Pope Francis: 'Poverty is not inevitable' in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar – Pope Francis insisted Sunday that poverty isn’t inevitable and that the poor deserve the dignity of work as he visited a hilltop rock quarry in Madagascar where hundreds of people toil rather than scavenge in the capital’s biggest dump. Francis appealed for new development strategies to fight global poverty as he visited the Akamasoa project, or “City of Friendship,” which soars on a hillside above the dump in Antananarivo. The project is the brainchild of an Argentine priest who was so overwhelmed by the abject poverty of Madagascar that he set about creating ways for the poor to earn a living. Over 30 years, the Akamasoa quarry has produced the stones that built the homes, roads, schools and health clinics that now dot the pine-covered hillside. In greeting the villagers and quarry workers, Francis gave thanks that God had “heard the cry of the poor.” “Your plea for help - which arose from being homeless, from seeing your children grow up malnourishe