ABOUT THE WALK

Join CAFOD and SCIAF for the Big Lent Walk and raise vital funds for communities around the world. Walk 200km (or any other distance!) wherever you like, and with whomever you like!

Read on below to find out more about the type of work that you will be supporting.

Two people walking across a stylised collage. The person in front wears a yellow jacket, black trousers, and carries a large orange backpack, while the other wears a white and red jacket with black leggings. The background features a purple-toned aerial view of a town with layered green stripes above, creating a bold graphic design.

Five individuals standing in front of a mud-and-stick wall. The central person wears a bright orange patterned garment and holds a child in a spotted outfit. A child in a red floral dress stands to the left, while two others are on the right, one in a light green dress and the other in a dark shirt. A plastic chair is partly visible on the far left.

WHY ARE WE WALKING THIS LENT?

Your sponsorship can and will change lives. Every £1 raised through the Big Lent Walk will help to bring life-saving water to communities in places like Ethiopia and Peru. Communities like Mortikana's.

Mortikana, 70, lives in a rural community 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.’ she adds.

Now that her family’s basic need has been met, Mortikana is hopeful about the future. ‘With water secured, I can focus on income generation. My children’s life will be better than mine, more stable and happier’ she told us.

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

WHO ARE CAFOD AND SCIAF?

CAFOD and SCIAF are the official relief and development agencies of the Catholic Church for England and Wales (CAFOD) and for Scotland (SCIAF), and we are both members of the global Caritas Internationalis family.

We both believe that a green and just world, free from poverty, is possible and we invite you to join us in putting your faith into action this Lent.

The money you raise by taking part in the Big Lent Walk will enable us to continue fighting global poverty and working through expert local partners to bring real change to communities overseas.

Find out more

An adult and a child walk hand in hand across a stylised collage. The child wears denim overalls and a purple backpack, while the adult is dressed in a checked shirt and jeans. The background combines a purple-toned aerial view of a town with layered green stripes above, creating a vibrant, graphic effect.