CAFOD and Education Service representatives gathered on the steps of Westminster Cathedral on Friday 13th July, to mark the end of their 'Share the Journey' campaign which showed support for people forced to flee their homes.
The campaign was launched for schools at CAFOD’s head teachers' Conference in March, and since then a number of Westminster Schools have been organising a variety of different walks, pilgrimages and similar events during which pupils and staff have now collectively walked more than 6,000 miles to support the campaign and give it local publicity.
The group met with banners and symbolic footprints representing miles walked by schools and pupils, which they then processed from Westminster Cathedral to St George’s Cathedral, Southwark and CAFOD’s Romero House HQ.
Many schools have been involved, with a variety of different initiatives. The highest mileage of any school was accumulated by St Adrian’s Primary, St Albans, whose pupils organised a number of break time walks and runs throughout the summer, amassing over 750 miles.
Elsewhere, Sacred Heart Primary, Ware did a sponsored walk within their grounds; Our Lady of the Rosary Primary, Staines did a two-mile walk along the Thames to St Margaret Clitherow, Stevenage with every pupil and staff with parents involved, while their Year five and six pupils went to York for a pilgrimage in honour of their patron saint and while there walked roughly 19,000 steps each.
Secondary schools were equally involved with St Augustine's, St George's, St Thomas More, Haringey and St Columba's organising big events in their communities which also involved reflections and debates on the refugee crisis.
