As quoted by Ronald Burt “Instead of Better glasses, your network gives you better eyes” Our recent visit to Europe indeed widened our visioning and perspectives. It was an experience of unlearning and learning, deliberating and sharing, focusing on the rising trends and invariably harnessing our partnership to remain more focused towards a socio-ecological sustainable change.

The brief journey concludes with a gratitude-filled with appreciation to all our partners in dialogue and development with Caritas Austria, Missio, Caritas Germany International, Misereor, Kindermission, Caritas Italiana and Caritas Internationalis.

It was indeed heartening to feel the passion and interest that our network brings to the fore, with most of our discussions, being centred around the present-day challenges manifested in the form of 4 Cs i.e. Covid, Climate, Conflict and Cost.

There was a common ground of understanding and coming together on the aforementioned criticalities at this point of time in history. This also helped the partnership explore alternatives that would solidify the strengths of our collaboration and create long-term impact through mainstreaming our approaches of solidarity, social friendship, social justice and the spirituality of humanity. The new paradigm of growth, development and success is embedded within the ethics of humanity.

Some of the emerging aspects on the development agenda were being discussed. Aspects of Nutrition, Resilience, Protection and Safeguarding need to be anchored on identity and ethos leading to efficiency and impact. Given the current environment that encircles much on localization, there is a new paradigm of development that bases itself on local opportunities on the localization agenda, placing the community foremost and upholding them as the owners and steerers of the process of change in complete alignment with the strategic orientations of Caritas India.

The need for a protection framework was echoed across the fraternity with a preventive, resilient and client-focused case management approach, thus placing utmost impetus on prevention and resilience measures. During the last leg of the discussion, on identity and ethos, the thrust of the discussion was, “How to become rich in the charity of the poor.”

We need to ask certain questions to ourselves in getting wedded to this core identity:

As the current energy is centred around the Synodal Journey of communion, participation and mission, we as humanitarian organizations have the scope and the opportunity to create a crescendo of synergy on humanitarian efforts, social policies, communication capital and a common identity.

Our fraternity can resonate the expression of “formation of the heart” as a means to address this world of indifference.