Flipping pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to spread the word about Project Compassion has become a tradition in Sandhurst with a Public Launch normally taking place in Hargreaves Mall Bendigo. Sadly, with the uncertainty around what would happen with COVID as students returned to school, we felt it wise not to plan for a Public Launch but rather, encourage schools and parishes to hold their own Launches on Shrove Tuesday.
And they did this with great enthusiasm across the Diocese.
The theme of PC22 ‘FOR ALL FUTURE GENERATIONS,’ reminds us that the good we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues.
The theme comes from the biblical story of Noah’s Ark. More specifically, when the flood waters subsided, a rainbow appeared in the sky and the dove returned with an olive branch, indicating a new beginning. God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations’ (Genesis 9:12).
During COVID-19, through extensive partnerships with local communities on the ground, Caritas has been responding to minimise the spread of the pandemic, adapting existing programs with new emergency training, medical and hygiene kits.
This year, during Project Compassion, Caritas is showcasing five heroic individuals for whom your support is making a real difference. There’s Anatercia, a 12-year-old girl in Mozambique, who was struggling to cope with the burden of adult responsibilities. Her father died and her mother has chronic health issues, so Anatercia bore the brunt of household chores, travelling for hours every day to collect water to help her grandparents. Water scarcity also meant harvests were poor and there was never enough to eat. A Caritas program has transformed life in the community. Now, Anatercia goes to school and hopes to become a nurse.
Read about Biru in India, facing poverty and discrimination due to disability, who received entrepreneurship training and is now financially independent; Janice, a Wagilak woman in Australia, and part of the Caritas-supported Djilpin Arts Community which generates income and keeps culture alive; Rosa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, once a child soldier, now a business owner and community leader; and Shaniella in the Solomon Islands overcoming the challenges of natural disasters and receiving vocational training to provide a brighter future at www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion
Additionally, Caritas is offering the unique opportunity to interact online with staff, partners, and program participants in Australia and overseas, via CARITAS CONVERSATIONS − five weeks of online Caritas Q&As. These are a great opportunity to link us more closely to the stories. You can participate in these as a Parish Group or as an individual. These online events are one-hour, interactive sessions over Zoom.
Register for Caritas Conversations
WEEK 1 Anatercia – Mozambique
Wednesday 9 March at 7.30 p.m.
Thursday 10 March at 2.30 p.m.
WEEK 2 Biru – India
Tuesday 15 March at 11.3 0 a.m.
Wednesday 16 March at 2.30 p.m.
Thursday 17 March at 11.00 a.m.
WEEK 3 Janice – Indigenous Australia
Tuesday 22 March at 2.30 a.m.
Wednesday 23 March at 7.30 p.m.
Thursday 24 March at 11.00 a.m.
WEEK 4 Rosalie – DRC
Tuesday 29 March at 7.30 p.m.
Wednesday 30 March at 11.00 a.m.
Thursday 31 March at 2.30 p.m.
WEEK 5 Shaniella – Solomon Islands
Tuesday 5 April at 11.00 a.m.
Wednesday 6 April at 2.30 p.m.
Thursday 7 April at 7.30 p.m.
To support Project Compassion, donate through your Parish boxes and envelopes or go to www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion.
Bishop Shane serves pancakes to Safeguarding Coordinator Anne McIntosh at the Chancery on Shrove Tuesday.
St John's Parish, Nurmukah.
St Augustine's Primary School, Kyabram.
St Patrick's Primary School, Tongala.
