Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating armed conflict since last April, triggered by power struggles among the country’s military factions. The fighting, primarily between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has had a profound impact on civilians, resulting in large-scale displacement and shattered access to food, water, health care, fuel, ...
Address: B.P. 1518, Bangui, Central African Republic
Telephone: +236 75 25 70 09 / +236 72 39 02 90
Email: [email protected]
Caritas Central African Republic was established in 1960 and called Secours Catholique Centrafricain. It was named Caritas Central African Republic in 1991 with the merger of Secours Catholique Centrafricain and Animation Rurale (agricultural extension department) on 31 August that year.
Caritas Central African Republic operates in a country where insecurity is a constant factor and poverty widespread. Three decades of insecurity ended in 1993, but there was further unrest in 2002 and 2003, and more recently in 2012 with the seizure of power by Seleka’s coalition, which plunged the country into a state of insecurity and fear and continues to hamper its social and economic development. The people of the Central African Republic are among the poorest in the world.
Given the disasters and internal strife that affect the country, support for people whose fundamental rights have been abused plays a central role in the activities of Caritas. Protection of children from forced recruitment by armed groups, rehabilitation and advocacy regarding sexual violence against women and vulnerable persons, as well as support and assistance to internally displaced people, keep Caritas teams constantly busy. Caritas operates via a Peace and Reconciliation Commission with a view to helping parties engaged in conflict to seek solutions for lasting peace.
Caritas seeks to promote a better world in which a culture of loving one’s neighbour, solidarity, social justice and development of the human person prevails. Its mission is to continue the work of Jesus Christ through evangelisation based on charity: striving for human promotion in order to fight poverty and thus ensure the well-being of people.
In its actions Caritas Central African Republic respects the autonomy of each authority to conduct its own activities. For Caritas, emergency relief activities are part of integral human development, the achievement of which depends on partnership and cooperation, and Caritas Central African Republic collaborates with all partners who respect its values and principles.
Thanks to its presence in dioceses and over 120 parishes, Caritas manages to assess, support and distribute aid and assistance in the most remote parts of the country.
Caritas works in partnership with the following organisations:
Many members of the Caritas confederation including CRS (Caritas USA), Cordaid (Caritas Netherlands), Caritas Italy, Caritas South Korea and Caritas Spain, as well as CCFD (Catholic Committee Against Hunger and for Development), the Italian Bishops’ Conference, the European Union and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Local partners
International and diplomatic organisations: UNDP, FNUAP, OCHA, UNHCR, WFP, FAO, WHO, World Bank, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, a delegation from the European Union, and the Cultural Affairs offices of the Embassies of France and the United States.
International NGOs: IPHD (International Partnership for Human Development), the International Red Cross, Française solidarité and MSF.
Updates from Central African Republic
Recent clashes during the month of April between militia groups in the Central African Republic have not deterred Caritas staff and volunteers from providing dedicated humanitarian support to vulnerable communities and victims of war in the country. For nearly as decade, political volatility and instability has ravaged the Central African Republic following the deposition of ...
Caritas found profound inspiration in Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio, where the Pontiff stated that “development is the new name of peace”.
Caritas Internationalis is assisting the local Caritas in the Central African Republic as it investigates the allegations, strengthens its safeguarding mechanisms and offers care and support to any possible victims and their families.
Caritas is working at the heart of humanitarian and peacebuilding initiatives in Central African Republic, directly bringing aid to over 50,000 people.
The Catholic Church in the Central African Republic is in mourning after the murder of priest, Firmin Gbagoua, in Bambari on Friday.
Half the people of the Central African Republic needs humanitarian aid due to a collapse of the rule of law and a failure by United Nations peacekeepers to establish security.
Christian and Muslim religious leaders from the Central African Republic received an international award for their role in preventing sectarian war in their country.
The Caritas-backed Interfaith Peace Platform aimed at ending conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) is the recipient of the 2015 Sergio Vieira de Mello Prize. Archbishop of Bangui, Mgr. Dieudonné Nzapalainga, President of Caritas Central Africa, will be among the recipients.
Caritas Africa Info
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