Community of Sant’ Egidio – a global Catholic lay movement devoted to the service of the underprivileged – has committed over MK60 million towards a project initiated to educate and improve the welfare of street-connected children in Lilongwe.
The movement’s regional coordinator for Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania, Paola Germano, made the announcement during the inauguration of House of Hope at Chitedze in Lilongwe.
Germano said the movement is concerned with the rising number of street-connected children in Malawi, capital, stressing that time had come for the government and its partners to collaborate in addressing the problem.
“The problem of street children is very high in Malawi. And as Community of Sant’ Egidio, it is our mission to complement efforts by the government in addressing it,” she said. “Street kids are our sons and daughters. We cannot abandon them.”
Germano said the initial phase of the project will run for five years during which the movement expects to educate around 40 street-connected children.
“This project will be financed by friends from Rome and other well-wishers. The project demonstrates our commitment to be at the feet of Jesus through the poor,” she narrated.
In his remarks, Community of Sant’ Egidio Central Region Coordinator, Matthews Magomero, emphasized the need for collaboration among the members, stressing that ‘the success of the mission will depend on collaboration of the local members’.
“If we collaborate, the world will be a better place for all of us to live,” said Magomero.
