Very early this morning, too early to mention, 13 of us set off for London. Aim: to see CAFOD headquarters and meet CAFOD staff. However, the first hurdle was in fact the coach journey. I unfortunately landed the seat next to the window that didn’t shut properly and I got very cold. Other than that, a theme-tune marathon, and quick stop-off on the way kept our spirits high.
When we arrived at the modern and very swish HQ in Southwark, we each got our name badges and off we went on a grand tour. Taking the four flights of stairs seemed like a chore, however the people on each floor were great, and made it worth it. On each level (which happened to be laid out exactly the same as all the others, and became a little confusing) we walked around the office area, and employees spoke to us from different departments explaining what they do. Paul who gave us our tour was really nice, and made us feel very welcome. However, the offices were practically empty today because the e-mailing system was down due to a power cut the night before! But that didn’t stop us.
The departmental employees told us of the work done at CAFOD, from the Humanitarian section that deal with immediate responses to natural disasters, to the Campaigning section where long-term solutions are thought up. Luckily, a lady working for CAFOD had come back yesterday from Zambia (small world!) and she gave us a brief insight into what to expect.
After lunch we had four talks in the meeting room. The first was by Nick who is an Emergencies Writer. Nick spoke to us about a food-shortage emergency in Niger, and in small groups we discussed how we would come up with solutions.
Next, Geoffrey who actually lives in Lusaka spoke to us about the economical side of Zambia, and gave us the shocking statistic that 62% of the population live on no more than $1 each day. This was followed by tips on blog writing by Becky from the Communications team.
Finally, we had a great talk by Steven and Megan, who spoke about how we can take what we learn from the trip, and carry on the work in ourselves and around us when we come back to England. They introduced us to Nelson Mandela’s quote about being a Great Generation. It was very inspiring.
All in all, it was a very successful trip. Even if I sat in the same seat on the way home, in the rain!
Written by Ruth.
Read more about CAFOD’s Great Generation!
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