TANZANIA: Caritas Tanzania is a Catholic Charitable Organ, Not NGO-TEC Insists
the Head of Caritas Tanzania National Level , Ms. Marshal Mpokonya
Sarah Pelaji
Members of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) have clarified that Caritas Tanzania remains functioning as a Catholic Charitable organ and not as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that is run by the wishes of philanthropists.
This was insisted by the Deputy Secretary General of TEC, Father Chesco Peter Msaga C.PP.S while opening the Workshop of Caritas-Tanzania stakeholders, regarding the preparation of the Caritas National Strategic Plan for the next three years of implementation from July 2024 to June 2027.
He said that Caritas is an organ of the Church, so its mission should be focused on uplifting people, especially special groups, and differentiate itself from some NGOs, some of which have been working to implement the wishes of philanthropists, including those that are not compatible with values of protecting human dignity.
“While Caritas-Tanzania continues with the process of preparing its Strategic Plan for the next three years, the Catholic Bishops in Tanzania have given attention to the organization to come up with action plans which touch the real lives of the needy at all social levels, including the disabled and victims of various disasters.
“The main virtue of Caritas is Love….so we must live this virtue by serving the needy so that they also see themselves as an important part of society because, like other human beings, they are also created in the image and likeness of God,” he stressed.
On his part, the Director of the Directorate of Human Dignity TEC, Dr. Camillus Kassala insisted that Caritas executives ensure that they promote and protect the dignity and personality of the human being.
They must fulfill their mission with love and compassion, responsibility reflect the real-life situation lived by the person they serve, while their activities are also based on the teachings of the Catholic Church for Society.
“This means that Caritas programs should look at the problems of the needy and deal with them with love, but also your actions should take into account the Holy Father’s Encyclical of Laudato Si’ specially to have the right methods and tools to help the poor and marginalized who have been the main victims of the effects of the environmental damage,” he emphasized
According to the Head of Caritas Tanzania National Level, Ms. Marshal Mpokonya, the proposed Strategic Plan is part of the implementation of Objective Number Three of the Strategic Plan of the Tanzania Episcopal Council (TEC) which is ‘Management of community development and immediate responsibility against emergencies arising from disasters’.
She said under the current Strategic Plan, Caritas through the Directorate for the Development of Human Dignity – TEC, is responsible for promoting community development, justice, and peace by strengthening various development activities that care for various groups including the needy.
“This three-year strategic plan starts from July 2024-June 2027, which is a continuation of the implementation of the TEC Strategic Plan, the implementation of which has started since 2015 and has been evaluated and improved every three years… so as Caritas Tanzania at National level we have decided to involve stakeholders at all levels including Caritas executives at the Diocese level to make the implementation system a friendly that involves opinions from all levels,” she said while adding;
“The system we use as Caritas Tanzania National level to get opinions and needy assessment, we meet with representatives of the Archdioceses where our team of experts, including our main facilitators, has already visited the Catholic Archdiocese of Mbeya, Dar es Salaam, and Dodoma where they met with Caritas executives in those dioceses and other stakeholders …
This workshop has now involved representatives of the Archdiocese we previously visited, to give chance to the participants to know what was raised so that they can give their opinions and ideas to further improve our Strategic Plan.”
Facilitators of the workshop including Mr. Baruan Idd from Matsoft Group, CRS, and other stakeholders in the workshop presented their views advising Caritas Tanzania at the National Level to facilitate the offices at the Diocesan level by building capacity on various issues systematically and structurally, having human resources with various professions at the national level as well as having a solid system of management and monitoring (M&E)
To connect Caritas at the Diocesan level with various donors, there should be a common guide to respond to the current challenges including the issue of environmental damage, gender violence, reproductive health education, upbringing, and early development of children and special groups as well as set and improve systems compatible with modern communication technology.
Transparency and Accountability in donor resources, restoring and strengthening the Gender Desk at Caritas National offices, establishing Caritas offices in New Catholic Dioceses, using the Church’s media to advertise Caritas activities, the presence of a solid project that will be used as focal areas at Diocesan level for example the implementation of LAUDATO SI but more the National Caritas Office to make various efforts including lobbying to give feedback.
