Caritas Parish Programme Support

FROM AD NEWS 1 OF 2023: Caritas Cape Town (CCT) provides advisory, capacity-building and, where necessary, financial support to effectively aid parishes of the Archdiocese of Cape Town to initiate welfare and development programs or projects in their local communities.

In August 2022, CCT and the parishes of St Ignatius, Claremont and St Bernard’s, Newlands collaborated to assist pregnant women in disadvantaged communities. CCT had 25 wicker Moses baskets and disposable nappies available which it wished to donate to a local community. The parishioners of St Bernard and St Ignatius very generously raised enough money to buy baby products to put in each of the baskets and also added a hand-knitted blanket and prayer for each of the babies.
CCT was keen to present these baskets as part of an important health message around the dangers of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Consuming alcohol during pregnancy may lead to the baby being born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) which results in permanent brain damage, for which there is no cure. South Africa has the highest rate of FASD in the entire world.

CCT decided to join hands with the Zoe Project, a local NGO which provides maternal health care services to vulnerable women throughout their pregnancy journey. In October/November 2022 workshops were given to 25 pregnant mums as part of the Zoe Project pre-natal program at Lavender Hill and Retreat. At the end of each workshop the baby baskets were presented to the mums as a blessing for the forthcoming birth of their baby.

CCT would like to thank the parishioners of St Bernard and St Ignatius for their generosity in supporting this program, and in particular the PPC Community Engagement leaders in both parishes – Pat Rother and Angie Bruni-Morgenrood.
CCT was delighted to be part of a parish program that may impact the lives of children, even before they are born. We wish the Zoe Project and the mums many blessings for themselves and their new babies.

In the coming weeks and months CCT hopes to meet and work with the newly elected PPC Community Engagement leaders of all parishes. We foresee that there will be many parish projects and programs which will change lives in the course of 2023 and beyond.
For further information about Caritas Cape Town, please contact CCT Co-ordinator Aisling Foley at coordinator@caritas.capetown or 069 126 4841.

Posted in Archdiocesan News.