Capuchins support displaced people in Darfur

LONDON - 16 July 2007 - An Order of Capuchin Franciscan friars based in Kent, has donated £20,000 to the Darfur/Chad appeal run by Catholic aid agency CAFOD. The money from the Order, based at a Friary, in Erith, will help to ease the desperate plight of those made homeless by conflict in what was referred to by the United Nations as the 'world's worst humanitarian crisis'.

Provincial Minister Brother James Boner said: "We can't sit back and do nothing, we have to help the people in Darfur and Chad who are suffering unimaginable horrors. They have been forced to leave their homes and live in sprawling camps where conditions are atrocious, where food and water is scarce and access to medical help and schooling is limited. "It fits with the ethos of our order to give to the poor and abandoned. Sudan is one of the countries where the Capuchins don't have a presence so it's vital we can help the people through a trusted aid agency like CAFOD."

CAFOD director Chris Bain, who has recently returned from Darfur, said: "I've seen for myself the desperate situation and need of the people. I also saw how CAFOD partners are carrying out life-saving work and reaching the most vulnerable. It's this work that needs funds as the crisis in Darfur continues to deteriorate. "CAFOD is thankful for this generous gift of £20,000 from the Capuchin Franciscans to ensure this vital work goes on."

In 2004, over one million people in Darfur were at risk. Now more than 200,000 are believed to have died and over two million people have been forced from their homes. A further one million people in surrounding towns and villages have to share scarce water, healthcare, firewood and food with the new arrivals. About 225,000 refugees have crossed the border into eastern Chad. CAFOD has been working in Darfur since the outset of the crisis in 2004, through ACT/Caritas. They reach 325,000 people through the joint programme providing shelter, safe water and sanitation for the vulnerable women, children and men that crowd into make-shift camps. CAFOD has also given £100,000 for refugees and host communities in eastern Chad, where CAFOD partner SECADEV is managing three refugee camps in the east, Farchana, Kounoungo and Mile, host to approximately 38,000 people.
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