Vatican City, Jul 29, 2008 / 08:17 am
Efforts to assist the disenfranchised in Latin America received a shot in the arm from the Populorum Progressio Foundation to the tune of $2.1 million following the foundation’s most recent meeting.
The new funding was agreed upon at the July 9-12 meeting of the Populorum Progressio Foundation’s administrative council in Guadalajara, Mexico. The contributions, which come mainly from the Italian Church, total $2,108,300 and will be distributed to some 200 new development projects.
The projects aim to support the poor indigenous mixed race and Afro-American rural communities of Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a communiqué released by the foundation yesterday.
The foundation explained the plight of the poor in these areas, saying, "Indigenous peoples and 'campesinos' represent a high percentage of the population of Latin America. The rapid process of urbanization of the continent and the imposition of a post-modern culture have isolated these peoples from the social context and from the development to which others have had access. Thus they have been largely marginalized and lack protection, on many occasions unjustly losing ownership of their lands.”