History
FUNDRAISING EXPERIENCE WITH IMPACT
Caritas History the mission of the Catholic Church to serve the poor
Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN), also known as Caritas Nigeria was formally established on the 22nd of September 2010, by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), as the specialized agency that coordinates humanitarian and development interventions of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. Caritas Nigeria maintains strong partnerships with local and international state and non-state actors, key stakeholders, and funders in line with its mission of achieving wellbeing for all through participatory approaches. Caritas Nigeria is a member of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 162-member countries, providing relief and supporting human development worldwide. At the regional level, Caritas Nigeria is a member of Caritas Africa, an umbrella body of 46-member countries in Africa.
Since its inception, Caritas Nigeria has progressively implemented over 75 complex humanitarian and development projects funded by bilateral and multilateral donors, across its thematic areas of focus, namely; Emergency Response & Humanitarian Services, Health, Good Governance, Agriculture & Livelihoods, Protection & Migration, Environment and Institutional Capacity Strengthening (ICS).
Through these interventions, the organization has reached over 15 million beneficiaries with diverse services across Nigeria. Caritas Nigeria has also built capacity of thousands of healthcare workers, diocesan partners, community-based organizations, government agencies and other development partners across different interventions and in project management.
In the past 14 years, Caritas Nigeria has successfully partnered with over 300 faith-based and public structures across the 60 Catholic dioceses in Nigeria, implementing partners, governmental and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to increase access to services for those most in need. Caritas Nigeria interventions target the most deprived and vulnerable groups in hard-to-reach locations, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or political affiliations.
As a faith-based organization with a leading role in interfaith dialogues, Caritas Nigeria facilitates peaceful co-existence and social cohesion. Our interventions promote a transparent, just, and accountable society with increased citizens’ participation and integral human development to ensure that everyone enjoys fullness of life.