Meeting for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and People on the roads/streets ends in the Tanzanian capital, Dar Es Salaam

A five-day meeting for the pastoral care of people on the Road and streets in Africa and Madagascar ended in the Tanzanian capital, Dar Es Salaam, on Saturday. It was attended by more than eighty-five people from thirty-one African countries. They included bishops, priests, religious and lay people, delegates of various episcopal commissions for migrants and itinerant peoples, as well as representatives of Caritas internationalis and of religious institutes which dedicate their efforts to the pastoral care of people who live on the road and the streets. The meeting was organised by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples in collaboration with the Tanzania Episcopal Commission for Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. The participants examined a number of issues including the position of women and girls who are trafficked and forced into slavery such as prostitution and other forms of exploitation, the situation of street children and adolescents and the problems and requirements of transport workers who face many difficulties, such as separation from their families, low pay, fatigue, and long waits at borders. These issues were examined in the light of the post-synodal exhortations, Ecclesia in Africa and Africae Munus. One of the participnats was Fr. Evaristus Bassey, a priest of the archdiocese of Calabar in Nigeria, currently serving as National Director of Caritas at the Nigeria Catholic bishops Conference. Online from Dar es salaam he explained what the church in Nigeria is doing to stop human trafficking and how important the meeting was for him.