Papal Anti-Blight Group Meeting in Chad

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 8, 2001 (Zenit.org).- A papal institution founded to fight blighting in Africa is meeting this week in Chad to review its work and future strategies.

The Administrative Council of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, a Vatican institution that has been funding projects since 1984 to combat the spread of blighting in this African region, began a meeting in the capital N´Djamena on Sunday. The meeting ends next Sunday.

The "Sahel" -- "border" in Arabic -- signifies the border between water, which spells life, and desert, which represents death.

The sub-Saharan region of the Sahel is known by the public for the terrible drought it suffered in the 1980s. In 1980, while John Paul II was visiting Burkina Faso, he saw for himself the drama of the spread of blighting, and made a historical appeal in support of the Sahel. Four years later, he established the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, headquartered in Vatican City, and is directed by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum."

The foundation´s main purpose is to form people in the struggle against drought and blighting, finance projects to combat these, and aid the victims. It has supported numerous works related to water and agriculture in nine African countries. Bishop Seraphim Rouamba of Koupela, Burkina Faso, currently is the foundation´s president.

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