Mahitahi “Working Together”, is now called Catholic Volunteers Overseas and been given a broader scope.
The Catholic Volunteers Overseas programme also includes a variety of time periods for volunteering.
The name change, made by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, follows on from the 2013 integration of Mahitahi into Caritas.
The new phase offers “placements that are either short-term for a few months, or long-term for a year or two in a wider selection of countries,” said Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.
For decades, Catholic volunteers have made an important contribution to development projects around the Pacific, and building on the past Bishop Dunn hopes the broadened scope means the New Zealand Church can continue to support meaningful and sustainable development in the Pacific.
The overseas volunteer programme will now be overseen by Caritas’ International Programmes team.
The changes come after consultation with the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania.
“Caritas has well-developed relationships with existing partners across the region.
“It will work closely with partners and volunteers to ensure the programme continues to focus on building local and organisational capacity,” Dunn said.
Current opportunities identified by Caritas’ partners include placements in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea for volunteers skilled in ESOL, trades such as carpentry, IT, administration and finance.
Those interested in becoming a volunteer overseas in the future can contact Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand on volunteers@caritas.org.nz or by calling 0800 22 10 22 during office hours.
Source
- Supplied
- Image: australianvolunteers.com
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