Ahongbonon Gregoire

Grégoire Ahongbonon was born in 1953 in Ketoukpe, a small village in Benin near the Nigerian border. In 1971, he moved to Bouaké in Côte d’Ivoire to work as a tire repairman. He later opened a taxi business which quickly made him wealthy, but inexplicably and suddenly he found himself destitute. Following this collapse, he experienced a period of deep depression and disorientation, eventually attempting suicide in the late 1970s. During this time, Grégoire returned to the Catholic Church, from which he had distanced himself during his years of economic prosperity.

In 1982, he took part in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where a phrase spoken by the priest during the homily deeply moved him and would change his life: “Every Christian builds the Church by bringing his own stone.”

Back in Bouaké, Grégoire began to reflect on what his “stone” might be. One day, after years of indifference, he noticed a person wandering naked through the streets, searching for food in the garbage. Against the norms of local culture, Grégoire approached the individual, recognizing the nudity as a sign of mental illness. In that moment, he saw the Christ of his faith in that man and ceased to feel fear.

With the support of his wife, he began walking the streets of Bouaké in search of people suffering from mental illness, offering them food and clothing. Gradually, he became aware of the inhumane conditions faced by people with psychiatric disorders in Côte d’Ivoire. He soon realized that chaining and abandonment were common and accepted practices, and that the mentally ill were considered “the least of the least.” Grégoire decided, together with his family, to dedicate his life to those suffering from mental illness and to society’s outcasts. He began to literally unchain people, rescuing them from the streets—those with psychological issues, epilepsy, and anyone else that nobody “wanted.” In Bouaké, he started a prayer group that would soon evolve into a charity for those in need of care: the Association Saint Camille de Lellis of Bouaké.

Grégoire has received numerous awards and honors both in Europe and the United States. His story has transcended the borders of African states, and Western psychiatric institutions have been challenged and inspired by the countless stories of human rebirth that continue to define the work of Saint Camille.