www.caritas.org

We areCaritas

Caritas Internationalishas 165 memberorganisations,working with thepoor, vulnerable andexcluded, regardlessof race or religion

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Supporting agriculturein Darfur.Paul Jeffrey/Caritas

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Caritas Internationalis is a globalconfederation of 165 Catholicorganisations working in humanitarianemergencies and internationaldevelopment.

Caritas has a permanent presence in most ofthe world’s countries. Inspired by Christian faithand gospel values, we work with the poor,vulnerable and the excluded, regardless of raceor religion.

Our great strength is the diversity of ourmembership, which ranges from small groupsof volunteers to some of the world’s largesthumanitarian and development organisations.Although many of our members operate underthe Caritas brand, some are known by othernames, such as Catholic Relief Services in theUSA, CAFOD in England andWales, SecoursCatholique in France, Cordaid in theNetherlands and Trócaire in Ireland.

Through the unrivalled outreach of the CatholicChurch we are able to bring together localknowledge at the grassroots level with thecombined expertise and resources of a globalnetwork.

Between them, Caritas members have morethan a million staff and volunteers, drawn frommany different walks of life, ethnic backgroundsand religions.

Caritas Internationalis has its headquarters inRome, from where it coordinates theconfederation’s response to major humanitarianemergencies, formulates policy and advocatesfor a better world based on justice andcompassion. We also have offices in New Yorkand Geneva representing the Caritasconfederation at the United Nations andworking with other international institutions.The Caritas confederation is made up of sevenregions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and

the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa(MONA), North America, and Oceania.

Caritas participates with other faith-based,secular and United Nations organisations inefforts to improve cooperation andcoordination in emergency situations and touphold the highest international standards inour work.

We are Caritas

A safe place for girls tolearn in Afghanistan.JennyWells /Caritas Australia

Caritas strives todevelop the wholeperson, helpingpeople to realise theirfull potential

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Caritas sees the world as one unitedhuman family.We are profoundly movedby the suffering of others and have amoralduty to respond to that suffering.

We have a preferential option for the poor,marginalised and oppressed and arecommitted to combating the dehumanisingpoverty that robs people of their dignity. We areguided by Christian Scripture to work for theliberation of the oppressed and an equitablesharing of the gifts of the earth, helping themarginalised to be agents of their ownliberation and development.

Caritas maintains that life means more thansurvival. We believe that everyone has a right to

live with dignity and hope. The dignity of thehuman person is central to everything that wedo.

We work in solidarity and partnership, ensuringthe people we serve participate in themanagement and execution of our projects.Participation is an expression of human dignityand the foundation of democratic and inclusivesocieties.

For Caritas, development should be based on acomplete understanding of what the humanperson is, embracing spiritual, psychological,emotional, physical, material and economicelements. We strive to develop the wholeperson, helping people to realise their full

potential so that they can effectively use theirlocal resources to meet their own needs.

We ensure strong and consistent links betweenthe relief, rehabilitation and developmentcomponents of our work, taking a long-termview of people’s needs, vulnerabilities andlivelihoods.

The right to dignity and hope

Safe drinking water inSudan.Zanetti/Caritas Switzerland

Care for the elderly inVienna.Aleksandra Pawloff/CaritasAustria

Caritas respondsquickly withcompassion andprofessionalism

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With a permanent presence inmost of thedisaster prone regions of the world,Caritas Internationalis is able to respondswiftly when disaster strikes. Our localteams are able to call upon the entireconfederation for assistance. Bringingtogether local knowledge andinfrastructure with specialist expertise andfinancial resources, we can launch aneffective response within hours.

Caritas responds with compassion andprofessionalism, working with localcommunities to provide water, food, shelterand medical assistance in emergencysituations. Our continued presence on theground means that we are there to help people

rebuild their lives when the immediateemergency has passed. And we are able to helpthem become better prepared for futuredisasters, building stronger, more durablehomes, schools and purpose-built shelters thatprovide a safe refuge from floods and cyclones.

Caritas Internationalis has coordinatedemergency relief operations in all of the majordisasters of recent times, including the 2004Asian tsunami and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.But we also respond to many smaller crises. In atypical year we may provide assistance in asmany as 30 different emergencies.

We also run long-term programmes for manychronic humanitarian crises that do not receive

regular media attention. For instance, we workin Sudan's war-torn Darfur region and in theDemocratic Republic of Congo, providing cleanwater, schools and healthcare, as well ashelping to rebuild livelihoods and bring peaceto divided communities.

Compassion in action

School feedingprogrammes inZimbabwe.David Snyder/Caritas

Search and rescue inHaiti.Katie Orlinsky/Caritas

Caritas works topromote reconciliationand healing amongconflict-riddencommunities

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Caritas is present in the poorest countriesof our planet, but we work alongside thepoor wherever theymay be – even in theworld’s richest countries. Caritasorganisations may therefore be providinga safe environment for girls to learn inAfghanistan while helping the homeless inJapan; distributing food aid in Zimbabweand handing out clothing for theunemployed in the United States; buildingwells in Sudan and providing legalprotection for migrants in Italy.

Caritas organisations are involved in manyaspects of integral human development,providing education and healthcare, financingthe development of small businesses,supporting agricultural projects, strengtheningcivil society, improving access to clean waterand sanitation, to name but a few.

Violent conflict, however, can wipe out years ofdevelopment progress at a stroke. Caritastherefore also works to promote reconciliationand healing among conflict-riddencommunities, employing effectivepeacebuilding programmes. Based on itsextensive presence at the grassroots level, it isalso able to provide early warnings of potentialconflicts and contribute towards internationalpeace initiatives.

Believing in the principle of subsidiarity, CaritasInternationalis promotes and supports thedevelopment of local Caritas organisations,providing resources, infrastructure and trainingfor staff, as well as supporting regionalnetworks.

The confederation also provides a forum formember organisations to share learning and

best practice on the many activities theyundertake. We are committed to improving thequality of our work – what we do and how wedo it – through continual reflection, evaluationand evolution.

Transforming lives

Post war reconciliationin Uganda.Nicholson/Caritas

A fun day out forchildren in theWestBank.Amir Sabbagh/CaritasJerusalem

Earning a living in SriLanka.David Snyder/Caritas

Caritas works toprotect the rights ofmigrants forced fromtheir homes byconflict, poverty orclimate change

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The unity of the Caritas confederation andits strong roots in the poor communities ofthe world, give it an authentic andrespected voice on the world stage. CaritasInternationalis campaigns on key issuessuch as climate change, migration, foodsecurity and access to healthcare.

Caritas seeks to transform unjust systems andpromote the common good, addressing thestructural causes of poverty, whethereconomic, political or cultural. We believe thateconomic structures should put people beforeprofit; we support fairer trade, further debtcancellation and increased aid, more wiselyspent. We hold governments to account toensure that they live up to their aidcommitments and deliver them effectively.

On climate change, Caritas calls on richercountries to cut their greenhouse gas emissionsand to provide poorer countries with additional

finance to stimulate sustainable developmentand mitigate the effects of climate change.

As poverty, conflict and climate change forceever more people from their homes each year,Caritas is working to protect the rights ofmigrants and to end the trafficking of people.Caritas is particularly concerned with the plightof women, who are increasingly becomingvictims of trafficking and forced migration. Inaddition to providing help and counselling formigrants, Caritas campaigns for more legalchannels of migration and works to promotebetter integration.

More than a billion people do not get enoughfood to eat. The problem is not that we cannotproduce sufficient food, it is that too manypeople do not have access to it. As a result,almost 10 million children die every year beforetheir fifth birthday. Food security threatens tobecome an increasingly urgent issue in the

current decade and Caritas is campaigning foruniversal recognition of the 'Right to Food'. Weare calling for more aid and greater investmentin agriculture, aimed at small farms and womenproducers, who are the backbone of ruraleconomies and crucial players in ensuringhousehold food security.

Caritas also campaigns on behalf of those at riskfrom devastating pandemics such as HIV andAIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In particular,Caritas calls for greater access to ‘child friendly’antiretroviral drugs for children with HIV, manyof whom will die before their second birthday.More than 100 Caritas member organisationsare working with people affected by HIV.

Calling for a better world

Shelter for youngmothers and babiesfleeing war. Swat Valley,Pakistan.Kim Haughton/Trócaire

Bringing hope to Tongaafter a ferry disaster anda tsunami.Tara D’Sousa/Caritas AotearoaNew Zealand

Volunteers preparefood kits forearthquakesurvivors in Chile.Andreas Lexer/Caritas

Caritas sees theworld as one unitedhuman family. We areprofoundly moved bythe suffering of othersand have a moral dutyto respond to thatsuffering

We areCaritasTOWARDS A CIVILISATION OF LOVE

As a part of the Catholic Church, Caritas Internationalis reflectsthe social mission of the Church and the following core values:

Dignity: We see the poor as dignified human beings, nothopeless objects of pity, and we work with them to build abetter future for themselves.

Justice: We believe you cannot make a gift of something a personshould already have by right. We challenge economic, social,political and cultural structures opposed to a just society.

Solidarity: We work to enhance solidarity with the poor, seeingthe world through their eyes, and recognising theinterdependence of humanity.

Stewardship: We believe the planet and all its resources areentrusted to humankind and seek to act in an environmentallyresponsible way as true stewards of creation.

Palazzo San CalistoV-00120Vatican City State+39 06 698 797 99

www.caritas.org

www.caritas.org