Religious Education and Social Justice

Project Compassion

During this season of Lent we will be working together as a community to raise awareness of the work of Caritas Australia through supporting Project Compassion. Caritas Australia’s work is shaped by the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.

The Catholic Social Teaching principles cover all spheres of life – the economic, political, personal and spiritual. The principles are inspired by the writings of the Pope and other Catholic leaders about social issues.

Project Compassion brings thousands of Australians together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. We are encouraged to focus on the following Catholic Social Teaching principles:

Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore has inherent dignity. No human being should have their dignity or freedom compromised. The dignity of every person, independent of ethnicity, creed, gender, sexuality, age or ability, is the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching.

Caring for the poor is everyone’s responsibility. Preferential care should be shown to poor and vulnerable people, whose needs and rights are given special attention in God’s eyes.

During the season of Lent each prayer space in the Learning Communities will have a Project Compassion donation box. Children are invited to place some money in the boxes so that by the end of Lent we can make a donation to Caritas Australia to support the wonderful work they do in caring for people in Australia and other countries.

Project Compassion Week 1

Twenty-two-year-old, Jamila, is a single mother, living in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. A Rohingya woman, she fled the armed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to save herself, her elderly mother and eight-month-old baby daughter. Having been abandoned by her husband, she faced life in the camp on her own.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people, have crossed into Bangladesh since August 2017. Over 1.3 million people remain in the densely populated camps, in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

Thanks to the generosity of Caritas Australia’s supporters and through our partnership with Caritas Bangladesh, Jamila had access to emergency food and shelter. Then, as her stay in the camp stretched on, Jamila joined the Women Friendly Spaces project where she received counselling and emotional support. She learnt about health and hygiene, participated in a parenting program and learnt sewing skills, to help her to earn an income.

Jamila now has a sense of community around her and feels less alone and more supported - and she is able to ‘Be More’ to her family.

“I want to offer my thankful greetings to those who are kindly thinking of us from overseas”, Jamila says. “Thank you, and thanks Caritas Australia.”

You can watch Jamila tell her story in the video below:

God bless you all during this Lenten season.

Jane Wilkinson

Religious Education Leader