Eesti Caritas will organise a collection on the 4th Sunday of Advent, 21 December, to support the work carried out for young pregnant women and young mothers in vulnerable situations.
The central event of Christmas is the Incarnation of God as a small child. At Christmas we welcome all children, especially those who were born into difficult circumstances, just as Jesus came into a world where He encountered poverty, abandonment and insecurity. Jesus became human like us, sharing fully in our humanity: needing love, care and protection.
The work of Eesti Caritas at the Tallinn Diocese is dedicated to defending Christian values and a culture of life, for the common good of all people, in solidarity, charity and the protection of human dignity. This is set out by the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Caritas is especially dedicated to young pregnant women in vulnerable situations and to mothers with children. For this purpose there are support services and trained pastoral caregivers. We meet them personally to understand the everyday life of mothers and children and to offer precisely the support they most need, so that they may have hope and strength to overcome their vulnerable situation and to take joy in themselves and their child. Support from the Caritas family program for mothers and children is not limited to the first months and years of a child’s life, but often extends into the life of a child with special needs. We support families for as long as they remain vulnerable and need both attention and assistance. There are families who require unconditional care and support for their whole lives.
This Advent’s appeal offers the opportunity to participate in supporting young mothers and children. The following options are available:
Participate in the 4th Sunday of Advent church collection of the parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and the Bridgettine Monastery.
Support the Caritas family program by bank transfer:
Caritas Eesti MTÜ
EE031010052002417008
Explanation: family support
We thank everyone who has set up a standing order to support Caritas’s family program.
We share a few stories from our work (names changed):
Mia is a 16-year-old expectant mother who grew up without a mother and father. The future father is 18. Together they are hopeful and want to get married, although their everyday life is not easy, because the future father’s schooling is also unfinished and his limited work experience does not attract employers. As they grow into a family, and especially after the baby is born, they need very diverse support.
Sofia is a 23-year-old young single mother with an anxiety disorder who is raising a three-year-old child. There are days when, despite being a mother, she feels very lonely. Everyday life is often disrupted by anxiety and depression, which hinders the young mother both from working and from being present for her child. Both the mother and the child need additional support at moments of the mother’s mental and emotional breakdown so that they can cope and not give up, to hope and not surrender.
There are also Raili, Eve, Kelly, Britta, Merily and their stories. These mothers love their children, both born and unborn, very much.
Children’s well-being is always linked to mothers’ ability to cope and the environment surrounding the family. When mothers feel well and safe, they in turn can offer children love, care and security. If mothers break down under the burden of difficulties, children lose out too: in extreme cases both their safety and their mother. For children to be able to grow up with their mother, father, sisters and brothers, it is also important for the community to notice, care for and support them. On our part we can alleviate the difficulties that arise in the lives of children and their mothers. Every support, every contribution acts as a protective factor for the family. When a family manages to cope with difficult situations or life events with the support and help of the community, it gives them faith in other people and hope for overcoming hardships.
Caritas Estonia is very grateful to Pirita Convent, in whose premises Caritas runs family support programs. The kindness of the Bridgettines, their prayers and Christian example add a sacred dimension to the family support. It is a beautiful place where even the Blessed Virgin Mary could have brought her newborn Son.