Category: Social Justice and the Environment

Thanks to all the generous parishioners who contributed to Project Compassion this year. An amazing total of $3247.75 has been sent to Caritas Australia to support the important work they do. Supporting communities in developing countries is some of the important work Caritas does throughout the world. Thank you for your kind support.

Please arrange for Project Compassion boxes to be returned at your earliest convenience so money can be forwarded to Caritas Australia. Thank you for your generous support of this charity.

Nirangini, 31, remembers her childhood fondly, growing up in a family of nine siblings during peacetime in Veravil, a small fishing village in Sri Lanka.
From 1983 to 2009 a civil war affected Sri Lanka. When the conflict impacted Veravil, the entire community was forced
to leave. Nirangini, her 67-year-old mother and her son who was seven-years-old at the time were constantly on the move with no permanent home.
During those years, poverty and the trauma of constantly being on the move took a toll. There was little food or water and Nirangini’s son became undernourished.
In December 2009, in the hope that a familiar environment would offer a safe setting for her son, Nirangini and her family moved back to her childhood village. In Veravil, a Caritas Sri Lanka program, supported by Caritas Australia, was assisting families to resettle.

In March 2012, the Caritas program supported Nirangini to build her own permanent home.
“We had survived a war and just managed to return to our home with virtually nothing. Now with the support of Caritas my family lives in a proper house. I am so relieved. The state of uncertainty we were living in is now over.”
Thanks to a livelihood grant, Nirangini was able to start a home garden and small poultry business. These give her a good income and provide her family with nutritious food.
A permanent home and an income source are also beneficial as it means her son can attend the village school and gain a good education.
“We are very thankful … We now have the confidence to stand on our feet and look after ourselves.”
Your support for Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia to lift the voices of the poor and promote the dignity of each person, regardless of ethnicity, religion or cultural beliefs.

Pintupi woman, Lorraine, grew up in Papunya, 300km west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Six years ago, after being diagnosed with kidney failure, Lorraine, 39, learnt that she had to undergo a lifetime of weekly dialysis treatment.
Deeply connected to culture, her mob and their dreaming, she is now living in a hostel in Alice Springs to receive treatment and desperately misses home. “I have to sleep indoors all the time. Someone cooks our food and cleans our rooms. I have no family here. I stick to myself. I am homesick.”
To keep her spirit alive, Lorraine visits The Purple House which was established in 2004 by Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation to support First Australian patients who have been dislocated from country and culture.

Caritas Australia is supporting a new income-generating social enterprise at the Centre – making and selling bush balms.
“My favourite balm is Irremenke Irremenke. It is a good bush medicine that our grandmothers used to make. It is good for pain and headaches. It is a cheeky plant, it is hard to find and hard to grow. I love the smell of the bush balm mix boiling up. It reminds me of home,” said Lorraine.
This bush balm program offers people aged 23-75 who are chronically unwell, a sense of purpose, comfort and wellbeing. It gives them the opportunity to pass on traditional knowledge and values, ensuring participants retain their connections with home.
Until the doctors say that Lorraine is palya (good) and she is able to receive local treatment, The Purple House and the bush balm program is her home away from home.
Your support for Project Compassion helps Caritas Australia work towards the creation of a world that God desires to be just and compassionate.

Martina is a teacher in the Solomon Islands. Her favourite part of the school day is teaching the children songs from Caritas Australia’s Disaster Risk Management project.
Using well-known tunes and simple lyrics, children learn what to do in the event of potential disasters that face the Solomon Islands such as cyclones, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.
“Nursery rhymes break down the fear associated with natural disasters, and also help children memorise the rhymes and the emergency response,” said Martina. “They enjoy the singing.”
Martina’s school in Ngossi is in a region, much like many in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, that is prone to all manner of natural disasters. It’s very important for the young children to learn strategies to be safe during disasters and emergencies.

 “Our homes are under threat. We have the cyclone season that runs from November to March annually, so this type of disaster is a big risk,” said Martina.
Adam Elliott, Caritas Australia’s Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Program Manager, said disasters often occur early in the morning when the children are at school.
“The children take this disaster risk management to their homes,” said Adam. “They sing songs and talk about what the songs have taught them.
“They have really taken it and made it their own, writing the songs in their local languages.”
The project is currently running in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Due to its success and interest across the South Pacific, Caritas Australia is planning to extend the program’s reach to other countries.
“This season we’re better prepared and know how to respond, and in an emergency this can make all the difference,” said Martina.
Your support for Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia to build a just world by enabling vulnerable communities to be architects of their own future.