Episcopal aid organization Misereor

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Episcopal aid organization Misereor
logo
legal form non-profit registered association
founding 1958
Seat Aachen
purpose Poverty reduction
Chair Stephan Burger
Managing directors Pirmin mirror
sales 232,200,000 euros (2018)
Employees 356 (2018)
Members 29 (2018)
Website www.misereor.de
Headquarters in Aachen

The Bischöfliche Hilfswerk Misereor e. V. ( Latin misereor , 'I have mercy' ) is one of the largest aid organizations of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany and is based in Aachen .

Following the principle of helping people to help themselves , Misereor has supported around 106,000 projects in Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America since it was founded in 1958. Misereor's goal is to help the poorest of the poor and, together with local partners, to support people of all faiths, cultures and skin colors. Every year around 6000 project inquiries are made to the organization. Around 330 Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians work in the Aachen office. The annual action during Lent is intended to bring the Roman Catholic parishes closer to the world of people who suffer from poverty and injustice.

history

The 76th German Catholic Day in Fulda in 1954 had already recommended the formation of a “German institution for the training and care of qualified lay workers” in developing countries. International Catholic women's organizations and the international Pax Christi movement called for the fight against hunger; The German branch of the Pax Christi movement began systematically in the Federal Republic of Germany with the collection of donations for the hungry, lepers and overseas students. Associations such as KAB (Archdiocese of Paderborn), Kolping Family and BdkJ started actions.

In his Christmas address in 1957, Cardinal Josef Frings from Cologne asked the Archdiocese for donations for the Archdiocese of Tokyo and indicated that he was planning something bigger. On the initiative of Alfons Erb, Vice President of Pax Christi, the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) asked the German bishops in 1958 to take action against hunger in the world during Lent 1959.

Sheet 1 of the five-volume creation file for the Misereor Episcopal Relief Organization in the archives of the Archdiocese of Cologne is a letter from Jakob Holl dated April 24, 1958 to Vicar General Joseph Teusch . In it he draws his attention to an article he had written with the headline "Dogs have it better with us", which had appeared in the Cologne church newspaper the day before. Holl advertises in the article for doing more against hunger in the world and for creating new forms of organization. This was preceded by a three-month trip from the end of October 1957 to the beginning of January 1958 to Asia, which also took him to Mother Teresa in Calcutta for several weeks . He accompanied her to the dying with his camera and admired her patience. Those who were still able to eat among the hungry received milk and rice from her under the flash of Holl's camera. A 14-year-old boy died in the arms of Holl in the death hall of Kalighat , who could no longer swallow the milk he was given. When Holl got home, he immediately took initiatives. He set up a postal checking account with the keyword "Rice for Calcutta" and collected donations through the Papal Work for the Propagation of the Faith in Aachen . When his report was published in the church newspaper, he had already collected 75,000 DM, which he passed on to Mother Theresa. In an accompanying letter he wrote to her:

"As I stood in the dying hall of Kalighat, the words of our Lord spontaneously came to my mind: Misereor super turbam - have mercy on the people"

- Bible, Mark 8.2

In total, the “Rice for Calcutta” campaign brought in around half a million DM.

The Archbishop of Cologne, Joseph Cardinal Frings , took these efforts as an opportunity and asked at the Bishops' Conference in Fulda in autumn 1958 for the establishment of an episcopal aid organization, the "Action against Hunger and Disease in the World" called Misereor super turbam , in developing countries to be able to provide better help. The bishops unanimously approved the proposal. However, the name was shortened to the word Misereor . The trace of Jakob Holl also led to Mother Teresa at the same time. The first fasting campaign was carried out during Lent 1959, and it brought in 34 million marks. A year later, Misereor moved into Mozartstrasse No. 9 in Aachen, where it took over a large part of the building from the Aachen seminary, which had been located there since 1932, in the direct vicinity of the Episcopal Academy of the Diocese of Aachen .

Focus of work

Project work

Misereor works with people suffering from illness, poverty or any other human need to promote justice, freedom, reconciliation and peace in the world. Central topics in the project work are the fight for human rights, drinking water accessible to everyone, the fight against AIDS , climate change , urban poverty and gender issues . Key areas of support are rural development, health care, vocational and adult education, small business support, self-help housing, social work projects, the advancement of women, human rights work and the training of local managers.

Misereor works with local partner organizations. Local project partners live with the poor and know under what conditions they live. Misereor partners come from local churches, self-help initiatives, cooperatives, human rights groups and other non-governmental organizations . During the project support, the exchange of experiences and the evaluation of implemented measures form a continuous development process. Furthermore, Misereor wants to strengthen a South-South dialogue as a basis for sustainable development.

public relation

Misereor conducts research into the causes of impoverishment, oppression and destruction and provides information about them. In order to strengthen the backing of development cooperation in politics and in public, Misereor does lobby work . This also means participating in international discussions about development policy and influencing the decision-making process in society. Thousands of people support the development work of Misereor with their very own personal contribution. The annual fasting campaign is of particular importance.

financing

In 2018 Misereor raised a total of 232.2 million euros. In addition to 59.6 million euros from collections and donations, Misereor received 165.5 million euros from funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and 7.1 million euros from church budget funds.

Misereor fasting campaigns

Action year theme
1989 Solidarity in the One World - Justice and Mercy (30 Years Misereor )
1990 Act together - in solidarity in one world
1991 Human dignity is inviolable
1992 1492–1992 - 500 years of Latin America
1993 Preserving creation - ... so that everyone can live
1994 Refugees - touchstone of global solidarity
1995 Time for reconciliation
1996 Every drop counts
1997 Break your bread with the hungry
1998 The poor first (40 years of Misereor)
1999 I want to be a child
2000 Now is the time to act differently together
2001 Share at a profit
2002 Steps to peace
2003 Who owns the world?
2004 Give us our daily bread. Today.
2005 Sharing connects - together against disease in the world
2006 Share the fullness of life
2007 Discover what matters!
2008 With anger and tenderness by the side of the poor
2009 Preserving God's creation - so that everyone can live
2010 Preserving God's creation - so that everyone can live
2011 Live dignified. All over!
2012 Live dignified. Giving children a future
2013 We're fed up with hunger!
2014 Courage is to be given when everyone takes.
2015 Rethink! Dare to change.
2016 The law flows like water ( Am 5.24  EU )
2017 The world is full of good ideas. Let them grow.
2018 Has the world changed today?
2019 Make something of it: be the future!

Misereor starvation cloths

During Lent, the parishes have a hunger blanket at their disposal over a period of usually two years, which invites them to meditate and to deal with topics of development work. The Nigerian-born artist Chidi Kwubiri designed the hunger cloth for 2017/2018. The topics of previous starvation blankets were:

Hunger cloth 1978, Ethiopia
Hunger cloth 1990, India
Hunger cloth 1992, Argentina
Hungertuch 1996, Germany
Starvation year motto Artist
1976 Christ in the tree of life - hope for all India
1978 Events of Salvation History Alemayehu Bizuneh , Ethiopia
1980 Hunger cloth from the Middle Ages so-called Brother Klaus meditation picture , Switzerland (15th century)
1982 The world of the Bible Jacques Chéry , Haiti
1984 Life - water and light Jyoti Sahi , India
1986 As Christians on the way Women and men from Santiago de Pupuja , Peru
1988 Our Father Requests René Tchebetchou , Cameroon
1990 Biblical female figures - signposts to the kingdom of God Lucy D'Souza , India
1992 A new heaven and a new earth Adolfo Pérez Esquivel , Argentina
1994 Encounter God in the foreign Azariah Mbatha , South Africa
1996 Hope the marginalized Winner Köder , Germany
1998 Mercy and justice Brother Klaus meditation picture with extensions
2000 A year that pleases God - new beginning and deliverance Suryo Indratno , Java
2002 Eye-Glances of Peace El Loko , Togo
2004 Bread and roses Latin American women
2007 Blessed are you Li Jinyuan , China
2009 Preserving God's creation - so that everyone can live Tony Nwachukwu , Nigeria
2011 What you do to the least Sokey A. Edorh , Togo
2013 How many breads do you have? Ejti Stih, Bolivia
2015/2016 God and Gold - How Much Is Enough? Dao Zi, China
2017/2018 I am because you are Chidi Kwubiri , Nigeria / Germany
2019/2020 Man where are you Uwe Appold , Germany

Managing directors

The first three chief executives were Prelate Gottfried Dossing (1958–1976), Bishop Leo Schwarz (1976–1982) and Prelate Norbert Herkenrath (1982–1997). From 1997 to March 23, 2012, Josef Sayer was General Manager. Pirmin Spiegel is his successor . The managing director for international cooperation is Martin Bröckelmann-Simon (since 1999), managing director Internal Services since 2006 Thomas Antkowiak.

Shareholders, memberships, cooperations

Misereor is partner of GEPA - The Fair Trade Company .

MISEREOR works with other institutions and organizations of civil society in cooperation and alliances:

Misereor cooperates

  • In the campaign 2 euros help with the Cologne a cappella group Wise Guys and its successor band Alte Freunde
  • with AIDA (association), abbreviation of Arco Iris do Amor , a non-profit association that wants to help poor people in Brazil, especially children and young people, to have a better future.
  • with the Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) for the study Sustainable Germany (1996), which strongly shaped the discourse on sustainability.

Actions, campaigns

Postage stamp of the German Federal Post Office (1963)

Misereor, together with other organizations, is the sponsor of the demonstration We're sick of it! . The event takes place annually in early January in Berlin.

Misereor supports u. a. the following campaigns and actions:

Publications

See also

Web links

Commons : Misereor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Homepage Misereor
  2. ↑ misereor.de: history
  3. ↑ Herbert Stahl : How Misereor got its name, in: Rheinisch-Bergischer Calendar 2017, 87th year, p. 36ff., ISBN 978-3-87314-499-6
  4. ↑ Erich Läufer: 40 years ago the episcopal auxiliary service Misereor was founded , in: Kirchenzeitung Köln 9/98 of February 27, 1998
  5. ^ Speech by Josef Cardinal Frings on the founding of Misereor in 1958, accessed on July 28, 2019
  6. ↑ misereor.de
  7. ↑ misereor.de
  8. ↑ Annual report 2018. (pdf) In: misereor.de. Retrieved March 30, 2020 .
  9. ↑ misereor.de
  10. ^ Website of the Misereor fasting campaign , accessed on February 9, 2015
  11. ↑ Hunger Cloth Gallery
  12. ↑ The Misereor Hunger Cloth. Retrieved February 9, 2015 .
  13. ↑ The world is full of good ideas. Retrieved January 15, 2017 .
  14. ↑ misereor.de
  15. ↑ gepa.de
  16. ↑ Cooperation partners and alliances
  17. ↑ Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft ( Memento from February 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 28, 2019
  18. ↑ MISEREOR commitment
  19. ↑ Wise Guys at 2-euro-helfen.de
  20. ↑ AIDA eV accessed on July 28, 2019