The responsibility to implement the social welfare…

The responsibility to implement the social welfare postulate of Belgian paternalism is largely that of parastatal organizations, semi-public corporations enjoying a substantial measure of autonomy in organizing and dispensing social services.

Their names become identified with a wide spectrum of social welfare activities ranging from medical services to housing projects, from education and health care programs to family allowances and social centers (foyers sociaux) for African women

An extensive network of social welfare programs thus reaches out to the governed to ensure their material well-being  "from the womb to the tomb."

Roman Catholic and Protestant missions, meanwhile, assume full responsibility for their spiritual well-being, the former being more numerous in the endeavor.

Through their teaching and evangelical activities, and with the help of generous subsidies from the state, missions thus form a major element in the armature of paternalism.