Good morning/afternoon. My name is , and this is my partner, .

Today, we are here to talk to you about the most worthy agency of the school s funding; Caritas Australia. Who is Caritas? Clearly, this charity epitomizes the lif e and teachings of Jesus Christ, by giving outstanding service and showing valour in the war against poverty and illness in disadvantaged countries. Within this speech today, we will underline the importance of funding such a charity, and supporting what they do all around the world, in the world -wide Caritas group; Caritas Internationalis. So, why should you support Caritas? I am sure that not everyone in this room is aware of what Caritas does and aims to do. The noble mission of Caritas Australia is to cr eate a world that God desires , and to give all human beings what belongs to them by right. They work compassionately to liberate the oppressed, and to bring the word of God to those in poor countries. Within Australia, Caritas works to build relationships and partnerships with those in less fortunate communities than ourselves. Where is Caritas? Caritas is involved in a great deal of work, both nationally within Australia, and globally. As a whole, Caritas Internationalis exists in about 200 countries and territories all around the world. They work in some of the poorest countries in the world, as well as some of the most fortunate countries, such as our home, Australia. Some of the work that they do in these countries involves enhancing the lives of those living in poverty , promoting and preaching the word of God to both the poor and the rich. They work to enrich the lives of all by promoting equality and participation in society, and allowing any one, from any religion, race, or gender to be educated properly and fairly. They also work to sustain the environment and teach the uneducated about the rich resources our world has to offer. What does Caritas hope to achieve? Caritas works toward the success of the Millennium Development Goals, which are eight goals created by 189 United Nations state members, to be achieved by 2015. The first goal they strive to accomplish is to Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger. Caritas is working to achieve this goal mainly with their program Project Compassion, which aims to target the significant issues of poverty, justice and development in third world countries. It is an annual fundraiser in Australia, and the profits go to worthy people and causes around the world, to relieve them of poverty. The second goal that Caritas aims to achieve is Universal Primary Education. This goal focuses on the fairness of all young children learning the basics in school. Some of the

programs in place to achieve this goal within Caritas are their Justice and Education programs, which raises global awareness about concerns for people s rights and th eir schooling. Another one of these all important Millennium Development Goals raises the issue of gender equality. In many countries around the world today, women are treated as unfairly as they were in the nineteenth century in countries like America and the UK. They are treated as belongings of their husband, not allowed to be educated, and unaccepted as true citizens. The rights of women in our country differ to the rights of women in poorer countries. And not much is being done to improve the state of women s rights in these places. That is why this MDG is so important. All people deserve to be treated equally and have equal rights to life, education, and careers. The goal aims to promote equality between the genders and empower women to live the life t hat they have the right to. Caritas works in all these countries to provide equal education and rights for these women. The fourth goal that Caritas Australia focuses on is combatting HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Caritas is motivated to achieve this MDG as these sicknesses plague those who live in disadvantaged countries, increasing child mortality rates and slaughtering family s lives and futures. HAART for children is one of many programs dedicated to supporting and assisting those children who live with HIV/AIDS and those who have lost parents to these diseases. What kind of programs does Caritas engage in? Caritas is an international charity, pitching their campaigns in over 200 countries around the world. In many of these countries, disease destroys lif e, and hope, especially for young children. In 2009, over 2.5 million children were living with HIV/AIDs, and over 16.6 million were orphaned due to these illnesses. Every day, over 800 children die from AIDS related causes. Caritas aims to exterminate this pain and suffering that ails these societies. HAART for Children is a program which reaches out to children affected by AIDS and tuberculosis. Caritas believes that with access to the right medicines, much of their suffering is preventable. HAART stands for Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy . This is a combination of treatments that can delay and decrease the effects of HIV. The HAART for children program encourages medicinal businesses to bring about and sell a HIV and tuberculosis treatment for children. So how has this changed society? This program has brought so much difference to the lives of many. In recent times, over five million people from disadvantaged countries had access to HIV/AIDs treatment, a way to slow down the effects of the dise ase. This covered over 35% of those wh o required medicinal help. In recent years, 1.2 million people were relieved of HIV/AIDS , a huge impact on the world as we know it. Every day, Caritas Australia is out there, working with tremendous effort to bring hea lth and well-being to young children. That s why we ask you; Have a heart, support HAART for Children.

How does this relate to Jesus Teachings? Caritas is a Catholic-based charity, and that is partly why their brave work called our attention. The members of the Caritas community and charity work exceptionally hard to align with all of Jesus teachings. On the Caritas website, Caritas refers to the reading Luke 4: 16-19, 21 as their vision. "Jesus stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was g iven to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favour. Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." This is what Jesus said that God sent him to do. And in turn, we believe that Caritas i s trying to this fulfil today. They are trying to spread the good news, release the oppressed and heal the sick. The wonderful people at Caritas are doing their amazing work in the spirit and in the name of Christ and God. One more Bible reading that Caritas aligns with is Mark 10: 17-27, which reads As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. Good teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother. Teacher, he declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy. Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. At this the man s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, Who then can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is im possible, but not with God; all things are possible with God. This reading talks about what it takes to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. It is saying that you cannot be selfishly rich and go to heaven, but if you are generous and give your money and things to the poor, then you will go to heaven. Caritas holds many charity fundraisers, to encourage the rich and more fortunate to give some of their money and possessions to the poor, and then they preach the word of God to the poor, giving them hope and love to stay on their feet, as bad as their situation is. So what should we do? We strongly suggest that you heed our words, and support the amazing work of this agency. Caritas has been working so hard for so long, so why should we not support them? They Support the United Nations MDGs, have a HAART, and help Caritas to save even more people than they already have.