A N N U a L R E P O
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ANNUAL REPORT 2011 www.caritas-bg.org Who we are What we want to achieve People united by common principles and ideas Living reality in which all people, especially the based on willingness to support the people in extremely poor and oppressed ones, find hope need; and strength to feel like a useful part of the Non-governmental organization for public pur- world; pose of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria; Life in which the goods of the Earth are shared by Association of like-minded people – employees, all and where every creature is treated with love associates and volunteers, who share the under- and faith, in the name of the welfare of the future standing of the meaning and necessity of doing generations; service for the common good; Society where the most important thing is the Part of the world family Caritas Internationalis – a confederation of the charitable organizations of dignity of man, created in the image and like- the Catholic Church which unites more than 162 ness of God, and in which there is no discrimina- national organizations from all over the world; tion, violence, intolerance and poverty; A federation of Diocesan Catholic organizations World which reflects the Kingdom of God, where – Caritas Ruse, Caritas Sofia, Vitania. justice, peace, freedom, truth and solidarity reign upon. What we do Help the people in need through our network What our principles are of member organizations and their local struc- Respect and inviolability of human dignity re- tures; gardless of racial, ethnical, religious, gender Provide information for the network with a view of and political affiliation; increasing the effectiveness of the social work; Solidarity where the personal interest stays be- Encourage the dialogue, cooperation, coordina- hind the interest of the community; tion and exchange of experience among the organizations of the network; Subsidiarity wich entails respect to the autono- my of all activities on a local level; Support our member organizations in their ca- pacity building; To involve the needy people in the social ac- Represent our network organizations and de- tivities and to stimulate them to take up the fend their interests on a national and interna- responsibility to help themselves; tional level; Compassion, reconciliation and dialogue as Cooperate with other similar organizations with means of resolving conflicts; emphasis on the ecumenism; Collaboration with other humanitarian and cha- Lobby before the state and external donors. rity organizations. Caritas Bulgaria is a member of: Caritas Internationalis 2011 Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants Bulgarian Platform for International Development National Council on Social Inclusion Issues at the Council of Ministers REPORT Social policies Platform Christian Organizations Against Trafficking Network (COATNET) ANNUAL European Reintegration Support Organizations (ERSO) www.caritas-bg.org Statement of the President of Caritas Bulgaria Dear friends, The European Year of Volunteering 2011 was both a celebration and a challenge. A celebration of the commitment of millions of peo- ple in Europe who work for the benefit of others in their spare time in schools, hospitals, sports clubs, protecting the environment, do- ing service to society and helping people in other countries, without receiving payment for it. Their efforts and the activities of the thou- sands of voluntary organizations dramatically and invaluably change our lives. The world is much better thanks to the volunteers! 2011 was a challenging year also for a big part of the European population, namely the people who have never been involved in volunteering. Without volunteers, the common good and society can not survive long because their progress and dignity depend precisely to a great extent on those people who do more than what is their responsibility. The Good Samaritan teaches us to go beyond our needs and do everything possible to return to “normality”. Our efforts are in service of human dignity, of people who were created in the image and likeness of God. The volunteers are witnesses of love, who open their hearts to serve others. Volunteering is a real vocation for protecting people and their dignity in cases of severe natural disasters and emergencies that threaten the lives and security of families and entire communities. This mission does not only consist in dealing with emergencies, but also in making accurate and laudable contribution to the common good. May people be more than protectors of their territory, may they be a living icon of the Good Samari- tan, by paying attention to their neighbors, protecting their human dignity and encouraging hope. 1 The one who loves and serves selflessly his neighbour and acts according to the Gospel, is part of the mission of the Church, which is always concerned about people and wants to make them feel God's love. We thank to all the volunteers of the Caritas network in Bulgaria for their time and service to people in need that our organization works with. We thank for the support in the organization of our various 2011 activities and initiatives. Thank you for each piece of love you have given in service to others! REPORT Bishop Petko Hristov, President of Caritas Bulgaria ANNUAL www.caritas-bg.org VOLUNTEERING Live simply - donate more! I like a lot this motto and I think that everyone has to think about it for a while and to realize how little we need for being truly generous towards others. Being a volunteer in Caritas for me is a realized dream. I’ve always had the desire to help people with whatever and whenever I could. For 8–9 years already (it doesn’t even matter how many they are, I do not know their exact number, because it is not the number which matters but the moral satisfac- tion from what we have done) I’ve been involved with volunteering at Cari- tas Belene. I learnt about this charitable organization from friends and the church and with great ambition and a little uncertainty I decided to devote to this vast work. At the beginning our work consisted in distribution of second hand clothes and food to the needy people in our city. Later we ourselves – the volunteers, were trained through seminars in various activities related to the mission of Caritas. We participated in the development and implementation of various projects. I myself as a true volunteer was involved in the implementation of many projects related to children because of my daily work with them at school. The School of Caritas, which we studied during the years, helped me to realize and appreciate how useful our work was. We enriched our knowledge through participation in national and international workshops for volunteers. We learned a lot from the experience and generosity of our colleagues and we managed to use what we’ve learned in the most rational way in the parish activity of Caritas. Today I can say that I'm satisfied withCaritas and what it means to me – I made new friends, learned a lot in different areas and aspects and I feel useful to many people and to my family. VOLUNTEERING Anelia Genova, Caritas Belene Without volunteers there is no Caritas! 2 For Caritas Bulgaria volunteering and the of advocacy activities that were intended to message that it brings for selfless, uncondi- emphasize the social dimension of volunteer- tional and organized activity designated for ing, in particular the importance of voluntary the benefit of others, are inherent to its iden- engagement in the social sphere and active tity. Volunteering reflects the spiritual purpose citizenship. of the Christian community and it corresponds 2011 Volunteering carried out in the nearby neigh- to God's commandment to love one another. As borhood, but also in third countries aims to a type of attitude, it motivates our actions, of contribute to the autonomy and social inclu- both the volunteers and the paid staff. REPORT sion of the people at risk and the develop- Based on this understanding, Caritas Bulgar- ment of their commu nities. For them – and ia dedicated the past 2011 year to a number for all the volunteers as a whole – it can be ANNUAL www.caritas-bg.org a source of confidence and self-esteem and Stimulating in a suitable way (financially also of meaning in life and satisfaction! and legally) the NGOs and the business sec- tor to develop volunteering. That is why, during the past year Caritas Bulgaria maintained in its discussions with It is very important that the national political the authorities and politicians the following authorities will remain vigilant so that volun- position: the Government should recognize teering would not be turned into an instru- and support the importance of volunteering ment of cheap work force, replacing the paid as an instrument for creating a more humane work. Neither should volunteering be used as a society based on solidarity and it should as- tool for replacing the functions of the govern- sist volunteering to develop and realize its full ment or local authorities in the area of health potential by: care, social services and social work. Recognizing the contribution of volunteers The activities of the member organizations of to society and ensuring visibility of their role; Caritas Bulgaria are supported by 264 vol- unteers. These are people from all over Bul- Establishing a legal framework which garia, of different age, sex, religion and social should ensure recognition and protection of status, who daily dedicate their time in favor the volunteers, taking into account the spe- of the community. cifics of their activities. Imposing too many restrictions or too much administrative bur- Caritas Bulgaria believes that everyone den would impede volunteering instead of should express engagement and responsi- promoting it; bility towards the others and the community where he/she belongs.