HUT – Hëllef um Terrain (help on the ground) took over Caritas’ national activities when the latter was subjected to an embezzlement investigation last year. Claudia Monti, who was appointed president of the charity in April, says there is a lot to keep her busy, as she is working on reorganising and building procedures. HUT was built on the ashes of Caritas, which means people are now somewhat mistrustful of the sector.
“The main challenge is rebuilding trust, to the extent that all our projects will be supported. So we can work as a winning team in the best interests of the public. We felt obliged to say to people, this is what we are doing, we’ll tell you everything. Transparency is the only way to regain trust.”
The process of establishing conventions with the ministries has also been subjected to stricter checks:
“We are very controlled, we have to submit very precise projects. It’s really not the case that we get everything we ask for. We have to be able to demonstrate a well-structured plan. I think it’s normal though, I understand why things have to be this way.”
The employees affected by the change in structure were relieved at the creation of the new charity, as were the people receiving help from Caritas. Despite entering a state of shock when the news broke, the transition was ultimately successful.
HUT has largely taken over Caritas’ national activities in Luxembourg, such as the management of social housing, and support for people in need, such as refugees. It also handles accompaniment of vulnerable families, as well as helping to organise clothing donations and the “Wanteraktioun” campaign to support the homeless. Caritas’ international activities were not carried over to the new organisation, as there was no will to finance these, Monti says.
Although the work taken over by HUT is important, Monti highlights that things have not run smoothly, particularly at a personal level.
“At the start certain people made very negative comments about HUT, and both founding members and staff we took on from Caritas were subjected to personal attacks. It hurt me personally as well, receiving comments accusing us of nepotism, saying we belong to the elites, and have no idea of social work.”
Monti, who formerly served as ombudsman, says she is always open to constructive criticism. She understands it was not a simple situation, but says the matter had to be handled quickly, and she hopes HUT receives more positive support.
The former Caritas employees taken over by HUT have Monti’s full respect, she says, as they were subjected to heavy criticism and also experienced immense uncertainty over their jobs. It was not an easy situation for the staff members involved.
