A message from CAFOD as we approach the penitential season of Lent:
The word Lent finds its roots in the Old English word lencten, meaning ‘spring’. It describes that quiet, persistent season when the days begin to lengthen and the earth slowly wakes from its winter sleep.
We began this journey with a stark reminder: ‘Remember that you are dust’. While these words can feel bleak, they contain an invitation to wonder. We are intimately connected with the earth and everything on it – we are all members of one human family sharing one common home, all beloved creations of God. As we acknowledge our interconnectedness and reliance on God, we create space for new growth.
In the field and garden, this is a vulnerable, expectant time. Seeds are sown in an act of quiet trust—that a tiny grain, buried in the cold, dark earth, carries within it the potential for new life. Our Lent springtime calls us to such faith: that the seeds of hope and love that we plant even in the hardest soil will take root and blossom.
Across the world our neighbours are also planting seeds. Yet climate change is making it harder for them to grow enough to eat. In parts of Zimbabwe there is too little rain. In parts of Bangladesh and South Sudan, there is too much. The result is the same – seeds fail to grow, plants die, and families go hungry.
Our fasting, giving and prayer in this season remind us of our dependence on God and our longing for a world in which all people flourish. This Lent, as the light lengthens, may we stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers throughout the world, knowing that God can work through us to bring new life.
The photograph shows a Bangladeshi family tending their floating garden. This is their story of how they benefited from Caritas training and assistance projects, funded through the generosity of all those who give to CAFOD:
Mohammad Enamul Sikdar (50) from Choto Bashail village, Barishal, struggled to support his family with rice farming on leased land, earning just 5,000 taka per month. In 2023, he was selected as a beneficiary of the Caritas Bangladesh Dharitri project (supported by CAFOD). As a member of the Golap Vermi team, Enamul received training and assistance in organic vegetable farming and vermicompost production. In September 2024, he received climate-resilient vegetable seeds, tools, and materials worth 3,500 taka to start homestead vegetable cultivation. By mid-2025, he produced and sold organic vegetables worth nearly 30,000 taka, earning over 18,000 taka by selling the majority of it, and consumed the rest of the vegetables with his family.
Following advice from Caritas Dharitri project worker, Enamul invested in seven floating beds for vegetable seedling production using the floating method. Over six months, he produced 29,400 seedlings and earned 147,000 taka selling to wholesalers. He also keeps a cow and chickens. He has managed to keep saving in a cooperative after covering his daughter’s education and household expenses.
His monthly income has now risen to 11,000 taka, improving his family’s wellbeing. Mohammad Enamul Sikdar says, ‘Through the Caritas Bangladesh Dharitri project, I have found a new source of income. I am now much more self-reliant than before. I sincerely thank Caritas Bangladesh and the donor organization CAFOD.’
Find out more about how CAFOD’s Lent appeal is helping our global neighbours grow food in climate-resilient gardens: https://cafod.org.uk/lent