Clifton Diocese Helps CAFOD Sudan Emergency Appeal reach £2 million
Generous CAFOD supporters in the Clifton Diocese have contributed
£80,000 towards the £2 million already donated to the CAFOD Emergency
Appeal for the Crisis in Darfur. This staggering total has been donated
by individuals and Catholic parishes in just 12 weeks and donations are
still coming in as the humanitarian situation escalates.
All the money raised will go towards a joint Caritas / ACT programme covering Southern and West Darfur which aims to help 500,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes. Many CAFOD staff are playing a leading part in the Caritas / ACT team based in Nyala, Southern Darfur. The £16.5 million programme is the first time that the Catholic international network Caritas and its Protestant equivalent ACT have worked together.
CAFOD South West’s Tony Vassallo said, "So far £80,000 has been raised for CAFOD's Sudan emergency appeal through all sources in the Clifton Diocese - parishes, individuals, schools, religious and Catholic organisations. This is a tremendous response. Such generosity and compassion from Catholics in the Clifton Diocese will help save lives and bring hope to those struggling to survive in terrible conditions. Many thanks to all those who have responded so generously."
CAFOD Director Chris Bain added, “CAFOD’s greatest strength is our body of committed supporters. They have responded with great compassion and generosity to the plight of the people in Darfur. CAFOD is very grateful and appreciative for the trust that our supporters have in our work and the speedy response to our call for help. We have a long history of working in Sudan so our supporters know that we will still be responding to need in Darfur long after the television cameras have left.
“The magnitude of the crisis in Darfur in which hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk is such that it will be CAFOD’s largest emergency response for two decades. On behalf of CAFOD and our Sudanese partners I would like to thank our supporters for making that possible.”
The Caritas / ACT programme is focusing on providing clean water, nutritional support, proper sanitation, shelter, health care, essential items such as cooking utensils, blankets and soap.
The team in Nyala report that conditions in Darfur are deteriorating rapidly, with the onset of the rains making access to remote areas increasingly difficult. Hege Opseth, a member of the Nyala team, reports that a recent journey of only 60 miles to set up emergency health centres in the villages of Um Labassa and Kabum took over a day, with vehicles regularly getting stuck in mud. Over the coming weeks, as the rainy season reaches its full strength, this situation will get worse.
Fatima Khalid, a woman living in Um Labassa, told Hege, “We are so cold when it is raining. Our children are freezing and they get sick. We need proper shelter to protect us from storms hitting this area. I fear what will happen if it is not possible to get more aid, as we are not able to farm our own land.”
The CAFOD donations hotline is 0500 85 88 85.
CAFOD South West can be contacted by writing to Tony Vassallo, The Mount, Taunton, TA1 3NR
Tel: 01823 338903
Email southwest@cafod.org.uk
Useful URL : http://www.cafod.org.uk
All the money raised will go towards a joint Caritas / ACT programme covering Southern and West Darfur which aims to help 500,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes. Many CAFOD staff are playing a leading part in the Caritas / ACT team based in Nyala, Southern Darfur. The £16.5 million programme is the first time that the Catholic international network Caritas and its Protestant equivalent ACT have worked together.
CAFOD South West’s Tony Vassallo said, "So far £80,000 has been raised for CAFOD's Sudan emergency appeal through all sources in the Clifton Diocese - parishes, individuals, schools, religious and Catholic organisations. This is a tremendous response. Such generosity and compassion from Catholics in the Clifton Diocese will help save lives and bring hope to those struggling to survive in terrible conditions. Many thanks to all those who have responded so generously."
CAFOD Director Chris Bain added, “CAFOD’s greatest strength is our body of committed supporters. They have responded with great compassion and generosity to the plight of the people in Darfur. CAFOD is very grateful and appreciative for the trust that our supporters have in our work and the speedy response to our call for help. We have a long history of working in Sudan so our supporters know that we will still be responding to need in Darfur long after the television cameras have left.
“The magnitude of the crisis in Darfur in which hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk is such that it will be CAFOD’s largest emergency response for two decades. On behalf of CAFOD and our Sudanese partners I would like to thank our supporters for making that possible.”
The Caritas / ACT programme is focusing on providing clean water, nutritional support, proper sanitation, shelter, health care, essential items such as cooking utensils, blankets and soap.
The team in Nyala report that conditions in Darfur are deteriorating rapidly, with the onset of the rains making access to remote areas increasingly difficult. Hege Opseth, a member of the Nyala team, reports that a recent journey of only 60 miles to set up emergency health centres in the villages of Um Labassa and Kabum took over a day, with vehicles regularly getting stuck in mud. Over the coming weeks, as the rainy season reaches its full strength, this situation will get worse.
Fatima Khalid, a woman living in Um Labassa, told Hege, “We are so cold when it is raining. Our children are freezing and they get sick. We need proper shelter to protect us from storms hitting this area. I fear what will happen if it is not possible to get more aid, as we are not able to farm our own land.”
The CAFOD donations hotline is 0500 85 88 85.
CAFOD South West can be contacted by writing to Tony Vassallo, The Mount, Taunton, TA1 3NR
Tel: 01823 338903
Email southwest@cafod.org.uk
Useful URL : http://www.cafod.org.uk
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