13-year-old Samoan school girl
Toefuata'iga was at risk of lifelong poverty
Without a reliable source of clean, safe water, Toefuata'iga couldn’t stay at school every day. There wasn’t enough time to read or play and her health was jeopardised.
Your gift can help provide clean, safe water to schools so that children can focus on learning and play.
Toefuata’iga writes on a chalkboard in a primary school classroom in Samoa. Photo: Caritas Australia.
Help children like Toefuata'iga tread their path out of lifelong poverty
Help children like Toefuata'iga tread their path out of lifelong poverty
At just 13, Toefuata'iga faced the daily struggle of a school without clean water. Classes were cut short, and her health was at risk from dehydration and poor hygiene.
When Caritas Samoa installed a 10,000-litre water tank, it transformed her school. But countless other children are still enduring these harsh conditions. Your support can help other children in Samoa tread their path out of poverty too.
Click the video to watch Toefuata'iga's story.
Your support is crucial
Toefuata’iga fills up her water bottle from a Samoan primary school’s drinking water tank. Photo: Caritas Australia.
Access to clean, safe water:
Clean, safe water is not just a basic need—it’s a lifeline for children like Toefuata'iga. The most vulnerable households cannot afford water tanks or water cartage services, so families in Samoa are forced to collect water in buckets or makeshift containers like old refrigerators.
Principal Ada (right) and a group of students including Toefuata’iga (centre), 13, smile to camera in a Samoan primary school class. Photo: Caritas Australia.
The impact on children:
When schools don't have access to clean water, hygiene is compromised, and illnesses like typhoid become more common. Children often miss out on education and play, losing the opportunity to build a brighter future.
Toefuata’iga smiles at camera in front of a group of Samoan school children at assembly. Photo: Caritas Australia.
Climate change intensifies water scarcity:
Samoa faces a growing water crisis due to the impacts of climate change. Rising temperatures, increased flooding, and prolonged droughts can affect safe water supplies, making clean, accessible water a daily struggle for many communities.
Unite against poverty this lent. Donate Now
Donate NowDiscover the urgent needs in Samoa
Our Story and Content Producer, Aurora, was recently guided by the local Caritas Samoa team to capture their work on the ground.Â
Watch the video to learn about the pressing challenges faced by communities in Samoa and how your support can make a difference.
Help people like Toefuata'iga tread their path out of lifelong poverty. Donate Now
Donate NowWhat we can achieve with your support
Here is the impact we have made in the past year. But the need is still great, so we can't stop there. With your generous support, we can reach the lives of more people who urgently need our support, more than ever, to forge their path out of poverty.
514,000+
people have been directly supported
Across 23
countries in total
6,492
children and youth supported across 7 projects in the Pacific
93%
of our partners are local
Where the funds go
78%
of funds are spent on implementing Local and International Programs, including important education and advocacy in Australia to amplify the voice of our partners.
15%
of funds are spent on Fundraising, so that we can maintain and expand the scope of our humanitarian and development partnerships and work across the globe.
7%
of funds are spent on infrastructure, systems and people that make the work we do possible.
General Questions:
The first national appeal for overseas aid was held in 1965. This initiative drew inspiration from Lenten appeals at a Parish and diocesan level in Adelaide the two previous years. The Australian Bishops agreed to a proposal for a nationwide appeal while in Rome for Vatican II in late 1964.
A pastoral letter was drafted by the Episcopal Committee for Overseas Relief (the forerunner of Caritas), to be signed by each bishop, calling on all Catholic families to donate any money saved in Lent through self-denial to poverty relief. That year, over £50,000 was raised.
Roy Boylan, president of the Sydney Diocesan committee for Catholic Overseas Relief, proposed calling the Sydney appeal Project Compassion in mid-1965. The name was adopted nationally and in 1966 the national Lenten appeal was rolled out as Project Compassion.
Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s main annual fundraising campaign. It mobilises Australians to raise much-needed funds to help alleviate poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity in the most vulnerable and marginalised communities in the world.
Held during Lent, the six-week period before Easter, Catholic schools, Parishes, and the wider Australian public participate in a diverse range of fundraising activities and events to support Caritas Australia’s programs both overseas and here with our First Australian partners.
Project Compassion is an extraordinary demonstration of the faith, empathy and generosity of our supporters. It is the lifeblood of Caritas Australia; without it, we could not do the vital work that we do.
The theme of Project Compassion is Unite Against Poverty this Lent. This year, we focus on the stories of three remarkable, resilient people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Samoa and Vietnam.Â
Each of these stories demonstrates the powerful impact that each one of us can have on alleviating poverty. Together, we can create lasting change for people living in some of the most vulnerable and low-income regions in the world.
Along with your generous support, this program is also supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
Along with your generous support, this program is also supported by the Australian Government, through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
Your donation will go where it is needed most. You are helping families living in poverty and together, we can transform lives and create a better world for all.
