What does CAFOD do?

Cafod is an international development charity and the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

They reach out to people living in poverty with practical help, whatever their religion or culture. Through the global Church network, one of the largest in the world, Cafod has the potential to reach everyone. And they campaign for global justice, so that every woman, man and child can live a full and dignified life.

Refugee week

Pupils participated in Cafod’s ‘Share the Journey’ global campaign, inspired by Pope Francis’ concern for migrants and refugees. Pupils discussed what being a refugee or migrant meant to themselves and their classes. Pupils talked about when they have had to welcome new children to their class and school community and discussed how as a school we could help them settle in. Some pupils shared their own personal stories. Pupils were also set a homework challenge to help them find out more about the lives of migrants and refugees, show their support, and celebrate the contributions that refugees and migrants make to societies around the world. St. Joseph’s joined with other schools and parishes in England and Wales to collectively walk the distance around the whole world – 24,900 miles.  Each class decided on a short walk in the local area and how to measure how far they walked in miles. Each class made a stop on the way to read a refugee’s story and to share questions that made them think about these individuals, their journey and their settlement. The miles the school completed were added to the Cafod totaliser. Through our participation this showed the wider community of our support for people around the world who migrate for different reasons and those who are forced to make difficult journeys.

Pupils were also set a challenge to help their class find out more about the lives of migrants and refugees, show their support, and celebrate the contributions that migrants and refugees make to societies around the world.

The workshops and the findings of the SAMMIS project linked perfectly with what the children had previously studied and extended their learning further allowing them to become better ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the World; a key component of Professor Donaldson’s new Successful Futures Curriculum for Wales.