Taking an active role in the work of CAFOD has helped strengthen my faith even more than when I was a passive parishioner.
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Angelin is a school teacher and a parish volunteer for CAFOD in Luton.
Deborah Purfield, who is our Community Participation Coordinator for the Northampton diocese, approached my sister and I when we were in our early teens to see if we were interested in supporting our global brothers and sister, to relieve poverty and injustice. My father gave his consent for us to sign up and our parish priest (then) was very pleasantly surprised that we had stepped forward as he didn’t know us, and there had never been a CAFOD volunteer in the parish.
I have been volunteering with CAFOD since 2016. I however had a break in volunteering when I went off to University in Bristol for my bachelors degree. I first started with handing out the Fast Day envelopes (together with my elder sister) and then later delivered the CAFOD Fast Day talk. Now I help in organising Fast Days with the fledging CAFOD group in the parish.
When I deliver the CAFOD talks and show the Fast Day videos, I feel I am able to convey to the church community how paramount their role is in society and how impactful their simple donations can be. Sharing with family and friends about CAFOD’s work is also very impactful.
As a teacher now, it is rewarding knowing that I am helping to inspire and mould our future minds, however it can sometimes be difficult to teach the younger generation the importance of community as I must adhere to the National Curriculum
Growing up in the church, you hear about various charities and the work they do for communities suffering from injustices in the world, but taking an active role in the work of CAFOD has helped strengthen my faith even more than when I was a passive parishioner.
My advice would be to ‘Give it a shot - you won’t know unless you try!’ - It is a gift to be able to stand in front of the parish community and share the work of CAFOD and how all our support is making a real difference to the lives of many in our world - not everyone is offered such opportunities. Little acts can make a big difference.
