CAFOD

The Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD), previously known as the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, is the Catholic aid agency for England and Wales. It is an international aid agency working to alleviate poverty and suffering in developing countries. It is funded by the Catholic community in England and Wales, the British Government and the general public by donations.

CAFOD was founded in 1962. CAFOD's aims are to promote long-term development; respond to emergencies; raise public awareness of the causes of poverty; speak out on behalf of poor communities; and promote social justice in witness to Christian faith and gospel values. It is also involved in short-term relief. It is a sponsor of the new Las Casas Institute at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford.

CAFOD is an agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and part of the Caritas International Federation which operates in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. CAFOD is a member of the DEC Disasters Emergency Committee and the British Overseas Aid Group. In 2010/11 it raised £69 million and employed 369 staff.

History

CAFOD was born when volunteer members of the National Board of Catholic Women organised the first Family Fast Day on Friday, March 11, 1960. In 1962 CAFOD was officially registered as a public charity. In 1965 CAFOD became a member of Caritas Internationalis and in 1969 joined the CIDSE, a collection of European and North American Catholic Charities. In 1979 its first campaign was launched in the Philippines and they kept growing. Caritas in 1987 asked CAFOD to lead and lobby for a worldwide programme on HIV and Aids. In 1993 its first international office was formed in CAFOD Albania. In 1998 offices were formed in Zimbabwe and Kenya and 1 year later it's Kosovo Appeal raised £8 million. In 2005 the MakePovertyHistory rally in Edinburgh was attended by 249000 people and in 2012, on the same year as the Queens Diamond Jubilee, CAFOD celebrated its 50th Anniversary.

International programmes

CAFOD has offices in Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa & Goma), Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan and Zimbabwe. CAFOD also has staff based with partners in Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

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