community outreach

The Diaconia Unit co-ordinates research and action at parish level.

The unit's aims are:

- Raising the awareness of the Christian community of its responsibility to help those in their midst who are in difficulty and to guide them in order to get involved or to coordinate and collaborate with this commission.

- Uniting, strengthening and coordinating the parish groups, which are involved in social voluntary work. These can include also various prayer groups and movements who involve them selves in such work.

- Establishing on a parish level, new voluntary services for the welfare of the persons in need, whenever necessary

- Networking with other parish Diaconia Commissions to enrich the quality of services offered by sharing resources and experiences

Head of Unit: Mr. Leonid McKay

Caritas Malta participating in CONCEPT

During the past twelve months, Caritas Malta has participated in CONCEPT, a Caritas Europa project co-financed by the EU Commission within the European Community Action Programme.

CONCEPT, Caritas Organisations Network to Challenge the Exclusion and Poverty Trap, aims to build a network of experts on social inclusion and the National Action Plans in 25 EU Member States plus Bulgaria. It started on 1 December 2005 and will end on 30 November 2006. However, it is likely that the opportunity will exist to apply for a second year of funding under the same budget line, for a continuation of, or follow up to this project.

Seen as an outstanding possibility to put into practice the priority on Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion for the strategic period 2005-2010, CONCEPT makes the following four main contributions with regard to the involvement of the Caritas network in the fight against poverty and social exclusion:

- Enhancing and encouraging the participation of the member organisations in the National Action Plans
- Fostering and intensifying trans-national partnerships, dialogue and exchange of practices between Caritas member organisations in order to improve their input into the National inclusion strategies
- Ensuring a good two-sided (bottom-up and top-down) process of designing, implementing, steering and monitoring European social inclusion projects or programs within the Caritas network
- Contributing to the Open Method of Coordination in the field of Social Inclusion at the European level
The co-financing by the European Commission of CONCEPT strengthens the position of Caritas Europa as a reliable and competent key-actor in the area of Social Policy.

Caritas Malta has participated in this project as a twin-partner with Caritas Bulgaria. Caritas Malta will also take part in CONCEPT II.

Caritas General Assembly 2008 - Diaconia: Christian Service with Love.

Click links below to see presentations made by Mr Leonid McKay; Fr Charles Tabone O.P., Fr John Vella ofm Cap.,and Mr Godfrey Leone Ganado at the Caritas General Assembly on Saturday 26th April 2008.

Mr Leonid McKay

Fr Charles Tabone O.P.

Fr John Vella ofm Cap.

Mr Godfrey Leone Ganado