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CAFOD
Bolivia - Disability rights campaigning in Bolivia

Disability rights campaigning in Bolivia.

CAFOD is committed to being a diverse and inclusive organisation that leaves no one beyond reach.

We believe in the intrinsic dignity of every person. The dignity of every human person, as set out in Catholic Social Teaching, is an overriding principle of the way we work.

We work wherever the need is greatest, with people of all faiths and none, regardless of gender, orientation, culture, nationality, or ethnicity.

Our Common Home is CAFOD’s agenda for change. Our mission is to challenge and transform the structures and behaviours that drive poverty, vulnerability, inequality, injustice and exclusion and harm the natural world.

We will support and enable people, communities and the local organisations we support to be artisans of their own destiny and we will follow Jesus’ example of ensuring that quieter voices are heard, so that a better world is achieved together.

Our vision

Our Common Home is CAFOD’s strategic framework, offering a unifying vision to inspire us towards transformative change.

We can only build the future by standing together, including everyone.

Pope Francis

Gender

“The Church has the duty to contribute to the recognition and liberation of women” Pope Benedict XVI

Our vision is of a world where women are safe and respected and where women and men share equally in shaping their societies.

Tackling gender inequality is not just an issue for women - everyone suffers when so many people are prevented from realising their full potential. Equality is essential to tackle poverty, and both men and women need to be part of the solution.

We have also produced our practical Believe in Change toolkit - an inspirational guide for all Catholic organisations and leaders to feel better equipped and confident to promote gender equality in their work. Among CAFOD staff based in the UK, our gender pay gap is below the national average but we are not complacent about closing this gap.

Race and ethnicity

We recognise that within our organisation there is racism in all its forms, that this is completely unacceptable and harms our ability to fulfil our mission.

We have begun to look at ways to transform CAFOD into an anti-racist organisation and to address the root causes of racism within our structures. Initial conversations have taken place across the organisation, including facilitating all-staff open discussions as well as meetings with senior management.

Over the coming months, we are committed to agreeing a firm action plan to ensure that CAFOD becomes truly anti-racist. We acknowledge that we are at the beginning of this process and there is still much work to do.

Gender

Our vision is a world where diverse women and girls are safe and respected, and where women and men share equally in shaping their societies.

Prayers for racial justice

These prayers remind us of our Christian calling to do all that we can to stand with and support those who are discriminated against because of their race throughout the world.

When someone living with a disability comes to my door and says they want to learn something, I work on two things: self-esteem and spirituality. They go hand-in-hand and that is how you learn to move forward.

Juana, Disability Rights Campaigner