Dakar, 08 May, 2020 / 7:01 am (ACI Africa).
The Catholic Church in Senegal through its charity arm, Caritas Senegal, has announced the interruption of a fundraising initiative launched in March to alleviate effects of climate change and asked for permission to redirect the funds collected towards the battle against COVID-19 in the west African country.
On March 7, Caritas Senegal launched the Senegal Emergency Fund (SEF), a national fundraising campaign, which aimed at helping vulnerable persons in crisis situations that the Bishops said arose from effects of climate change.
“There are many reasons for this campaign, including low rainfall, delayed rains, frequent rain breaks and flooding. These are all effects of climate change that we have to face,” the President of Caritas Senegal, Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye told journalists at a press briefing to launch the campaign.
In a press statement seen by ACI Africa, however, Secretary General of Caritas Senegal, Fr Alphonse Seck said that the charity arm of the church in the country had been forced to stop the campaign, owing to the directives that were issued by the government in the country that had made fundraising difficult.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently raging in the world and which has strongly shaken all sectors of our society, unfortunately forces us to interrupt, on Monday 04 May 2020, this fundraising campaign, which was initially intended to furnish mainly the communities and structures of the Church,” said Fr. Seck.
