ZAGREB, 12 April 2022 - The Caritas charity of the Zagreb Archdiocese dispatched two more trucks full of humanitarian aid to war-torn Ukraine on Tuesday, whereby the total value of aid shipments by the national Caritas organisation exceeded HRK 3 million (€400,000).

The two trucks carried 25 tonnes of food and basic hygiene products to the western Ukrainian city of Mukachevo where the partner organisation, Caritas Spes, has a distribution centre.

A total of 116 tonnes of humanitarian aid, worth over HRK 3 million, has been sent to Ukraine to date, the deputy director of Caritas Croatia, Suzana Borko, said, announcing an additional shipment for Thursday.

"Another truck leaves on Thursday, straight for Kyiv. We hope it gets there on Saturday, the day before Easter," she said.

Borko extended condolences to the families of the Ukrainian Caritas Spes staff killed in a Russian artillery attack on Mariupol on Monday night. Two Caritas Spes workers and five people who found shelter at the local Caritas distribution centre were killed.

ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - The decision made by the City of Sisak and Mayor Kristina Ikić Baniček (SDP) to ban Caritas Croatia to conduct a humanitarian action in local schools prompted MP Marijana Petir to report the whole case to the Public Ombudswoman as an example of "discrimination based on faith and education".

The report filed by this independent lawmaker on Friday reads that the ban issued by the city authorities violate "the religious rights and freedoms " of the Catholic Church, which are guaranteed by the Croatian Constitution and the international treaties between Croatia and the Holy See.

Recently, the Caritas charity has reported that Catholic Religious Education teachers said that they they had been summoned by the headmasters of schools in the City of Sisak to be informed that they would no longer be allowed to conduct humanitarian actions in schools and that only volunteers of the city's Red Cross branch could carry out charitable campaigns in the schools concerned. Until this ban, both Caritas and Red Cross volunteers were engaged in humanitarian drives aimed at collecting aid for victims of the 2020 devastating earthquake and for Ukrainian victims of the Russian invasion.

Petir writes in her letter to the Public Ombudswoman that the RE subject is a part of the school system and that apart from the theoretical knowledge which should be acquired, the role of this subject is also to encourage students to do concrete acts of charity for others.

She recalls that between 75-95% of school-age children attend RE classes in the City of Sisak and that their religious rights are enshrined in the Constitution.

The ombudswoman is requested to take swift steps in line with the law to protect believers and their rights.

After the news about the ban was broken on 17 March, Hina asked the city authorities for the comment but no response was sent.

ZAGREB, 16 March 2022 - Caritas Croatia has raised HRK 2.5 million for the Ukraine war victims and is currently collecting material relief, the charity said on Wednesday.

There have been about 44,000 calls to a donation line and Caritas will forward all the money raised to Ukraine.

People may bring their material relief donations to Caritas warehouses or parishes.

All the necessary information is available on the charity's website.

Caritas also said that it was participating in providing for and ensuring psychosocial assistance to Ukraine refugees in cooperation with local Croatian Red Cross and Civil Protection branches.

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