Project Compassion 2022

From your Social Justice Captains

On Tuesday March 1st the School and Social Justice Captains participated in  The 2022 Caritas Australia 'Project Compassion' launch. This is an annual event where Caritas launches their major lenten project for the year. This year's Caritas 'Project Compassion' is called 'FOR ALL FUTURE GENERATIONS'. 

What does Caritas do? 

Caritas supports underprivileged communities all over the world. For example, they help raise money to support people living with disabilities in remote India or they support underprivileged Aboriginal Communities to generate income and employment. 

Yesterday, during the launch we heard from Lulu Mitshabu, a Caritas worker for 21 years and Africa Program Coordinator. She spoke about Mozambique where two-thirds of the 31 million people live in rural areas. This includes a 12-year-old girl named Anatercia. Before Caritas helped Anatercia, she was so busy helping her family that she couldn't go to school. Her mother was sick and her father, unfortunately, passed away when she was young, so Anatercia cooked, cleaned, harvested, looked after her mum, siblings and grandparents. Just getting water (25 litres at a time) took her FIVE hours per day. Anatercia’s village has faced food shortages on many occasions over the last 7 years due to crops on the village farms not growing.  This was before Caritas helped out. 

Caritas provided a gravity irrigation system so water could travel freely to their village and, even without rain, the crops on their farm were watered and could grow. The farm now, supports their village and family, and there is even enough to sell corn and earn a little money. 

Caritas also built a well in the town and now, because water is now close by, Anatercia can finally go to school, help on the farm AND look after her family. She wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

This is a link to Anatercia’s story on the Caritas Website:

https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/anatercia-story/

You can help us......

Each year, during Lent, many Catholic schools donate money to CARITAS during 'Project Compassion'. St John Vianney's is proud to be one of these schools. We believe that being part of this wonderful initiative gives our students an opportunity to give alms/be generous to those in need.  

On Monday, all our families received a CARITAS collection box. 

We ask that your family try to collect coins to put in the collection box. We will ask for all boxes to be returned by the end of the term. All donations will be sent to CARITAS to help people such as Anatercia. 

As part of the RE program, students will learn about some of the CARITAS initiatives during the term. Further information can be found on: https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/

The Social Justice Captains, Hazel and Marcus