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As urbanisation of the world increases, there is a growing demand for better understanding of, and solutions to, the conditions of urban poverty.
In this first week of Lent, Caritas Australia's Project Compassion story is from the Philippines where Psyche Mae and her family live in the slums of Bagong Silangan on the outskirts of Manila. Bagong Silangan is a relocation area for squatter families, which sits on the edge of a festering garbage dump in Quezon City, a satellite city of Manila. With your support, Project Compassion assists families like Psyche Mae’s, who live in urban areas to meet the challenges of extreme poverty. Caritas Australia focuses on empowering communities to become self sufficient. In this way communities can be in charge of building their own futures and to live a life of hope and dignity.
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Two decades of land reform fail to cure poverty in Philippines
For more than 20 years farmer Eugenio Alpar has been fighting for the right to own the land he tills on the central Philippine island of Negros. Now that his dream is in sight the 72-year-old activist for land reform says he may be too old to do anything with it.
AFP/Straits Times, February 10, 2008
Urban poverty behind Pacific unrest: inquiry
A commission of inquiry into riots in Solomon Islands in 2006 says urban poverty has played a key role in sparking unrest around the Pacific in recent years. The inquiry is investigating the causes of the political riots that led to widespread arson attacks in the Chinatown business district in the Solomons' capital, Honiara.
Radio Australia, February 7, 2008
Zambia: A new kind of internally displaced people
Zambia’s open-door investment policy is coming under criticism from rights activists for passing on the real cost of development to the poor, who are being evicted to make way for the new prestige projects.
IRIN, February 7, 2008
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“If you think poverty should not exist, let's work on it”
Call him the “Banker to the Poor.” That’s what Muhammad Yunus titled his autobiography, about his launch of the micro-credit movement in the 1970s. For enabling millions of small entrepreneurs in poor countries around the world to feed their families and support their communities through small, collateral-free, low-interest loans, Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Now, he hopes to foster another movement with the publication of his second book, “Creating a World Without Poverty”. Yunus wants us to reinterpret capitalism, to realize that profit maximization is not as important as social maximization; that “social business” can help lift people from poverty, if only the rich would reassess their motives for amassing wealth.
The Washington Post, February 10, 2008
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During Lent you can access all your materials for Project Compassion on the Caritas website. There are posters, films, PowerPoint presentations, teaching materials for all primary and secondary Schools as well as Parish and other Community groups.
www.caritas.org.au
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Throughout Lent Catholic Church TV will show a number of films to highlight how the generosity of the Catholic Community is put to good work. The first of these films will focus on our neighbour, South Africa. The second film will highlight the history of the conflict in Darfur Sudan, a place that has seen more than 250,000 people killed and more than 2.5 million forced from their homes. The final film will focus on the Philippines. Viewing is available ion Aurora Community Television, Foxtel Digital and Austar Digital Channel 183. For viewing dates and times go to www.catholicchurchtv.com.au
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“Sometime in your life, hope that you might see one starved man, the look on his face when the bread finally arrives. Hope that you might have baked it or bought it or even kneaded it for yourself. For that look on his face, for your hands meeting his across a piece of bread, you might be willing to lose a lot, or suffer a lot, or die a little, even.” Daniel Berrigan
www.forusa.org
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PLEASE NOTE: LINKS TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES ARE NOT NECESSARILY
ENDORSED BY CARITAS AUSTRALIA. |
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The Chaser joins Caritas in war on Poverty…and pancakes!
Caritas Australia’s annual fundraising appeal, Project Compassion, has joined with an unlikely ally in their quest to stand up for the marginalized and oppressed in this world. The Chaser’s Julian Morrow joined school students to flip a few pancakes for the launch of the 2008 Project Compassion appeal. “We’ve made war on everything else, so I’m happy to add poverty to the list,” said Mr. Morrow.
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Families’ stories give voice to victims of Kenya violence
Amidst the widespread reports of carnage and tribal fighting engulfing Kenya following disputed general elections, individual stories of both suffering and courage have begun to emerge. The Catholic Church and Caritas members were among the first to provide help in many areas, and have begun reporting back on the personal accounts of Kenyans affected by the unrest. Those affected include Linet Atieno Awinda, who was forced from her home in Mathare, a sprawling slum in Nairobi, and how she is now seeking safety on a street outside the local police station in the neighbouring suburb of Huruma.
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Caritas Australia is collecting donations for Kenya conflict
We are providing urgent support to large numbers of internally displaced people from areas of Kenya affected by violence. To find out how you can help click here.
PLEASE NOTE: LINKS TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES ARE NOT NECESSARILY ENDORSED BY CARITAS AUSTRALIA. |
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Project Compassion Week One Focus: The Philippines
