Caritas, Migrants and Refugee Offices “light in a tunnel”: Catholic Priest in South Africa

He said, “About 70% of Kimberley Diocese is very rural; our people are in need of so many things. With the establishment of these entities, we will be able to help our people with acquiring documents from Home Affairs, and help them have access to government grants.”

Being in need of multiple necessities of life, Fr. Lebelela said, “are the situations that people experience; these are everyday life issues that our people experience; when you visit people, they speak of such challenges.”

The establishment of Caritas and Migrants and Refugees Offices in Parishes across the five deaneries of Kimberly Diocese will provide assistance not only to migrants but to locals who often struggle with online applications, the member of the Clergy of the South African Diocese told ACI Africa. 

Making reference to the two workshops, he said that participants were delighted and eager to establish the entities at the level of their respective Catholic Parishes. 

Fr. Lebelela told ACI Africa, “I'm happy to tell you that on Sunday (May 15), I received pictures from some Priests from various Parishes showing that they have started mobilizing people and telling them about the workshop.”

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“I'm happy to tell you that the 51 people that attended have doubled; now we're having more than 100 people from the statistics. I have people looking forward to being part of the Caritas family,” the Episcopal Vicar for Caritas and Migrants and Refugees Offices in Kimberly Diocese recounted in reference to the May 13 and May 14 workshops during which participants were equipped with tools for structuring Caritas and Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees offices in the South African Catholic Diocese.

He spoke about the identity of the migrants saying most of them get involved mining and that they hail from different countries. He said, “We do have a lot of people coming from different countries and provinces working mainly in the mines.” 

Fr. Lebelela added, “As far as we know, we've got people who actually sought refuge at St Mary’s Cathedral, coming from different countries; there are people who came from Namibia, and people who fled from Angola during the war; they arrived many years ago.”

The South African Catholic Priest described his responsibility for the two offices as humbling. He said, “I am humbled to be part of the Caritas family and the work they do: touching lives, making differences in people's lives, (and) restoring hope in people’s lives.”

He added, “We have not experienced any form of violence as far as migration is concerned.”