Launch to showcase where the money is going

01 Feb 2013

By Robert Hiini

Ditosa Souza Sitoe 12 years, writing in the common room in the community centre in Matuba, Mozambique. PHOTO: Erin Johnson, Caritas Australia.

Project Compassion will be launched this year by someone who knows precisely what the generous donations of thousands of Catholic Australians can do.

Provaty Rozario, the Project Coordinator of the Safe Motherhood Project in Bangladesh, will be the keynote speaker at the February 14 launch of this year’s campaign at St Vincent’s Primary school hall in Kwinana.

Dubbed Open Doors into the Future, the campaign will encourage members of parishes and schools throughout the country to donate money for the sake of many worthy Caritas-supported projects throughout the world.

Local Caritas Director Daniel Chan said the Safe Motherhood Project was an example of the great strides that could be made in helping local people to care for the most vulnerable.

Caritas Australia has helped Ms Rozario’s organisation to train midwives so that impoverished young mothers no longer have to face the harrowing prospect of giving birth without trained, medical support.

“Provaty came and told us the problems they had with infant and maternal mortality and that they didn’t have access to doctors and nurses,” Mr Chan said.

“Caritas support has gone towards making them sustainable and they can now expand their activities to help many more women.”

Mr Chan said that most of the projects featured in this year’s campaign were about the well-being of children and the communities that support them.

He said he encouraged people to find out where their money is going.

“Find out where the money is going to find out what Caritas stands for,” he told The Record earlier this week. “See the stories that reach into our hearts and see the good Caritas has been doing now for almost 50 years.”

Ms Provaty has worked in maternal health since 1991, beginning the Safe Motherhood Project in 1999 with the support of Caritas Bangladesh.

The launch is from 10.30am to noon. For more information or for attendance, contact Caritas at 9422 7925 or perth@caritas.org.au.