By Sean Ryan - 14 February, 2016
Trócaire, the Church’s overseas aid agency, raised over €8.3 million during its Lenten campaign in 2015 it was revealed last week.
Speaking at the launch of Trócaire’s 43rd Lenten campaign, Executive director Éamonn Meehan said, “This year’s Trócaire box is a recognition of ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things in the pursuit of justice and a fairer world.”
“The people featured on the box are schoolchildren, teachers, grandparents, clergy, volunteers and families.”
“All of them have something in common. They cannot ignore poverty and they want to make a difference in whatever way they can. Together, they are fighting for justice for the world’s poor.”
According to Mr Meehan, thanks to support from people in Ireland, Trócaire supported 2.4 million people across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East in 2015. This included 45,000 poor families who got access to local resources, including land and water.
Trócaire protected over 700 human rights defenders who were abused and attacked in Guatemala and over 6,000 women, who survived abuse, got healthcare, counselling and legal aid to get justice.
“Sometimes, it is easy to look at the scale of global poverty and think ‘what can I do?’,” said Éamonn Meehan.
“This year, our Trócaire box is dedicated to thanking the thousands of people who say ‘I’ll do what I can’.”
Trócaire’s 2016 Lenten Campaign runs from Ash Wednesday 10 February to Easter Sunday 27 March.
Boxes are available from parishes or can be ordered online or by phoning 1850 408 408.
As well as donating through the Trócaire box and donating online, a free Trócaire box app can be downloaded on mobile phones or tablets.
The app is available from the Apple App Store or Google Playstore.
Trócaire was founded in 1973 by Ireland’s Catholic Bishops to combat extreme poverty and injustice overseas.
