February 22, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Caritas water and sanitation advisers testing water bladders in Nambanam Camp, in Port-au-Prince, where 250 families live. Credit: CARITAS/Mathilde Magnier
Available also in French
By Mathilde Magnier, Caritas Communications Officer, Port-au-Prince
One month after the dramatic earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, the coming rainy season presents another major challenge to Caritas and other aid agencies.
The quake killed 217 000 people and left over one million Haitians without shelter. With most quake’s survivors living in overcrowded temporary settlements, crammed into wooden huts made of bed sheets and plastic bags, shelter and sanitation continue to be issues of concern.
The rainy season could start as early as end of February. It is threatening to cause landslides and bring about health problems in the makeshift camps where more than 500,000 people are living. Rain is already falling and afternoon showers are more and more frequent in Port-au-Prince.
“The rainy season is our biggest concern at the moment. It will affect people’s well being and security,” said Isaac Boyd, CRS shelter adviser (CRS is a Caritas member from the USA).
“As well as landslides and deteriorating sanitary conditions, it will cause a lot of misery. Many people worry about the fact they haven t received enough tangible shelters support so far, this is why we will give out as much plastic sheeting as possible in the coming days,” he said.
To date, the Caritas combined response has distributed nearly 11,000 emergency shelter kits and over 5000 tents to Port-au-Prince, Jacmel et Léogâne.
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Posted in Emergencies, Français, Haiti quake | Leave a Comment »
February 18, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Bishop Lobo died wednesday. He is remembered for the leadership he gave to Caritas in Asia.
The Caritas family mourned the death of retired Bishop Ignatius Lobo, former Director General of Caritas India.
Most Rev. Lobo died at Lourdes Hospital in Dharwad on Wednesday morning. He was 89. His funeral is Friday.
Bishop Lobo served as the Director General of Caritas India for 15 years from 1974. He was a member of an Executive Council of Caritas Internationalis and was Caritas Asia President.
Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Lesley-Anne Knight sends condolences to the Diocese of Belgam, where he served as Bishop, to Caritas India, and to his family.
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February 18, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
From left to right: Bishop Pierre Dumas, president of Caritas Haiti; Fr Pierre Chadic, director of Caritas Haiti; Bill Canny - Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Jacques Duffaut - Secours Catholique, Sean Callaghan - CRS
Speech by Fr Serge B Chadic, Director General of Caritas Haiti
Available in French and Spanish
Rome, 17 February 2010
Brothers and sisters, distinguished participants at this meeting,
Being called upon to address such a distinguished gathering makes me feel humble, and it is with humility that I wish to speak on behalf of Caritas Haiti, CRS, and the other Caritas organisations who are collaborating with us on the emergency plan at the National Office in Haiti. However, I feel highly honoured to do so. It is improper to dwell on other people’s suffering. The only appropriate response is resourceful charity to alleviate suffering and destitution, whilst respecting human dignity and evangelical principles. Haiti has shown such generosity and solidarity in the recent disaster that people don’t know whether to cry or admire this nation for its courage. Haiti has shown that it is trustworthy. Before the deployment of urgently needed international aid, rescue teams, experts and funds come Haiti and its people. I bring you the greetings, friendship, courage and generosity of the rest of the population of Haiti who survived the earthquake of 12 January 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
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February 15, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/Catholic Relief Services
Available in
French
By Mathilde Magnier, Caritas Communications Officer in Port-au-Prince
A month after the earthquake that devastated the country, Haitians remembered their dead with three days of mourning and fasting.
From dust till dawn in Port-au-Prince, the loudspeakers blasted gospel, sermons and prayers in a strange atmosphere of joy, despair and reverence. In this deeply religious country, Catholics, Protestants and followers of voodoo join in the same celebrations, their arms raised to the heavens.
In the shattered capital, the main places of worship have been destroyed, forcing people to organize ceremonies in the city’s waste grounds, schoolyards or temporary shelter camps such as Petionville Club or the Champ de Mars. In the streets solemn mourning processions follow groups of people openly grieving. Women are dressed in white, children wear their best clothes and men have tied black armbands of mourning around their arms. Those who can walk help the injured in their wheelchairs and support those hobbling on crutches. Some sing and dance while others are prostrate. The crowd is so dense it is difficult to know who believes in what and who prays to who.
“These are difficult days. As Haitians we have to mourn our dead together “, explains Lérénie. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Emergencies, Haiti quake | 1 Comment »
February 15, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Pope Benedict XVI arriving at the Caritas hostel in Rome. Credit: Caritas/Michelle Hough
Available in French and Spanish
By Michelle Hough, Caritas Internationalis
It’s 8.30am on Valentine’s Day, I’m at Rome’s Termini Station and I’m waiting for the Pope. Working for Caritas is never boring and can sometimes be quite surreal.
This year is European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. Caritas Europa has launched a big campaign called “Zero Poverty”. Bishops around Italy and the whole of Europe are visiting social services projects in their dioceses today to show solidarity with the poor. Pope Benedict, as Bishop of Rome, has come to the Caritas hostel at Termini Station.
I’m in a press enclosure with other Caritas colleagues and journalists and the Pope will come by on the raised walkway any minute. I’m almost 6 feet tall in my heels but we’re far too low to get a good view. I feel a bit like Zacchaeus, the diminutive tax collector out of the bible, he climbed up a tree to get a better view when Jesus walked by. I think about heaving myself up onto the railings so I can get a good photo for the Caritas website, but I might just end up being told off by the Pope’s bodyguards.
Even though it’s purely coincidental that Pope Benedict is visiting the hostel on Valentine’s Day (today is also Saints Cyril and Methodius’ Day for the Church), you could say that love is the theme of the Pope’s visit.
“For Rome, the Caritas hostel is a place where love is not just a word or a feeling, but something concrete, that allows the light of God to enter the lives of the whole community,” says the Pope after he arrives at the hostel. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Pope Benedict, Poverty, Rome
Posted in Caritas news, Economic Justice | 1 Comment »
February 12, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Available in French
Caritas expresses its best regards and wishes to Fr Louis Samaha, retiring from his position as president of Caritas Lebanon.
Lesley-Anne Knight, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, described Fr Samaha as “a great servant to the poor for many years”.
Fr Samaha led the Caritas relief operations during the Israel-Lebanon 2006 conflict, providing aid to many of the people affected. Read the rest of this entry »
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February 12, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Available in French and Spanish
“The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ” (cf. Rm 3, 21-22)
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Each year, on the occasion of Lent, the Church invites us to a sincere review of our life in light of the teachings of the Gospel. This year, I would like to offer you some reflections on the great theme of justice, beginning from the Pauline affirmation: “The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ” (cf. Rm 3, 21-22).
Justice: “dare cuique suum”
First of all, I want to consider the meaning of the term “justice,” which in common usage implies “to render to every man his due,” according to the famous expression of Ulpian, a Roman jurist of the third century. In reality, however, this classical definition does not specify what “due” is to be rendered to each person. What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law. In order to live life to the full, something more intimate is necessary that can be granted only as a gift: we could say that man lives by that love which only God can communicate since He created the human person in His image and likeness. Material goods are certainly useful and required – indeed Jesus Himself was concerned to heal the sick, feed the crowds that followed Him and surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine – yet “distributive” justice does not render to the human being the totality of his “due.” Just as man needs bread, so does man have even more need of God. Saint Augustine notes: if “justice is that virtue which gives every one his due … where, then, is the justice of man, when he deserts the true God?” (De civitate Dei, XIX, 21). Read the rest of this entry »
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February 12, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Caritas Internationalis car park in Rome, 12th February 2010. Caritas/Michelle Hough
Caritas staff start to wonder how they’re going to get home.
Tags: snow
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February 11, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
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February 11, 2010 by caritasinternationalis
Diego Jean (12) who lives in the Lakoun centre for street children in Port-au-Prince. He doesn't know if his parents survived the quake and is too frightened to find out. Credit: Conor O'Loughlin/CARITAS
By Conor O’Loughlin, Communications Officer, Trócaire (Caritas Ireland), in Port-au-Prince
Haiti is not an easy place to be a child. It has the highest rates of infant, under-five and maternal mortality in the Western Hemisphere. Diarrhea, respiratory infections, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are the leading causes of death. Thousands of the country’s schools were ruined in the earthquake of January 12, and even before the earthquake only half of children attended primary school. Less than one in fifty finish secondary school.
As many as 2,000 children are trafficked to the Dominican Republic every year. Sometimes their parents cannot afford to look after them. Sometimes they are trafficked by force. Many end up working in the sex trade for western tourists and others end up in domestic service for little or no wages.
Often, those who stay fare little better.
Diego Jean is a little man of twelve. Read the rest of this entry »
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