Caritas Asia
| Established | 1999[1] |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Location | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Coordinates | 13°46′59″N 100°32′46″E / 13.78297°N 100.54619°E |
| Origins | Catholic Social Teaching |
| Region served | Asia |
| Fields | Development aid, Humanitarian aid, Social services |
| President | Benedict Alo D'Rozario |
| Parent organization | Caritas Internationalis |
| Website | caritas.asia |
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]
Background
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]
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,[3] as well as to strengthen the technical capacities of the network.
Membership
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.[3]
List of Member Organisations
| 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[4] | ? |
| 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[4] | 2002 |
| South East Asia | Vietnam | Caritas Vietnam | 1965 |
Leadership
Presidents
- ...
- 2007–2011: Joseph Vianney Fernando[5]
- 2011–2019: Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi[6]
- 2019–2023: Benedict Alo D'Rozario[7]
- 2023–now: Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi[8]
Regional Coordinators
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 "Caritas in Asia". caritas.org. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- Back to citation "Asia Partnership for Human Development". catholicstudiesdatabase.aws.stthomas.edu. Retrieved 1 May 2024; 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; "Other Human Rights Institutions – Thailand". University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Retrieved 1 May 2024; "Our work in the Philippines". Development and Peace. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 Gomes, Robin (8 December 2021). "Caritas Asia: Witness to charity and dialogue between religions". Vatican News. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Caritas Laos and Caritas Uzbekistan are member organisations of Caritas Asia, but not of Caritas Internationalis.
- Back to citation "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.
- Back to citation "Caritas Internationalis elects Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi as its new head". Radio Veritas Asia. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- Back to citation "Caritas Asia reelects president for a second term". Sunday Examiner. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- Back to citation "Our Governance and Leadership". Caritas. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- Back to citation "Leaving a stronger Caritas Asia". Union of Catholic Asian News. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- Back to citation "Caritas Asia Regional Conference". Herald Malaysia. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.