How Caritas Mthatha Promotes Women’s Leadership In March 2018, Caritas Mthatha/Catholic Development Centre initiated a program called Masiphunge Women Empowerment Program. Masiphunge is a Xhosa word meaning, “Come, let’s have a cup of tea together”. The concept is based on an idea that women used to drink tea together and began to share important information ...
Address: Roman Catholic Mission, Catholic Secretariat, 1 Kairaba Avenue, Serrekunda, The Gambia
Postal Address: P.O. Box 2366, Serrekunda, The Gambia
Telephone: +220 43 90 998 Fax: +220 44 98 003
Email: info@cado.gm / framadee@yahoo.co.uk
The Catholic Development Office (CaDO) was established in 2001 as the development wing of the Catholic Diocese of Banjul, The Gambia, charged with the responsibility of coordinating its economic, social and development work that is aimed at achieving a more humane and just society irrespective of creed, colour, race or ideology.
CaDO’s main areas of intervention include: HIV and AIDS care and support, primary health care, malaria prevention, strengthening the capacities of parishes, water and sanitation, agriculture and horticulture, fisheries, emergency relief, peace-building and income-generating activities. Through parish priests, parish pastoral councils and development committees, village heads and committees, etc., CaDO tries to maximise community capacity building by encouraging local initiatives, via support in planning, implementing and judicious and effective management of available resources for the benefit of communities, especially the marginalised and economic poor, women, youth and children. The structure consists of one diocese and 22 parishes.
CaDO implements projects in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Gambia, Hands On Care, National AIDS Secretariat (NAS), Action Aid International The Gambia (AAITG), government ministries and departments, and international and local organisations, to help poor and marginalised people lead full and productive lives. CaDO continues to reach out to the remote and hard-to-reach communities in all the four regions of the country through its activities which include:
- Global Fund HIV and AIDS community sensitisation and awareness campaigns, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), and laboratory tests for HIV and AIDS, which coupled with home-based care, have dramatically reduced the prevalence of HIV infection and improved the lives of those who are living with the disease. CaDO provides these services through three of its units in the CaDO Basse HIV AIDS Project (Upper River Region – URR), the Saint Lazarus Clinic in Fullabantang (Central River Region – CRR), and the Mission Mobile Clinic in Brikama (West Coast Region – WCR). Apart from HIV and AIDS activities, the Saint Lazarus Clinic provides basic health care services for Fullabantang and its satellite communities, as well as neighbouring Senegalese border villages. The mobile clinic also provides general outpatient and antenatal care, RCH and vaccination.
- Global Fund Malaria ITN Project based in Soma, LRR. Services include distribution of long lasting insecticide nets (LLINs), advocacy and behavioural change practices, targeting children under five, pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled. This project has registered remarkable achievements nationwide.
- A UNICEF-sponsored programme for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), providing them access to education, health care, nutrition and psycho-social support by distributing nutrition supplements, books, toiletries, uniforms, bags, etc. and payment of school fees. A total number of 500 OVCs are presently benefiting from this programme in URR and CRR. CaDO also ensures these children’s births are recorded and registered so they can have birth certificates.
- A training and agricultural centre in Bwiam which has served various communities in the Fonis in the West Coast Region, providing training for farmers in different modern agricultural techniques, poultry and pig farming, marketing, and sustainable peace and livelihood development (for refugees). The centre also engages in gardening, seed cultivation, pig breeding, accommodation and hall hiring. The aim is to equip youths and women with skills and also contribute to curbing migration from the rural to the urban centres.
- The Saint Pope John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel provides CaDO with funds to support community-based projects that are approved by the Foundation. CaDO then coordinates the disbursement of these funds in phases, monitoring implementation, and reporting.
Since its inception, CaDO has maintained relations with Caritas Africa, Caritas Internationalis and other Member Organisations.
CaDO is also linked with other Diocesan Units – Gambia Pastoral Institute (GPI), Diocesan Secretariat (DS) and the Catholic Education Secretariat (CES).
Other CaDO partners include: UNICEF, United Purpose, Saint John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, the Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem based in Sweden, and the World Mercy Fund.
Updates from Gambia
This year, as part of the global Caritas Internationalis campaign to eliminate violence against women and girls (25 November – 10 December), Caritas South Sudan launched their national initiative Act Now: Prevent and Respond to Violence Against Women and Girls to celebrate and stand in solidarity with women and girls combatting all forms of violence ...
Nearly 10 years on, terrorism and violence instigated by militia groups continues to threaten the peace and safety of tens and thousands of families throughout Burkina Faso. Since 2015, men, women and children have been forced to flee their homes and leave everything behind. In more recent years, Burkina Faso has witnessed unprecedented levels of ...
Due to the conflict that broke out in Sudan last April, several men and women have been forced to leave their homes and villages behind in search of safety and for the survival of their families in other parts of the country and beyond, including Chad. In their flight, many displaced families did not have ...
“We have witnessed drought before, lost animals and crops, however, unlike other periods, we usually had enough livestock and crops to sustain ourselves until the rainy season. Now the rains have failed for the fourth time and we are not sure if the fifth rainy season will come,” shares Habey Maanur Mohamud, a 60-year-old mother ...
As part of the inauguration of the Global Year of Action of the “Together We” campaign, aimed at promoting integral ecology by simultaneously protecting people and our planet, Caritas Internationalis will launch its publication Displaced by a changing climate, highlighting the vital need for collective action to address the consequences of environmental degradation. Caritas Internationalis, ...
Since conflict erupted in Sudan in mid-April, it has become one of the most dangerous places not only for families and communities affected by the crisis, but for the national and international humanitarian workers and partners supporting them. Since the onset of the crisis, more than 4.3 million people, including aid workers, have been forced ...
Caritas Internationalis joins the appeal of His Eminence Cardinal Berhaneyesus, Rev. Kes Yonas, Patriarch Abune Mathias, and Rev. Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin in urging US Agency for International Development (USAID) and World Food Programme (WFP) to resume life-saving food distribution immediately. The food aid was suspended on the 30th of March 2023 in the Tigray region ...
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, ...
“Everybody is trying to leave Khartoum because practically no one is sure of his remaining there and being safe. And so people run away. I also had to leave, I crossed the border by car. There is a huge need for help both in Sudan and in neighbouring countries to accommodate people fleeing the conflict”. ...
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