If you’re young and want to stand up for global justice, the Caritas Youth Forum is the place for you.
The Caritas Youth Forum was set up to encourage young people’s participation in Caritas. We hope it will create a greater sense of ownership among young people who work or volunteer with Caritas, in order to help advance the vision and mission of the Caritas confederation.
The worldwide Caritas family can help you find great ways to live out your faith and change the world around you for the better. So learn from each other, share your experiences. Volunteer. Bring our societies closer together. Play your part.
“Dear young people, the Church expects great things of you and your generosity. Don’t be afraid to aim high!”
Caritas youth leading the way
Youth groups and young adults in Caritas around the globe are showing the way to connect with each other to build a better world.
“Through friendship, action for others and reflecting on faith, these inspiring projects show how things can change when you believe in something big,” says youth leader Sarah Burrows from the UK.
Austria
Representatives from young Caritas Tirol.
Caritas youth leaders across Europe are creating a dynamic network that connects young people to swap ideas and work together for a fairer society.
On 23rd November, at the first ever YoungCaritas conference, Caritas youth leaders in 32 European countries made a joint ‘Vienna Declaration’.
It’s a pledge to give young people opportunities to put their beliefs into action by working for social justice. “It’s a fantastic chance to make a change alongside other people who feel the same as you,” says Caritas Internationalis Youth Forum Facilitator Alfonso Apicella.
Lebanon
Young adults painting in Lebanon’s schools
Against a backdrop of political instability and economic hardship, Caritas Lebanon Youth are giving young people a new way forward.
Happy to give their time for something they really believe in, young volunteers are carrying out an amazing 600 activities a year to help others.
Trained in the skills they need by Caritas, some are renovating homes and schools in deprived areas, and even painting jails to cheer up deplorable conditions for prisoners.
Others are befriending children and the elderly, staging outings and fun activities. Cver 20,000 people per year are benefiting.
Singapore
Young adults’ Mission of Mercy event
Action speaks louder than words for young adults in Caritas Singapore’s outreach project.
Passionate volunteers who want to become ‘persons of help and mercy to others’ are joining Night Missions to befriend homeless people and cook hot meals at the night shelter.
Friendships are being formed during visits to elderly people, and babysitting angels are gifting low-income parents the time to attend evening classes.
Meanwhile young adults are running ‘Creed on the Street’ night discussions about how to live out their faith in their daily lives.
Contact Caritas Youth
Contact the Caritas Youth representative in your region for more information about how you can get involved.
Caritas Youth North America
Name: Erin Mackey
Email: erin.mackey@crs.org
Caritas Youth Latin America
Name: Leon Souza
Email: leon@caritas.org.br
Caritas Youth Oceania
Name: Joe Moeono-Kolio
Email: joe.moeonokolio@gmail.com
Caritas Youth Europe
Name: Daniel Hale
Email: dhale@cafod.org.uk
Caritas Youth Asia
Name: Ratha Lay (Sam)
Email: rathalay99@gmail.com
Caritas Youth Africa
Name: Makeda Yohannes
Email: makeda.yohannes@ecs.org.et
Caritas Youth Middle East and North Africa
Name: Ehab Fahmy
Email: ehab.nagy85@gmail.com
Photos by Caritas and Caritas Poland.