Voices from the Field - CAFOD · Voices from the Field Introduction: Geoff O’Donoghue, Director of Operations CAFOD is the official development agency of the Catholic Bishops’

On 13 July, we had the opportunity to hear from our colleagues about the work they undertake

around the world, which is made possible with your support. Over the course of the evening, we

heard stories from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Central America

and were able to hear about the ways in which CAFOD’s work is changing lives in these

communities.

Voices from the Field

Introduction: Geoff O’Donoghue, Director of Operations

CAFOD is the official development agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Last

year, our expenditure was £50 million which was disbursed in over 40 countries around the world. At any

given time, we have 350 working partnerships with local organisations, including exchanges of funds and

technical expertise. Around two thirds of these organisations are church partners and another third are

secular or other faith-based groups. Our work with non-Catholic groups underlines our commitment to reach

everyone who needs us, not because they are Catholic, but because we are.

Partnership with local organisations is integral to our work: our partners are part of the fabric of community

life and are there before, during and long after CAFOD’s interventions. The church’s links with community

life provide a unique “capillary system” which means that we can access communities and connect together

as part of a single family. Our local partners are the first responders in a crisis; we work to support them

and work alongside them, not tell them what to do: the communities with whom we work are the architects

of their own development.

On a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the most violent parts of the world (especially for

women), Geoff met a group of women who are being supported by CAFOD to address the systemic violence

against women and girls in this part of the country. The women presented Geoff with a package of supplies,

including onions and goats and asked him to take it back to London for those in need.

A girl who was a member of the group shared her story with him, explaining that she had witnessed her

father being murdered. Her mother remarried within a year so that the household would be protected by a

man, but instead of protecting her, this girl’s stepfather began abusing her. She told her mother, who told

him to stop, but when the abuse started again, she was kicked out of her home at the age of nine. Finding

herself alone and with nowhere to go, she was picked up by a militia group who enslaved her in their camp.

After two years, she was able to escape with another girl and she again found herself on the street with

nowhere to go. This time, she was picked up by a woman called Marie Therese who was a member of this

group. Marie Therese took her to hospital and the women’s group paid for the three operations she needed

after the abuse she had survived in the camp.

“Now I have a family. We belong to each other,” the girl told Geoff. After everything she has been through,

she now wants to go to school: she is still a young girl with her life ahead of her. CAFOD was able to secure

funds to pay for her education so that she can go to school and look to the future.

Afghanistan, seen through the lens of the media,

appears to be a hopeless case following decades of

conflict. CAFOD sees justice, hope and opportunity

as the pillars on which a successful and lasting peace

and prosperity will be built: opportunities for fulfilling

livelihoods, raising voices and reaching potential.

The vast majority of Afghan people want peace,

however international frustration and donor fatigue

have led to Afghanistan falling off the radar.

Historically, the focus of development work in

Afghanistan has been on externally driven, top-

down, high cost interventions; CAFOD’s work, by

contrast is rooted in the local context and the local

reality, driven and owned by the community for long

-term sustainability.

CAFOD works in Herat, Ghor and Balkh provinces of

the country and mainly supports the development of

livelihoods for economic resilience. We build on the

foundations that are already in place to focus on low-

cost, easily replicable approaches, with three partner

organisations:

Hand in Hand, with whom we are establishing 500

to 600 small enterprise groups, which we support to

save up their own investment funds and then train in

business and financial management skills and market

analysis. Hand in Hand support the groups to

develop business plans based on market demand

and the group’s interest and works alongside them

to support their enterprise.

Sanayee Development Organisation, with whom

we are working with saffron farmers to improve

farming and cultivation practices and therefore the

quality and quantity of saffron crops. Saffron

provides a vital and profitable alternative source of

income to poppy farming, which is an important

source of revenue for several armed groups which

are continuing to contribute to instability and

insecurity in the country.

Catholic Relief Services, with whom we are

supporting farmers to improve their production of

vegetable crops, such as potatoes. These crops are

vital to the income of households and when they are

damaged, farmers are often forced to migrate in

order to earn money, leaving their families behind.

By equipping them with simple, low-technology

solutions to improve their yields, we can work with

farmers to develop a reliable source of income and

combat economic displacement.

Country Fact File:

• Population: 33 million

• GDP per capita: US$575 (80 times lower

than the UK)

• Population below poverty line: 36%

• Languages: Pashto, Dari

• Religion: 99.7 per cent Muslim with very

small Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities

• Capital city: Kabul

• Economy (% of GDP): 26% agriculture;

22% industry; 52% services

• Labour force participation, men/

women: 19%/84%

• Life expectancy, men/women: 61/59

CAFOD’s Work in Afghanistan: Fleur Roberts, Programme Officer for Afghanistan

Women harvesting saffron

Charlotte has spent the last year as a participant in

CAFOD’s Step into the Gap programme, which

provides an opportunity for young people between

the ages of eighteen and thirty to volunteer in one of

our UK placements in a school, chaplaincy or youth

retreat centre for an academic year and to visit a

CAFOD project site overseas. Charlotte worked at

Newman University Chaplaincy where she worked

with the students to campaign for social justice,

refugee solidarity and fair trade.

As part of the programme, Charlotte also travelled to

Cambodia to meet communities and see projects

first hand after being involved with CAFOD since

primary school. “It was the most transformative,

inspirational experience of my life. They were the

kindest people I have ever met,” she said. Cambodia

is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects

of climate change. Cassava, a major food crop in the

country, requires a tropical climate and moisture-rich

soil to grow. Irregular rainfall and prolonged periods

of drought have resulted in significant loss for many

families who rely on cassava farming for income.

One family Charlotte met in Cambodia had seen their

income reduced by half; they were struggling to feed

their family and were worried that they would have

to take their daughter out of school. Charlotte was

inspired by the commitment of the parents to their

children: “We may be farmers by trade but being a

parent is our number one job,” they told her.

CAFOD’s partner, Village Support Group asked the

community what issues they were facing and what

solutions they needed. The community identified a

need for a well, so Village Support Group worked

with them to build one. The well enabled the

community to plant village vegetable gardens,

providing food to eat and surplus which can be sold

at the market for extra income. The additional

household income has meant that families can now

afford to keep their children in school, while the well

has also prevented sickness by providing a source of

clean water.

Since returning to the UK, Charlotte has been

running workshops on issues of social justice in

schools and parishes, speaking to children and young

people about the power they have to enact change

and create a better world. Inspired by the

commitment to education which she saw in

Cambodia, she is now looking to the power of

education here at home to transform students’ view

of the world and their place in it and to recognise

and respond to the ways in which the lives of people

around the world are interlinked.

Country Fact File: Cambodia

• Population: 15.76 million

• GDP per capita: US$1,095 (42 times lower

than the UK)


Languages: Khmer

• Religion: 97% Buddhist, 2% Muslim and

small Christian and traditionalist communities

• Capital city: Phnom Penh

• Economy (% of GDP): 31% agriculture;

27% industry; 42% services

• Labour force participation, men/women:

76%/87%


Step into the Gap: Charlotte Bray, CAFOD Gapper

Clean water enables families to protect themselves from

illness

To find out more about our Step into the Gap programme and

upcoming opportunities to get involved, please contact Catherine

Jones at [email protected] or 020 7733 5322

Bernard has worked at CAFOD for almost six years.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a

complicated country which is rich in natural

resources, but has endured colonisation, dictatorship

and a genocide which has killed five million people.

Today, there are an estimated sixty small rebel

groups still operating. They are active in diamond

mining, which provides revenue and the conflict this

fuels has led to the displacement of three million

people within the country, mostly women and young

people. Additionally, DRC borders several conflict-

affected states. As of March this year, for example,

over 100,000 refugees from the Central African

Republic were registered in DRC.

The church is an extremely important institution in

DRC. There are 47 dioceses and more than 2,000

chapels across the country and the church operates

around 60 per cent of public services such as schools

and health centres.

CAFOD is working with the church and other partners

to support communities who are very hard to reach:

road access is often impossible, so alternative forms

of transport, such as UN chartered flights, need to be

used. The work CAFOD is undertaking includes a

large amount of humanitarian response to the

displacement driven by conflict. Our partners are

also building wells that will provide water for over

500,000 people and working with communities to

build peace and improve governance. As part of the

peacebuilding process, we are rehabilitating former

child soldiers and training them in skills such as

carpentry, mechanics and electrical work so that

they will be able to earn money independently and

will not be vulnerable to further recruitment by

armed groups. Another key area of work is with

women who have survived sexual violence: listening

centres are a resource which refer women to

services they need, such as health, counselling and

financial support. Microcredit schemes are also being

implemented to financially empower women.

Bernard also brought thanks to the CAFOD family

from a Bishop in a community where we have

installed 120 water points which provide clean and

safe water to 200 families, protecting them from

outbreaks of cholera. Communities have come

together for the first time to build these water points

and only church organisations have been able to

access this remote area. “We go to places where

people were killed yesterday and we are there

today,” Bernard told us.

Country Fact File: Democratic Republic of Congo


• GDP per capita: US$480 (almost 97 times

lower than the UK)


Languages: French, Lingala, Kituba, Swahili,

Tshiluba

• Religion: 80 to 95% Christian, 10-12% Muslim

and small traditionalist communities

• Capital city: Kinshasa

• Economy (% of GDP): 22% agriculture; 44%

industry; 35% services


71%/72%


CAFOD’s Work in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Bernard Balibuno, Country

Women’s groups provide a vital forum for vulnerable

women to come together, support one another and

speak out for their rights

Montse works for CAFOD in Managua, Nicaragua,

where she oversees CAFOD programmes in four

Central American countries: Nicaragua, Honduras,

Guatemala and El Salvador. Following Martin Luther

King’s ‘I have a dream’, the CAFOD team for Central

America aspires to a region which is just, fair and in

solidarity; where men and women of all ages, people

suffering poverty and disadvantaged and

marginalised groups might have access to and are

able to fully exercise their human rights (political,

economic, social, cultural, as a people) and live a

decent life in harmony with the environment and

with one another.

CAFOD’s work in Central America is to accompany

faith-based and community organisations which

place men and women of all ages at the centre of

their own development and social transformation

processes. We work alongside communities in order

to reduce their economic, social and environmental

vulnerability and to build a more equal society where

public and private resources are transparently

managed for the benefit of the population.

CAFOD’s programmes focus on three key areas:

gender and capacity strengthening for HIV services;

human rights and governance; and livelihoods with a

climate change adaptation and disaster risk

reduction approach.

The Central America team works with a variety of

church partners, including local and national Caritas

agencies and Jesuit social outreach groups, and

secular organisations including human rights centres,

communications agencies, women’s groups,

indigenous peoples’ groups and other faith-based

organisations.

Montse’s particular area of focus is on gender and

HIV capacity strengthening, which is working for

positive changes in the relations between men and

women in their communities. Women across Central

America are socially marginalised: fertility rates are

very high and health and development indicators are

very low. Violence against women is prevalent,

fostered by traditional and “machismo” culture which

create a permissive environment for gender based

discrimination, harassment and violence. Faith

leaders, especially Catholic bishops and religious

personnel are generally influential either as movers

or blockers on gender issues.

CAFOD’s partners are extremely experienced

organisations in this field of development and are

working to combat gender based violence, empower

women and work with the church. Montse shared

the inspiring commitment of women and men in our

partner organisations and their dedicated service to

the communities they work with.

Regional Fact File: Central America


• Countries: Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala,

El Salvador

• GDP per capita: US $6,850 (almost 7 times

lower than the UK)


(average across four countries)

• Languages: Spanish as the main language in

multilingual countries (Mayan languages,

Xinca, English Creole, Garifuna, Miskito, Rama,

Mayagna, Nahual and others)

• Religion: Christianity and other beliefs

• Economy (% of GDP): 17% agriculture; 23%

industry; 60% services (average across four

countries)


82%/47%


CAFOD’s Work in Central America: Montse Fernandez, Programme Manager for

Carmen Perez Rodriguez waters squash plants in her garden.

We have been working with a partner organisation to support

women as heads of household with training on crop production

Your support is what makes this range of vital work in so many different parts of the work

possible. Thank you for your commitment, generosity and prayers for our colleagues, partners

and communities.

Question and Answer Session

Thank you

All pictures: ©CAFOD Charity number 1160384

We were extremely appreciative of the interesting questions asked by our guests which added to our

understanding of our colleagues’ work and to the discussions that followed the presentation.

Q1: How does CAFOD’s DRC office deal with divisions within the Church?

Bernard: Any conflict of leadership within the Church is not immediately visible for us. Actually, given the

situation with the Government in DRC, the Church appears united as never before. The Bishops of DRC will

come to London in September to meet the UK Government and talk about the situation in DRC. Moreover,

working directly with the National Bishops’ Conference, as well as the dioceses, mitigates the impact of

divisions on our work and we make sure the Bishops understand our work and why we need to do it. We also

work with secular partners and partners from other faiths, such as the Anglican Church, which is another

mitigation aspect.

Q2: What does particularly motivate younger people to take action for social justice?

Charlotte: My experience working with universities and schools is that certain themes, such as the refugee

crisis, resonate better with young people. This is probably due to the high visibility of these issues in the

news. I had a very positive experience working in Birmingham, a very multi-cultural city, joining inter-faith

reflections with students, talking about solidarity. A particularly positive experience was visiting Lampedusa

with students and staff to see the heart of the refugee crisis.

Q3: If the choice was to be given between being handed condoms and receiving reproductive

health education in the communities CAFOD works with, what would the women choose?

Geoff: They would probably choose both. Knowledge is something they also need, as education provides

them with more options and with the opportunity to increase their power of choice in personal relationships –

a power today they often lack. HIV is a disease of poverty. I also would like to take this opportunity to talk

about the misleading concept that reducing the population using birth control is an option to reduce poverty.

The real question is fair distribution of food and resources. UK research published in 2015 showed that 45%

of food is wasted or destroyed before reaching the table. Stabilising should be our approach.

Ms Nicola Garrad recently visited our Central American projects with Montse. She saw how the money was

going to the people in the way they needed it and how older women in the communities advised girls not to

have children too early, as it frequently happens and helped the youngest mothers to raise their children.

She said she is not sure a Government agency would be as effective as the community.

Q4: Are the medicines provided to people in need taxed?

Geoff: The money that is transferred to the projects is not taxed, but the purchase of goods and medicines is

taxed by the local Government, as it should be. Gift Aid is a great tool that the UK Government provides,

recognising that money donated to charities shouldn’t be taxed and Gift Aid is an important component of

CAFOD’s income.

Data for country fact files based on UN agency figures

Documents

Voices from the Field - CAFOD · Voices from the Field Introduction: Geoff O’Donoghue, Director of Operations CAFOD is the official development agency of the Catholic Bishops’