ASIA/INDIA - Connection and compassion: Caritas at the forefront in the fight against the coronavirus

Thursday, 26 March 2020 coronavirus caritas poverty solidarity

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New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – Curbing the panic, helping the weakest, building trust: these are the action plans put in place by Carits India, at the forefront in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in India. This is what Fr. Paul Moonjely, executive director of Caritas India says to Agenzia Fides, remarking that, in this critical phase, the Catholic organization "is ready to express compassion and solidarity, according to its mission".
Caritas India has set up an emergency task force. While India is experiencing the lockdown imposed by the government "there is a strong need to promote and build trust and support peace in order to drive fear away", notes the Director, illustrating the guidelines that move the action of the Caritas volunteers, on the whole national territory: being informed, being prepared, being cautious, being connected, being compassionate.
Caritas shared and supported the creation of "a virtual platform to generate awareness on COVID-19", he says. Secondly, it promoted specific training to "provide operators with the knowledge and skills required for the preventive and protective measures of COVID-19". Third step, "attention is paid to preventive measures and false news circulating through different means".
It then tries to "stay in touch with needy communities and collaborate with other religious and civil organizations". Finally "to be compassionate means to be in solidarity with the suffering humanity and to promote peace and harmony to prevent the violence that derives from discrimination".
"In times of emergency - notes the Director -, migrants and the poor become the most vulnerable. COVID-19 has forced thousands of migrant workers to return to their city without any future security, sometimes leaving them in limbo and at risk". Caritas is taking care of them, "to protect migrants and the poor who are often discriminated against or marginalized by communities". (PN-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 26/3/2020)