ABOUT US
WE HELP PEOPLE - "THE LAST, THE LEAST, THE LOST & THE LITTLE''
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul
OUR VISION, MISSION AND GOALS
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a worldwide Catholic organization of lay people, open to all who wish to live their faith by loving and serving their neighbors.Members of the Society provide person-to-person service to help those in need, regardless of race, creed, gender or religion. We perform our works of charity quietly and respectfully, preserving the dignity of all those we encounter. No work of charity is foreign to us.
Our VISION is to see in those in need the face of Christ.
Our MISSION is to bring faith and hope alive through service to others, one neighbor at a time.
Our GOALS are to live our faith by loving and serving individuals and families, so that no one is in need of the necessities of life.
One of the best-known Catholic charities, the Society sources for funds including monthly collections from all catholic churches to provide direct help to the poor and under-privileged of all religions. We are a lay Catholic organisation of women and men, volunteers, committed to offer person-to-person help to all those in need from monetary assistance and food rations to those in need to also befriending services.
We are funded mainly from donations.
Who we are
Founded on April 23 1833 in Paris, France by Frederic Ozanam—aged 20—and five other students, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul resolved to respond to Christ’s call by dedicating themselves to the poor after the example of St. Vincent de Paul. The Society exists on five continents in 142 countries, numbers about 800,000 members worldwide, whose members operate is over 48,000 groups called "conferences".
What we do.
Historically, the core work of the SSVP is the home visit: from the very beginnings of the Society, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (the leading co-founder) and his companions, went to the poor, visiting them at home in the deprived districts of Paris. This continues today, as the volunteers go to seek people in need, wherever they live: in their homes, on the street, in shelters, in hospital or in prison.
The activity of the Society is always based around love of neighbor, in the local community. Volunteers work in their own area, and respond to local needs. This means that the Society’s work around the world is extremely varied: health, agriculture, education, housing, employment support, help for elderly, disabled, isolated or excluded people, and more. Funded by donations, it also provides emergency aid and rehabilitation for victims of natural or humanitarian disasters, and finances development projects.
The “Saint Vincent de Paul Conference” is the basic unit of the Society. It consists of a group of around ten to fifteen members. Conferences work independently, in collaboration with a Council that brings together several local, regional or national Conferences in a structure that varies from country to country. Volunteers meet regularly, once or twice a month, to pray, organize and discuss their work on behalf of the poor in their local community. Each Conference is normally linked to a Catholic parish.
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and United Nations
In March 2012, the Society was accepted as a Non-Governmental Organization at ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council). This consultant status gives NGOs such as the SSVP access not just to ECOSOC but also to many of its subsidiary bodies, and the opportunity to attend international conferences, organized by the United Nations.
IN MALAYSIA
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF MALAYSIA
State Councils (12)
Conferences (63)
Membership (600+) as at Oct 2023
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Malaysia began in 1934 with the first Conference formed in the then Church of the Assumption, Penang. In the early fifties, the Society began to mushroom along the western half of the Peninsular and in the eighties it was established in Sarawak.
The National Council is the supreme body of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Malaysia.
The management of the National Council is vested in a Board of Management and consists of the following elected office holders:
1. President:
2. Three (3) Vice-presidents:
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
The National Council comprises the Board of Management as stated above and Presidents of all Archdiocesan, Diocesan,
State and Isolated Conferences and elected delegates to this Council.
TWINNING
Malaysia is twinned with Nepal. Seven councils/conferences are twinned with conferences in Nepal. Donation is sent to Nepal through the National Council twice a year. Following an earthquake in Nepal in 2015, we have provided immediate emergency assistance in May/June 2015 followed with winter assistance to our twinned conferences in December 2015 and 2016.
International Twinning: Council General International has appointed Bro Dunstan Dominic Augustine as International Twinning Coordinator – Asia-Oceania in September 2016.