CARITAS DONORS MEET IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, 21 Jan (Hina) - A two-day meeting of Caritas donors from western European countries, including some 30 Caritas representatives from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, started in Zagreb on Tuesday. The meeting is also attended by Karel Zelenka, representative of Caritas Internationalis from Rome. #L# Greeting the meeting, the President of the Croatian Caritas, Msgr. Vladimir Stankovic, thanked donors from western European countries for help. He expressed hope that their assistance would continue. The number of financial donations had decreased considerably in 1996, the help of the Croatian diaspora had been halved and the help of the European Union Caritas had decreased to one twelfth. At the same time, Caritas had stepped up its activities in implementing a credit program for small entrepreneurs in the areas of special importance for the state, which is being implemented in cooperation with Zagrebacka banka. Caritas also started a program of help in the winter. The total of DM 1,5 million of loans for small entrepreneurs were approved by Caritas. The program of help in the winter amounted to DM 263,000. The director of Caritas of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Miljenko Anicic, stressed the role of Caritas in the current situation in Bosnia and spoke of its future activities and help for the needy. According to Anicic, Caritas had received help amounting to DM 400,000 from western European countries. After the meeting, most of its participants will leave for Banja Luka, northwestern Bosnia, where they will be received by Banja Luka Bishop Franjo Komarica. (hina) rm mm 211411 MET jan 97