Madagascar – Bringing a little joy, attention and hope to kids of Anjanamasina

29 January 2021

(ANS - Antananarivo) - Anjanamasina is a suburb of the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, where the Salesians, at the invitation of the prison authorities, offer their help to the state re-education center which houses more than a hundred children and young people - unfortunately their number is constantly growing. It is a delicate and complex reality to manage, which sees, living side-by-side, those who have committed a crime, those who have the sole fault of living on the street without the support of their families, and also unruly children and young people whose families are not able to manage, so much so that in popular jargon the place is called "Trano zaza maditra", or "House for naughty boys".

For years, every Sunday and on midweek feast days, the Salesians have distributed meals and dedicated themselves to animation in prison through musical, theatrical and sporting activities as well as spiritual formation with the celebration of Mass and the sacraments, catechism and projects of a religious and educational nature, carrying on the legacy of Don Bosco who did the same thing in Turin.

With their presence, the missionaries make these young people feel much loved and important to someone, not a burden to be cast aside.

Their ministry is more necessary than ever in a country that, due to the socio-political and economic crisis which has been dragging on for years, sees many children and young people survive the day without a solid family network, kids who remain on the margins of society and feed themselves however they can. Unemployment and economic precariousness in fact force many parents to consider the education of their children as an accessory issue with respect to the need to obtain food and meet daily needs: for this reason, child labor is an increasingly widespread scourge and the phenomenon of street children is constantly increasing. Moreover, the percentage of the population living below the poverty line has exploded to 92%.

The Salesian Mission Office of Turin, "Missioni Don Bosco", has already committed itself twice in the past to support Salesian activities in Anjanamasina, guaranteeing Sunday lunch and recreational and sports activities for these minors who have no one else to take care of. of them.

Meanwhile, the needs and demands of children are still the same, but unfortunately the number of children in need has grown.

For more information, please visit: www.missionidonbosco.org 

InfoANS

ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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