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: n. 438, Via Portugal, São Tomé e PrÍncipe
Telephone: +239 2222 565
Email: caritas_stp@cstome.net
São Tomé and Príncipe is an island nation off the coast of Gabon in West Africa, the smallest African country after the Seychelles. It gained independence from Portugal in 1975, although economic independence is still a long way off given the high rates of poverty that rank it among the world’s poorest countries.
In 2007 it was agreed to cancel São Tomé and Príncipe’s foreign debt, which amounted to US$317 million, approximately US$2,000 per person. The cancellation was thanks in part to pressure from various organisations, including Caritas.
Caritas São Tomé and Príncipe was established in 1981 and consists of one diocese that encompasses the entire country. There are 14 parishes, 13 on São Tomé and 1 on the island of Príncipe.
The initial projects included a food programme aimed at helping those most in need, an agriculture programme to promote farming practices among young people (the country is largely agricultural), sewing classes, and a house for vulnerable children up to seven years of age called the “House of Little Children”.
A mini-project, called “A bridge of hope”, is currently being implemented with the support of Caritas Portugal, which provides for remote adoption of children in situations of risk. Via membership, each “godfather or godmother” undertakes to donate a minimum sum on behalf of a child from São Tomé and Príncipe.
Updates from São Tomé and Príncipe
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”. ...
Caritas Africa Info
- Angola
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