Caritas Comores was founded in 1979 and signed a preliminary agreement with the government of Comoros through the Ministry of Health on 5 February 1983, which was amended on 21 June 1994 and revised in 2011.
The Union of the Comoros is primarily a Muslim country, consisting of four islands, three of which belong to the Union of the Comoros and one (Mayotte) is a French department.
Caritas Comores is a national and diocesan Caritas and has three parishes: the parish of St Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Moroni, which is the headquarters of Caritas Comores and the residence of the bishop; the parish of Anjouan; and Our Lady of Fatima in Mamudzu (Mayotte, a French department), which is covered by the Caritas France delegation. Mohéli has a chapel without a permanent priest.
Caritas Comores has two areas of intervention.
The first is health care, with a health centre and 12 first aid stations on the three islands of the Union of the Comoros. On average, 270,000 people a year use our healthcare facilities. We also run a reception and support centre for the poor and a nutrition centre. The health sector employs 65 people.
The second is for women’s self-promotion, comprising three centres that welcome an average of 300 women and girls, providing them with literacy, sewing, embroidery and cooking classes.
Comoros Caritas works in collaboration with several local partners: the Ministry of Health, the School of Medicine and Public Health of the Union of Comoros, the French Embassy, UNICEF Comoros, UNFPA Comoros, the Rotary Club and the Lions Club, the Red Cross, the network of civil society associations, the French Development Agency, CHN Mayotte and the delegation of Secours Catholique Caritas France in Mayotte.