The President of Caritas South Africa has called on the people of God to make the seventh annual World Day of the Poor “more meaningful, personal, and enduring,” considering the economic challenges in South Africa.

“Approximately 55.5 percent (30.3 million people) of the population of South Africa is living in poverty at the national upper poverty line (~ZAR 992) while a total of 13.8 million people (25 percent) are experiencing food poverty,” says Bishop Stanislaw Jan Dziuba in the letter shared with the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Communication Office.

Observed annually on the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, the World Day of the Poor is also South Africa’s Caritas Day. In the letter, Bishop Dziuba goes on to mention some of the concerns and challenges Diocesan Caritas faces due to “the continuous shameful increase in the cost of living and transport (petrol), load-shedding, and water shedding.”

“Some Diocesan Caritas Teams are facing real challenges in obtaining food for soup kitchens and feeding the poor. We cannot give up! The work of charity is an essential mission in the life of the Catholic Church,” says Bishop Dziuba.

The President of Caritas South Africa goes on to encourage the people of God to make the World Day of the Poor “more meaningful, personal, and enduring,” in one’s Diocese, Parish, and Organisations.