Its Web site is www.caritas.tj. The Catholic organization is focusing its efforts on children in need, families, and the sick, among others, in this former Soviet republic. The Catholic community here numbers about 2,000 in a population of 7 million, 90% of whom are Muslims.
The Church’s charitable efforts here have been given a boost, thanks to aid from abroad, Father Juan Carlos Sack, director of the local Caritas and pastor of the Church of St. Joseph in Dushanbe, told the Vatican agency Fides.
Recently the local Catholic community opened a medical dispensary to serve 30,000 people in a poor district of this capital city. This Wisconsin-size republic lies west of China.
Construction and inauguration of the building, which mainly benefits the non-Christian majority, was made possible by funding from Caritas-Italy, the British Embassy in Dushanbe, and Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health.
«Our aim is to make a modest contribution to the social and moral rebuilding of this splendid country,» Father Sack said. Caritas-Tajikistan is affiliated with Caritas International, a confederation of 162 Catholic aid, development and social service organizations.
