. Much of the travel and movement of goods in the interior of the country is by river, but a journey from Kisangani in the East to Kinshasa, the capital can take up to three weeks to complete. This is fine if you are not in a hurry, but for the rapid distribution of voting cards or for bringing them together for counting as soon after voting is completed, it is not much use. For the coming elections, there are around 32million registered voters who will be casting their ballots in around 62,000 polling stations. Ballot boxes and voting cards have to be distributed by plane and helicopter to make sure that everything is in place in good time – a task which only the UN has the resources available to achieve.
When votes come to be cast it will be ethnic and regional loyalties that hold sway over party policies. In a country where internal communications are so poor, it is unsurprising that candidates will expect to receive most support from their home areas. A candidate coming from Goma, in the east, is unlikely to be known – or trusted – in the west or the south for example. Adult literacy across the country is very low and voters are unlikely to be able to find out about candidates who are not “home grown” or who come to talk to them directly – there have been outbreaks of violence at some political rallies and so candidates do not risk venturing outside “safe” canvassing territory. Local level politics is going to be much more significant in the electorate’s choice than national issues which they know little about. There are 11 candidates standing for President, though only 3 are seen as serious contenders. The victor will be the first past the post in a single round of voting – it had originally been planned to have a 2nd round of voting, a run-off between the two candidates who had secured the most support. However, the incumbent president, Joseph Kabila, changed the electoral law after the turmoil following the elections in Côte d’Ivoire last year. The stated intention is to reduce the risk of violence breaking out, but it inevitably gives him a clear advantage.
There are however, some institutions that do have national reach and appeal, namely the churches and CAFOD’s partner in the DRC, the Catholic Church, is a major player in the elections. Following a strictly non-partisan approach, the national Justice and Peace Commission has undertaken to train and deploy more than 30,000 observers to monitor the voting on the 28th and to report back any irregularities. No other organisation comes anywhere near in terms of commitment: the whole of the EU can manage to send fewer than 150 observers this time around (compared to 600 in 2006) and when these are spread around the 60,000 voting stations their ability to ensure a free and fair process will be minimal. On a recent visit to Europe, a delegation from the DRC Catholic Church was pleading with European governments to deploy more observers, but to no avail. The delegation was concerned that, as polling day draws closer, there will be an upsurge in the levels of violence and intimidation and that the few small steps that have been taken on the road to democracy over the past few years will be undone.
No-one expects the November 28th elections to bring an immediate end to the host of challenges that DRC is facing, but they will lay down a marker for the state of the nation over the next 5 years. If serious violence can be avoided and if the whole process is seen as reasonably free and fair and the results are accepted, then the stage will be set for further improvements in key areas such as economic development and security sector reform. Anything other than this and the country is likely to be plunged into internecine conflict and rampant pillaging of the natural resources. The Church in the DRC as well as a handful of other civil society organisations are trying desperately to ensure that this doesn’t happen – a daunting but not impossible task.
1. Thirst for change campaign update – all you need to know!
We’re so excited about our Lent campaign which calls for David Cameron to lead the G8 in May 2012 to end water poverty. This is a community action and we hope to see thousands of people taking action locally to build ‘rivers of change’ that take this message all the way to Downing Street.
Special note: We’re hoping that we can work together to kick off Thirst for change in January during a ‘launch week’ across England and Wales. We’re currently working up some ideas for a simple stunt and a family water challenge that you could do to attract local media and get your volunteers inspired to take the campaign into parishes. We’re keen to hear your ideas and thoughts about this, and can talk to you more about this at the Lent days at the end of the month, but we wanted to flag it up with you now so that you can think about whether this might be possible- and so we can plan any resources that you might need. Please get in touch with Clare to let her know your thoughts, or queries! clyons@cafod.org.uk/020 7095 5419
2. Don’t Drop the Ball (on climate change) campaign
Yesterday saw the close of our Don’t drop the ball campaign on climate finance! Thank you for all you did to promote this among supporters in your diocese.
Katy and Emma have produced this brilliant round up film of the campaign activity that’s been happening since we launched in August – at festivals, universities, and parishes up and down the country, not to mention Bearing Witness…
We’re busy getting the latest figures on the number of actions taken so that we can do a hand in at the Treasury w/b 21 Nov – just before the Durban talks. There are over 6,000 actions we already know about and that figure will increase in the coming days.
We’ll continue to press for this in the run up to Durban and keep campaigners in touch with the progress of our partners, as well as encouraging people to connect their communities to the talks through local African Climate Connection events, as part of Stop Climate Chaos.
3. MP Correspondent Reception – Monday 7th November
The MP Correspondent Reception at Speaker’s House was a great success. Thank you for promoting it among MPCs in your diocese. There were around 90 MPCs and 25 MPs in attendance, and speeches given by Tom Clarke MP (Chair of Parliamentary Friends of CAFOD), Bishop John Arnold, Baroness Tina Stowell and Chris Bain. Here are just some of the blogs that have been written about the event:
Andrew Mitchell’s office has promised that we will be able to hand in the actions within the next few days. So watch this space…we will report back as soon as possible afterwards.
5. Bearing Witness: Acting and Praying for Climate Justice
More than 120 CAFOD supporters joined us on 1st October, the hottest October day on record, for a Campaign Energiser Day followed by an ecumenical service, march and vigil in Manchester on the eve of the Conservative Party conference. The event was very successful – thanks to all of the diocesan staff who helped. You can read a report here.
Rather than being asked to lobby MPs again, groups are invited to build on previous connection events by organising unique African-themed climate events which will help get new groups and individuals involved in their area. Please get involved with local activities if you can.
Despite the Eurozone crisis overtaking the G20 agenda in Cannes last week, small steps forward were made on a Robin Hood Tax. With support from hundreds of economists, church figureheads and thousands of campaigners like yourselves, a growing group of G20 countries including France, Brazil, South Africa and Argentina pledged their support to a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).
Yet despite the President of the European Commission, José Barroso, pledging his support for an EU wide FTT and support from Bill Gates, David Cameron is still not fully behind the tax. Read about the highs and lows of the Robin Hood Tax campaign over the last 18 months on the CAFOD website and watch this space for more information on how we can continue to keep up the pressure on the UK government.
7. Sudan Peace Campaign
Last week, we delivered your prayer and message cards to the Sudan Catholic Bishop’s Conference. We’ll keep you posted on their response. Thank you to everyone who took action. This Christmas, please continue to keep the people of Sudan and South Sudan in your prayers.
Calling all wise men and women, angels and shepherds!
How would you like to take part in the CAFOD’s first ever Nativity Fun Run next month?
CAFOD are inviting people to dress up as their favourite nativity character and join family and friends to walk or run 5km around Clapham Common on 17th December. The fun event aims to raise money to provide vital food, water, shelter and education to millions of families living in poverty throughout the world.
Cold toes and flagging energies will be warmed and revived by Christmas Carols, mince pies and winter Pimms at the Windmill Pub on the Common after the run to celebrate achievements and prize-winning costumes.
“Clapham Common is a beautiful setting and the event will have a truly festive feel with a live orchestra spurring on the runners by playing popular Christmas Carols. I’m sure there will be some highly creative costumes on show whether it be little angels or pantomime donkeys. The run will be entertaining as well as inspiring and offers an opportunity to really get involved in the true spirit of Christmas and do something for those children who will go hungry this year.”
