CAFOD Lent 2021 assembly for young people

Themes: Lent, Water

Desired learner outcomes – for pupils to:

· understand the importance of water in the UK and around the world

· learn about our global neighbours and how we can respond and put our faith into action.

Time allocation: approx 15 mins

Gathering music suggestion: O let all who thirst

Good morning/afternoon. Welcome to our assembly.

In his story about the end of time, Jesus described people being divided, like sheep and goats. The king says to the sheep that, even when they simply gave thirsty people a drink, “Whatever you did to the least of these… you did it to me”.

Giving water is one of the simplest acts we can do – but perhaps the most vital.

How many ways can you think of that we use water?  You have 10 seconds to think of as many as possible. Go!

[10 second pause] 

How many did you think of?  Anyone get more than 10?  More than 20?  

Did you think of any of these? 

[click – ideas appear]

Water is vital.

That’s why, this Lent, we are focusing on people who have a long walk for water every day just so that they can drink, wash, cook… and survive.

No-one should have to walk for water. Clean water is a basic human right. We cannot live without it.

Mohammed, Abdul and their cousin, Abdella, live in a region called Afar, in Ethiopia.

Here, water is very scarce.

[If you have time, show the CAFOD Lent film at cafod.org.uk/secondary (4 mins)]

Abdella has to walk up a steep and dangerous mountain to get water for his family. 

He has no climbing boots or special equipment.

And the temperatures can reach 40 degrees or more.

It takes him five hours. And he does this twice a day.

But things could be very different. This community in the same region used to have a three-hour walk for water. Now a solar water pump has transformed their lives.

One of the community told us: “Now we have water near, we are able to work. We can get on with our lives. Our main problem was the water. “

“When the water pump was installed, everyone was so happy… Just opening the pump on that day. Everything we did around that day centred on happiness.”

This Lent, CAFOD is asking schools and parishes to do sponsored walks, raising money for CAFOD to help communities like Abdella's receive water nearer to their homes.

£33 can provide water for a family

£66 can buy a bike for a water engineer to travel to a remote community's water pump

£750 can bring water to an entire community

We could do one big Walk for Water as a class, school.

Or we could take the "40 day challenge" and get sponsored to do 10 thousand steps every day for the 40 days of Lent.

CAFOD's website has lots of resources to help.

[INSERT HERE details of any walking or other fundraising planned in your school for CAFOD this Lent]

Are you willing to Walk for Water so that other people, like Abdella, don't have to? 

Let us pray…

Lord God, we thirst for a world of justice – a world of peace and happiness.We thirst for people to be treated equally and fairly.So, Lord, give us the gift of water: the water of life, the water of forgiveness, the water that refreshes usand gives us the energy we need to change our world. Amen.

Thank you.