ETHIOPIA: Catholic Church Aims To Serve 4.97m Beneficiaries in 2019 Social Development
The Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission (Caritas Ethiopia) holds it 19th General Assembly on March 28, 2019 in Addis Ababa. The annual report of the Commission for the year 2018 and annual plan for the year 2019 have been presented to the General Assembly.
Speaking at the event His Excellency Cardinal Berhaneyesus, C.M, who is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa, President of Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) and Chairman of the General Assembly, lauded Caritas Ethiopia for the tremendous achievements recorded in 2018. He particularly highlighted the emergency response, which the Church has been giving to the internally displaced people (IDPs) in different parts of the country.
He also asked all the Social Development actors of the Church to continue working in the rehabilitation process of the IDPs.
Mr. Bekele Moges, Executive Director of Caritas Ethiopia, elaborated that in 2019, the Church will reach out to 4.97 million beneficiaries in all the ecclesiastical jurisdictions. He further said that the total budget planned for the year 2019 is approximately Birr 2.3 Billion ($80 million. Out of this, Birr 1.36 Billion is in cash and Birr 1.05 Billion is allocated to food commodities of 75,928 metric tons.
He also explained that much focus will be given to supporting and rehabilitating the internally displaced people in Ethiopia as the Church gives priority to the most vulnerable members of the society, who are the women and children.
The General Assembly of the Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission consists of all the Bishops, CMRS, Representatives of Catholic Institutions and the Laity.
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By Makeda Yohannes, ECS Communications Coordinator
