From N’Djamena, Grégoire, a Friend of Saint Jeanne Antide, wanted to share his reflections with us, make us aware of some of the faces of poverty in Chad, and share with us the initiatives of the local AJA Group in the capital.
“By introducing this World Day of the Poor to the Universal Church eight years ago, Pope Francis wished to draw our special attention on this day to those who live in our continents and countries around us.
Reflecting on this, the poor have two figures with different forms: the poor classified in the social category and the poor classified in the spiritual category.
In Africa in general, and in Chad in particular, poverty is widespread in all areas of our lives. Many people come from materially poor families. This makes them food insecure and unable to get their daily ration, to pay for their children’s schooling, to pay rent, to care and clothe themselves….
Some of them are called ‘returning poor’: this is a social category affected by painful events such as refugees fleeing war, victims of natural phenomena (floods, earthquakes, landslides….).
Freedom-loving people for their political or trade union ideas, journalists from the public and private media who expose the misdeeds of bad governance, prisoners in various jails without being tried. These people cannot enjoy their freedom and exercise their civic rights normally. Thus they fall into the poverty trap.
The poor are also our sick who suffer in body and soul. They are found in various places, at home and in hospitals.
We must recognize that there is what I can call national poverty in Chad. There is a real lack of basic socio-educational facilities. The majority of the Chadian population is young and cannot read, write or calculate in any language. This can contribute even more to poverty.
For us, poverty is everywhere: in our churches, in our neighborhoods, in our cities, at school, at the market… But poverty is not just about money. Poverty is not just material poverty, it can also be poverty of spirit. Our Lord Jesus tells us: whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me. This passage is linked to the charism of St Jeanne Antide Thouret to see the image of the Lord in the poor.
By our attitudes we distance ourselves from the Lord because we have not obeyed his commandments. We do not truly listen to our brothers and sisters in difficult situations, sharing our joys and sorrows with them. Pride, jealousy, hypocrisy and means prevent us from serving the Church and being attached to the Lord.
On this World Day of the Poor, let us pray for one another, individually and collectively. We will not wait for a solemn day to pray for our needy brothers and sisters, but we must remember them in our daily prayers.
In our vicariate, the Friends of St Jeanne Antide Thouret, of which I am a member, have organized themselves to pray with the poor, clean around them, and make various donations”.
N’Djamena (Chad), 15 November 2024
Grégoire M. (AJA)
