As King Bendigeidfran fab Llŷr, the mighty giant, waded across the sea with his army in ships beside him, looking like a mighty mountain and forest coming across the sea, Matholwch’s men destroyed the bridge over the river. When Bendigeidfran landed with his fleet and approached the riverbank, his noblemen said, “no one can sail across the river, but nor is there a bridge – what shall we do?”
“Nothing, except that he who is a leader, let him be a bridge,” said Bendigeidfran. “I will be a bridge.” Then, after Bendigeidfran had lain down across the river, his men walked across him to the other side.
That was the first use of the Welsh proverb, ‘Bid Bont’ (‘Be a Bridge’) – a proverb that continues to be important to this day. In a world that’s ever-changing – and not always for the best… In a world where we can reach out to one another so easily thanks to technology, yet where we can also feel so far apart because of the barriers that we create and the seemingly growing disparities and inequalities between us… Through poverty, hunger, inequalities in our health, gender and education, our worsening climate and environment – one issue for someone in our collective being is an issue for us all.
To create a happier and more sustainable future we need to not only look at what we can do as an individual, but as a collective. And words alone are just not good enough, they need to be accompanied with action – even if just small actions from a single human being in this vast world, added to the collective, well, we might just make a change. That’s what this project is about – doing a few small actions in projects I am passionate about, to help where I can. I am only one person – a mere spec amidst billions in this huge world. But I genuinely believe that if we all did what we could, we could make a difference. And maybe in this world as it exists today, we all have a degree of responsibility to do something.
And what’s that old saying? …
“It starts at home.” … no, it is our home – the very heart of it.
Helo, I’m Cathie – a writer & horticultural support worker, as well as a lover of wildlife & nature, academia, books, fitness, and dogs… I find people and the world fascinating, which is why I have a BA(hons) in Philosophy & Psychology, and a MSc in Psychology.
Over the years I’ve realised the huge importance of mental health, after my own challenging experiences and then after years of studying, as well as our sense of belonging, and being connected to other people and the world around us. As a child, my mam taught me that it’s okay if we don’t always have money to help others – in fact, giving your time & physical energy can often be much more meaningful.
I’ve always been passionate about humanitarian work, believing that we can all make things a little better in the world for everyone. I started working with the non-profits the Tanzania Development Trust and Mboni ya Vijana, as well as some of their projects, such as Tumaini Open School, and Crowd2Map.
All of this leading to me doing something of my own, and starting Calonefin.
