Caritas Charity Bazaar to be held next month

Paul Pun (center)

The 49th Caritas Charity Bazaar will be held at the Nam Van Nautical Center on  November 3 and 4 with the theme “With Love, We Build Together,” featuring a series of booths with performances.

The annual bazaar aims to raise funds for Caritas Macau’s social services and to assist the local vulnerable groups in the SAR through the bazaar’s 90 booths set–up during the two days.

The event will be held from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. next Saturday, whereas on the second day it will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

During the two days, flag selling activities will be held in Nam Van, San Ma Lou Road and Costa. 

The participating institutions include government entities, schools, associations, enterprises, student unions, volunteer teams and service units under Caritas.

In a press conference this week, it was announced that MOP10 raffle tickets will be sold until November 4, with prizes including MOP50,000, MOP30,000 and MOP20,000 respectively.

Secretary General of Caritas Macau Paul Pun recalled that the bazaar raised around MOP7.1 million last year.

“With the support of families, volunteers, students and corporate employees, they help us build happiness and reduce the burden of the vulnerable groups in Macau,” said Pun.

“Through this bazaar, we don’t only aim to receive funding, but ideas and thoughts on how to work together and think of new services. As a matter of fact, we have a booth that aims to attract volunteers to help us support the new [medical center’s] services.”

Pun also hinted that the 50th bazaar would be slightly different to previous years, adding that it is looking for partnerships for joint ventures. 

“We will try to maximize our area and ask someone for joint ventures,” said Pun.

Pun also mentioned that Caritas is still looking for more volunteers at the medical center, which offers services for migrant workers, particularly domestic helpers.

As the center had already opened on Monday, Pun noted that it is significant for these migrant workers to inform their compatriots about this new medical service, as according to the law, he is prohibited from promoting the clinic.

“We are not able to promote due to local law, but some domestic migrant workers [may] spread the message to tell [others] where the clinic is. The law says I can’t tell [so just] let patients or migrants share with their fellow workers,” he said.
“I don’t see this as a setback because to migrant workers who need the service, they themselves will promote it,” Pun added.

No migrants have yet approached the clinic, but Pun is expecting some patients to attend over the weekend. LV