Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR) is a private non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

, established by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 (CBCT) in 1978.

The Office's declared mission is to provide relief to people affected by natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...

, give assistance to the refugees and displaced persons, as well as to the poor and the needy Thai individuals, including the local population affected by the influx of refugee

Refugee

A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s into Thailand. COERR takes part in the operations of Committee for Coordination of Services to Displaced Persons in Thailand (CCSDPT).

In 1986 the organization was awarded Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

 International Peace Prize by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

.

The President of the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees is Michael Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 Michai Kitbunchu.

Border Programs

• Relief Support
• Education
• Environmental Protection & Agricultural Training/Production
• Self-Help Activities
• Separated Children
• Community-Based Waste Management
• Preservation of Traditional Ethnic Arts & Crafts through the Elderly

Programs for Thai Communities

• Vocational Training (Sewing and Auto-mechanical Classes) for the poor youth in Surin and Buriram provinces on the Thai-Cambodian border.
• Assistance to Elderly and Handicapped Villagers in remote provinces by means of Consumable Supplies for the Needy.
• Assistance to Children of Landmine Victims by means of Education Supplies.
• Assistance to Handicapped Schoolchildren in Surin and Buriram provinces by means of Education Supplies.
• Catholic Volunteer Services for Emergency Relief.
• Volunteers for Social and Environmental Development (VSED) rendered in schools and community.
• Health Promoting Schools
• Floods Preparedness Training