Caritas Asia is a pan-Asian nonprofit organisation and one of the seven regions of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation. Caritas Asia refers both to its regional secretariat, based in Bangkok and its network with 25 member organisation.[1]

Caritas Asia
Established1999[1]
TypeNonprofit
Location
Coordinates13°46′59″N 100°32′46″E / 13.78297°N 100.54619°E / 13.78297; 100.54619
OriginsCatholic Social Teaching
Region served
Asia
Fieldsdevelopment aid, humanitarian aid, social services
President
Benedict Alo D'Rozario
Parent organization
Caritas Internationalis
Websitecaritas.asia

Background

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Caritas Asia's predecessor was the Asia Partnership for Human Development, founded in 1973 and bringing together more than 23 Catholic development organisations from Asia and the West.[2][3][4][5]

The current structure was established in 1999 during the general assembly of Caritas Internationalis in Rome, where the request of its Asian member organisation to create a regional secretariat was approved. The goal of Caritas Asia is to coordinate the work of its member organisations, especially in the context of responses to natural disaster,[6] as well as to strengthen the technical capacities of the network.

Membership

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Caritas Asia consists of 25 national member organisations operating in 24 Asian countries.[1] In Singapore, there are two member organisations: Caritas Singapore and Caritas Humanitarian Aid & Relief Initiatives (CHARIS). Not all Asian national Caritas organisations are members of Caritas Asia; those in the Middle East, despite being geographically located in Asia, such as Caritas Jordan, Caritas Iraq and Caritas Iran, are members of Caritas Middle East and North Africa, while Caritas of Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Turkey are part of Caritas Europa.

The membership of Caritas Asia is further grouped under four subregions, each having their own sub-regional office. These are Central Asia with an office in Kyrgyzstan, East Asia with an office in Macau, South Asia with an office in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia with an office in Singapore.[6]

List of Member Organisations

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Sub-region Country Member organisation
(English name)
Established
South Asia   Bangladesh Caritas Bangladesh 1967
South East Asia   Cambodia Caritas Cambodia 1972
East Asia   Hong Kong Caritas Hong Kong 1953
South Asia   India Caritas India 1962
South East Asia   Indonesia Caritas Indonesia (Karina KWI) 2006
East Asia   Japan Caritas Japan 1946
Central Asia   Kazakhstan Caritas Kazakhstan 1997
Central Asia   Kyrgyzstan Caritas Kyrgyzstan 2011
South East Asia   Laos Caritas Laos ?
East Asia   Macau Caritas Macau 1951
South East Asia   Malaysia Caritas Malaysia 2020
Central Asia   Mongolia Caritas Mongolia 2000
South East Asia   Myanmar Caritas Myanmar (KMSS) 2001
South Asia   Nepal Caritas Nepal 1990
South Asia   Pakistan Caritas Pakistan 1965
South East Asia   Philippines Caritas Philippines (NASSA) 1966
South East Asia   Singapore Caritas Singapore 2006
South East Asia   Singapore CHARIS 2010
East Asia   South Korea Caritas Korea 1975
South Asia   Sri Lanka Caritas Sri Lanka 1968
East Asia   Taiwan Caritas Taiwan 1969
Central Asia   Tajikistan Caritas Tajikistan 2007
South East Asia   Thailand Caritas Thailand 1972
South East Asia   Timor-Leste Caritas Timor Leste 1999
Central Asia   Uzbekistan Caritas Uzbekistan 2002
South East Asia   Vietnam Caritas Vietnam 1965

Leadership

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Presidents

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Regional Coordinators

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  • ...
  • 2008–2012: Fr. Bonnie Mendes[10]
  • 2012–2023: Eleazar Gomez[6]
  • 2023-now: Shimray Mungreiphy [11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Caritas in Asia". caritas.org. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Asia Partnership for Human Development". catholicstudiesdatabase.aws.stthomas.edu. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ Pollard, David (1981). "A partnership model for development: Australian non-government organisations and the special case of the Asia Partnership for Human Development". University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954–2016. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Other Human Rights Institutions – Thailand". University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Our work in the Philippines". Development and Peace. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Gomes, Robin (8 December 2021). "Caritas Asia: Witness to charity and dialogue between religions". Vatican News. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Journeying together for a Peaceful Society: History of Caritas Sri Lanka-SEDEC from 1968 to 2018" (PDF). Caritas Sri Lanka. 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Caritas Internationalis elects Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi as its new head". Radio Veritas Asia. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Caritas Asia reelects president for a second term". Sunday Examiner. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Leaving a stronger Caritas Asia". Union of Catholic Asian News. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Caritas Asia Regional Conference". Herald Malaysia. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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