Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese REPORT
7 Feb 2013
The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell will celebrate Mass at noon on Ash Wednesday at St Mary's Cathedral when he will also officially launch Project Compassion, Caritas Australia's annual Lenten Campaign.
The Mass to launch the campaign will be concelebrated by Father George Dhanasegaran Sigamoney, National Director of Caritas Sri Lanka.
Each Lent for the past 49 years schools, community groups, parishes, universities, local organisations and individuals across Australia have sponsored projects to raise money for Caritas and its Project Compassion Campaign which helps support and bring hope to men, women and children struggling to survive in some of the world's poorest communities.
Cardinal Pell has a long association with Caritas, the aid and development arm of the Catholic Church. During the late 1980s until the mid 1990s, His Eminence was Chairman of Caritas Australia overseeing the agency's important development work to improve agriculture, sustainability, health and hygiene, education and access to clean fresh water, all of which play major roles in helping to lift communities out of poverty and providing them with a better future for themselves and their children.
Caritas currently has development teams working on the ground in more than 220 countries around the world. In addition to its development role, Caritas is instrumental in providing emergency relief with its specially-trained teams when natural disasters strike such as Haiti's devastating earthquake in January two years ago and last year's floods and landslides that killed hundreds and left many homeless in the Philippines.
Today Caritas with its emergency relief teams is on the ground giving aid to victims of yesterday's powerful 8.0 earthquake in the Pacific which triggered a tsunami and caused massive damage in the Solomon Islands where at least five lives have been lost.
Funds raised by Caritas Australia's Project Compassion Campaign this year will be put towards support for communities in Bolivia, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Cambodia as well as giving help and support to Indigenous communities here in Australia.
The amount raised during last year's Project Compassion Campaign broke all records and raised more than $10 million to help Caritas and its work with the world's poor.
"Times have been tough and uncertain for many Australians in the past few years, yet our parishes, our schools and Church communities managed to find a way to support the poorest of the poor," said Jack de Groot, CEO of Caritas Australia announcing the record amount raised during Lent last year. "Despite great financial uncertainty with charities around the country struggling, the Catholic community of Australia has taken a true stand in solidarity with the world's poor."
Economic times in Australia continue to be tough for many families and individuals. But unlike many charitable fundraising campaigns, Project Compassion is very much a grass roots effort in which communities, groups, parishes, schools, organisations and individuals participate not only to trigger donations so Caritas' important work can continue, but to also help raise awareness of the world's poorest communities and the difference amounts as small as just $5 or $10 can make.
Five dollars can buy a chicken for the Matuba Children's Centre in Mozambique which can be raised and sold for food, medical supplies and uniforms for the children. Ten dollars can provide a water filter to help reduce waterborne diseases and ensure water is safe at villages in Cambodia. Fifty dollars goes even further and can buy a bicycle to enable a young person in Cambodia to travel to school or to a job which will help support his or her family.
Although technically this is the 47th year of Project Compassion, it is in fact the 49th year since Caritas or as it was originally known in Australia, the Catholic Overseas Relief Committee (CORC). Founded in 1964 the same year, the Archdiocese of Sydney, the Diocese of Wagga Wagga and the Archdiocese of Adelaide launched their first Lenten fundraising campaign to help the poor and in need overseas.
The following year the Lenten fundraiser became a national event with all dioceses across Australia participating. This soon became known as Project Compassion and continued with this name in 1966 when CORC became known as Caritas Australia.
Just as in those early days, fund raising for Project Compassion is a big feature of schools with many of Sydney's Catholic primary schools already planning pancake day fund raisers on Shrove Tuesday next week. Parents and communities as well as children are pitching in to make pancakes or pikelets for sale on Shrove Tuesday with all monies going towards Caritas.
Fish Friday is another initiative embraced by community groups, organisations and schools as part of their efforts to raise funds for Project Compassion. The fundraisers are held on Fridays around a simple fish meal served with rice. Such meals are the staple of many of the world's poorest communities and for most is their only meal of the day. Donations are raised by people paying a small sum for these meals with many adding the difference of the cost of their normal big Aussie lunch against this simple fare.
For more than four years Fish Friday has been held on the first Friday after Ash Wednesday in Martin Place where celebrity chefs have served delicious but basic fish and rice lunches for Sydney's business community and passersby. But this year it has been decided to spread the idea much further and Fish Fridays will now be held across Australia by participating schools, universities, community groups and parishes each Friday throughout Lent.
To find out other great ways to involve friends and communities to pitch in and raise funds for the world's poor during Lent log on to www.caritas.org.au and click on Project Compassion.
The Mass at St Mary's Cathedral to launch Caritas' Lenten Campaign this year is open to all and begins at noon on Ash Wednesday, 13 February.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
7 Feb 2013
Former chairman of Caritas Australia, Cardinal Pell launches Project Compassion
The Mass to launch the campaign will be concelebrated by Father George Dhanasegaran Sigamoney, National Director of Caritas Sri Lanka.
Each Lent for the past 49 years schools, community groups, parishes, universities, local organisations and individuals across Australia have sponsored projects to raise money for Caritas and its Project Compassion Campaign which helps support and bring hope to men, women and children struggling to survive in some of the world's poorest communities.
Cardinal Pell has a long association with Caritas, the aid and development arm of the Catholic Church. During the late 1980s until the mid 1990s, His Eminence was Chairman of Caritas Australia overseeing the agency's important development work to improve agriculture, sustainability, health and hygiene, education and access to clean fresh water, all of which play major roles in helping to lift communities out of poverty and providing them with a better future for themselves and their children.
Fish Friday 2012 raised more than $3000 for Project Compassion
Today Caritas with its emergency relief teams is on the ground giving aid to victims of yesterday's powerful 8.0 earthquake in the Pacific which triggered a tsunami and caused massive damage in the Solomon Islands where at least five lives have been lost.
Funds raised by Caritas Australia's Project Compassion Campaign this year will be put towards support for communities in Bolivia, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Cambodia as well as giving help and support to Indigenous communities here in Australia.
The amount raised during last year's Project Compassion Campaign broke all records and raised more than $10 million to help Caritas and its work with the world's poor.
Caritas emergency relief teams help famine starved children of West Africa
Economic times in Australia continue to be tough for many families and individuals. But unlike many charitable fundraising campaigns, Project Compassion is very much a grass roots effort in which communities, groups, parishes, schools, organisations and individuals participate not only to trigger donations so Caritas' important work can continue, but to also help raise awareness of the world's poorest communities and the difference amounts as small as just $5 or $10 can make.
Five dollars can buy a chicken for the Matuba Children's Centre in Mozambique which can be raised and sold for food, medical supplies and uniforms for the children. Ten dollars can provide a water filter to help reduce waterborne diseases and ensure water is safe at villages in Cambodia. Fifty dollars goes even further and can buy a bicycle to enable a young person in Cambodia to travel to school or to a job which will help support his or her family.
Although technically this is the 47th year of Project Compassion, it is in fact the 49th year since Caritas or as it was originally known in Australia, the Catholic Overseas Relief Committee (CORC). Founded in 1964 the same year, the Archdiocese of Sydney, the Diocese of Wagga Wagga and the Archdiocese of Adelaide launched their first Lenten fundraising campaign to help the poor and in need overseas.
The following year the Lenten fundraiser became a national event with all dioceses across Australia participating. This soon became known as Project Compassion and continued with this name in 1966 when CORC became known as Caritas Australia.
An impoverished Bolivian village where Caritas is making a difference
Fish Friday is another initiative embraced by community groups, organisations and schools as part of their efforts to raise funds for Project Compassion. The fundraisers are held on Fridays around a simple fish meal served with rice. Such meals are the staple of many of the world's poorest communities and for most is their only meal of the day. Donations are raised by people paying a small sum for these meals with many adding the difference of the cost of their normal big Aussie lunch against this simple fare.
For more than four years Fish Friday has been held on the first Friday after Ash Wednesday in Martin Place where celebrity chefs have served delicious but basic fish and rice lunches for Sydney's business community and passersby. But this year it has been decided to spread the idea much further and Fish Fridays will now be held across Australia by participating schools, universities, community groups and parishes each Friday throughout Lent.
To find out other great ways to involve friends and communities to pitch in and raise funds for the world's poor during Lent log on to www.caritas.org.au and click on Project Compassion.
The Mass at St Mary's Cathedral to launch Caritas' Lenten Campaign this year is open to all and begins at noon on Ash Wednesday, 13 February.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
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