‘Caritas supports development projects in Pakistan’

Caritas Austria supports different projects in Pakistan to address issues such as emergency assistance, rehabilitation in flood-hit areas, health, poverty alleviation and development while it is “also focusing on education in our efforts”, said Franz Küberl, president of the international donor agency.
Besides Pakistan, the Caritas is working in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand, Küberl told Pakistan Today during an informal talk. “I am in Pakistan on an 11-day visit, starting from October 11, to monitor the ongoing development projects in different areas,” he said. Currently, the Caritas is providing monetary resource to its local partner, the FACES Pakistan, to construct about 600 one-room small houses in its post-flood rehabilitation efforts in district Kashmor in Sindh.
“I am very happy after visiting some villages of district Kashmor, where over 50 percent work is done by our partner,” he said. “We, the Austrians, are ready to help Pakistan and we equally share miseries of our calamity-hit brothers and sisters here,” he said. The Caritas president said the people in Austria had contributed 5.6 million euros for the rehabilitation and reconstructions projects in flooded areas of Pakistan. “We collected this money in minimum time through our campaigns in the electronic media,” he said. “You can imagine how Austrian people are sympathetic towards Pakistanis,” he said.
Küberl said he was very much satisfied with the working of partner organisation in flooded villages, and he was also expecting more good work from local staff. To a question, he said that Caritas Austria had a clear vision and a plan to focus on education sector after the complete rehabilitation in the flood-affected areas. Caritas Chief Aid Officer Lukas Steinwendtner is also part of the three-member delegation headed by Franz Küberl that is visiting projects and field offices of partner organisations.
Earlier, FACES Pakistan Vice President Javaid William and its National Coordinator Programmes Elaine Alam gave the delegation a detailed briefing on the development projects.