The Salesian mission "Maison Don Bosco" is located in Ivato, at 1,300 meters above sea level, on the central plateau and on the outskirts of the capital Antananarivo. The area has about 28,000 inhabitants: in addition to being the "dormitory" of those who work in the capital, there are families who live making ends meet with small jobs (laundry on behalf of wealthy families, car washing, loading and unloading of goods at the market ...).
The specific problems concern the lack of public social action and support and education interventions for these poor families. Families who during the lockdown, despite the small help received from the authorities, have seen their socio-economic situation worsen, given that the restrictions imposed have limited displacements and albeit small chances of earning.
The Salesian community has seriously committed itself to helping poor and disadvantaged families, supporting them with donations of food, medicines or building small houses. But it is still not enough.
Currently the Salesian Mission Office "Missioni Don Bosco" of Turin is supporting the local Salesians with a project that involves the distribution of rice, beans, soap and oil twice a week. The aim is to guarantee the minimum necessary for families in difficulty, considering also that most of the families they help are "single parents", that is, single mothers with their children, who live in hovels or makeshift shelters.
The direct beneficiaries of the project are 70 families and a foster-family home with around 25 children. About 500 people will receive concrete help (310 children and women, 190 boys and men).
But the local Salesians are well aware that even more people will benefit from it: because the poor people they help, often with little education and fewer opportunities, however, usually share the little they have in a spirit of solidarity.
For more information, visit: www.missionidonbosco.org
