Soup supports life-saving work in Zimbabwe this Lent
Friday 6th March 2020Today, parishioners across the diocese – including those from St Vincent’s, Norden – will be swapping their swanky suppers for simple soup lunches and donating the money they save to the international development charity CAFOD as part of its annual Family Fast Day.
This Lent, the donations of people here in our diocese will support the life-saving work of local experts like Sister Consilia in Zimbabwe who gives vital medication at her health centre.
She is not only a nun but also a qualified pharmacist.
She works in Gokwe, an area suffering the worst drought in generations, where malnourished mothers give birth to dangerously underweight babies.
Yet, despite the additional threat of diseases such as malaria, cholera and typhoid, the clinic didn’t lose a single mother or child last year.
“I enjoy most to be with the women, to be with everyone, the patients, helping them, loving them”, said Sister Consilia.
CAFOD’s Director, Christine Allen, said: “Over the last year, we’ve seen the reality of the climate emergency around the world – whether Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, the fires in Australia or the floods here at home caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis.
“In all of these situations, it’s the most vulnerable people who are worst hit, and this is even more the case in the world’s poorest communities which are least able to prepare for and recover from disasters.”
