In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma/Myanmar. The category 4 cyclone devastated communities, killed more than 138,000 people and left over two million people homeless. International and local organisations, including Caritas, provided assistance to the emergency response.

The vast majority of people who engaged in the response were local survivors of Cyclone Nargis; demonstrating the resilience of the human spirit and the solidarity of communities in the face of adversity.

Caritas Australia, the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church, has committed $70,000 AUD in emergency response assistance following the destruction of Ban Mae Surin Refugee Camp on the Thai-Burma border, one of the most remote and vulnerable in the region.

The money Caritas is providing will go to helping Caritas Australia’s long-term partners The Border Consortium (TBC) and Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) in providing humanitarian assistance to those refugees in the camp.

Caritas Australia, part of Caritas Internationalis one of the world’s largest humanitarian networks, has called for more to be done to contain the growing humanitarian crisis in Syria and neighbouring countries.

Flooding in Mozambique has put hospitals and health facilitites out of action, but the Carmelo hospital has become a lifeline, helping to provide care and support to thousands of people. The hospital is run by nuns from Argentina. When the floodwaters rose, they helped carry 100 patients upstairs to safety.

Caritas Australia, the international aid and development organization of the Catholic Church, continues to work with partners in Mozambique, where almost 250,000 people have been affected by flooding, including an estimated 180,000 temporarily displaced.

Caritas Australia, the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church, has committed $70,000 (AU) to help those affected by recent flooding in the country’s southern Gaza province.

The Mozambique government and aid organisations, like the Caritas network, are struggling to respond to the needs of 150,000 people displaced by recent flooding in the region.

In December 2012, Tropical Cyclone Evan tore through Samoa. In January, Stephanie Lalor, Pacific Islands Program Coordinator for Caritas Australia, caught up with the staff and volunteers at Caritas Samoa. She spoke with volunteer, Patolo Fidow.

Kinshasa, le 15 janvier 2013 (caritasdev.cd) : Fidèle à la mission leur assignée par les Evêques de la RDC, toutes les Structures Diocésaines de Caritas Congo Asbl contribuent énormément au social de la population congolaise. C'est le cas des Bureaux Diocésains de Caritas, de Développement et des Ouvres Médicales de l'Archidiocèse de Kinshasa. La visite de solidarité et d'accompagnement effectuée vendredi par le Secrétaire Exécutif de Caritas Congo Asbl a permis de le confirmer.

By Jennifer Hardy, CRS Communications Officer

When Typhoon Bopha swept through Mindanao in the Philippines on 3 December, hundreds of thousands of people found themselves without shelter that night. New Bataan was especially hard hit.

The neighbourhood of Andap lost 300 homes in a devastating mudslide. More than 900 people are reported missing since the storm, including 300 people in New Bataan alone.

Caritas Australia, an international aid and development agency that helps some of the world’s poorest people, has said the Australian Government‘s plans to divert much needed overseas aid money to fund rising refugee support costs domestically will do irreparable damage to Australia’s international reputation.

The proposed aid cuts show that out of all the 23 OECD countries that give overseas aid, Australia will now be the biggest spender on aid within its own borders.