London: priest working in Guatemala to address CAFOD campaign day

Fr Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Blasco SJ

A Spanish Jesuit living in Guatemala is to visit London to talk about what life is really like in a developing country where food is scarce and caring for the environment is paramount for a sustainable future.

Fr Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Blasco SJ is in the UK with CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development. He is helping to promote its Hungry for Change campaign, which aims to tackle the hunger that afflicts one in eight of the world’s population. The campaign is currently focusing on the impact of climate change on small-scale farmers struggling to grow food, and the ways in which all human beings can affect the global food system with their everyday choices.

Fr Nacho will be speaking at a special Hungry for Change Campaign Day on Saturday, 2 November. He will describe his work as parish priest in Santa Maria Chiquimula, where a significant number of indigenous Mayan people live. The parish is part of western Guatemala’s "dry corridor" – an area that experiences annual drought and food shortages. Year on year, the people living there struggle to ensure they have enough healthy food to eat.

Fr Nacho said: “Some of the most poor and marginalised in Guatemalan society live in my parish. But we have been working with CAFOD on environmental projects to fight deforestation and to encourage young people to understand the importance of their land. They have also helped to promote healthy food campaigns, mobile clinics for mothers and babies as well as food gardens for families to grow nutritious vegetables to eat.

“I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with people in the UK and inviting them to rethink their relationship with the environment and the earth. I hope they feel encouraged to participate in the Hungry for Change campaign and to live sustainably in their own community.”

Since its launch in Autumn 2012, the Hungry for Change campaign has been calling for empowering aid for small-scale farmers and action against corporate lobbying, especially checks on the power of global food companies. Through the campaign, CAFOD is encouraging people to make sustainable lifestyle choices and show that they are living in greater solidarity with poor and hungry communities around the world. Examples of choices to help people achieve this goal include eating leftovers, having a "meat-free" day or two each week and choosing Fairtrade products.

In addition to talks from guest speakers such as Fr Nacho, the Campaign Day will provide an opportunity to hear about the next steps in the Hungry for Change campaign and to discuss what campaigners have achieved so far. The day will run from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, 2 November at Amigo Hall, Lambeth. Places are still available for this, however booking is essential. To book, please contact 0208 449 6970 or westminster@cafod.org.uk.

If you haven't already, please sign the Hungry for change campaign at www.cafod.org.uk/hungry. Over 50,000 demands for action on hunger have already been received.