Goa Archdiocese, Caritas India Contribute Rs 1 Cr for Manipur Relief

Verghese V Joseph –

The unprecedented man-made crisis in Manipur has shaken the consciousness of the entire country to the core.

The official development arm of the Catholic Church in India, Caritas India, was the first in Manipur to provide immediate relief through food kits, shelter-NFI kits and dignity kits for hygiene and personal well-being of women and adolescent girls through its partner organisations in Imphal and Silchar. This relief was provided to thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the relief camps, despite the blockades.

The main focus of this intervention was to assist the population residing in camps, including both the Meitei and Kuki communities to ensure that individuals directly impacted by the violence, irrespective of their ethnic background, receive the required assistance. In addition, protection concerns were addressed in Manipur and Mizoram through medical camps, health referrals and distribution of special food kits meeting the needs of vulnerable population.

Caritas India along with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) offered USD 20, 000/- to ZEP Aizawl for humanitarian aid in Manipur. Besides, along with Sphere India, Caritas India was deeply involved in the Joint Rapid Needs Assessment (JRNA) through data collection and report writing.

Caritas India has ensured the protection principles of Safety, Access and Dignity are upheld in prioritizing the vulnerable groups among the IDPs, such as women, children, elderly, and persons with disabilities, recognizing their specific needs and vulnerabilities.

The Church in Goa, as always, rendered its compassionate heart to the suffering people in Manipur. His Eminence Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao immediately contacted the Archbishop of Imphal, Domnic Lumon to assure the support of the Archdiocese of Goa. His Eminence issued a Circular with an Appeal to support the suffering people of Manipur. However, before any collections could be received from generous donors, as immediate response, the Archdiocese of Goa and Caritas Goa sent Rupees 20 Lakhs to the Archdiocese of Imphal for the relief of the internally displaced persons in the three hundred different camps.

“In its constant interaction with the management of Caritas India, we were apprised of the largescale relief interventions. Strategically, we were advised to organise only monetary assistance, as logistical costs of transporting relief materials would be enormous and unnecessary as the same was procured from closer districts and with lesser requirements of permissions,” said Fr. Maverick Fernandes, Director, Cartias Goa.

Subsequently, in response to the appeal from His Eminence people contributed through the parishes and individually very generously towards Manipur aid. The Archdiocese received contributions from the faithful and well-wishers and dispatched Rupees 45 lakhs to the Archdiocese of Imphal and Cartias Goa sent Rupees Forty-One Lakhs Six Hundred to Caritas India for relief and short-and-long term rehabilitation initiatives in Manipur.  It is encouraging to note that the contributions from the people are continuing to flow to Caritas Goa and the Archdiocese, which we shall continue to send for respective assistance in Manipur.

“Caritas India is committed to journeying in solidarity with conflict-affected people irrespective of their caste, creed, race, or gender through humanitarian assistance. Caritas India will engage for a long-term intervention through dialogue for a dignified and safe ecosystem of co-existence through inter community peace initiatives; will staunchly promote livelihood options for the affected families of both the communities; will support the psycho-social and trauma counselling of the victims of conflict; will support education of children of the affected families; will initiate peace clubs in different villages and work closely with the government and different faith and local civil society groups towards bringing peace and  harmony,” added Fr. Maverick.

The word Caritas originates from Latin, which means, Love in Action. The name connotes the efforts to bring compassion and love to humanity. Caritas India is a member of the Caritas Confederation of more than 160 member organisations working in nearly 200 countries, making it the second largest humanitarian network in the world.