On Sunday 28 May, Fracarita Belgium celebrated its 50th anniversary. Fracarita Belgium is the Belgian NGO for development cooperation of the Brothers of Charity. Participants enjoyed a solemn celebration and a baroque concert in the chapel of the Dr. Guislain Psychiatric Centre in Ghent. Afterwards, they attended a reception in the sunny gardens of the Museum Dr. Guislain.
Fracarita Belgium was established as ‘Caraes’ in 1967, on the occasion of the establishment of a psychiatric centre of the same name in Rwanda, the first psychiatric centre in the country. In order to be able to work with government funding, it was necessary to establish a legal entity both in Belgium and in Rwanda. A few years later, Caraes became the certified NGO for development cooperation of the Brothers of Charity. Since the international reform of development cooperation within the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity, Caraes was renamed ‘Fracarita Belgium’.
The festive day started with a PowerPoint presentation featuring photos from 50 years ago to now. After that, Bro. René Stockman, chairman of Fracarita Belgium, outlined the 50 years of commitment to countries in the Third World. The event was accompanied by a baroque concert, performed by the Les Goûts-Authentiques ensemble. Then, the participants enjoyed an al fresco reception in the gardens of the Museum Dr. Guislain.
- Fracarita Belgium Website: www.fracarita-belgium.org
- YouTube video (overview Fracarita Belgium 1967-2017):
Tags: Brothers of Charity, Fracarita, Vincentian Family Branches, Vincentian NGO
