After reading an appeal for volunteers in her parish newsletter, Maggie thought: "I can, I should….and I will!"
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Maggie is a school volunteer for CAFOD.
Maggie saw an appeal for volunteers in her parish newsletter five years ago. Reading it she thought: ‘I can, I should….and I will!’ She hasn’t looked back since!
Born in Kenya, with a father whose work was in overseas development and a mother who was a very faithful Catholic, CAFOD was a good fit for me. The training is excellent - volunteers are welcomed, and given a thorough grounding in CAFOD’s history, organisation and goals.
Whether you are a school volunteer or speaking at Mass there are regular training updates and the material that you present on CAFOD’s behalf is factual, topical and attractively presented.
Being a volunteer is definitely rewarding. It’s hard to believe how clued up, fair-minded and sensitive little children can be. They’re funny too. In the span of a few seconds you can be amazed by a little five-year-old boy who knows how many people live on the planet, or by a little girl (also five) who explains ‘rights’ by telling the story of the suffragettes - how amazing that 100 years after the event, she knows. And then a little boy in answer to my question, ‘what would you do to get fresh water to drink if you didn’t have taps?’, said: ‘Stand there with your mouth open and wait for it rain!’
I do get challenging questions in schools and when I speak at Mass. For example, there is the worn out cynicism of being ‘over-disastered’ – people ask, ‘what’s the point?’ It’s so important to tell people about the advances achieved by aid programmes. I love how CAFOD shows inspiring stories and photographs showing how we can empower members of the community to be the leaders of change.
