Archive for April, 2009

Injured Caritas Vanni director moved to Colombo

April 28, 2009

Fr. Vasanthaseelan, sustanied serious injuries in shelling on Thursday 23rd April, in Valaignarmadam area and his left leg was amputed and needed further urgent medical treatment.

Fr. Vasanthaseelan, sustanied serious injuries in shelling on Thursday 23rd April, in Valaignarmadam area and his left leg was amputed and needed further urgent medical treatment.

His Grace the Archbishop Oswald Gomis in a letter on 27th April 2009, appealed to Hon. Gotabaya Rajapaksh, Secretary of Defence requesting to grant him to permission to the relevant authorities to transfer Rev. Fr. Vasanthaseelan from Vavuniya Hospital to Colombo General Hospital.

Fr. Vasanthaseelan, sustanied serious injuries in shelling on Thursday 23rd April, in Valaignarmadam area and his left leg was amputed and needed further urgent medical treatment.

We have received the informationl that Fr. Vasanthaseelan has been transferred today to Colombo General Hospital for further medical treatment.
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Caritas stands with the people of Sri Lanka

April 24, 2009
"Caritas will stay with the people trapped under bombardment in Vanni until the last one is safe," - A Caritas Sri Lanka Staff member. Caritas is working with the war victims in Sri Lanka

Free as a bird

April 23, 2009

After almost 40 years working in the accounts department of Caritas Internationalis, Antonietta Grando retired this month. She takes Michelle Hough on a trip down memory lane.

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Antonietta (far left) in the 1980s with CI colleagues

 

When Antonietta Grando first walked through the doors of Palazzo San Calisto, the home of Caritas Internationalis in the heart of Rome’s Trastevere district, it was November 1969. The summer of love had come and gone, the Beatles were about to split up and there were wars raging in Biafra and Vietnam.

Msgr Carlo Bayer, Caritas Internationalis secretary general from 1951-1970, used to live opposite Antonietta and had seen her returning home from college with her accounting books under her arm.

“He asked me to come in for an interview because he was looking for an accountant. I was a bit embarrassed because I didn’t want to work with priests,” laughs Antonietta.

Despite her initial impressions, Antonietta discovered that Msgr Bayer, CI’s founding secretary general, was anything but just a priest. (more…)

Fear reaching terrifying proportions in Sri Lanka

April 23, 2009

Representatives of four non-governmental organizations yesterday called on the United Nations to speak out on the situation in northern Sri Lanka and urged the Security Council to take up the matter under the concept of “responsibility to protect”.

Speaking at a Headquarters press conference where they discussed the situation in and around the “no-fire zone” in northern Sri Lanka -– where Government forces are poised to overrun positions held by rebel fighters of the Liberation of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -– were Joseph Cornelius Donnelly of Caritas Internationalis; Anna Neistat of Human Rights Watch; Robert Templer of the International Crisis Group; and Nimmi Gowrinathan of Operation USA. James Traub of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect was available to answer questions. The press conference was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations.
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Cyclone in Bangladesh causes no major damage

April 20, 2009

Yesterday (17-04-09) at 19:30 hours (local time) cyclone Bijli started crossing Cox’s Bazar – Chittagong coast of Bangladesh and completed by 24:00 hours. In its pathway it became weakened gradually. Cox’sBazar – Chittagong coastal areas experienced wind speed of 100 kph with heavy rain. The storm triggered high waves (tidal surge) from the Bay of Bengal, which reached up to three meters above the normal tide. Heavy rain and gusts swept Cox’s Bazar town. The storm also swept over several offshore islands.

Thousands of thatched houses and hectares of Boro (local variety of paddy) cropland were damaged. A lot of trees were uprooted in the coastal Upazilas and Islands of Kutubdia, Moheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Pekua and Chakaria. In Pekua Upazila of Cox’s Bazar district, a boy (9) was killed and his sister (12) injured when a tree fell on them.

The cyclonic storm Bijli was less strong than the Sidr that hit 15 November 2007. Our Regional Offices are now conducting rapid assessment on the situation. Based on the findings of the rapid assessments Caritas will decide for the circulation of Emergency Appeal.

Bangladesh braces for Cyclone Bijli

April 17, 2009

bangladesh01b_161730sairSituation Report ON THE TROPICAL STORM ‘Bijli’
Dated: 17/04/2009
Time: 12:00 pm

A cyclonic storm ‘Bijli’ formed over the west-central and adjoining east-central Bay and moving north east, packing a wind speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour. The latest special bulletin of the Meteorology Department Office said it was centered about 525 km southwest of Chittagong Port, 485 km southwest of Cox’s Bazar and 360 km south/southwest of Mongla Port at 11:00 am.
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Happy Birthday Pope Benedict

April 16, 2009
Caritas, its staff and volunteers wish Pope Benedict a Happy Birthday

Caritas, its staff and volunteers wish Pope Benedict a Happy Birthday

Easter after the earthquake

April 13, 2009

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Many churches were damaged in L’Aquila’s earthquake. Masses were celebrated either in tents or in the open air on Easter day. Copyright: Caritas/Michelle Hough

By Michelle Hough, Caritas Internationalis

The church of Saint Francis of Assisi in the neighbourhood of Pettino was filled with boxes rather than parishioners this Easter Sunday. Meanwhile, the local bishop was living in a tent in his sister’s garden. Elsewhere a priest celebrated mass behind an improvised altar perched atop an army truck in the car park of a shopping centre.

Welcome to Easter in L’Aquila in Italy, where just one week ago a massive earthquake left almost 300 people dead and tens of thousands of people homeless.
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“The beginning of a long Calvary”

April 7, 2009
A man walks on debris as he looks for his relatives after an earthquake in L'Aquila

A man walks on debris as he looks for his relatives after an earthquake, in downtown Aquila April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck a huge swathe of central Italy as residents slept on Monday morning, killing at least 16 people when houses, churches and other buildings collapsed, officials said. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

By Don Andrea La Regina – Caritas Italiana Driving up to L’Aquila, we saw towns that had been flattened. This earthquake has brought people to their knees. There was another strong tremor this morning and people are filled with anxiety as they don’t know what’s going to happen or who to turn to.

I’m up here with Fr Vittorio Nozza, Secretary General of Caritas Italiana, and some other colleagues. We’ve been talking to the bishop of the area and representatives of the local Caritas about what our plan of action will be.
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G20: A view from Caritas Zambia

April 2, 2009

By Milimo Mwiba, Caritas Zambia

I have unexpectedly been thrusted into the spotlight. I am the closest my country, Zambia, came to sitting at the G20 table. Okay, I might not have been able to adorn myself with the necessary passes to enter the Fort Knox Excel Centre on Thursday, where the world’s leaders met. But I did represent Zambia, and indeed the voices of billions of other Africans, at last weekend’s ‘Put People First’ march, and at the St Paul’s Cathedral debate with Gordon Brown and the Australian PM, Kevin Rudd.
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