Caritas Macau Secretary-General Paul Pun Chi Meng told reporters yesterday that in the first half of this year, his Catholic social welfare organisation provided assistance for 75 foreigners in Macau, mainly because they were in financial difficulties, pointing out that the number of people seeking help from his group has fallen compared to the same period of last year.
Among the foreigners who sought help, Pun added, some did not know how to seek medical treatment in Macau or needed financial advice.
With civil society returning to normality after the three-year-long COVID-19 pandemic, according to Pun, most of the foreigners who were greatly impacted by the socio-economic downturn during the pandemic, have meanwhile solved their “food and clothing problems”.
Pun noted that between January and mid-July this year, the foodbank operated by Caritas Macau received 2,729 applications for its short-term assistance, a year-on-year increase of nearly 10 percent over the same period last year.
Pun made the remarks on the sidelines of the one-day Joy & Harmony Art Festival at Caritas’s Clementina Leitão Ho Brito Theatre in Toi San district.
Caritas Macau Secretary-General Paul Pun Chi Meng talks to the media on the sidelines of yesterday’s Joy & Harmony Art Festival at Caritas’s Clementina Leitão Ho Brito Theatre in Toi San district. – Photo courtesy of TDM
