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Dear friends,
Empowering people and assisting the
senior citizens are two of our core
values in Caritas Jerusalem. Our
Microcredit department supports small
business owners with loans and
professional advice. The Social
Services department does its best to
take care of the senior citizens who are
left without family members to look
after them.
I was honoured to take part in the
general
assembly
of
Caritas
Internationalis in Rome which
coincided with the canonization of
Sister Marie- Alphonsine Danil
Ghattas, founder of the Sisters of the
Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem and
Maryam Baouardy, who founded a
Carmelite convent in Bethlehem.
It was a privilege for me to share our
common vision with the Caritas family
which comprises of 165 national
Catholic charities and to witness the
confirmation to sainthood of the two
Palestinian sisters in St. Peter’s Square.
I would like to take this opportunity to
thank to all those who organized the
General Assembly and to all our sister
Caritas members who support us in our
different projects and programmes in
the Holy Land.
Sincerely,
Fr. Raed Abusahlia
General Director
Caritas Jerusalem
Enriching the lives of people we
touch
Caritas
Jerusalem
through
its
Microcredit program empowers people
who struggle to develop their own
income generating small projects.
Dorthy is a married woman who lives
with her husband in their own house in
Beit
Sahour
in
Bethlehem
Governorate. She has rented a store in
Beit Sahour center, and has started her
own small business in 2003, selling
women’s clothes and accessories.
She received a 7,000 USD loan from
the Microcredit department in 2003,
developed her business, and repaid her
loan.
In 2014, she received another 10,000
USD to fill her store with seasonal
products according to the market’s
needs.
During CJ field visits to her boutique
we have noticed that Dorthy is well
organized and very professional in
managing her business and dealing
with customers.
Nowadays, her profits have increased
greatly due to the additional loan.
Caritas Jerusalem’s Micro-Credit
Department focuses on loans for
education, emergency needs, house
renovation and business development.
A trip with the Elderly
Because your life matters
On the 1 of May 2015 Caritas
Jerusalem’s Elderly Day Care Center
with its volunteers organized a trip for
the senior citizens.
Then they visited the Milk Grotto and
walked in the streets of the old city of
Bethlehem.
Together
with
our
volunteers, they ate, sang and danced
in the garden of Caritas Betharram
Center.
The thirty elderly were accompanied
by 12 of our young volunteers, who
travelled from Ramallah to Bethlehem
in order to visit the holy sites. The day
started by the celebration of the Holy
Mass in the Nativity Church presided
by Fr. Raed Abusahlia, the general
director of Caritas Jerusalem.
Caritas Jerusalem believes that senior
citizens should enjoy their right to
healthcare and social services. The
EDCC does everything possible in
order to provide them with their basic
necessities of life.
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In his sermon, Fr. Raed talked about
the importance of visiting these holy
places and he encouraged other
pilgrims to pray and have the blessing
of these sacred sites where our Lord
Jesus Christ walked and preached.
CJ would like to take this opportunity
to thank our local donor for funding
this trip, and our volunteers for their
caring spirit.
Drawing Together Youngsters
and the Elderly
Caritas Jerusalem’s Elderly Day Care
Center (EDCC) in Ramallah hosted a
group of 120 kindergarten students
from the Holy Family School to
participate in Easter activities together.
The children and 45 of the senior
citizens intermingled, chatted, sang,
played games and told stories to one
another.
“I see how much joy they bring each
other,” said Ms. Grace Bro, EDCC
social worker “the elderly forget about
their pains, worries and troubles when
the kids are around them; most of them
are
lonely
and
don’t
have
grandchildren
nearby
so
these
encounters truly make a positive
difference in their lives.”
The staff of the EDCC regularly
arrange such multi generational
activities between children, the youth
and the elderly for it has proven to be
very beneficial for all the parties
concerned.
Caritas Internationalis General
Assembly
“Shaking someone’s hand, looking
into their eyes, offering a friendly
presence, saving a person from
loneliness–these should be the concern
of Caritas,” said Cardinal Pietro
Parolin during a homily at a Mass for
Caritas clergy and staff.
Regarding the SDGs, the final message
adopted by the General Assembly
states that “no target should be
considered as met unless achieved for
all income and social groups; this
fundamental, person-centred strategy
must be central”.
The message urges governments to
look beyond their own borders and to
recognise the moral imperative that is
inherent in care for creation.
Over 400 people from over 160
national Caritas organisations gathered
in Rome (12-17 May 2015) elected a
new president, treasurer and ratified
the nomination of the secretary
general.
Newly-elected president, Cardinal Luis
Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila,
said, “Pope Francis gave us
inspirational words on seeking to
expand our work at the beginning of
our General Assembly. With the
launch of the Sustainable Development
Goals
(SDGs), Pope Francis’s
encyclical on ecology and the UN
climate meeting in Paris this year,
Caritas will work towards putting the
human family and human dignity at the
heart of development.”
Caritas delegates also called attention
to the plight of Christians who suffer
from religious persecution in Syria and
Iraq and of migrants and refugees all
over the world: “We urge governments
to build safe havens and humanitarian
corridors, rather than fences, walls or
programmes of interdiction at sea.”
Michel Roy was reconfirmed as
secretary general of the Caritas
confederation and a new board was
appointed. Alexander Bodmann of
Austria was elected as new treasurer.
South Sudan became the 165th national
member organisation of the Caritas
confederation.
Oscar
Romero,
murdered for standing with the poor in
El Salvador, was adopted as a patron
of Caritas Internationalis.
Caritas
Internationalis’
General
Assembly has closed with member
organisations adopting a vision of
“One Human Family, Caring for
Creation”.
Fr. Raed Abusahlia stated “The
General Assembly is a unique moment
to
meet
other
partners;
our
participation was very important to
show people the spiritual value of
Jerusalem and the privilege we have in
living in the Holy Land in spite of the
difficulties and conflicts we face day in
and day out”. Doves of peace made in
olive wood were distributed to all the
participants asking them to pray for the
people of the Holy Land.
“We continue to pray for all our
colleagues who tirelessly work in order
to make the world a better place.”
How can you help?
Support our activities
Your support is essential to provide
long-term assistance to our
beneficiaries.
Please see below our bank details to
make a donation:
Bank Name: Arab Bank
Swift Code: ARABPS 22110
Account number: 457793/0/510 USD
Credit Account: Caritas Jerusalem
Branch No: 9110
At Arab Bank in Al-Ram
P.O.Box: 2445-Al-Ram