Pope Francis says that “good is accomplished and is effective, especially when it is done without seeking recompense and visibility in the concrete situations of daily life.” He also encourages volunteers for their service to the church and urges them to prepare the way so that all people may know, meet, and love the Lord.

Volunteerism is one of the four Key Strategic Pillars (KSP) of Caritas India adopted in 2018, aiming to change the traditional way of operationalizing programmes and mainstream the strategic approach to create an ecosystem for sustainability. Caritas India is promoting the enrolment of volunteers and encouraging her partner organisations to engage the volunteers in developmental activities carried out by the organizations.

Volunesia is an annual event of Caritas India to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of our volunteers. This year’s theme, “solidarity through volunteering,” highlights the value of volunteers and their ability to create positive change. There were 90 Caritas Samaritans from the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka for the Southern Region Volunesia 2022 held at KROSS, Bengaluru, recently.

Fr. Francis Assisi Almeida, Secretary, Karnataka Regional Commission for Education, Bengaluru, led a half-day interactive session focusing on the practice of positive and inclusive leadership and its role in volunteering. While conducting the session, he explained what leadership is, what volunteering is, and the importance of leadership.

While addressing the Caritas Samaritans, Fr. (Dr) Paul Moonjely, Executive Director, Caritas India, appreciated and thanked them for coming and making the event a memorable one. He said that volunteers are our greatest asset because they express the noblest desires of the human heart, making a suffering person feel loved.

Mr. Kushal Neogy, Sub-Director, of Partnership, Catholic Relief Service (CRS), recalled the volunteer work he did during his studies. He encouraged the Caritas Samaritans, mentioning that volunteering gives very good work experience that leads to being a better human being in society.

Caritas India gave away awards in the categories of emerging volunteers, rising stars, hand-raiser volunteers, social impact volunteers, resilience, leadership, and distinguished volunteers.
There was a flash mob and mime show from the Caritas Samaritans of LISSAH College, Kerala, and the Caritas Samaritans of St. Paul’s School, Kerala, made a presentation on the Lavender Army.

The winners included Gandham Jhansi Rani – Andhra Pradesh, Sabu. V Thomas L – Kerala, Akshaya P.S-Kerala, Kavitha Mary – Tamil Nadu, Shweta Santosh Dudalkar – Karnataka under the Leadership Category; Anosh Cr- Kerala, Isravel.M- Tamil Nadu under the Emerging Volunteer category; Kataru Veera Veni – Ap, Gone Sudheer-Ap, Jessy Xavier – Kerala under the Resilience Category; Kota Nageshwar – Ap, Vipin Joe M.J – Kerala, K. Ruby- Tamil Nadu, Dikshita Damodar Talekar – Karnataka under the Social Impact category; Ragi Raja Shekar – Ap, Jibin Jose K – Kerala, Eugin Amloor. A – Tamil Nadu, Rosy Wilfred D’silva-Karnataka under the Hand Raisers category and Thumma Jaya Kiran Reddy – Ap, Jackson Peter – Kerala and N. Ramalakshmi-Tamil Nadu under the Rising Star category.