Canon Tony O’Brien (pictured) and a team from Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral joined people all across Archdiocese of Liverpool as parishes, schools and individuals took part in this year’s CAFOD Big Lent Walk. 

CAFOD Coordinator Colette Byrne said, “This Lent we have been walking 200km over the 40 days of Lent in solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the globe who walk long distances for clean, safe water every day.

 

Every £1 raised through the Big Lent Walk will help to bring life-saving water to communities in places like Ethiopia and Peru. We have loved sharing our walking updates with each other, motivating each other as we journey together through Lent raising awareness of the challenges communities face”.

Communities like Mortikana’s. Mortikana, 70, lives in a rural village in southern Ethiopia. Her village did not have access to a water source and Mortikana and other women from her community were forced to walk for six hours every day to collect clean water. 

Thankfully, CAFOD and a local expert organisation focusing on women’s empowerment, built a cement water cistern with enough capacity for the whole of Mortikana’s village. The cement structure ensures that the water doesn’t evaporate. It’s located close to the village, meaning Mortikana and other women no longer have to walk for hours for water. 

“Us women have more time to care for our families now that the water source is next to our village,” says Mortikana. “I can look after my children at home and send them to school with water to keep them hydrated and focused. They are clean every day now. We all are.” 

With your hard work and sponsorship this Lent, we can change families’ lives for good and tell poverty to take a hike.

To find out more about CAFOD’s work and to get involved, visit cafod.org.uk