15/04/2008
Madagascar- Antananarivo
 A family home
for the children of Antananarivo,
supported by the Community of Sant�Egidio�s
long-distance sponsorship program
The country
Madagascar has a
population of approximately 19 million. Of these, nine and a half
million are minors: between the ages of 0 and 18 years, and around 1
million of these are orphans. But there are in fact many more
abandoned children: poverty and unstable family relations are the
major causes of this phenomenon, which is reaching alarming
proportions especially in urban environments. In Antananarivo, the
capital city of Madagascar, where around 70% of inhabitants live below
the poverty line (on less than one euro per day), there has been
disproportionate growth in the number of street children.
The family home
 In response to this emergency, in Antananarivo, the
Community of Sant�Egidio�s Family Home has come into existence.
It is a real house: designed in accordance with the
best welfare standards while aiming at providing a �family-style�
welcome.
This is the first project of its kind in Madagascar,
where the usual fate for abandoned children is to be gathered in
large-scale institutions where, unfortunately, they are unlikely to
find the necessary emotional support for healthy development.
The little twins on their arrival |
Three months later |
Children with their �moms� |
The house is currently home to 8 children. The
youngest is one month old and the oldest is just over 2 years old. They
are growing well, and have started to smile and to play with each
other. The Family Home offers them a shared family environment and the
certainty of a secure and protected future. |
