By Cecilia Agrinya-Owan
Caritas Internationalis holds Caritas Day in Milan Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at the EXPO 2015 Milano to raise awareness and promote the importance of food security.
The « One Human Family, Food for All » campaign was launched on the 10th of December 2013 by the Holy father Pope Francis. The campaign aims to eradicate poverty by 2025 through creating awareness of this issue, empowering local farmers and improving their access to land to enable them grow their food and also engaging government at all levels to address issues of hunger by formulating and implementing policies that are pro-poor.
165 Caritas member countries gathered in Milan, Italy to discuss these issues and to share success stories on the support to the poor and vulnerable from around the world.
Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga, ex Caritas Internationalis President, who started the campaign, in his opening speech said « there is sufficient food in the world but we still need to remove the inequalities in the world for all to have access to food ».
He noted that the goal of the « One Human Family, Food for All » campaign is to eradicate hunger, promote the right to food and guarantee food security for everyone by 2025.
Cardinal Maradiaga stated that « 805 million people in the world go on an empty stomach and do not know how to feed their families » and that we need to guarantee access to healthy food for all and share with one another out food and food proceeds « as everything which is shared is multiplied.
Similarly, incoming president of Caritas Internationalis Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle emphasized that « We are One Human Family united by hunger. It is not just about food but it is the same hunger that unites us ».
« We tell the world; do not be afraid of faith. Faith will not destroy humanity. Faith makes us closer to human beings. Faith makes us courageous to love and to serve. That is Caritas that is what we are celebrating. The power of love towards the most needy with no ambition, our only desire is to love because we believe, » said Cardinal Tagle.
Caritas Day was concluded with a plea by Caritas leaders urging everyone to do their bits in reaching out to their brothers and sisters in love while appealing to world leaders and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, as priority to discuss during one of sessions of the UN meetings issues on access to food and the need to eradicate hunger in the world ».
