How we work

Guided by our values and principles, to serve the most vulnerable, we have identified the following groups:

• Socially excluded and economically poor
• Small land holder farmers
• Women, children and youth
• People in difficult situation/humanitarian crises

The work of Caritas Nepal is guided by the vision and mission of the organization and that of Caritas Internationalis of which Caritas Nepal is a member. These values and principles are embedded in the social teachings of the Catholic Church, which we are called to profess and promote. We strive to manifest the below listed principles and values in all our endeavors to make this world a better place for the poor and the marginalized for whom we have a preferential option.

• Dignity of the Human Person

Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore has inherent dignity. No human being should have their dignity or freedom compromised on the basis of ethnicity, creed, gender, sexuality, age or ability. Poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice make it impossible to live a life commensurate with this dignity. All our programs are people-centred with empowerment at their heart.

• The Common Good

Every person should have sufficient access to the goods and resources of society so that they can completely and easily live fulfilling lives. The rights of the individual to personal possessions and community resources must be balanced with the needs of the disadvantaged and dispossessed. The common good is reached when we work together to improve the wellbeing of people in our society and the wider world. Priority is given to development programs which involve collaboration with all relevant sectors of the community to promote the common good. It will also involve coordination of resources, planning and action across agencies and organizations. The pursuit of the common good entrusts, both to the government and others, care for the greatest good of all persons, not just the greatest possible number. No individual shall be excluded from the common good.

• Subsidiarity and Participation

All people have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Subsidiarity requires that decisions are made by the people closest and most affected by the issues and concerns of the community. Everyone has an obligation to promote the rights and development of all peoples across communities, nations, and the world, irrespective of national boundaries. Everyone has an obligation to promote the rights and development of all peoples across communities, nations, and the world, irrespective of national boundaries.

Caritas Nepal works with local communities to support, promote and develop their capacity in decision-making so that they can better respond to their own needs. We ensure that power, decisions and responsibility are devolved to the lowest level at which they can be properly exercised. In so doing we will strive to maximize and build upon local abilities and resources. The principle of subsidiarity means that every group or body in society must have the freedom and the means to do what it can best do for itself without its activity being taken over by a higher body or level of government.

• Preferential Option for the Poor

Caring for the poor is everyone’s responsibility. Preferential care should be shown to poor and vulnerable people. Our programs aim to reach the poorest, vulnerable and most marginalized people, which often require greater effort to reach more remote regions. Caritas has chosen to accompany those who are poor, marginalized or oppressed and are committed to combating the dehumanizing poverty that robs people of their dignity and humanity by working towards an equitable sharing of the gifts of the earth and helping the marginalized to be responsible for their own development.

• Solidarity

Solidarity arises from a particular way of looking at the interconnectedness of people living in different parts of the world that is a feature of our contemporary human existence. In order to be at the service of the human person, these ‘relationships of interdependence between individuals and peoples, which are de facto forms of solidarity, have to be transformed into relationships tending towards genuine ethical-social solidarity. This means that solidarity, in its fullest sense, is both a social principle and a moral virtue. Solidarity is first and foremost a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone with regard to everyone. 

• Stewardship

We are responsible for taking care of the world we live in and for sharing all the wonders and resources the earth gives us. The responsibility we have for our use of nature and its resources reaches beyond the limits of the generation in which we live. The effects of our actions will be felt by those who come after us, so the demands of justice are both international and intergenerational. Our development programs are attentive to environmental concerns and seek to promote care for the earth and its resources.

• Justice

Responding to the call of faith, we strive to build a just moral order and “right relationships” within our own lives and organizations, the communities in which we work, and the whole of God’s creation. We accompany, serve and plead the cause of those made poor and pushed to the margins, helping them to transform the societies in which they live and the structures that keep them poor.

• Integral Human Development

We view development as based on a holistic understanding of the human person, within the context and experience of the family and the wider community, embracing spiritual, psychological, emotional, physical, material and economic elements. Wherever we work we strive for the development of the whole person and the whole community, and transform unjust social systems. In our work we ensure strong and consistent links between the relief, rehabilitation and developmental components.

• Compassion

United in one human family we are profoundly moved by the suffering of others and have a moral duty to recognize the humanitarian imperative to respond. This duty is essential both to our identity as a Catholic organization and to our membership of the human family. Thus, as members of the universal community, we recognize our obligation to provide humanitarian assistance and the duty of others to ensure unimpeded access for us to do so.

• Respect

We respect religious traditions, culture, structures and customs in so far as they enhance and uphold the dignity of the human person. A just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person.

• Empowerment

We help people develop and realize their full potential, and build mutually respectful relations, so they can control and improve their quality of life. Through integral human development and empowerment, we will promote active, powerful local communities with members playing a significant role in civil society.

• Independence

We as Caritas members determine our operational priorities and programs and do not allow ourselves to be used as instruments of national or foreign economic or political interests, especially when such are not in conformity with Catholic Church Teaching.

• Stewardship and Accountability

We will make every effort to be accountable to those whom we serve, those who support our work and society at large. We also ensure good stewardship of the resources entrusted to us.

• Equality, universality, impartiality and openness to all peoples

All women and men, girls and boys are created equal and make their own unique contributions to our world, collectively realizing that which is fully human. We commit ourselves to equal and active participation of women and men, girls and boys in all our work. We serve people impartially, particularly those who are poorest and most vulnerable, according to objective assessments of their situations and the needs they express, irrespective of race, age, sex, physical ability, ethnicity, creed or political persuasion, indeed without adverse distinction of any kind.

• Protection

We strive to ensure the safety of those with and for whom we work, especially children in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, national legislations and Caritas’ Child Protection Framework (2004) and other good practice.

• Local economies

Whenever possible we use local resources and products and support the local economy wherever possible, in so far as doing so does not exhaust supplies or cause exceptional inflation.

• Care for creation and attention to environmental impact

We protect people and the planet, promoting right relationship with all of God’s creation, since the planet and all its resources are entrusted to humankind. Acting as true stewards of all creation, we consider the environment and the heritage of future generations in the planning and implementation of all our work.

• Coordination

We will coordinate closely with national governments and local authorities, churches, other religious organizations, civil society, other members of the relief and development communities, and all other relevant stakeholders.

• Advocacy

We will advocate – nationally and internationally – on behalf of and with the poor and marginalized to bear witness to, and address, their plight and the underlying or structural causes of poverty and injustice. We will be agents of change and social transformation to promote respect for human rights.

• Learning and Staff Development

We are committed to improving our work, what we do and how we do it, through continual reflection, capacity-building, monitoring, evaluation, knowledge management and strategic planning. We will invest in our staff to ensure that they have the skills, experience and formation they need to reach their full potential and ensure that Caritas achieves its potential and makes the greatest difference for those who are poor, marginalized or oppressed.

• Staff Care

We ensure just, dignified and sustainable working conditions for all our staff and fulfill our duty of care to staff, promoting good practice in human resources management and complying with employment law within the relevant jurisdiction.