Giving Hope by Giving Up
How a Belgian Nun, a poodle, and you the Catholic women of England and Wales turned giving up into giving hope.
Without Fast Days, CAFOD would not exist today. These times of compassion and generosity - which you started nearly 50 years ago - have raised over £65 million and changed millions of lives across the world! You are the fantastic women who continue to make this good work happen and we want to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fast Day with you. So how did it all begin? How did a Belgian Nun, a pampered poodle and you, the Catholic women of England and Wales bring hope to some of the poorest communities in the world?
Let me take you back…
Elspeth Orchard was the treasurer of the first two Family Fast Days. In 1986 she wrote an account of the history of Fast Day called ‘The Pampered Poodles: The origins of Family Fast Day’. It shapes the story you are about to read.
Elizabeth von Strachotinsky, the Austrian representative of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) was there in 1957 when the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Mr Shri Binay Ranjan Sen shared the extreme situation of hunger and malnutrition in the developing world. Elizabeth wanted to address the plight of those who were suffering and also to give thanks for answered prayers and peace in her country. This compassion sparked a Family Fast Day in Austria.
“The idea was that every member of the family would make a special act of self denial – father could give up his beer, for example, and the children their sweets, while mother could cook with the cheapest ingredients.”
This first Family Fast Day in Austria was a great success – and so the word spread. Jacqueline Stuyt-Simpson was the UK representative on WUCWO and a member of the National Board of Catholic Women (NBCW). Jacquie was inspired by this act of generosity and compassion and took the idea to her fellow NBCW members. Evelyn White, the chair for the NBCW at the time along with Jacquie, Elspeth and the secretary, Norma Warmington, decided that a Fast Day should be organised and promoted throughout parishes in England and Wales. As Elspeth shared in her account, the idea ‘was so simple, so practical, so adaptable’.
Dominica: making the difference
But where could they make the difference? It seemed there was so much need, where could they start? The members of the NBCW approached FAO to find out if there was a project they could support - and there was. Sister Mary Alicia MBE, a dynamic Belgian nun from the Missionary Sisters of St Augustine was trying to raise money for a project she had founded in Dominica, one of the Caribbean Windward islands. Children were dying from lack of food and this was particularly acute in the parish of Roseau, the capital of Dominica where the project was based. Shockingly, 80 per cent of newborns had died in one year. The problem was so bad that Sister Alicia was seeing devastating sights on a daily basis.
There was no denying that this needed a response and it became obvious that a home to nurse the malnourished children and babies back to health was essential. Plans to build the Infant Jesus Nursing Home began straight away and the first Family Fast Day in England and Wales had its focus.
Success!
Jacquie along with Elspeth, Evelyn and Norma, chose the Ember Friday of Lent on 11 March 1960 as the date for Family Fast Day. Some 600,000 handmade leaflets were distributed around the parishes of England and Wales asking people to ‘Go without so that others may have’. This message was a familiar one and offered a way to fast, pray and give together to support those who had so much less.
The two biggest member organisations of NBCW, Catholic Women’s League (CWL) and Union of Catholic Mothers (UCM) were there to help out in force. The women hoped to raise £500, but actually collected over £6,000! As the donations came in thick and fast, time was spent counting the money on kitchen tables and responding personally to each and every one. This was not without its difficulties, as Elspeth commented:
Why do Catholics refer to their churches as St Jude’s, Caly St or Holy Name, Stockton? Surely they have “addresses” like everyone else!
The outpouring of generosity shown by the Catholic community meant that the building of the Infant Jesus Nursing Home in Dominica could finally begin.
However, to ensure the home had all the necessary, life-saving equipment, more money was needed. The decision was unanimous; Family Fast Day would be repeated the following year.
The Fast Day leaflets that were sent out in 1961 communicated a very clear and strong message:
Millions of people in the world are hungry. They are hungry largely because the good fruits of the earth are enjoyed by too few and WE are among the few. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) is grappling with the problems of better distribution. There is enough food for all – if only it could be fairly shared.
With our donations the HUNGRY CAN BE FED, the IGNORANT CAN BE TAUGHT, and OUR CONCERN WILL REFLECT THE DIVINE COMPASSION, thus meeting the THREE HUNGERS OF THE WORLD, for BREAD, for TRUTH, for GOD.
The language may have changed slightly, but the messages behind the appeal of living simply, sustainably and solidarity with the poor, continue to motivate the Catholic community today.
Mitzi – the pampered poodle
The story of Mitzi the poodle was one of the more memorable of 1961. It began with Cardinal Godfrey’s pastoral letter to the Archdiocese of Westminster
“We propose to respond to the appeal for a Family Fast Day on Ember Friday 24th February. What we save thereby can be offered for the hungry and starving. Such a sacrifice would be very much in the Spirit of Lent, for it would touch both the palate and purse. Something could be saved too in the care of or pets. They also could benefit by being fed with less expensive foods. A plump and pampered poodle may run more gaily after a reduced diet on simpler fare and, perhaps a denied visit to a hair stylist.”
The following is an excerpt from a letter sent in response to The Catholic Herald by Mrs Joan Burn
‘Dear Sir,
I am writing on behalf of my poodle Mitzi, who hastens to say she is not pampered, although her hair-dos cost 25/- a time and are necessary as her hair just grows and never falls out. As she is expecting her third family to arrive on Easter Sunday, she feels that it would be most unwise for her to fast even for one day a week, and as we have the children at college everything we manage to save goes to pay their bills and clothes and books. We therefore suggest that as much as we all wish to help this fund, Mitzi offers one of her puppies, which will be ready to go to a new home the week following Whit-Sunday....If your ladies could arrange a Dutch auction or something of that kind, no doubt they could make more than 25gns for the fund.’
Poodle puppy Peer Gynt was born and bought at auction for £25 by Bishop Thomas Pearson.
That year over £32,500 was collected for Fast Day. Elspeth’s husband joked that Barclays should put ‘the red carpet down’ every time she went to bank the donations.
The money was sent straight to Sister Alicia and ploughed into the hospital, where it was used to provide extra staff and life saving equipment. The success of fast day even made national news:
“The little ex-patients can be found in most villages of the island, enjoying health and happiness. If the Home had not existed Dominica might have lost the greater part of a thousand young citizens”
The difference then, the difference now
In 1962 there were big changes. It became obvious that the generosity of the Catholic community was without limit and there was only so much kitchen table counting that could be done by the women who were volunteering their time. At the same time, there was a recognition that many countries throughout the world were in need of support, and changes such as permanent staff members would be necessary to address this.
The Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD) was established in 1962 and was the official overseas fund of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. This enabled the money raised from the Catholic community in England and Wales to be sent wherever in the world the need was greatest.
CAFOD has gone from strength to strength, later changing to the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development. Today CAFOD focuses on issues of humanitarian need and long-term development, as well as being a voice for the voiceless in over 40 countries.
Fast Day 2010
You, the Catholic women of England and Wales are responsible for transforming millions of lives. Over £65 million has been raised through Fast Days alone.
By living out our faith with commitment and compassion we can continue to support those people who need it most. Let’s make the year of the 50th anniversary of Fast Day - the day that you started - a true celebration of what we can achieve together.
In this 50th year we are reminding people to ‘give it up’ during Lent. Through giving something up over the season of Lent and transforming what we have into what people need, we can reflect on how we transform ourselves.
Please help us to continue the legacy that you began nearly 50 years ago.
Contact your CWL/UCM/NBCW (delete as appropriate or tailor to current plans) representative in your diocese/area to find out what is planned for 2010 and to discuss how you can be involved.
THANK YOU
Lucy Harrison
(Community Fundraising Officer, CAFOD)
cafod.org.uk