With the “back to school” season just receding in the rear-view mirror, the story of Daniel, the face of CAFOD’s 2024 Harvest Fast Day appeal, resonated strongly as I read the volunteer pack.
Sadly, in London we have become too accustomed to hearing about young people dropping out of education, lacking the support of a strong family, sometimes drawn towards crime, gang membership or being exploited through county lines networks. Police forces, the Criminal Justice System, social services, other agencies and charities work hard to find remedies and rehabilitation strategies. Often, skills training and returning to education, combined with counselling and help for the spirit, can offer a successful escape from a challenging start in life.
It turns out that recipe works far beyond our shores. The story of Daniel, living in Gomo, a large city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, follows a similar arc. Now we usually see the DRC portrayed as a large Sub-Saharan country rich in minerals but riven by civil strife and violence. We are not told that nearly half of the DRC’s 105 million population is Catholic. Nor are we told about charities like CAJED, CAFOD’s local partner in Goma.
CAJED works with youth like Daniel, who have fallen out of the school system, many forced to become soldiers or child labourers in the mines. Having seen, and sometimes participated directly in violent acts, or been abused, these young people are deeply traumatised. Yet they are also full of hope for a different, better life.
With CAFOD’s help, CAJED has set up youth centres that offer skills training plus psychological support and an opportunity to tell their difficult stories. This gives young people like Daniel a stable community where they can recount their sufferings but also share their dreams for the future. Whatever they may have experienced, the young people in CAJED’s care need not feel isolated or ostracised. Instead they find a pathway back to a normal life through practical training in carpentry, welding, tailoring, culinary skills and other job skills. CAJED helps many in its programme to open their own workshops or small businesses, thereby becoming self-reliant. Where possible, CAJED also helps young people reunite with their families.
CAFOD-supported work gives young people a route out of violence and victimisation into a more positive life where they can be be agents of their brighter future. Projects like CAJED’s seem needed in so many parts of the world right now, even in London, as well as in the DRC.
Watch CAFOD Family Fast Day videos ©CAFOD
As part of Caritas International, CAFOD describes itself as part of one of the world’s largest aid networks. The Catholic Church’s presence in 165 countries gives it global reach. Partnering with in-country experts allows CAFOD to help some of the most difficult-to-reach people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Through local partners, CAFOD provides long-term aid to equip people with the skills, tools and opportunities to live with dignity, support their families and give back to their communities.
CAFOD helps communities develop new ways to cope with changing weather conditions, to care for their sick and vulnerable, to make families self-sufficient in terms of food and water so that children (and especially girls) can go to school, or to provide other life-sustaining, essential services that we too often take for granted.
Let’s give a huge thumbs up to CAJED’s initiative and to the young people that are turning around their lives. Please join me in supporting CAFOD’s Harvest Fast Day appeal on 5-6 October.
You can support by
-
Giving online at Give by virtual envelope (cafod.org.uk) (please indicate St. James’s Spanish Parish in the newly added feature after you submit payment details);
-
Scanning the QR code on the poster, donation envelopes or lanyards worn by volunteers
-
Using St. James’s contactless giving machines. Choose Harvest Fast Day appeal option; or
-
Giving by cash or cheque in the special collections at the end of each mass on 5-6 October.
Please take an envelope as you leave church on the weekend of 28-29 September.
However you give, please add Gift Aid if you are eligible.
Thank you for your generosity and your prayers. I hope active support for CAFOD will help to remind us that we are all God’s children wherever we may live and whatever challenges we face. Supporting and nurturing the next generation is our collective responsibility. It gives us hope for our own shared future.
