Parish Justice & Peace / CAFOD Group

CAFOD
The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) is the official overseas development and relief agency for the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Formed in 1960, it aims to alleviate poverty and injustice in the world through a range of action programmes covering everything from AIDS and other disease to environmental and trade issues. It does this by a combination of education, direct action and lobbying governments and organisations at national and international levels. Further information about CAFOD can be found at the end of this webpage.

Justice & Peace
CAFOD is crucial in helping to bring about justice and peace amongst the poor and needy in other countries. But J&P has a much wider remit. It is at the very heart of Christ’s message as expressed in the Gospels and critical to the development of the Kingdom of God here on Earth. Injustice and conflict can be found in every walk of life. It is not just about the big issues of wars in various parts of the world or the injustices of cruel dictatorships or the impact of climate change, it is also about more down to earth matters such as care of our elderly and infirm, local community or youth issues, homelessness, living simply - the list is endless.

Parish CAFOD/J&P Group – What we do

Awareness: In Camberley and Bagshot Parish the CAFOD/J&P Group reflects upon and studies the major issues of our time. Visiting speakers and social events focus on particular issues and raise awareness of them not just within the group but in the wider parish.

Fundraising: Since mid-2010 our fund-raising activies have been directed towards supporting the Biera community in northern Ethiopia (see below), part of the CAFOD ‘Connect2’ initiative. This has been achieved through a combination of social events, raffles, summer collection boxes, etc. The total raised in 2011 was £3931.01.

Co-ordination of parish giving: The Parish Giving and Evaluation Group (PEG) was set up as a sub-committee of the CAFOD/J&P Group to provide a mechanism through which applications for Parish support could be reviewed and evaluated.

Whilst the First Collection each week goes largely to the running of the Parish, the retiring collections tend to be targeted towards support of various worthwhile causes and charities. Each year, the Diocese mandates some 16 Second collections which we are required to undertake. Using a set of agreed criteria, the PEG then determines which further causes we should support from the many requests that we receive, before making recommendations to the Parish Priest for his approval. One of our aims is to avoid a retiring collection every week although it is sometimes difficult to avoid them on successive weeks. Any parishioner is welcome to suggest a good cause that the whole Parish can get behind – simply drop an e-mail or note into the Parish Office detailing the cause or charity and giving the reasons why you think it should receive our support.

PEG: Ian Newton (Chair), Maggie Guy, Jo Carroll

SCHEDULED RETIRING COLLECTIONS

/uploads/2011 Special Collection chart.pdf

/uploads/2012 Special Collection chart 12 03 29.pdf

Millennium Goals: In year 2000, the richer countries of the world agreed within the forum of the United Nations to a set of eight specific goals to help poorer countries. These included improving education, reducing child mortality and halving by 2015 the number of people in the world living on less than $US1 per day. The Parish CAFOD/J&P group has taken an interest in these issues and has written to the Prime Minister and International Development Secretary urging them to ensure that our country honours its commitments.

A full list of the goals and their associated targets can be found at www.un.org/millenniumgoals/poverty.shtml

Join Us: What can you do to help? If we make a difference to just one person, then that in itself is worth while but we need to do better than that. You can help by continuing to support our causes financially but also by becoming involved. If you would like to help, please contact the Parish office who will pass your details on to us.

Website: http://www.cafod.org.uk/

Contact: DAVID BATT
Telephone: 01344 623202

CAFOD/Justice & Peace Group Activities 2010/11


Connect2: In 2010 CAFOD launched a new initiative, ‘Connect2’ aimed at connecting individual parishes more closely with the cause for which they raise funds. Six projects were identified, two each in S. America, Africa and Asia. Following an introduction to the six projects and a vote across the whole Parish, the Parish elected to support the Biera community in northern Ethiopia. The project was launched in our Parish by a supper night last November in which a guest speaker from CAFOD HQ introduced us to some of the principal characters in the village and told us of plans covering the next three years which included: (i). extending water canals in Biera to ensure water flows to as many families as possible and building reservoirs in ten nearby communities. (ii) Planting fruit tree saplings. Apples will be the main crop due to their good market value. (iii) Training for farmers including land preparation, harvest storage, pest and water management and fertilizers. (iv) Managing a fund so farming co-operative members can buy essentials such as seeds, tools and fertilizers.
Another supper/talk was held in November 2011 when Sarah Davison from CAFOD spoke about her visits to Biera which helped bring the project to life in a new and vivid way. Meanwhile, newsletters from Biera are regularly available in our three churches.

Monies raised by our Parish for Biera are channelled through CAFOD working in close association with their long-standing partner organisation, the Adigrat Diocese Catholic Secretariat (ADCS). Monies go to support the whole community, not just the catholic element.

Family fast Day Cookbook: The CAFOD/J&P Group have celebrated 50 years of Family Fast Days with the publication of a Camberley and Bagshot Parish Cookbook entitled: ‘WASTE NOT WANT NOT’, featuring recipes by parishioners using frugal food or leftovers. Proceeds from the book, which includes a recipe from Delia Smith (a keen CAFOD supporter) and another from Bishop Kieran, go towards the Connect2 project. Copies remain available and make ideal presents.

Other fundraising activities have included a supper/talk, a quiz night, two soup lunches (a second is planned for later in the year), the Parish BBQ.

CAFOD Connect2 Monitoring and Evaluation Project: The group accepted an invitation to be part of the CAFOD/Northumberland University Connect2 Monitoring and Evaluation Project. A number of parishioners volunteered to be part of the evaluation and we had an excellent first meeting (the first of three) in March 2011, followed by another in November. The final meeting is planned for the Spring of 2012.

Growing Old in the Community: The CAFOD/J&P Group have produced an information directory intended to provide useful details relevant to growing old in the community. There is a particular emphasis on local contacts. Copies are available through the Parish office or via the website

/uploads/2010 Growing Old in the Community JandP.pdf

CAFOD FUNDRAISING

/uploads/2011 CAFOD fundraising.pdf

NOTES ABOUT CAFOD

1960 CAFOD’s beginnings came when the National Board of Catholic Women organised a Family Fast Day in response to a request from the people of the Caribbean Island of Dominica for help with a mother-and-baby healthcare programme. Their aim was to raise £500 but they raised over £6000.

1962 The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales officially set up CAFOD - then known as the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, but today is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development. The aim was to provide a focus for all the small-scale charitable efforts which were already taking place. Today, CAFOD are still bringing about change as a result of the immense commitment and generosity of the Catholic communities of England and Wales.

2000 Change of status from Cafod Fund for Overseas Development to Catholic Agency for Overseas Development - supports programmes rather than projects.
Has 500 partnerships world wide and 10 offices worldwide staffed by local people.
The energy comes from spirituality.

Different aspects of CAFOD’s work are:
Fighting poverty
Being there in emergencies
Standing up for justice
Changing lives
Working together
Challenging oppression
Making a difference

Emergency appeals – CAFOD only asks parishes for an extra collection for a VERY SERIOUS EMERGENCY. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), of which CAFOD is a member, get free advertising from the media for emergency appeals. DEC sometimes give money to CAFOD if they have partners on the ground in the area so relief can start immediately.

Fast Day collections - having a speaker at Mass, even if only 30 seconds, increases Fast Day donations by 30%.
Fundraising last year raised £49.1 million. £3million came from gift aid. Breakdown of how money was raised and where it was spent was given.

CAFOD’s internal target for programmes to tackle poverty and injustice is 85/90p in every £1. Last year it was 87p.

More information available on http://www.cafod.org.uk/
The CAFOD/J&P group have two DVDs “We are CAFOD” (12mins) and “Your Kingdom Come” (10mins) which are available for individuals to borrow or for showing to groups eg the young people or at a social evening.

Notes by Maggie Guy & Jo Carroll Oct 2010

Related Links
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