April 29, 2020
News
Thanks to you, the “Collection for Czechia” account has accumulated almost CZK 4 million and the first money is being distributed to people in need in the individual dioceses; our employees as well as volunteers work with immense dedication in retirement homes, in counselling, in home-care nursing, they provide spiritual support, and advise to foreigners living in here – as a short summary of the Caritas Czech Republic endeavours in the past few weeks.
In many ways, our everyday activity has transformed for the better. During the pandemic, we have proven our abilities, similar to the floods of 2002. After the enforced shutdown of day-care centres and the necessity to limit personal contact, a part of our network’s job transferred to the telephone. Only a few days after the state of emergency had been declared, we published numbers for crisis and spiritual hotlines and helplines for foreigners: they continue to be immensely busy.
After fast and vigorous preparations, we launched the Collection for Czechia: Shepherding Solidarity on March, 30th, and in the four weeks since then, you have sent almost CZK 4 million. The collection is intended for those in dire need who have already used all the other options offered by the state through its offices. So far, we have allocated CZK 300,000 to each of our eight diocesan Caritas organizations to help those who find themselves without any means through no fault of their own. We are collecting their stories and we will soon be able to present the first ones to you.
However, we did not wait for the money to accumulate in the collection, and in early April, we divided CZK 400,000 from the Three-Kings Collection’s crisis fund among the dioceses.
Our employees are now working under great pressure; some helped in the locked down villages in the Olomouc region, others voluntarily switch on two-week shifts in retirement homes to increase their clients’ protection. The demand for home-care nursing services, which significantly ease the pressure on hospitals and enable people to recover at home, is increasing. Those workers who focus on helping homeless people report workload comparable with winter months which belong to the most demanding period. Our counselling centres have prepared an overview of the most frequently asked questions regarding rent and instructions for people in debt, and their lines also never stop ringing. All our employees and volunteers therefore deserve big gratitude for their professionalism and great drive!
We are also getting personally involved: the General Secretary of Caritas Czech Republic Jakub Líčka and spokesperson Jan Oulík participated in the Czech Television’s quiz show called Kde domov můj and managed to win CZK 22,000 for the Caritas. However, the fact that makes us truly happy is that the viewers sent further CZK 140,000 via donation texts, increasing the total amount.
So far, none of us knows how long we will be facing this difficult situation. However, it is already clear that we can rely on mutual solidarity and on the goodwill of all of you supporting our work. We could not do it without you. Thank you!