The Volunteer Corps: Learning from Those in Extreme Poverty
Above (left to right): Honorine Kouamé, Nathalie Bénézet, and Sophie Razanakoto, Directors of the Joseph Wresinski Archives and Research Centre, at the ceremony marking the inscription of the ATD Fourth World archives into UNESCO’s International Memory of the World Register in September 2023.
ATD Fourth World is an international movement relying on the commitment of Volunteer Corps members, activists, and allies. Volunteers play an essential role; these justice-seeking individuals decide to alter their lives to be next to those who have been affected by extreme poverty, and work together to overcome all forms of injustice, exclusion, and infringement of human rights.
By Julie Clair-Robelet, Editor-in-Chief of the ATD Quart Monde Journal
Question the world
An adventurer, author, member of the Volunteer Corps and home care assistant, Nathalie Bénézet has always been driven by, never ceasing to question the world around her.
She first thought about becoming a Volunteer Corps member when she read about ATD Fourth World in a book her mother recommended. She was intrigued by the unique way in which ATD spoke of those living in poverty.
“I have nothing to do with the Church, but the priest’s1 words regarding those in extreme poverty were explosively correct,” she recalls. “Never had someone spoken in this way about the people I considered as my own.”
Born into a family “that had always known hardship,” Nathalie was always on the move, never knowing what she would be doing the next day. The idea of creating a volunteer corps, as presented in this book, seemed “pretty bold”.
“Finally, someone acknowledged that what people in poverty need isn’t soup or used clothing, but people who can come and live alongside us in a manner that was worthwhile.”
For her, the Volunteer Corps seemed like “a way to take people directly impacted by poverty very seriously.”
” [It’s] allowing ourselves to be profoundly challenged without knowing in advance what we will gain… without thinking that Volunteer Corps members are saviours, or that their lives will make the difference after centuries of oppression,” she explains. “Those in poverty are not stupid. If there was a miracle solution, they would have found it a long time ago.”
- She was overwhelmed by the idea of “a group of people who allow themselves to be permanently and collectively influenced by those in the deepest poverty, to the point that [being a Volunteer Corps member] has a profound impact on both the trajectory of their lives and their collective beliefs.”
A Personal commitment
Nathalie felt inspired after learning about the Volunteer Corps, yet worried about being disappointed. She feared discovering that the exciting idea was “just words in a book”. So she sceptically contacted ATD Fourth World in Switzerland and spoke to members of the Volunteer Corps, wanting to be certain of their intentions. Then, she made the decision to join the Volunteer Corps, but first she wanted to have some order in her life and to make sure that her commitment was “a free and clear act.”
Nathalie got an apartment and, for the first time in her life, found “a good job” in the restaurant industry in Montpellier. During that time, she reflected on the world around her.
“I sensed what being an [ATD Fourth World] ally could signify,” she says. “For example, encouraging your boss to reflect on how they treat the apprentice, [encouraging] people in the workplace to consider those who are the most vulnerable. [It could mean] to intervene when we are a witness to a contemptuous remark at the checkout or ticket counter or wherever else. We can keep quiet, but we can also get involved without creating conflict.”
After a year of restaurant employment, she “threw it all away” and committed full time to ATD Fourth World. In ATD, she found it was possible to not “turn her back” on the community that she came from. “My question was not whether to join those living in poverty, they were already part of my life,” she says, “Instead, it was how not to betray them.”
- She chose the Volunteer Corps, which she describes as a “collective project in which we accept to be disoriented, yelled at, loved, pushed around, and influenced by those in extreme poverty.”
Stepping aside
A member of the Volunteer Corps from 1989 to 2007. Nathalie lived in Burkina Faso, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brittany France, and ATD Fourth World’s International Centre in Méry sur Oise, France.
In 2007, she felt the need to “step away.” She wanted to “[take in], through art, the depth and poetry” of what she had experienced from people in poverty.
While working as a home care assistant and her involvement in labour unions, she turned towards literature and published two novels2. The first, Les moissons de l’absence (The Harvest of Absence), inspired by her father’s story: “who died in circumstances of a poor man in a hostel for immigrant workers”. She learned of his death a few weeks later, thanks to a conscientious funeral director who insisted on searching for his family before burying him.
Her second novel, Mon pays c’est le chemin (My Country is the Path), tells the story of a woman who had to flee her country. “I couldn’t stand the fact that my beloved Mediterranean had become a tomb, and I didn’t know how to feel close to all the people around the planet who are obligated to migrate,” Nathalie explains.
Joseph Wresinski Archives and Research Centre
After 11 years, she chose to return to the Volunteer Corps. She is now the director of the Joseph Wresinski Archives and Research Centre, alongside Honorine Kouamé and Sophie Razankoto. “This place has a lot of importance for me,” she says. “I have long been aware of the need to protect our history, because it can serve others in the future.”
UNESCO recently listed the archives of ATD Fourth World in the International Memory of the World Register. Meaning it is now part of humanity’s documentary heritage. “It is an extraordinary recognition and responsibility,” Nathalie says of this accomplishment and calls for assistance. “To carry out our mission, we need financial and human support. All those with good will are welcome.”
This profile is taken from the November 2023 issue of the ATD Fourth World Journal.
If you are interested in the Volunteer Corps, contact ATD Fourth World in your country or write to .