CaritasNews Spring 2015 by Caritas Australia

CARITASNEWS #142 | SPRING 2015

OUR COMMON HOME

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Caring for creation together

> Beyond the winds of change: Bangladesh

1800 024 413

> A climate of resilience: Philippines

www.caritas.org.au

> Caritas community: Compassion in action

The Catholic agency for international aid and development

FROM THE CEO

“ All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”

Spring is a time of renewal, of hope and new growth in every culture. But for many communities, especially for the majority of the world’s population working in agriculture, the change of climate patterns has led to great unpredictability.

- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 14

In 2005, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said that “rapid climate change as the result of human activity is now recognised by the global scientific community as a reality … People around the world are experiencing the impacts of increasing land temperatures, rising sea levels, and a change in the frequency of extreme climatic events”. In June this year Pope Francis made climate change and its linkage to poverty the main theme of his Encyclical, titled Laudato Si’ (“Praise Be to You”). He asked us all to “hear both the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth” (paragraph 49) and to address their needs in a sustainable environment. I have heard directly from the leaders of our overseas partner agencies about the dire consequences of an unpredictable climate for their communities, and our programs staff have also heard about the lived experiences of the people we serve. Farming and fishing communities have lost their confidence in the predictable move of the seasons. Our partners also make it clear that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events has increased in many countries, and is now impacting adversely on the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people. Some leaders of our partner agencies in Asia and the Pacific Islands also asked us to make sure that Australian policy makers are aware of this concern. As part of our response, Caritas Australia co-hosted a panel discussion at Parliament House in Canberra on 17 August in partnership with Catholic Earthcare and the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, attended by a range of politicians and their teams. We are also producing school and community resources that will raise awareness and inspire action for climate justice. This issue of CaritasNews celebrates the fantastic, ongoing support which you have provided to make our work possible. We include stories of programs that focus on caring for our world, so that people may live in dignity and so that future generations will inherit a healthy planet. At this historic time of ecological change, Pope Francis has urged all citizens of the world to recognise our responsibility as members of one human family. As part of the global Caritas confederation, we aim to act in solidarity with the poor and marginalised and care well for ‘our common home’ (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 3). Regards

THANK YOU for being part of the Caritas family and offering your support in so many ways for the most vulnerable members of our human family. We celebrate you, our supporters, volunteers, clergy, educators, event participants and staff, for your inspiring part in caring for this Earth, our common home. You have shown solidarity with the people affected by Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu and the devastating earthquakes in Nepal. Your heartfelt contributions have offered thousands of women, children and men shelter, water and hope at a critical time in their lives. You have reached out through Project Compassion with record-breaking generosity. This year your fundraising efforts and donations totalled $11.57 million – the highest amount ever raised. Thank you.

CONTENTS 03 CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME 04 BEYOND THE WINDS OF CHANGE: BANGLADESH 05 TURNING THE TIDES: FIJI 06 A CLIMATE OF RESILIENCE: PHILIPPINES 07 OUR LAND, OUR LIVELIHOOD: KENYA 08 CARING FOR COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA 09 LEARNING TO CONSERVE: TIMOR-LESTE 10 CARITAS COMMUNITY: COMPASSION IN ACTION 11 CONTRIBUTING TO OUR COMMON FUTURE

Paul O’Callaghan, CEO

FOR THE LATEST NEWS, EVENTS AND UPDATES HEAD TO: Caritas Australia, 24-32 O’Riordan St, Alexandria NSW 2015 1800 024 413 (toll free) 9am – 5pm AEST Monday – Friday caritas@caritas.org.au Caritas Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians, past and present, of the land on which all our offices are located.

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Cover: Tahmina’s village in Bangladesh was destroyed by Cyclone Aila in 2009. Caritas Australia has been supporting affected communities through a program to reduce vulnerability to climate change. See page 4. Photo: Richard Wainwright All photos Caritas Australia unless otherwise stated. Caritas Australia is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).

Caritas Australia is fully accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Please note: some of the programs featured in this issue of CaritasNews are funded by Caritas Australia and the Australian Government.

OUR COMMON HOME

CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME

“ Creation is a gift, it is a present, it is a marvellous gift given to us by God so that we might care for it and use it, always gratefully and always respectfully, for the benefit of everyone.” - Pope Francis, Address to Participants in the World meeting of Popular Movements, 28 October 2014

A great gift brings great responsibility. We must respect, care for and share all gifts God has given us, including the environment. Now more than ever we are called to care for creation. Increasingly, our environment is being endangered by human activity. The communities we walk with are located in some of the world’s regions most threatened by the destructive effects of climate change. They have told us of the increasing ferocity of cyclones and other extreme weatherrelated events, of rising sea levels, of the increasing unpredictability of farming seasons and therefore of food security, of water supplies being contaminated with salinity, and of the negative impacts on community health and wellbeing. These vulnerable communities are responding with resourcefulness and courage. They have identified their greatest challenges, and are partnering with local organisations to find sustainable solutions to climate challenges, and protect the environment better. As these stories show, if we care for our common home together we can empower communities to manage their lands sustainably in the face of climate change: • Beyond the winds of change — sustainable land management in cyclone-prone Bangladesh (page 4) • Turning the tides — reducing the effects of rising sea levels in Fiji (page 5) • A climate of resilience — renewal in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan (page 6)

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 21 SEPTEMBER — INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE 25–27 SEPTEMBER — UN SUMMIT TO ADOPT THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 4 OCTOBER — ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI DAY (COMMEMORATES THE LIFE OF THE PATRON SAINT OF ANIMALS AND THE ENVIRONMENT) 12–18 OCTOBER — ANTI-POVERTY WEEK 28–29 NOVEMBER – GLOBAL MARCHES FOR CLIMATE 30 NOVEMBER–11 DECEMBER – UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE (COP21), PARIS, TO REACH A NEW POST-2020 GLOBAL AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE ACTION

• Our land, our livelihood — sustainable farming in drought-ridden Kenya (page 7) As communities care for creation they strengthen their traditions and cultures; see: • Caring for country — sustainable land development for Aboriginal communities (page 8) Educating all generations about caring for the environment can lead to a more sustainable future: • Learning to conserve — an environmental education program in Timor-Leste (page 9)

ACT

strong climate action in > Support Australia through ‘Caritas Hearts 4

Climate’. Make a personal commitment to our common home, and send the PM a ‘love letter for climate justice’. See www.caritas.org.au/hearts4climate

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ASIA: BANGLADESH

In his own words, Gosto Gopal used to be “a poor and landless farmer”, living on the bank of Bangladesh’s Malancha River. This is a highly fertile, densely populated region, and its people, mostly farmers, rely heavily on the land for both food and livelihood.

But this environment is one of the most vulnerable in the world to climate change. Bangladesh is experiencing rising sea levels, extreme river flooding, more intense tropical cyclones and very high temperatures. Salinity intrusion is killing off fertile land. Extreme weather events affect food security, food prices and nutrition. For Gosto and his wife, there was work for only three months each year, during the rice and shrimp cultivation period. There was not enough money for food and for their children’s education. In 2008, Gosto learnt that a Caritas Bangladesh program, supported by Caritas Australia, was assisting farmers in south-west Bangladesh. This program had sprung from local farmers’

BEYOND THE WINDS OF CHANGE

recognition that natural disasters were increasingly eroding their landscape, and new farming practices were needed to withstand further damage. Like other local farmers, Gosto seized the opportunity to be trained in sustainable farming practices that would increase his independence and offer his family a more secure future. In the program, farmers were trained to implement workable new systems for fish farming, seed germination and vegetable cultivation. Gosto learnt adaptive technologies, such as natural pesticides, drip irrigation and saline-tolerant rice and fish cultivation. After receiving a grant he leased land, and began fish farming using his newly acquired skills.

“Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry. ” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 25

Only a few months later the devastating Cyclone Aila tore through the coastal belt of Bangladesh, claiming 210 lives and flattening homes.

“Our land flooded with sea water, contaminating all our fresh water supplies,” Gosto said. “We were lucky to escape with our lives. My rice and vegetable gardens stopped producing, and with no fresh water I had to sell all my livestock.” With support from Caritas Australia, the community excavated a canal to provide renewable fresh water supplies. Homes were rebuilt and roads were repaired, with funding from several organisations. Now Gosto could apply the sustainable practices he learnt in the training program. “We use raised vegetable beds and cultivate saline-tolerant rice. And we use the canal for water. I can now cultivate year-round vegetables and fish. It has ensured my family’s food security.” As Gosto’s confidence increases in his ability to farm sustainably, he is passing on his knowledge to the farmers in his community.

LEARN Watch a video at www.caritas.org.au/sweetwater to learn how Bangladesh’s most vulnerable people are responding to climate change. 4 | CaritasNews

“I first started compost preparation in 2011. Now about 270 families are preparing and using compost fertiliser, and vermicomposting. I have established a seed bank, and distributed seed to poor farmers.” His village’s local government representative, Ms Nurjahan Begum, said, “The community people are now getting encouragement and motivation on organic farming, climate resilience agricultural production and climate adaptive technology from Gosto Gopal.”

PACIFIC: FIJI

TURNING THE TIDES

Nukui community sits on the edge of the Rewa Delta, a vast sprawling area of waterways that empty out into the sea just north of Fiji’s capital, Suva. There are no roads leading to Nukui — only a small boat from Suva. Access through the intricate channels of coral is dependent on the tides. It is a beautiful, wild place where its people have lived for many generations, relying on the sea for spirituality, food and transport. Rusiate Gonelevu, known as Rusi, is the Headman of the community, the Turaga ni Koro. He was born in Nukui — his grandparents moved here in the early 1960s to help set up a new community with better access to health and education services. The old community was located in a mangrove forest, where the ground was always wet from the tides. Mosquitoes were plentiful and illness was common. Present-day Nukui is the only high land the community owns amongst many acres of mangroves. But now Rusi is worried about the sea. Over the last 30 years, he has seen the ocean creep closer to his community. About 10 years ago, the high tide reached the line of coconuts that separates the beach from the houses, and a whole stretch of sand and trees was washed away. By then Rusi had already started building a sea wall to keep back the hungry tide; he has been extending this along the beach ever since.

The seawall.

been able to expand its activities. Evacuation plans are now in place, focusing on the less mobile, children, and the elderly. Work is planned with the Fiji Government to build a school on a reinforced, raised platform that can withstand tsunamis and cyclones. While the community faces an uncertain future, its people are turning the tide on the sea’s encroachment. As well as expanding the sea wall, they are planting more mangroves to protect the shoreline from future erosion and reduce the impact of storms. “This is our home and our way of life,” says Rusi. “We will continue to make our home safe for as long as we can.”

Rusi with Savu Tawake from Pacific Community Network.

As the storms and cyclones in the Pacific intensify, the tide is marching steadily closer. The last few cyclone seasons have seen the waves washing over the top of the sea wall and into the community. Nukui is being inundated with more and more sea water, eating away at the beach. The homes and gardens closest to the ocean are being flooded, and the soils are turning salty so that people can’t grow their own fruit and vegetables — so vital in such a remote community. Caritas Australia’s partner organisation, People’s Community Network, is working with the Nukui community to extend the sea wall and strengthen emergency preparedness in this cyclone- and tsunami-vulnerable community. Through participation in workshops that help communities prepare for disasters and reduce their risks, Nukui’s disaster committee has

“Rises in the sea level mainly affect impoverished coastal populations who have nowhere else to go.” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 48

ACT

millions of people worldwide who will > Join march for climate justice in November. To hear more, sign up to our campaign eNewsletter, inside Caritas campaigns, at www.caritas.org.au/climate #142 Spring 2015 | 5

SOUTHEAST ASIA: PHILIPPINES

A CLIMATE OF RESILIENCE

With dense coastal populations, environmental degradation and prevalent poverty, the Philippines is one of the most exposed countries to climate change, and is second on the World Risk Index of countries vulnerable to natural disasters.1

The largest storm ever recorded, Super Typhoon Haiyan left a trail of widespread destruction across the archipelago in November 2013. Haiyan destroyed the home of Gloria, a single mother of three and a rice farmer in Palo, Leyte. For more than 14 months, as her family tried to recover, they shared a small two-bedroom hut with her sister’s family of five.

and increase resilience to future disasters. Communities learn how to protect themselves, prepare for disasters and improve their livelihoods. This is especially important in the Philippines, where 25 per cent of the population lives in poverty.

Gloria recently met Patrick Makenen, Caritas Australia’s Southeast Asia Program Officer.

“With safe housing, access to food and water and education for children, communities are finding the strength to rebuild.”

HERE IS PATRICK’S STORY: This was my first visit to a humanitarian response program with Caritas Australia. I met with families affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan to see how they are rebuilding their lives and preparing to face future disasters. What I found was encouraging and inspiring. Caritas Australia is part of Caritas Internationalis, one of the world’s largest humanitarian networks. By working through the church network, with Caritas Philippines, and with Catholic Relief Services (Caritas USA), already established in the area, Caritas Australia was able to deliver supplies immediately after the typhoon struck. Bolstered with support from the Australian community, the ongoing recovery process continues to help the most vulnerable to build their capacity and resources. Caritas Australia’s humanitarian response programs address immediate needs, support communities to rebuild their lives and livelihoods,

LEARN

For more about the programs on disaster risk reduction that Caritas Australia supports, see www.caritas.org.au/learn/drr 1

http://worldriskreport.entwicklung-hilft.de/uploads/media/ WorldRiskReport_2014_online-II_01.pdf

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Most people in Gloria’s community live below the poverty line. When the storm surge ruined their land, they were left with little and the recovery phase was particularly difficult.

- Patrick Makenen, Caritas Australia

Caritas Australia and our partners help communities like Gloria’s increase their resilience to future disasters by strengthening their economic wellbeing and independence. The community has started using salt-water resistant crops; many are also raising livestock and making handicrafts to sell, which provides income diversity. Increased income gives communities a better chance to prepare for and recover from disasters. I saw life with dignity being restored: happy mothers with healthy babies, men continuing house reconstruction, and children running home from school. With safe housing, access to food and water and education for children, communities are finding the strength to rebuild with help from one another. Gloria proudly showed us her new home, built with support from Caritas Australia and Caritas Philippines. Now she is confident about her family’s future:

“ We have established disaster preparedness committees for the future and an early warning system. I have a disaster plan for my family, and will follow the village captain’s instructions. We feel like we are typhoon resilient.”

AFRICA: KENYA

OUR LAND, OUR LIVELIHOOD Mugendi is a Kenyan farmer. Married with two children, he lives in a small village in Tharaka Nithi County. Today his land provides him with a source of income, and he can feed and educate his children.

But Mugendi has witnessed and experienced challenging changes to the climate in his region: “The amount of rainfall received is less than usual. The weather is hotter than usual, and the patterns are unpredictable.” Before 2012, the warming climate was endangering access to food for Mugendi’s community. Recurring dry spells and failed rainy seasons were killing off their crops, and Mugendi was forced to abandon his land and seek employment in the settlement of Ishiara. But the work he found as a hotel supervisor was very poorly paid. In 2013, however, Mugendi was able to start the journey back to his land when he joined Caritas Meru’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Resilience Program (ARP). With support from the Australian Government, Caritas Australia and other partners help vulnerable households to enhance their food security through strategies to improve food supply and offer diverse ways to earn income. The community now has piped water to mitigate the effects of changing rain patterns. To adapt to their changing climate, farmers use drought-tolerant seeds and water-sensitive planting techniques, and plant a variety of crops. Mugendi’s community helped to establish the Gitogo Kamaindi irrigation scheme. Five hundred households were connected to the scheme, and Mugendi’s was one of the first. This gave the family access to much needed water.

“Warming ... has repercussions on the poorest areas of the world, especially Africa, where a rise in temperature, together with drought, has proved devastating for farming.” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 51

Mugendi learnt sound agricultural practices, such as “pest control for different crops, planting and harvesting seasons for various crops, [and] pruning.” Armed with new knowledge and skills, Mugendi was able to return to his land and make effective changes to his farming practices: “As a result of the program I am now carrying out irrigation agriculture and utilising conservation agriculture techniques. We have changed the type of crops we plant.” He has also introduced new grain storage techniques. From the program, Mugendi also gained “knowledge on how to increase agricultural productivity”, which has increased his income. He has established market linkages for his agricultural products, increasing his income. He now employs an average of five casual labourers per day, and earns almost ten times as much as he did as a hotel worker. He anticipates higher earnings, which will enable him to diversify his livelihood by keeping livestock such as pigs and cows.

Mugendi’s economic wellbeing has improved his social standing in the community. “Siku hizi wananiita Gavana,” says Mugendi. “These days my neighbours refer to me as Governor” — a sign of respect. He can afford a good education for his children: “I can now take my child to private boarding school.” Mugendi still has fears about the effects of the changing climate, but is delighted to be back working his land with sustainable practices and financial security. “This program has transformed my life.”

DONATE

of the global family, you > Ascanpart help vulnerable communities to develop resilience to natural disasters. Phone 1800 024 413 or see www.caritas.org.au/donate

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AUSTRALIA

CARING FOR COUNTRY

Rowan Foley is from the Wondunna clan of the Badtjala people, traditional owners of Fraser Island and Hervey Bay. As a ranger, Rowan has run cultural and natural resource projects that help traditional landowners to enhance their regions’ unique biodiversity and cultural values.

The rangers’ work is becoming more urgent as the effects of climate change increase. Australia is experiencing more very hot days, and more frequent, longer heatwaves. Seven of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2002. The bushfire season is longer, and there are more extreme fire risk days. The traditional lands of Australia’s First Peoples are located in some of the hottest areas of the country. Rising temperatures mean a higher risk of devastating bushfires that threaten the land, livelihood, health and wellbeing of communities.

HERE IS ROWAN’S STORY: In 2010 I became the inaugural General Manager of the Aboriginal Carbon Fund, established to support the sustainable development of Aboriginal lands. The aim is to create a partnership between business and traditional landowners to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere produced by wildfires. The Fund enables landowners to undertake carbon farming: they care for the land in a way that reduces national carbon emission levels, and sell these carbon credits to organisations that need to offset their own carbon footprint. The payment gives the remote communities a sustainable livelihood and helps traditional landowners to maintain cultural, social and environmental benefits. Over the last 40,000 years, the traditional owners in Australia actively managed the land, by making small fires in winter to prevent very hot summer fires. And we’re expanding on the same practices now. In potential wildfire areas, we do controlled burning in winter — burning at this time produces only a little carbon. If we don’t do this, grass and vegetation build up as fuel, and summer brings big wildfires across the region and its neighbours. As well as preventing wildfires, the program has social benefits. It provides for better management of country and maintains traditional knowledge. And it strengthens people’s connection with country. With the funds from carbon farming in the two coldest months, rangers can work to achieve broad environmental and social outcomes for the other ten months of the year – for example, they can run turtle tagging and cultural programs.

“ It is essential to show special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions. For them, land is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values.” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 51 8 | CaritasNews

Traditional owners — Garry, standing, and Fitzroy — rangers at the KALRRM Office

Carbon farming has put money in the bank for many marginalised First Australian communities. About 30 Australian organisations are buying carbon credits through this scheme, including banks, airlines, councils and universities. Financial recognition has given traditional landowners a sense of pride in their work. Communities are generating income and protecting country and culture, and realising their collective strengths. It’s a clear signal to the business world, a strong case for social return on investment — permanent jobs for traditional owners working in the sustainability industry in remote communities, using traditional knowledge and skills. With carbon farming, sustainable economies on rural and remote Aboriginal lands are employing local people, and improving the environment. You can look after country, and it can be economically viable. It’s a realisation of a dream.

SOUTHEAST ASIA: TIMOR-LESTE

LEARNING TO CONSERVE

For Timor-Leste, like most developing countries, climate change means more than just higher ambient temperatures and more forceful weather events. It threatens the survival and quality of life of whole communities who rely on sufficient rain at the predicted time, and fertile soil unaffected by drought or floods. For their food supply and income source, Timor-Leste’s people rely predominantly on rural subsistence. They need to grow all their own food, manage livestock and secure reliable water sources. A poor yield affects the family’s health, nutrition and resistance to disease. It also reduces livelihoods, and hence access to the most basic services such as education and healthcare. Caritas Australia’s local Timorese teams have helped many vulnerable rural communities in Timor-Leste to adapt and improve their farming methods and crop selection to reduce the impact of climate change. Oecusse is one of Timor-Leste’s poorest municipalities, mostly mountainous, with a very narrow corridor of fertile soil. It is a small enclave within Indonesia’s West Timor, isolated from the rest of Timor-Leste. Since 2005, with support from Caritas Australia, an innovative environmental program has been run in 16 Oecusse schools. The program works with the whole school community — students, teachers and parents — to transform schools into green learning environments and to take better care of the environment. It recognises the importance of the role that younger generations play in environmental conservation and in Timor’s future.

On Australia’s own doorstep lies one of the world’s newest nations, Timor-Leste. Despite the country’s rich natural resources, strong and determined people, and her progress over 13 years of independence, Timor-Leste remains one of the poorest countries in our region, and ranks just third on the Global Hunger Index. Students and parents learn about caring for creation, in some cases adopting new methods to replace harmful traditional practices. “I really like the approach that Caritas takes, because it teaches us to change our traditional practices if it helps the environment. Now we grow more trees, making terraces to avoid erosion, look after rubbish and grow more plants in our local environment,” Mr Oki says. As Mr Oki explains, the program reaches far beyond the school boundaries: “It also helps motivate the parents to look after their local environment. One simple practice that has applied is planting trees in their own gardens and using organic fertiliser for their crops.”

As Caritas Australia moves into a new period of partnership and development in Timor-Leste, climate adaptation activities will be integrated into our livelihoods programs.

“Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us.” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 146

Mr Inocencio Oki, a teacher at Oecusse Fatubena Primary School, notes: “With the support of Caritas I was motivated and called to lead the environmental conservation at school. Before, I knew nothing and did not care about it. But through the environmental education program I became more enthusiastic.” Mr Oki learnt land and water conservation techniques such as terracing, waste management and composting, and was part of a tree planting program, where he was trained to teach about plant choice and varieties, seedlings, mulching and managing growth. Mr Oki describes the beautiful forest garden near the school where the students often have lessons. The children have a playground that is sheltered from the day’s heat, and the school garden provides food for the school community.

Timorese children working in their school garden in Oecusse.

LEARN

Social Teaching resources on > For Catholic for creation, suitable for all ages, caring see www.caritas.org.au/stewardship

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CARITAS COMMUNITY

COMPASSION IN ACTION “God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things. Caritas is a manifestation of that love which translates ‘global warming’ into a worldwide warming of our hearts to the poor.” - Cardinal Luis Tagle, Caritas International President, July 2015

Our community of supporters has played a significant role in helping people in vulnerable environments to face a more secure future. Project Compassion, Caritas Australia’s major fundraiser, is held annually for six weeks during Lent. The money raised helps thousands of vulnerable communities.

In Sydney, New South Wales, at the Project Compassion launch at Parliament House, students and staff from Marist North Sydney met Eric and Ma from Fiji, featured in week 1 of Project Compassion.

This year’s Project Compassion theme was Food for Life. It focused on supporting the world’s poorest people to establish sustainable food sources for life, improve their food security and develop new, improved income streams for a better future. Thousands of generous supporters across Australia, including members of school communities and parishes and volunteers, together helped to raise a record-breaking $11.57 million nationally during Project Compassion, joining in solidarity with people living in poverty across the world. The money raised will enable Caritas Australia to work alongside communities in more than 30 countries globally, in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Pacific and Australia. Here are a few examples of the countrywide community support for Project Compassion.

In Port Pirie, South Australia, Year 8 student Leo experienced firsthand what it would be like to live in poverty. For the duration of Lent, he spent just $10 a week on food and drink to be in solidarity with children, women and men living in poverty. Leo raised more than $1,000 for Project Compassion and his story was widely shared, increasing awareness of how every contribution makes a difference to our common family.

In Western Australia, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School parents sold pancakes at the Bunbury Diocese Project Compassion launch.

“The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development.” - Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 13

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CARITAS COMMUNITY

CONTRIBUTING TO OUR COMMON FUTURE Thank you for supporting our human family in our common home in so many ways. JOINING CYCLE IN SOLIDARITY Helping others and social justice issues are important to married couple Fiona and Peter, Caritas supporters from Canberra. They were the first to sign up for Cycle in Solidarity. From 15–26 February next year, a small group will fundraise by taking on a 350 km cycle through Cambodia. On the trip, they will visit Caritas Australia-supported projects, learning firsthand how their fundraising helps resilient Cambodian communities to create lasting change in their own lives. Before the excursion, participants will learn more about the physical challenge and the Caritas approach to development work. Fiona and Peter are looking forward to the physical challenge and to seeing programs in action in Cambodia. For Peter, doing the cycle is “not just for our enjoyment; we’re contributing something to the world, and learning.” Fiona notes: “We’ve got it pretty good here. I can share what I’ve learned once I’ve come back. I think we’re going to be on a journey.”

HELPING VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Recently Caritas Australia shared with our supporters the story of a boy from Vietnam who is being assisted in the Supporting People with Disabilities Program. We encouraged supporters to send messages of hope. We were inspired by the generosity of your donations, and your generosity of spirit. Thank you for helping to bring life-changing assistance to vulnerable children and families around the world, and for sharing your goodwill and compassion.

To join Fiona and Peter on the journey, or find out more, see www.caritas.org.au/cyclecambodia

HOSTING A CARITAS KITCHEN Supporters across the country have held Caritas Kitchen events, inviting friends to a meal and cooking recipes from the host pack. For Elizabeth, an eager cook and exceptional host, this was an opportunity to try every recipe in the pack — one for each continent in which Caritas Australia works. The Aji de Gallina from Peru proved to be the favourite. Thanks to all who have put your compassion into action by hosting a Caritas Kitchen. For more, or to host your own event, see www.caritas.org.au/kitchen

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SUPPORT THE CARITAS AUSTRALIA EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND. BECOME A CARITAS NEIGHBOUR TODAY. When you become a Caritas Neighbour and contribute to the Emergency Response Fund, your small monthly donation will allow Caritas to respond rapidly to humanitarian emergencies around the world, like natural disasters, famine and conflict.

ÂŠ Paul Jeffrey

One of the largest humanitarian aid networks in the world, Caritas is committed to helping those in need before, during and after an emergency.

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