Caritas Pakistan

Last updated
Caritas Pakistan
Established1965
Type Nonprofit
Headquarters23/3 Race Course Road
Location
Coordinates 31°32′42″N74°19′46″E / 31.54511°N 74.32942°E / 31.54511; 74.32942
Origins Catholic Social Teaching
Region served
Pakistan
Fields social work, development aid, humanitarian aid
Affiliations Caritas Asia, Caritas Internationalis
Website caritas.org.pk

Caritas Pakistan opened in 1965 and has many years of humanitarian assistance history in Pakistan. It is affiliated with Caritas Internationalis, a Roman Catholic humanitarian organisation and one of the largest networks dedicated to reducing poverty and injustice in the world. [1]

Contents

Asian tsunami

The organisation's work sometimes extends beyond national boundaries. On January 12, 2005, four doctors from Caritas Lahore left for Sri Lanka to assist survivors of the Asian tsunami. The doctors took medicines and US$8,448, which they handed over to Caritas Sri Lanka. The doctors planned to stay in Sri Lanka for two weeks. [2]

2005 earthquake

In 2005 Catholic school children in Pakistan showed great solidarity with earthquake victims in Kashmir. In Lahore pupils in Franciscan Schools organised school bazaars to collect funds for Kashmir. They collected 3,000 bottles of mineral water which Caritas distributed to people in affected areas. Christian school pupils provided Caritas with food, medicine and also funds for schooling since most schools collapsed in the quake. Catholic school teachers have contributed to the solidarity efforts giving one day's wage to the fund for earthquake victims. Many of the volunteers involved in assisting people in areas affected by the October 8 quake are Catholics operating with Caritas and other Christian humanitarian agencies. [3]

A Caritas Pakistan team arrived the village of Balakot to assist patients at the Leprosy Centre completely destroyed in the earthquake. The team, brought food as well as medicines to patients entirely without access to nurses and doctors. Caritas provided medical assistance, calling in medical and nursing personnel from other parts of Pakistan and even from India. They put up a field hospital in North West Frontier Province and asked local people to lend a room for patient care. A Caritas team in Battagram village supplied medical equipment and medicine, walking 24 km on foot along mountain paths. Caritas personnel work with the Pakistan Army which provided logistical help and transport. [4]

Caritas Pakistan continue to help earthquake-affected people by providing temporary shelters and warm clothes, but also focused their efforts on longer-term health and livelihood work, including the running of mobile health clinics, the rebuilding of three basic health units, kitchen garden training and seed and fertiliser distributions. [5]

2010 floods

In August 2010 the heaviest rains in 80 years caused the worst flooding the country has ever seen. Caritas will provide much-needed relief to 2,500 families in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi and Multan dioceses as well Quetta vicariate. [6]

Milestone

In September 2015, hundreds of Pakistani Catholics gathered for a Mass of thanksgiving in Lahore, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Caritas Pakistan. Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, who is also chairman of Caritas Pakistan, was the principal celebrant. Concelebrants included Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw of Lahore, Bishop Rufin Anthony of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Bishop Joseph Arshad of Faisalabad, Bishop Benny Travas of Multan, and a number of priests. [7]

Other work

Caritas in Pakistan in 2007 opened the Multan Padre Pio Medical Centre to provide basic medical care to the underprivileged. The inauguration was performed by the Catholic Bishop of Multan, Bishop Andrew Francis. The centre will be open six days a week with male and female doctors on duty on alternate days. [8]

On April 22, 2016, Archbishop Joseph Coutts launched the Caritas campaign ‘Trees for the Earth’ at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi. In this campaign Caritas will plant 5,000 trees in church areas and other parts of the city to protect the environment. [9]

In Karachi Caritas started the Livelihood program, an entrepreneurship project with the slogan "Empower Women, Empower Pakistan". Between November 2017 until February 2018 they trained 240 women and young girls in candle making, handicrafts, jewellery making, block printing, screen printing, foil work, cutting and stitching, dress design and fashion design. [10]

Related Research Articles

The Daughters of St. Paul, also known as the Media Nuns, are an international Catholic religious congregation of consecrated women founded in 1915 in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Pakistan

The Archdiocese of Karachi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Pakistan. It was erected on 20 May 1948 under as a then-suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Bombay.

The Christ the King Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Karachi, Pakistan; located in adjacent to the Portiuncula Friary. In its early years most of the faculty were provided by the Franciscans. It has been described as "the pioneering theological institution for the Catholic Church in Pakistan."

Lawrence John Saldanha is an Indian-born retired Pakistani archbishop. Born in Mangalore, India, he received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi and was ordained a priest in Lahore, Pakistan on 16 January 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Pakistan

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lahore is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in Punjab province, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Coutts</span> Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church

Joseph Coutts is a Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Karachi from 2012 to 2021. He served as Bishop of Faisalabad from 1998 to 2012.

Andrew Francis was the Pakistani Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Multan from 2000 to 2014.

Father Victor Gnanapragasam O.M.I. was the first prefect of the Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.

The Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad in Pakistan</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Pakistan

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.

<i>Catholic Naqib</i>

The Catholic Naqib is the oldest Urdu-language Catholic magazine, founded in Lahore, Pakistan in 1929 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore. It was originally published by Lahore Press and, since 1997, by Naqib Printing Press. Naqib is an Arabic name that means "herald" or "proclaimer".

St Paul's Parish, Mehmoodabad Gate is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi. The parish is also home to a Catholic school and a home for young orphan girls run by the religious order of the Daughters of the Cross.

The Catholic Board of Education is the arm of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan responsible for education. Each diocese has its own board. Collectively the Catholic Church runs 534 schools, 8 colleges, and 7 technical institutes in its 2 archdioceses, 4 dioceses, and one Apostolic Prefecture.

The Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (PCBC) serves as the assembly of catholic bishops in Pakistan. Its primary objectives are to facilitate coordinated discussions on issues affecting the Church and to formulate common policies and actions that support the Church's mission in the country.

Benny Mario Travas is a Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church and Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan. He served as Bishop of Multan from 2015 to 2021.

Samson Shukardin is the bishop of the Diocese of Hyderabad, Pakistan.

Father Khalid Rehmat OFMCap in Mianwali in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, is the Apostolic Vicar of the Apostolic Vicariate of Quetta in Pakistan.

References

  1. ↑ "Caritas Internationalis". 29 March 2008. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Tsunami Survivors Want Boats, Not Bread". UCANews.com website. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "ASIA/PAKISTAN-Catholic school pupils help earthquake victims". agenzia fides website. 2 May 2010. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Caritas warns of serious medical emergency in the earthquake affected area of Kashmir". CAFOD.org website. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "ASIA/PAKISTAN - Caritas warning: "This is a very serious medical emergency". Caritas volunteers help patients at devastated Leprosy Centre in the earthquake affected area of Kashmir". agenzia fides website. 26 October 2005. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Eric Dayal (4 August 2010). "Caritas Pakistan ready to help flood victims (Food, tents and medical aid to be provided soon)". UCANews website. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  7. ↑ Caritas Pakistan marks 50 years of service in South Asia Catholic News Agency website, Published 15 October 2015, Retrieved 9 May 2021
  8. ↑ "Caritas opens new Multan Padre Pio Medical Centre". agenzia fides website. 3 May 2010. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  9. ↑ (Ayyaz Gulzar) Caritas Pakistan plants trees in Karachi to beat extreme heat UCANews Published 27 April 2016, Retrieved 9 May 2021
  10. ↑ Caritas helps Pakistani women find work UCANews website, Published 21 March 2018, Retrieved 9 May 2021

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.