"I am a Christian, and I ask for my part in the suffering of my fellow human beings," was said at the Easter service for the staff members of Caritas Catolica in Oradea, led by the parish priest and deputy director József Egeli. It was in this spirit that Caritas staff prepared for the celebration of the Resurrection. An important part of the Easter preparations is to work together to help even more vulnerable people and poor communities, making the feast of the poor more beautiful and enriching their festive table.
As part of the latest action, food packages were distributed to 108 people and families in need for orthodox Easter between the 26th of April and the 5th of May. The packages included bread, ham, canned food, soft drinks and sweets, as well as basic food such as rice, flour, sugar and oil. Most of the distributed goods were offered by believers of local roman catholic parishes of the Diocese of Oradea, complemented with donations from other companies and individuals.
A big contribution was made by the National Food Bank, contributing to the food packages through donations made by customers at the lidl supermarket chain's collection points and, on the other hand, through a partnership with KFC, donating a significant amount of chicken meat products to Caritas' kitchen. The amount was enough to cook a specific Kentucky chicken lunch for about 150 elderly, needy and orphan children.
Prior to this, during the catholic Holy Week, 150 packages of non-perishable food were distributed by Caritas staff and volunteers from the diocese, with the support of the SOEB foundation in Boskoop as final part of the winter aid project. The large packages contained sugar, oil, rice, pasta, salami, cake, margarine and canned food to cover each family's basic food needs for several weeks.
In addition, an extra 90 registered beneficiaries of Caritas Soup Kitchen receive extra Easter aid packages containing ham, pastry, canned soup and other durable food at both Catholic and Orthodox Easters. A significant part of the contents of the packages was collected in catholic parishes of Oradea city, supplemented by food donated by deacon Peter Zidar from austria and the aid organisation Caritasverband Passau.
In addition to individual aid, Caritas Catolica supports communities in need at institutional level too. During Holy Week, a total of 1,900 jars of apple puree, beans and carrots were donated to disadvantaged gipsy families, as well as an additional 620 kg of beans, peas and other vegetables to the National Food Bank wich distributes them further to dozens of NGO-s. The high-quality products were donated to us by the Dutch company HAK.
At the same time, the supply of clothing to poor communities was continued. During the Easter period, a total of 6400 kg of second-hand clothes, shoes, toiletries and household objects were donated to the social departments of the municipalities of poor villages like Sacueni, Tinca and Husasau de Tinca.
With these offerings, the diocesan organization Caritas strived to help those in need to have a cloudless Easter holiday, without the overwhelming worries of every-day needs, and enriching their festive table.
