Caritas Zimbabwe, which is also known as the Catholic Development Commission (CADEC), was founded in 1972 to aid development and respond to unrest and conflict. Today it strives to increase justice and to fight poverty, discrimination and violence in a context of extreme poverty resulting from economic collapse. Zimbabwe’s agricultural exports, which once fed much of southern Africa, have declined sharply in recent years as a result of controversial land reform in 2000 that coincided with a major drought.

Caritas Zimbabwe works in eight dioceses to improve access to food and people’s ability to prepare for natural disasters. A major element of its work focuses on orphans and the two million people living with HIV and their families.
Budget
 		US$5 million in 2007
Paid staff 100
Volunteers
 		50
Beneficiaries More than 100,000


The work of Caritas Zimbabwe includes projects addressing:

  • Setting up community gardens and training in repair/maintenance;
  • Home-based care training for children, and for people with HIV/AIDS;
  • Supplying food, clothing, seeds and equipment;
  • Providing grants and loans;
  • Educational initiatives;
  • Access to water and sanitation.

Caritas Zimbabwe has had a significant impact on the lives of those suffering from poverty and hunger. During a severe drought in the early 1990s, it helped avert large-scale hunger through supplying food to those in most urgent need. This was followed by a food security programme to increase training in agricultural production and food storage.

Caritas members in Zimbabwe also run emergency feeding projects for over one million people directly and three million indirectly.