live simply - Young adults Unearth Justice

Over one hundred young adults and youth leaders came along to the Oxo Tower gallery on the South Bank in London for an evening at the 'Pure Gold' Photographic exhibition. Chris Knowles (pictured left), a theology student from Heythrop College, reports.

The quality of the photography really added to the evening, the use of top photographers created something different, quirky and interesting - a different perspective from what you might have expected.

We listened to the first-hand experiences of CAFOD's George Gelber, who has been to some of the communities affected by the gold mines. To hear the testimony of someone who had been there added so much to the evening and made it the images on walls even more real.

One thing which struck me in the Pure Gold exhibition was the story of Luis Arteaga who was one of the first to find gold in his hometown in Honduras - yet he and his family were unjustly evicted from their home to make way for one of the new gold mines.

This is part of a wider problem in Honduras caused by the foreign mining companies who give very little back to the local communities.

Gold mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo While at the event I discovered that gold is not only present in jewellery, but even in food, water and even mobile phones!

At the event were envelopes that you could use to recycle your old mobile phone and also make money for CAFOD.

The event encouraged me to take one of these home to recycle my old phone, a great way to make money for CAFOD without costing you anything and reuse something that would otherwise go in the landfill!