Communities in Toliara region face severe destruction

(MissionNewswire) Mission Don Bosco, the Salesian Solidarity Fund of the Saint Anthony Province of the Salesians in Portugal, has recently launched the “A Gesture for Madagascar” campaign to respond to Salesians who are facing a humanitarian crisis following the passage of Tropical Cyclone Honde. The initiative aims to raise funds to support the affected communities, particularly in the Toliara region, where the cyclone’s impact has been devastating.

Since the cyclone struck the country on Feb. 27, Madagascar has been experiencing severe hardship given the torrential rains and wind. Tropical Cyclone Honde caused extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods, severely endangering food security and access to medical care. Hundreds of people have been left isolated, and many families are in urgent need of food, medicine and essential supplies, as well as temporary shelters.

Father Innocent Bizimana, superior of the Maria Immacolata Vice-Province of Madagascar, noted that Tropical Cyclone Honde inflicted severe destruction on infrastructure, homes and essential facilities. He said, “Hundreds of families have lost their homes and have no access to food or medical care.”

Salesians in Portugal are working to raise the funding needed to help Salesians in Madagascar respond to this humanitarian crisis. Salesians are often on the front lines of humanitarian disasters because they live in the communities in which they work. They are often the first ones to provide an initial response and remain long after other aid organizations have left, helping families and communities rebuild.

Salesian missionaries have 11 centers and work in several locations in the country, including the Don Bosco House in Ivato in the outskirts of Antananarivo. Salesians have been in Ankililoaka since 1982. They have constructed schools and churches, as well as a youth center for the most disadvantaged youth. They are working to ensure quality education and make sure no student is left behind.

Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Seventy percent of Madagascar’s almost 19 million people live in poverty with 5.7 million of those youth between the ages of 10-24, according to UNICEF. This number is expected to double in 2025.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Portugal – “Missão Dom Bosco” Launches Solidarity Campaign for Madagascar

Salesian Missions – Madagascar

UNICEF – Madagascar