Backgrounder

Caritas Means Justice

The meeting taking place in a remote north-western Bangladeshi village, begins with a song which tells of the many small steps that need to be taken on the road to development. It is a song that is sung with feeling born of experience. At that meeting, women talk of borrowing small amounts of money in order to buy a chicken. From this chicken they get eggs and new chickens. They then can repay their original loan and even make more money for their families, as well as being able to feed their families. Others speak of the digging of ponds and the purchase of newly hatched fish, which are then placed in the pond and nurtured. The fish grow, providing food for the families of the village as well as an income, once the fully-grown fish are sold at the local market. The topic of village savings is one spoken of with pride. This money can be used to help in times of natural or other disasters. It can also be used to finance other projects that in turn will generate more income. This is the sort of development work that is done by NGOs (Non-Government Organisations) like Caritas, around the world.

In similar meetings throughout countries like Bangladesh the story is the same. The story is of hope for the future through education, participation in local government, economic development and self-sufficiency. The quote from Confucius acts as a guiding philosophy for many NGOs, including Caritas: "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach the man how to fish and he eats for a lifetime". This, however, is only part of the story. There is no point teaching a man (or a woman) how to fish if they can’t get access to the river, or if multi-national corporations have already emptied the seas with their trawlers. People’s right to have a decent life needs to be protected. This means that NGOs have a role in changing systems that are unjust in our world. They lobby governments to change unjust laws. They have for example, pressured governments to ban landmines.

NGOs are extraordinarily diverse in the sort of work they do. There are many who do the sort of work that Caritas does. There are others like the Red Cross who go into war zones and natural disaster zones to co-ordinate relief efforts. There are also organisations like Amnesty International who advocate for human rights standards to be respected across the world. They do work that governments are either unwilling or unable to do.

The term NGO came about at the end of the Second World War but their origins are probably much older. The anti-slavery movement that arose at the end of the 18th century is probably the first of such organisations. It united people across the world to bring a cruel trade in human beings to an end. Many organisations arose out of war. The Red Cross in the1850s after the Franco –Italian war, Save the Children arose out of World War I, Oxfam and CARE from World War II. In 1870 there were around 30 NGOs, today they number more than 30,000. This makes them a powerful force for positive change in our world. NGOs spend about $15 billion on development every year, which is about the same amount as the World Bank. This means that they and their supporters are making a huge difference to the lives of countless people throughout the world.

The rise of the NGO has been the result of the desire of people to give out of charity and to unite with other people. In this way charity becomes justice. People seek not only to support those who suffer, wherever they may be around the world. They seek also to change what it is that causes that suffering.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Religion / Studies of Society and the Environment / Asian Studies / Geography / Human Society in its Environment

1. Research Caritas Australia as an example of an NGO. Go to their website: www.caritas.org.au and click on 'Who We Are’ and then on 'Vision’ and answer the following: 

a) What is the heading of this section? What do you think it means? 
b) How does the passage from Luke relate to the sort of work Caritas does?

Click on 'Mission’ and answer: 
c) How will Caritas work to spread the good news of human dignity in the world?

Click on 'Responsibilities’ and answer: 
d) Outline how Caritas works to put "compassion into action".

Click on 'At a Glance’ and answer: 
e) What does the word caritas mean in Latin? 
f) How many countries does it work in? 
g) Give three examples of these countries. 
h) Who are the partners that Caritas works with? 
i) What is the name of the fund raising campaign that Caritas organises each Lent? 
j)What percentage of money raised goes to administration? 
k)What is the average amount that goes to administration in similar organisations? 
l) How much of the money raised in an emergency appeal goes to that country?

Click on 'FAQ’ and answer: 
m) When did Caritas Australia start its work? 
n) What types of programs does Caritas support? 
o) Does Caritas have any projects in Australia? 
p) What does Caritas say about child sponsorship programs? 
q) What is the difference between "aid" and "development"? 
r) How can poverty be overcome?

2. Go back to the top of the page and click on 'Our Work’; Click on 'Where We Work’, ' Asia’; 
Click on 'Bangladesh’; Scroll down to Caritas stories; Read Padna and Sadhana’s stories. Outline how they have improved their lives by participating in Caritas programs.

3. Go back to 'Our Work’, 'How we work’. 
Summarise in your own words the work of Caritas in other countries and in Australia.

4. Research another NGO like Amnesty International and list similarities and differences to Caritas. See their website: www.amnesty.org.au 

5. Invite a guest speaker from Caritas Australia to speak at a school assembly. Visit http://www.caritas.org.au/education/educators.htm  for the contact details of your local Caritas Australia Global Education Advisor.

6. Participate in one of Caritas Australia’s programs like: Just Leadership days or the Think Globally, Act Locally program. Check the website for details at: http://www.caritas.org.au/education/justleadership.htm 

Parish and Community Groups

· When deciding which organisations to support with fundraising, find out how much of the money goes to where it is most needed. Caritas is one of the best with only 10% going to administration and fundraising compared to an average 19% for similar organisations in Australia.

· Think twice before supporting a child sponsorship program. Go to the 'FAQ’ section in the 'Who We Are’ part of the Caritas website: www.caritas.org.au to read why Caritas does not have such a program.

· Invite a speaker from Caritas to address one of your meetings. Visit: http://www.caritas.org.au/education/educators.htm for the contact details of your local Global Education Advisor. Invite guest speakers from other NGOs as well.