Trócaire

Trócaire is an Irish non governmental organization (NGO) development agency. The charity is registered in the Republic of Ireland under Irish Charity No. CHY 5883.

Origins

• The word 'trócaire' in Irish translates to the word 'compassion' in English.
• Trócaire was set up in 1973 by the Irish Catholic Bishops.

Trócaire as a Catholic agency

Trócaire's roots can be found as far back as 1967 when Pope Paul VI wrote his groundbreaking and insightful encyclical Popularoum Progressio, which called for people to take notice and respond to the injustices and disparities that were occurring all round the world.

In 1973 floods ravaged Bangladesh causing the Irish people to donate money in a spontaneous act of community solidarity and generosity. Cardinal William Conway saw the need for an Irish Church agency to channel such generosity and Trócaire's life began.

In a pastoral letter written in 1973 by the Bishops of Ireland, Trócaire, the Irish word for "mercy " was established. The agency was set up as an official channel through which people can express their commitment on an ongoing basis, to the needs of the Third World. They set out the aims of Trócaire as two-fold:

Abroad, it will give whatever help lies within its resources to the areas of greatest need among the developing counties. At home, it will try to make us all more aware of the needs of these countries and of our duties towards them. These duties are no longer a matter of charity but of simple justice.

Ethos

Trócaire is a non governmental organization(N.G.O). Trócaire works in 127 programmes across 39 countries in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Some of the programmes aims are to:

• Support gender equality
• Respond to Emergencies and Disasters
• Address the HIV and AIDS crisis
• Help people cope with climate change
• Tackle injustice and defend human rights

Development

• Trócaire was given a dual mandate: to support long-term development projects overseas and to provide relief during emergencies; and at home to inform the Irish public about the root causes of poverty and injustice and mobilise the public to bring about global change.

• Its work is also influenced by the experiences and the hopes of the poor and oppressed. Trócaire supports communities in their efforts to improve their lives, meet their basic needs and ensure their human dignity.

• Each year during the lent period in Ireland Trócaire sends out a money box where people usually choose to put a euro or more each day and it's collected after the forty days of lent.

• In response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake disaster, the organisation raised a record €27.5 million through church collections, street collections and private donations.

External links

• Official Website