| Vicente Ferrer Moncho | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 April 1920 Barcelona, Spain |
| Died | 19 June 2009 (aged 89) Anantapur, India |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Jesuit missionary, philanthropist, humanitarian |
| Religion | Catholic, Jesuit |
| Awards | Prince of Asturias Award for Concord (1998) |
Vicente Ferrer Moncho (Barcelona, Spain 9 April 1920 - Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India, 19 June 2009) was a philanthropist who spent his life working to improve the lives of the poor in the mission he founded in Southern India. Today the Vicente Ferrer Foundation carries out humanitarian projects in Andhra Pradesh, bringing aid to over 2.5 million poor people.[1] many of whom are considered Dalit or untouchable.
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In his youth he was for a while affiliated with the POUM (Workers' Party of the Marxist Unification) and at 16 he was called up by the military to serve in the Spanish Civil War. He participated in the Battle of the Ebro (1938) and the retreat of the Republican army to France after the fall of the Catalan front. Briefly he was in the concentration camp of Argelès-sur-Mer. Not having committed any crimes in the conflict, he opted to come back to Spain, and was handed over by French authorities to Franco’s Spanish authorities in Hendaya, by whom he was confined in the concentration camp of Betanzos in 1939. He was finally liberated and in 1944 he abandoned his Law studies and entered the Society of Jesus.[2]
He arrived in India in 1952 as a Jesuit missionary. After deciding to increase his focus in helping the poor, in 1958 he created with a group of followers in Manmad (North of Mumbai), "Rural Development Association". This organization started with twelve acres of land and a school. Although, due to the crisis in the rural area, many peasants wanted to emigrate, Vicente Ferrer encouraged local peasants to dig wells and told them “I will pay you with wheat and oil.” He gave water pumps with credits and with no interests or guarantees. The organization reached 3,000 wells.
After the publication of the article “The silent revolution” in 1968 in the The Illustrated Weekly of India, one of the most read Indian magazines at the time, he was expelled in 1968 by the Indian authorities. A year later, with the blessings of Indira Gandhi, he was granted permission to return so that he could continue his work in the poverty-stricken city of Anantapur. Eventually, he left the Jesuits but continued his humanitarian work.
After his return, he started another project in Anantapur; he again set up irrigation systems, this time in a desert area that was completely barren. The cooperative work method that he instituted there goes by the name of "linked brotherhood": help is given to each peasant in digging his own well, with material and food for the length of the work; when this is finished the peasantrnalist Anne Perry.
In 1998 he was awarded Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award for Concord.
He was a candidate for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
Today the Vicente Ferrer Foundation carries out humanitarian projects in Andhra Pradesh, bringing aid to over 2.5 million poor people.