site.btaCaritas Federation Marks World Day of the Poor with Charity Events

Bulgaria's Caritas federation is marking the World Day of the Poor with charity initiatives throughout the country, the organization said. The aim is to raise funds for Caritas' causes which give a helping hand to the disadvantaged.

Pope Francis has declared Sunday, November 17, 2024, the eighth World Day of the Poor.

A charity bazaar was held in front of the Ascension Catholic church in Plovdiv. The proceeds will go to a campaign aimed at regularly providing humanitarian aid packages for people with health problems who cannot cope with cooking, people living in extreme poverty or on the streets, and senior citizens who have difficulty providing for themselves, said Paulina Gegova-Karamfilova of the Caritas Vitania charity organization of the Sofia and Plovdiv Eparchy of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria.

The organization distributes humanitarian aid packages in Plovdiv once every two weeks. The packages include canned food, jam, croissants, waffles and other products. The funds raised during the bazaar in the town of Rakovski will go towards the Generous Basket initiative, which hands out food for the holidays to poor families, the elderly and other people in need.

The products at the bazaar were made in the Caritas workshops by Ukrainians. The organization has been working with them on a project funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Candles and glycerin soaps made in the Rakovski-based Caritas Workshop were also sold for a charitable cause. Artists from Plovdiv and other cities joined the initiative and donated jewelry, scented candles, painted bottles, bags and Christmas tree decorations, among others. Last year the charity bazaar in Plovdiv raised BGN 1,460. 

Similar events are taking place in Sofia, Ruse, Belene, Rakovski, Burgas, Varna and the village of Pobeda, Yambol Region.