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Transcript of CAFOD One May 2014
Issue 46, May 2014
one
Our global newsletter for staff and volunteers
IN THIS ISSUE: How do we reflect our values in our daily
practice? ONE message ** ONE partner ** ONE interview ** ONE tip
** ONE team-buddy ** ONE project ** ONE calendar ** ONE quiz
Produced by the Internal Communication Team with special thanks to: Chris Bain, Jacquie Heany, Jo Kitterick, Panikos
Efthimiou, Tania Dalton, Jane Adanje, Patrick Lawrie, Libby Abbott, Becca Manning, Philip Talman, James Steel, Lizete
Teofilo, Martin Heaney, Mieke Evans, Tony Sheen, Camilla Storrie, Jonathan Spink, David Singh. For internal use only.
Contents • p2 Chris Bain‟s welcome message • p3 Jesuit Development Service •
p4-7 From Brixton to Romero: the journey continues • p8 Travel safe to South
Sudan • p8 Pedal Against Poverty • p9 Team building? Get social! • p10 CAFOD is
getting Hands On • p11 Country Office closure dates • p12 IT numbers
Page 2 Issue 45, May 2014
Dear colleagues, I would like to welcome you to our first CAFOD One of 2014 -
our quarterly magazine for all staff and volunteers – and hope
that the benefits of the rest and blessings you experienced in
your Easter break are still with you!
Firstly, many thanks for sharing such insightful comments following the announcement of
our Strategic Review period. There was a strong welcome from many of you, and some valid
questions from others. I am very grateful for your openness. Personally, along with all our
Directors, I am committed to listening to your questions and want to answer them honestly
and transparently – and be more available for face to face conversations.
This Strategic Review will build on the outcomes of our Building a Sustainable Future
(BSF) programme which on many fronts has improved internal processes and approaches
and focussed our work across the Divisions. The Review itself has been triggered both by
questions about the sustainability of our budgets and some significant changes in CAFOD‟s
external working environment; a volatile institutional funding environment, shifting
dynamics of global power and poverty, an increase in development actors, and new thinking
in the local and global Church. These and other changes need to be understood and reflected
in CAFOD‟s priorities in the coming years.
The review is an important task for all of us. It will be led by the CLT and the Board but it
will require the positive contributions from staff, volunteers and partners to be relevant and
meaningful. We want the review to help shape the kind of organisation we need to be for the
next generation. There is a legitimate call for intermediary agencies like CAFOD to have a
clear understanding of its roles and core purpose, to be transparent and accountable for
what it does and what it spends, with ways of operating which are relevant to how we need
to tackle poverty and injustice today, and in the future.
Our review must be rooted in our Catholic identity, focussed on the communities we serve,
and with better stewardship of the resources we spend on ourselves. CLT is working to
produce a clear „Guiding Paper‟ which we will use to invite input on crucial directions.
I recognise that change is the one thing that is constant in our work - and many of us are
already in the midst of managing change right now. But as difficult as this may be, I believe
this is the right moment to undertake this review so that we can manage the pace of change
- in the direction and focus of our work -over the next 3-7 years. This I believe would best
serve our partners and the communities they serve throughout the world, and our
supporters in England and Wales. Thank you
one message
Page 3 Issue 46, May 2014
partner one
Jesuit Development Service (JDS)
CAFOD supports the work of the JDS in the west of El Salvador,
near the border with Guatemala.
We are working alongside small farming communities in Guaymango and Jujutla, some of
the poorest municipalities of the country, yet curiously, just below the coffee plantations
that belong to some of the wealthiest families of El Salvador‟s traditional elite. Some
statistics from a UNDP report (2006) and from the JDS‟ own survey (2008) include the
following:
About half of the population lives in extreme and severe poverty.
A quarter of children under five suffer from malnutrition.
A third of households lack access to drinking water
Almost two thirds of households are without electricity.
Three out of four houses are made of adobe, or a mix of mud and sticks, with no
proper floor.
Reflecting on solidarity
Farmers from villages supported by CAFOD and the
JDS organise a campaign for free and clean water.
The banner reads: “Water shouldn’t be sold. It
should be defended”
“Solidarity refers to something more than a few sporadic acts of generosity. It presumes the creation of a new mindset which thinks in terms of community and the
priority of the life of all over the appropriation of goods by a few.” Pope Francis 2013
CAFOD and the JDS are working together to improve food production and markets and
encourage the development of small businesses.
By Sarah Smith-Pearse
Page 4 Issue 45, May 2014
So, let‟s just start with: When did you join
CAFOD?
I started in 1998 so I‟m probably a dinosaur,
officially, and I first joined CAFOD as part of its
Public Education Unit. And that contained our
education programmes and our campaigning
work.
Oh, so it was combined? And what were you
doing?
In that first role I was responsible for our youth
programming. And it was just at the end of the
old millennia and we were expanding.
Can you describe a bit of the journey that has
taken you from where you were in 1998 to where
you are today?
When I started at CAFOD, I remember walking in
on my first day and thinking, „Right, I‟ll give this
two years and then I‟ll move on‟ and far too late, I
am here many years later.
I recognise now in 2014, I‟ve stayed here because
every year has been different. There‟s been new
challenges, there‟s a lot of dynamism and that, for
me, has kept me challenged. Coming into contact
with different people, different partners around
the world, different issues, just soaked up lots of
my stimulation and energy and has kept me
there.
And you‟ve seen a lot of change. 1998 to 2014, so
16 years. What for you have been the difficulties,
the challenges, the opportunities, along the way?
I think there has been a lot of change. Actually,
the biggest narrative all the time I‟ve been here -
whilst there‟s been unpredictability - has been
steady growth.
The opportunities? You know, CAFOD is seen as a
bit of a comfortable animal but I think actually
interview one
From Brixton to Romero:
the journey continues
Thoughts and reflections
of a cotton mill girl
Jo Kitterick, Head of
Directorate, has nervously
accepted this interview and
seems slightly anxious because
talking about herself doesn‟t
come naturally. She is humble
but confident and has great re-
flections after 16 years working
for CAFOD.
Page 5 Issue 46, May 2014
underneath, it has quite a creative spirit. I think
that means with growth you can create new
opportunities.
I think, CAFOD over the years, in any of its
changes, has always sought to seek opinions,
certainly of staff. Maybe not always done it really
effectively, but its intention‟s been honourable.
And I think some of the challenge is, in seeking
input from staff it‟s not always been clear to us
what happens with that information.
I have a deep rooted sense that it is taken on
board. But as staff members we don‟t all speak
with one voice and it‟s a really difficult task to try
and look at the trend and say, „Right, what can we
take from this to move forward as an
organisation, and yet keep everybody happy?‟
You make some really interesting points there
talking about staff and being a manager. I spoke
to a few people and – you blush now! These are
some of the things people have said about you:
“She‟s a great manager; really good to work with
and for; she‟s been a great mentor; she‟s a great
motivator” It sounds like you‟ve got all the boxes
ticked!
Oh dear!
So, how do you retain that energy, that passion,
that enthusiasm in an organisation for 16 years?
That‟s pretty impressive.
Oh goodness. I don‟t know if I always retain the
enthusiasm, but I do know what I‟m inspired by
and I absolutely love and am committed to what
CAFOD sets out to do in its mission. (possible
quote)
I can honestly say the creativity of partners, the
volunteers and the staff combined, have been a
constant source of joy…as well challenge, because
it makes you think!
At times I can become tired and think, ‟Oh here
we are again, another review! Where‟s it gonna
take us?‟ but I think actually when I do look at the
long term, not one year has been the same as a
previous year, so something must be driving us in
a way that doesn‟t have us completely stuck.
So where were you before CAFOD?
Immediately before CAFOD I had done some work
with the Church of England. So, for those who
may not know the Church of England and the
Church Urban Fund wWork, it‟s a really significant
resource that the Church of England committed
to, to devote resource to working in the UK with
those living on the margins of poverty.
That was the last role that I had. I‟ve been a
teacher; I‟ve worked in higher education, teaching
politics and sociology; I‟ve been a community
organiser.
All your work is about people. Clearly there‟s
something about working with other human
beings that ticks the right boxes for Jo.
Well I‟m not very good with numbers I guess! I
really enjoy the dynamic of the dialogue and
trying to see where the points of commonality
are.
Where were you born?
Bury, Lancashire, in a little mill town. As a mill
town it attracted a range of immigrants, so it was
a very diverse town to grow up in.
And did you go to school in Bury?
I did. A Catholic school - St Gabriel‟s High School.
It‟s a comprehensive.
Those were the days. And what happened after St
Gabriel‟s?
And then I went to a convent sixth form school
“At times I can become tired and think, ‟Oh here we are again,
another review! Where‟s it gonna take us?‟ but actually when I
look at the long term, not one year has been the same as a previ-
ous year, so something must be driving us in a way that doesn‟t
have us completely stuck.”
Page 6 Issue 45, May 2014
Those were the days. And what happened after St
Gabriel‟s?
And then I went to a convent sixth form school
and went on to university. I stayed in the North
West for quite a while - I went to Manchester and
studied politics.
So, in terms of where we‟re at today in CAFOD
and where we‟re trying to go in the next three,
five, 10 years, whatever, what do you think needs
to happen for the organisation to continue to
thrive and grow and deliver what we deliver,
globally?
I think there are some pillars that we should
always hold, and sometimes we need time to step
back to revisit some of those key pillars.
If we are about anything, we are about the
communities and the partners that we serve and
it is always wise to step back now and again and
ensure that our partners have what they need.
The review period that we are about to instigate
suggests this. Now and again, as Romero says,
„You need to step back and take the long view.‟
It‟s easy to say, but it‟s not always easy to do.
(possible quote)
Do you think the review that we will be going
through is going to give us that space?
We‟re not growing as an organisation, we‟re not
looking to recruit extra staff over the next year,
and yet our costs are rising quite significantly.
That doesn‟t need to be the only focus, but we do
need to sit down and say „Is this the best way of
operating to focus on the communities that we
serve? Have we got the balance right?‟
I think your question, which I‟ll come back to, is
„Will this really help us do that?‟
I can‟t put hand on heart and say „It will deliver
this‟ because this is a tight timeline - we want to
ensure we listen to partners, input from staff and
key external stakeholders and look at ourselves as
a whole organisation.
There is constant change going on. I recognise
colleagues very close to me are still in the middle
of some change processes that have only just
initiated. What we‟re going into is extremely
challenging,but I think the risk of not attempting
to do that is more risky than not.
What people - leaders, men, women, whoever -
have inspired you in your life?
My mum and dad for a start. They were very
countercultural and made me think really hard.
I‟ve been inspired by how CAFOD lives the
Romero story and how we interpret that story for
people year in, year out. I‟ve met some amazing
partners and those people really inspired me.
As a child, was Jo a very good girl?
I think I was. The thing I remember my aunts and
my relatives saying to me: „you are so bold‟ and
bold is a really interesting word because I think
they meant bold with a little bit of determination
and bold in a way that you can be obstinate, there
is a good and a shadow side to that word.
Studious?
I wasn‟t bad, I think I was ok.
Did your homework every day?
No, I didn‟t do my homework every day. But,
Panikos, I did enough just in time to make it work
and some things I found really easy and other
From Brixton to Romero: the journey continues Thoughts and reflections of a cotton mill girl
“Oh goodness. I don‟t know if I always retain the enthusiasm,
but I do know what I‟m inspired by and I absolutely love and am
committed to what CAFOD sets out to do in its mission.”
Page 7 Issue 46, May 2014
things I really struggled with. I remember those
days you are being forced to do things you really
didn‟t have a natural energy for and having to see
through was really hard work.
You are really involved with the organisation and
now have this kind of pivotal role and there is a
lot going on. What do you do to relax?
White wine helps. I don‟t have too much of it I
must say, but it helps at times.
The truth of the matter is that I come from a
wide family network scattered all over the place
and just keeping in touch with them takes time
and it is joyful.
I have two little boys rather later in life - one
eight year old, one two year old and they certainly
distract you from the harder issues and also
remind you what life is about. Juggling that and
work can be a real challenge because I found a
passion for both, and at times you feel terrible
about not doing both very well either.
Where do you get the energy for both?
Because you do.
The white wine?
The white wine helps! You also recognise
that in these roles - in all of our roles in
CAFOD - there are times where it can be
hard to juggle, but hopefully the juggling
does pay off enough to make a
difference.
What did you do for Easter?
I don‟t drive very often - I try to avoid it,
but I drove up the motorway to see
family in the north of England and spent
a lot of time stuck in traffic. That was
Easter. I also went to Church, took part
in mass and had chocolate, and had
Easter egg hunts...
Jo, you‟ve got an opportunity to give an
Easter message, like the Pope but not
the Pope... what would your Easter
message be?
Easter comes best when you have time to think,
take time out and then start to look forward. That
renewed look at the next few months hopefully
gives us an energy and appetite to look again at
the long term and embrace the next few months
and years ahead.
“Now and again, as Romero
says, „You need to step back
and take the long view.‟ It‟s
easy to say, but it‟s not always
easy to do.”
Panikos, our Learning and Development
Manager, has a secret life as a reviewer for
cultural events. This includes interviewing a
whole range of actors and actresses but he
prefers to speak with people with real passion
and commitment. So he is looking forward to
his next assignment. Get in touch if you want
him to interview someone.
Page 8 Issue 45, May 2014
one
Travel safe to South Sudan
Each of our offices around the world has a Security Plan document,
This is designed to help keep you and your colleagues safe and to
enable our work to run smoothly. Our Country Representative for
South Sudan, Jane Adanje, introduced us to the 2014 version of
Juba‟s security plan. The
contents include: • travelling in
and around Juba • local culture
and customs • communications •
unsafe areas • crime • unrest and riots • carjacking • landmines
and plenty of other essential information.
Read the complete document on CAFOD Connect: click here >
tip one
Attention people in North London and
Hertfordshire: where will you be on 18 May?
* Pedal Against Poverty - Sunday 18 May *
CAFOD‟s annual 10/19 mile sponsored cycle ride is about to happen in the Lee Valley Country Park in
North London and Hertfordshire. Last year approximately 200 people took part and we raised almost
£10,000 in the process.
Please contact the Westminster office if you would like to take part or volunteer to help.
On the 24th of every month, there‟s a reason to
celebrate: PAYDAY! For this momentous occasion,
CAFOD‟s Romero House has a monthly meet up
on the last Thursday of the month, bringing
together colleagues to share and celebrate
something in unison.
However, when you arrive at the pub, to partake
in friendly chatter and a pint, you realise that it‟s
more than a chance to celebrate your flush bank
account. In fact, you find that it‟s not really about
the money, but about celebrating camaraderie
with colleagues.
Ensuring we have these social events really helps
us unwind and get to know each other on
personal levels. You may find Tim Cohen from
Directorate discussing the topic of American
healthcare, or Amy Beecher from Supporter
Donations sharing her love of greyhounds.
The invitation to Last Thursday Social, open to all
those who can attend in London, boldly states:
“Talk of work is discouraged/not recommended.”
Of course, we hope
this is taken with a grain of salt, as this is a
perfect opportunity to share each other‟s work
achievements, upcoming events or projects, and
ideas that can flourish with the help of cross-
organisational input. Teams may find under more
social, laid back settings that they can really
brainstorm more freely and creatively.
Regardless of the topic of
conversation, it‟s about giving
colleagues an opportunity to come
together and communicate. As Last
Thursday Social continues at Romero
House, it would be inspiring to hear
Diocesan and regional teams have
their own regular and friendly get-
togethers that encourage discussions
of all time.
Page 9 Issue 46, May 2014
team-buddy one
Team building? Get social!
Libby’s efforts on fostering camaraderie
Last Thursday Socials have been known to complement special events, like this Christmas party at Romero
House. Get in touch with Libby if you want to be involved in the next Last Thursday Social: [email protected]
Page 10 Issue 45, May 2014
project one
What is the first Hands
On project?
It is a water resource management project in
Kitui, Kenya.
10 years ago the land was green and fertile.
A combination of factors such as changing
climate, deforestation has led to a loss of
natural vegetation and the soil has turned to
sand. The Musosya dam which used to store
the regions rainfall has completely silted up.
The community of Kitui have a plan to
transform to heal their land and make the
whole area water efficient. This is a big two
year project that includes almost 50 kms of
terracing, building a series of new mini-dams,
planting tens of thousands of trees, all of
which will help to divert and retain rainwater.
The total project budget is £206,517.
Hands on is responding to a changed
development landscape which requires from
us greater investment in our partnership
approach. With this type of funding our
programmes in CAFOD reinforce the role of
communities in making their own decisions.
Hands On is a series of 2 year
livelihoods projects that link
supporters from England and Wales
with the people of a specific
community as they work to
transform their lives and future.
Since 23 April, we now have
successfully gained 318 Hands On
supporters—already a great result!
Get in touch with Mieke
know more about Hands On
The International Operations Team (IOT) have collected public
holiday/office closure data and posted this information centrally on
CAFODConnect calendar.
Page 11 Issue 46, May 2014
Connect the dots for an overview of some of the ways we share
news at CAFOD!
CAFOD One Staff briefing Managua to Manila (M2M)
Every month colleagues are
invited to gather in Amigo
Hall or join us online for
corporate headlines and
presentations from across
CAFOD.
It comes straight to your
inbox every Thursday.
You‟re reading it! This
magazine goes to all of
CAFOD once every four
months.
Was any of this news to you? Get in touch with Maddy Prior in internal communications for a
refresher in Communication and Collaboration in CAFOD.
stop-shop one
Please check the
Corporate calendar when
planning visits overseas
so you are aware of office
closures and therefore
making best use of your
time.
Tools like the corporate
calendar on
CAFODconnect help us
centralise important
information. You no longer
have to trawl through
your inbox to find a set of
dates...that could be
different to those in your
colleague’s inbox!
Issue 45, May 2014
Catch up…
To click on the underlined links > read the online version on the CAFOD One page of
CAFODconnect.
CAFOD One is our global newsletter for staff and volunteers. It is produced by the
internal communications team. If you have a story idea for a future edition please
get in touch.
Page 12
quiz one
Can you guess how many
requests and incidents IT and
Facilities UK answered last April? Try and match the category with the
Equipment
request
Facilities
Incident
Facilities
Request IT Incident
IT Request
Incident
20 8
95 198 176
15
Patrick Lawrie, Head of IT & Facilities
Services, says: “These numbers are helping us to
design new ways of working in order to be more
reliable and consistent”
Answers: Equipment Request = 20, Facilities Incident = 8, Facilities Request = 95, IT Incident = 198, IT Request = 176