Participants of the closing conference were greeted by canon József Rajna, General Director of Caritas. He pointed out that visiting and caring for the sick is of paramount importance in the Christian tradition as one of the acts of mercy, which also forms the basis of the values of the Caritas organization. "It was in this spirit that the European Union project was created and it was in this spirit that our employees worked with patients every day. I would like to express my gratitude to all" – he said.
As a continuation of the idea, László Böcskei, Roman Catholic diocesan bishop, drew attention to the fact that the end of the project does not mean a closure, as Caritas continues to strive to care for the sick, and especially the poor patients, for which the EU tender provided an excellent professional, logistical and financial framework, but they will try to find ways to go on. "Through such initiatives of Caritas, in fact, the living Church is manifested, where no one feels alone, and where ecclesiastical life becomes a gift to all. Despite all the challenges we face in our everyday lives as people, we need to get to the point where we can say that this world is a good place to be born into. And this can only be achieved if we pay attention to each other and everyone lives in such a way that they can preserve their human dignity"– the bishop emphasized.
In the followings, project manager Hortenzia Nagy described the activities carried out within the framework of the project, from the training of nurses, to informing relatives, to the actual work with patients. As she pointed out, instead of the 180 patients planned in the initial project, actually 223 persons were treated free of charge, and 118 of them showed long-term health improvement and thus were removed from the so-called vulnerability rating. Caritas employees were able to do this above the number of patients they already cared for before the project. This means that the total number of patients treated exceeded 450 per year. This is the highest number of patients cared for by Caritas since the establishment of the home care service.
Andrea Tóth, the specialist coordinating the target groups and the activities, spoke about the complex packages of services that the beneficiaries could use, which included medical and social services, as well as physiotherapy. At the same time, she presented several success stories, including first-hand feed-back from beneficiaries. Among others, a 72-year-old man from Margitta was presented, who was a bed-ridden patient, but thanks to the care received from Caritas, he learned to walk again in a few months and thus become self-sufficient.
Mr. Béla Horváth mayor of Salacea village and Mr. Ioan Gligor mayor of Osorhei also spoke during the conference. They both gave a report on the benefits of the care service provided by Caritas in their own local community and assured the relief organization of their willingness to collaborate in the future too. Aliz Löx, who was the first to establish caritas' home care service in Oradea 25 years ago, also spoke as a special guest invited to the event.
At the end of the event, the members of the caretaker team were applauded by those present, and then, under the leadership of Bishop László Böcskei, they visited the permanent exhibitions of the Episcopal Palace.
