Josse van der Rest SJ, founder of SELAVIP, passed away on 24 July 2020 in the Jesuit community of Santiago de Chile and when the world had already decreed a general confinement due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
From a personal point of view, Josse was known as the Father of the simple and coarse words, as he used to use the slang taught to him by street children in Chile. However, Josse was much more than that.
He was a curious man - intellectually speaking -, sensitive and very cross-cutting in his relationships, as he could relate to royalty as well as to the homeless man in the street.
Josse left no one indifferent and always had a word for the people he met.
Josse, after arriving in Chile in 1958, lived in three slums in Santiago before becoming involved in the Hogar de Cristo Fundación Vivienda Factory. From there, in his tireless struggle on behalf of the poorest, he became known as the Father of the Mediaguas, since this type of housing was created by him based on the needs of families to have a decent roof over their heads.
Josse, together with several people including Father Pichi sj, decided to create SELAVIP in 1971 and from there he started to support housing projects in South America, then came to Asia, with the help of Father Jorge Anzorena sj, and finally, it was at the end of the 90's when SELAVIP decided to go to Africa.
We would like to thank Josse for his contribution to improving the lives of the poorest families, as well as his fight against urban speculation.
Today, SELAVIP continues to support housing, water systems, sanitation, toilets and land regularisation, with the main focus being that people live in a clean and dignified environment.
Spanish