Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Dushanbe (Fides Service) - Attention for children in need, help to families, assistance to the sick: these are the commitments courageously undertaken by Caritas in Tajikistan, for Soviet territory where the Catholic community counts only 2,000 souls in a population of 6 million 80% Muslim.
According to Father Juan Carlos Sack, director of Caritas Tajikistan and parish priest at St Joseph’s church in the capital Dushanbe, the Catholic community has found new energy - thanks also to aid from other countries, Caritas Italy and the Church in Germany - to meet the needs of the poorest and most neglected sectors of society and alleviate their sufferings.
Recently the local Catholic community opened a medical dispensary at the service of about 30,000 people in a poor district of Dushanbe. It provides basic health care and assistance to families in extremely poor conditions. The dispensary was opened thanks to funds from Caritas Italiana; the British Embassy in Dushanbe and Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health, and it serves mainly non-Christians.
“Our aim - Father Juan Carlos told Fides- is to make a modest contribution to the social and moral rebuilding of this splendid country. We want particularly to help the many children in need who are the weakest members of society but our service is not restricted to any one sector ”.
Moreover the communication and necessities of Caritas Tajikistan have just discovered an important multiplying element: visibility at www.caritas.tj a new web site which illustrates the activities of the organisation which is a member of the Caritas Internationalis Federation. With the new web site, continually updated, the local community hopes to find more sponsors for the many projects in mind.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 14/7/2004 lines 23 words 221)
