The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference have decided to integrate the operations and governance of Mahitahi – Catholic Overseas Volunteers – with that of Caritas, to improve and strengthen both organisations.
Mahitahi will retain its own identity, profile and strategic direction, within and supported by the Caritas structure and administration.
For the last two years, Mahitahi has been governed by a separately constituted Board, made up of members of the Caritas Board. However, the Caritas Board and the Bishops of New Zealand believe it is in the best interests of both organisations to bring Mahitahi directly under the governance of the Caritas Board, and for the Mahitahi Director to be responsible to the Caritas Director for administrative and management purposes.
The integration will also provide extra support and oversight to Mahitahi which, as Mahitahi and its predecessor Catholic Overseas Volunteer Services (COVS), has a 50-year history providing volunteers in response to partner requests. Its present focus is on the Pacific.
Caritas has been the Bishops’ Justice Peace and Development Agency since 1968, and its new strategic plan has a stronger emphasis on the Pacific, including Aotearoa.
‘The Caritas mandate has been enlarged to embrace Mahitahi in its role of providing skilled volunteers to meet partner requests in the Pacific,’ says Caritas Director Julianne Hickey. ‘It will add another dimension to our work providing a human face to development, greater person-to-person contact, and enhancing our ability as a Pacific nation to be “the hands, ears, eyes and mouth of Christ” in this part of the world.’
‘Mahitahi’s model of providing short-term volunteers in the context of a long-term partnership has proven effective and has taken off in 2012,’ says Mahitahi Director Christina Reymer. ‘This integration will provide an opportunity to grow its capacity within the wider structures of Caritas.’
Ms Reymer will relocate from Hamilton to work in Auckland alongside other Caritas staff based there.
Source
- Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
- Image: Screen Shot Mahitahi