Backgrounder: CCODP involvement in Haiti

Friday, December 16 2011

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) was established and mandated by the Bishops of Canada in 1967.  It is today the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis and also a member of International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE).  The purpose of the Bishops in founding Development and Peace was to aid the oppressed and impoverished people of the world, to support them in their struggles for justice, and to help educate Canadians about the problems of underdevelopment and obstacles to world peace.

CCODP began its Haiti programming in 1987, working with local partners to find sustainable alternatives to poverty, violence and the absence of genuine democracy.  Over the years it has worked to rebuild popular movements, to set up a network of civil society organizations, to develop sustainable economic alternatives, and to promote and defend human rights.   

Following the January 2010 earthquake, CCODP launched a joint appeal with the CCCB and raised $20 million in donations.  Of this, $2.8 million was disbursed in emergency aid in the year following the earthquake and another $10 million has been committed for 2011-2013 for relief as well as reconstruction.   CCODP works with Caritas Haiti, Catholic Relief Services, the Haitian Religious Conference, religious communities and civil society organizations to provide services to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable in Haiti.  This includes the reconstruction of homes and community infrastructures, assuring food sovereignty and security, including youth in environmental preservation initiatives and defending human rights.

Specific details about CCODP work in Haiti are available in the Haiti section of the Development and Peace website: http://support.devp.org/site/PageNavigator/Haiti?s_locale=en_CA

The President of the CCCB, Archbishop Richard Smith, its Vice President Archbishop Paul-André Durocher, and Assistant General Secretary Mr. Bede Hubbard will participate in a solidarity mission to Haiti which is being organized by the CCODP, December 14-21, 2011.