Caritas Internationalis says the Austrian decision to pull out of the UN Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration risks destabilizing international efforts at providing coordination in protecting the lives of migrants and refugees. It comes after the USA and Hungary pulled out. The Global Compact on Migration offers a framework to governments to ...
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At the beginning of the 20th century, Caritas Austria started its mission to help those most in need. Its first actions were to give food and clothing to alleviate the suffering of people during the First World War.
More than a century later, Caritas Austria’s broad range of programmes underscores its enduring commitment to prevent and ease the hardships of people in need. Initiatives include: disaster relief, hunger awareness and hunger aid campaigns, homecare for disabled people, shelters for homeless people and single mothers, counselling and support centres for people struggling with substance abuse, refugee aid, and occupational projects for the unemployed.
Throughout 2015, Caritas Austria helped provide for refugees within Syria and in the neighbouring countries of Jordan and Lebanon. From September, financial means were also needed in Austria for the roughly 800 000 people in transit and for those seeking asylum. Due to the enormous media attention as well as a poster and advertising campaign, Caritas was able to give extensive aid to the refugees.
At the heart of our work is a wide range of over 1600 social assistance programmes that target people in need in Austria. The range of social services includes provision of supplementary food vouchers for single mothers, covering energy costs for the elderly, finding homes for abandoned children, establishing 45 institutions for homeless people, and 1245 work placements for long-term unemployed people.
An increasing number of people in Austria can no longer afford to heat their homes sufficiently, equip their children with the necessary school materials, or pay their rent regularly. In 2015 the fundraising campaign provided supplies amounting to €2.49 million to help people manage through the cold Austrian winters.
The 622 Caritas foreign aid projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the poorest countries of Europe are wide-ranging, and cover areas such as emergency help for long-term livelihood protection.
Caritas Austria’s headquarters is located in Vienna and coordinates the work and supports the tasks of nine Caritas archdiocesan and diocesan offices in the country. In 2015, 14 871 salaried Caritas employees in Austria were ready to help elderly, ill, disabled, disadvantaged and/or suffering people on a daily basis. Approximately 55 000 volunteers also make an essential contribution to help people in need, including 15 000 within the scope of refugee aid.
Caritas Austria is a member of Caritas Europa and Caritas Internationalis, and often collaborates with members on overseas emergency and development programmes, such as the famine relief programme to provide humanitarian aid to people in several East African countries severely affected by drought and conflict.
Updates from Austria
Caritas not only helps trafficked people by giving practical help and advice in towns and villages, but we also try to influence public opinion and advocate to key players as the Pope has called us to do.
The war in Syria is reaching the heart of Europe, with hundreds of thousands of refugees leaving the Middle East through the Western Balkans. Their voyages are filled with peril and suffering, but along the way they're receiving solidarity and help.
Caritas Internationalis calls upon governments, communities and all people of good will to welcome refugees while working for peace as a priority in their homelands.
Flooding is not unusual in Passau, the eastern Bavarian town known as ‘three river city’. The town is located at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers. It’s accustomed to rising water levels. Homeowners keep sandbags on the doorstep of their house at all times. But what happened last Sunday and Monday was ...
Caritas offers support to the people in the regions affected by the flooding. “From this moment on the Caritas disaster relief fund is available for emergency aid. Additional to financial temporary measures, the people will also need human support and accompanying assistance during bureaucratic procedures,“ says Franz Küberl, Caritas Austria President.
The humanitarian situation in Lebanon is desperate as over a million Syrian refugees seek safety in their tiny neighbour. “What we have been seeing is unbelievable, says President of Caritas Lebanon, Fr. Simon Faddoul. “The numbers are growing in an incredible way. The situation is getting worse. It’s becoming disastrous.”
Caritas is hosting a congress on Global Hunger and Sustainable Food Security – 1st and 2nd of June 2012 in Vienna Live stream from the Future without Hunger Conference. Cardinal Rodriguez about to speak. | Read the key note speech by Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga (pdf) 925 million people worldwide are starving. Every 12 seconds, a child dies of ...
“About a quarter of help provided worldwide for persons living with HIV infection is delivered by faith-based organisations“, said Msgr. Robert Vitillo. Last week, the leading AIDS-expert of Caritas Internationalis, delivered a speech to Austrian journalists and church representatives in the run-up to the 18th International AIDS Conference that will take place from July 18th ...
Children are the focus of one of Caritas Internationalis’ major campaigns: HAART for Children. HAART stands for Highly Active Anti- Retroviral Therapy. Caritas Internationalis presses governments and pharmaceutical companies to develop “child-friendly” forms of medicines and testing. Caritas Australia directly asked the pharmaceutical giant Roche to do its part in facilitating access to medication to ...
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