CAFOD Northampton » Local CAFOD event

Mud, puddles and giggles

caf0dn0rthampt0n — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:55:32 +0000

Parishioners from St Teresa’s, Princes Risborough enjoyed their annual Sponsored Walk for CAFOD despite the April showers. They slipped in mud, fell in puddles and giggled their way through, walking through the wind and rain to raise funds for those without access to clean water.

In all 12 brave walkers turned up on the day. We all had a spiritual uplift when Fr John appeared resplendent in his bright yellow waterproof coat which would not have looked out of place on a North Sea trawler!!! Some members were somewhat inadequately shod and their sparkling new trainers soon disappeared in the sea of mud. For all the hardships of the day everybody finished on a high note and said it was worth the effort.

The parishioners were very generous in their sponsorship and we expect to raise over £800 for CAFOD’s Lent Appeal.

Julia, one of the younger walkers, along with her sister Katie was unable to take part on Sunday but they completed a walk on Tuesday as they were determined to help improve the lives of those for whom clean water is a luxury. Together the two girls raised over £250, a tremendous effort.

With over 700 million people still unable to access clean water to drink and over 2.5 billion people without safe sanitation, St Teresa’s walkers have given a great boost to CAFOD’s campaign. With funds still coming in, communities across Northampton Diocese have already raised over £80,000. These funds will be matched £ for £ by the Government through the match funding scheme, providing much needed support to the most marginalised communities in the poorest countries.

Slough Primary Schools Speak Up for CAFOD

caf0dn0rthampt0n — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:53:59 +0000

: Schools Public Speaking Competition Winners showing Cameron Underwood with the winner’s shield.

Pupils from Our Lady of Peace Catholic Junior School and St Bernard’s Catholic Preparatory School inspired and challenged us with their talks about water and the need for us all to have access to clean water.

In the first competition of its kind in the Diocese, CAFOD had challenged the schools in Slough to find pupils in Year 5 who were prepared to speak up for CAFOD on the topic of water – the theme for our Lenten appeal.

Pupils from Our Lady’s and St Bernard’s were the first to respond and invited Sharon Westby to come and speak to the pupils about the importance of clean water for health and happiness. She told the pupils about the lives of those who had no access to clean water or sanitation and they all agreed to take part in the competition. The first rounds took place in school as pupils researched all they could about the need for water and why some people had no clean water to drink.

Following the school competitions, three pupils from each school came forward ready to speak on the topic for two minutes.

All spoke with enthusiasm and commitment. They shared some of the facts they had discovered:

that 884 Million people had no clean water to drink
that a child dies every 20 seconds from deceases caused by poor water or sanitation
that while, on average, we flush 50 litres of water each day down the toilet, many people have less than 10 litres to meet all their needs.

As they spoke we were inspired both by the clarity and conviction of their argument and of the need to take action ourselves. They had challenged us to respond and to speak up for those in need.

The judges, Fr Kevin O’Driscoll from The Holy Family, Fr Richard Moroney from St Anthony’s and Maria Boland a governor at St Bernard’s Grammar School, declared Cameron Underwood the winner. His name will be the first on the new CAFOD Schools Public Speaking Competition Shield. All the competitors were praised by the judges and encouraged to continue to speak out for justice.

Newsletter October 2010

caf0dn0rthampt0n — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:39:47 +0000

Welcome to our special edition of our newsletter. Click here to read all the news.

With so much happening this Autumn we are taking this opportunity to keep you up to date

In particular we invite you to join us at the CAFOD Memorial Mass and to explore the new CAFOD Connect2 programme.

Please be sure to join the campaign lobby of your local MP. Sign up at www.cafod.org.uk/climateconnection

For the rest of the news, please visit our website: www.cafod.org.uk/northampton

Stretching North

caf0dn0rthampt0n — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:35:52 +0000

Paul, Frances and Peter stretch out for CAFOD

Members of the DeBoo family from Northampton have started stretching out as they prepare for the Great North Run on 19 September. Last year we had a record number of runners from the Diocese and hope to exceed that this year. The DeBoo family were among the first to sign up and took possession of their CAFOD Vests this week, watch out for them as they take to the road in preparation.

If you’d like to sponsor their efforts please visit:

For Paul: http://www.justgiving.com/Paul-DeBoo-GNR2010

For Peter: http://www.justgiving.com/peterdeBoo

Fynnius Fogg Rock Northampton

caf0dn0rthampt0n — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:17:43 +0000

Supporters from across Northampton danced the night away to the sounds of Fynnius Fogg at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School.

Fynnius Fogg provided their services for free enabling us to raise £1000, enough to provide a community seed store – guaranteeing food security for a community at risk.

Many thanks to Fynnius Fogg and all those who helped in any way.

Celebrating Fifty Years of Family Fast Day

caf0dn0rthampt0n — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:58:23 +0000

The First Family Fast Day Poster

At 2pm on Saturday, 13 February, we will hold an exhibition and service at Northampton Cathedral to
remember and celebrate the initiative which launched CAFOD’s Family Fast Day.

In 1960 a group of Catholic women did something extraordinary. They organised the first Family Fast Day, which led directly to the founding of CAFOD.

A Short History

The seeds of that first Family Fast Day were sown back in 1957, when Elizabeth von Strachotinsky, the Austrian representative of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) heard the Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Mr Shri Binay Ranjan Sen, speak about the extreme situation of hunger and malnutrition in the developing world. Elizabeth was inspired to do something to help as well as to give thanks for the answered prayers for peace in her own country, and the first Family Fast day was born.

Jacqueline Stuyt-Simpson, who was the UK representative on WUCWO and a member of the National Board of Catholic Women took the idea to her fellow NBCW members and Jacquie, along with fellow members Elspeth Orchard, Evelyn White and Norma Warmington decided that a Fast Day should be organised and promoted throughout Catholic parishes in England and Wales. The members of the NBCW approached the FAO to find out if there was a project that they could support.

Sister Mary Alicia MBE, a dynamic Belgian nun form the Missionary Sisters of St Augustine was trying to raise money for a project she had founded in Dominica, one of the Caribbean Windward Islands. Children were dying from lack of food and this was particularly acute in one of the parishes in the capital, Dominica, where 80% of newborns had died in one year. She had approached the FAO but they would not normally deal with such a small project! However, just then they received the approach from the NBWC and put them in touch

The first Family Fast Day was held on 11 March 1960. Around 600,000 hand-made leaflets were distributed around parishes in England and Wales, asking people to “go without, so that others may have”. With the Bishops’ approval the members of the NBWC wrote to every parish priest. They also wrote to the representatives of the Union of Catholic Mothers and Catholic Women’s League or other women’s organisations in the parishes asking for their support.

They hoped to raise £500 but actually raised £6000. Following another successful appeal in Lent 1961, the initiative was taken up by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and CAFOD was formed in 1962.

CAFOD has gone from strength to strength, supporting millions of people over the last 50 years, giving poor communities the means to help themselves. Whilst we look back to our beginnings, and of the help that was given to the poor community in Dominica back in the early sixties, so we also look forward to what we can achieve in the year to come.

In this 50th year, we are asking people to “give it up” during Lent. Follow the link to find out more. Click here.

Speaking for CAFOD Training

caf0dn0rthampt0n — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:19:24 +0000

Could you speak for CAFOD in our schools and parishes. We provide full training and our next training event is here at the Diocesan Office on 20 June. For more details just email us at northampton@cafod.org.uk