Catholic Agency for Oversees Development - Research Paper Example

Background CAFOD stands for Catholic Agency for Oversees Development. CAFOD is a charitable faith-based organization that has its roots in Wales and England. The National Board of Catholic Women started the organization. The idea was conceived during a Family Fast Day that was held on March 11, 1960. By 1962, they registered the organization; it has continued to grow ever since that time to date (CAFOD, n.d). The main goal of the organization has been to alleviate poverty while at the same time advocating for justice. The organization has intervened in quite a number of situations across the world. The financing of the organization has been obtained from the Catholic community in England and Wales, public donations and the British government. The mandate of CAFOD is to promote sustainable development, promote social justice, create public awareness on poverty reduction, advocate for the rights of the poor, and respond to emergencies (CAFOD, 2014). The Organization is based on the principles and values of the Christian faith though it works with people of all faiths. In addition, CAFOD acts as an agency for Caritas International Federation and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. It has further subscribed to the membership of the British Overseas Aid Group as well as the Disasters Emergency Committee. The organization works with over 500 partners in over 40 countries across the world. The organization has headquarters in the United Kingdom where the director and other senior staff operate. The current director is Chris Bain; he has served in this position since 2003. The aid agency has about 400 staff throughout the world (Jarque, 2011). Mission The mission of CAFOD is inclined towards the reduction of poverty and promotion of justice in the world. The organization endeavors to “bring hope, compassion and solidarity to poor communities, standing side by side with them to end poverty and injustice” (CAFOD, 2014). This mandate is guided by the Catholic social teachings as well as the biblical teachings. The organization endeavors to see to it that the human dignity is respected while ensuring that people live as one community as spelt out in the organization’s slogan, “Just one world” (CAFOD, 2014). In addition, the organization looks into ensuring that the fruits of creation are shared by all creation, both the rich and the poor. It also promotes solidarity among communities irrespective of the social and economic status. CAFOD’s Core Values CAFOD works to protect human dignity while ensuring that people are able to access resources to enable them to live decent lives. The organization is founded on the values of dignity, hope, solidarity, stewardship, compassion, and partnerships. CAFOD’s Mandate As spelt out in the mission statement, the role of CAFOD is to provide help to less fortunate communities. They discharge both short-term and long-term interventions in various ways. First, they take care of the homeless by ensuring that they provide temporary shelter for them.in addition, they work on developing permanent shelters for those that cannot afford. Secondly, they work to alleviate hunger by ensuring that the hunger-stricken are provided with food and water. Thirdly, CAFOD is swift to respond to disasters thereby ensuring that emergencies are responded to promptly. Fourthly, CAFOD works on promoting healthcare and education in areas where there are poor services. They facilitate construction of decent schools while providing healthcare facilities in areas where they are not available. Finally, CAFOD works to promote sustainability by helping the poor develop income-generating activities such as promoting farming methods that promote increased food production. These mandates are discharged in accordance to the needs in the society (CAFOD, 2014). CAFOD’s Timeline (Events and Interventions) CAFOD has a history that dates back to the 1960. It had a number of events and interventions as listed below; 1960- First Family Fast Day; £ 6,673 raised towards Dominica Mother-and-child clinic 1961- Family Fast Day, £ 32,000 raised for the Dominica mother-and-baby clinic 1962- Chaired by Bishop Grant, a meeting of the Hierarchy of England and Wales held in Rome approved the establishment of CAFOD in which they chose Sir Hugh Ellis-Rees as the administrator. 1965- CAFOD became a member of Caritas International and £ 100,000 was spent for about 74 projects. 1969- First autumn Fast Day. In addition, CAFOD joined a group of Catholic agencies from Europe and North America (CIDSE) 1970- Noel Charles replaced Sir Hugh Ellis-Rees as the administrator. 1971- With 10 staff, CAFOD celebrated first anniversary having completed 245 projects in 45 countries. 1974- Office was moved from Kinnerton Street to Soho square. 1977- Robin Hood takes up the role of the administrator 1979- A campaign launched in Philippines and the first overseas staff in Chile. 1981- Julian Filochowski takes up the role of administrator, to be later known as the director. 1982- The office was further moved to Stockwell road and Bishop Hitchen appointed as the chairman. 1984- CAFOD responds to famine situation in Ethiopia (over £ 4 million raised). 1987- Caritas request CAFOD to spearhead a worldwide program for HIV/AIDS 1993- CAFOD Albania established. 1996- Clergy Revue at Barbican to help raise money for CAFOD 1998- CAFOD offices set up in Kenya and Zimbabwe 2000- Bishop Rawsthorne becomes Chair while in every diocese was established the New Covenant with the poor 2003- Chris Bain appointed director 2004- CAFOD responds to an emergency crisis in Darfur 2005- Emergency response to Tsunami (£ 10 Million raised), and rally to end poverty in Edinburg 2010- Office moved to Romero House and response to floods in Pakistan. 2011- £ 4.7 million raised towards East Africa appeal while Bishop John Arnold is appointed as chairman. 2012- 50th anniversary and a thanksgiving mass as Westminster’s Cathedral (CAFOD, n.d) Areas of Operation Most of the global organization’s administrative work is based in the England and Wales. Resource mobilization and response to emergencies is mainly done from the headquarters in UK. However, with more than 50 years of operation, CAFOD has been able to establish other ranches across the world. Most of these locations are based in Africa. According to the CAFOD’s website (2014), they have established offices in Kenya, Bolivia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Sudan, Niger, Nicaragua, Mozambique, South Sudan, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. Apart from these, CAFOD has partners across the globe that helps in discharging the mandate of the organization (CAFOD, 2014). CAFOD and the Community CAFOD has continually encouraged community participation in its activities through its campaigns, prayers, and donations. CAFOD’s campaigners handle a variety of functions ranging from poverty-related interventions to issues of climate change among others. These campaigns are centered round issues such as climate and environment, water and sanitation, and HIV/AIDS. The community has the obligation of facilitating fundraising in order to support the activities that the organization is involved in. Being a faith based organization, CAFOD calls for prayers for successful execution of its programs as well as praying for the less fortunate in the society. In its campaigns, the organization has endeavored to use all the people in the society including schoolchildren (Just Giving, 2014). Moving Forward for CAFOD CAFOD has constantly developed interventions that have helped in reaching its goals. In order to realize these objectives, the organization developed its strategic plan dubbed ‘CAFOD Competency Framework: Taking Action.’ This plan was to help define the route for the organization between 2010 and 2020. This framework spells out the skills, attitudes, knowledge and behaviors that will help steer the organization in delivering its aims. In addition, the strategy addresses the need for learning, induction, and performance development (Jarque, 2011). The strategic plan has identified the issues that the organization will be addressing in order to reach the community in a better way. References CAFOD. (2014). Campaign. Retrieved from http://www.cafod.org.uk/Campaign CAFOD. (n.d). CAFOD’s history: 50 year timeline. Retrieved from http://issuu.com/cafod/docs/cafod_50_years_timeline?mode=embed&viewMode=presentation&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=047aae&showFlipBtn=true Jarque, L. (2011). CAFOD Competency Framework: Taking action. Retrieved from http://www.peopleinaid.org/publications/cafodcompetencyframework.aspx Just Giving. (2014). Catholic Agency for Overseas Development. retrieved from https://www.justgiving.com/cafod/ Read More