Mission

 

 

Partenza per la scuola dei catechisti
Depart pour l'école des catéchistes

Mission

These days, the three "Schools of catechists" have opened in our diocese: training centers where catechists and their families will live and study for the next 6 months to prepare for this mission. The catechist, in our Christian communities, has a great importance; in addition to teaching the catechism, it is he who directs the daily and Sunday prayers (in villages where the priest can only rarely go), it is always he who advises, guides and helps the village to grow in faith and charity.

It's a big mission, and it's always nice to see them off: leaving the village is a challenging step!

On Sunday I went to celebrate Mass in Barka Bongo, 43 km from Boaro, and I took the opportunity to pick up the catechist and his family and take them to Baoro: this is where the "school of catechists" will live, together with 15 other families from all over the diocese.

The catechists started their courses on Monday. But their wives also underwent a series of training in order to stand out and help the women of the village. The afternoon is generally dedicated to training in sewing and wool processing.

An activity that Sister Biagina follows with enthusiasm, with her 48 years in Central Africa!

It is with her that I went to Bangui on Wednesday, because she has to leave for Italy for treatment. We accompanied her with prayers for her health and with the hope that she will return.

In Bangui, work on the new convent is moving along. With the carpenters we continue to lay the door and window frames, meanwhile the others concentrate on forming the last part of the slab.

Barka Bongo

Suor Biagina

Cantiere del nuovo convento
Le chanitier du nouveau couvent

L'albero del caffé
l'arbre du café

 

 

The beauty of work, the work of beauty

 

 

  

The beauty of work, the work of beauty

Among the many things that are happening, we are also currently rearranging a school, in Samba Bougoulou, and a small church, in Kuisso Baguera.

I am convinced that living in a beautiful and colorful environment has in and of itself a very strong educational element. Especially in a country like Central Africa where there are very few important and well-maintained buildings. In some villages the chapel and the school are the only solid buildings, with a destiny to last over time. Beauty is a divine language.

In Kouisso Baguera, a few kilometers from Bouar, we are cleaning up and decorating the church to become a small Marian shrine. I called two old students, Charlemagne and Alexis, and told them to think about how to express Mary Help of Christians in Central Africa. And they did it with imagination and a religious sense.

On Sunday I celebrated Mass in Dobere, 50 km from Baoro. Unfortunately the road is deteriorating again, no surprise after the poorly done work carried out by a Bangui company ("La semence"), with a large (large) loan from the World Bank.

Monday and Tuesday I was in Bangui, for the site meeting, and to lay pipes and sheaths for the electrical system.

From Monday to Sunday we began a beautiful formation for about sixty young people, coming from the choirs of the various villages: liturgical singing, here in Central Africa, is a prayer that takes heart, spirit and body!

Today, Thursday, I went to Yoro and Bayanga Didi, the two furthest villages, to meet the local communities and see how to restart the schools, which have been closed for 4 years (for Bayanga Didi) or are malfunctioning (in Yoro ).

We had a meeting in Yoro, where I arrived after 2 and a half hours on the road (for 74 km) and another one immediately after in Bayanga Didi. The idea is to help the teachers, who are mostly volunteers, with a small monthly contribution. The local community does what it can, but it is good that they have a minimum amount of money for economic security to be able to devote themselves to teaching. I am sure that Providence will not fail to support us as usual.

 

 

Kouisso

 

 

 

Samba Bougoulou

 

Scuola di Bayanga Didi
Ecole de Bayanga Didi

Yoro

Formazione cori
Fprmation chorales

Strade
Routes

Caffé

Dobere

 

It rains and rains

 

 

 

It rains and rains

We had a bizarre rainy season here this year in Central Africa.

It almost felt like the rains were over, and just as I am writing this it is raining. It ends up being better this way.

Last Friday I went down to Bangui again, both for the construction site of the new convent and to welcome Daniela Dalmasso, a cousin of mine, who is a midwife, on Sunday morning. She is here for a few weeks to lend a hand to provide staff teachings on various techniques, especially for the most difficult situations.

As soon as she disembarked from the plane, we loaded the suitcases and left immediately for the North. Around 1 pm we were in Bossemptele, welcomed by the community of nuns. After a short visit to the hospital, we continued towards Baoro.

We stopped in Mbormo, where we just rearranged the schools, and in particular the nursery school.

At 15.30 we were in Baoro, and were still able to make a trip to the church of Kouisso Baguera, 7 km away. I brought, from Bangui, Charlemagne and Alexis, two young Central African artists, who will create the decorations of what is intended to be a small shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Monday morning I will take Daniela to Maigaro, about ten kilometers from Bouar, where there is a beautiful hospital run by Sister Giulia. It is here that Daniela will be able to work in the maternity ward of the local hospital.

Mbormo

Daniela e suor Giulia

Scuola meccanica - Baoro
Ecole mécanique - Baoro

 

 

 

 

Rural gospel

 

 

 

Rural gospel

The formation of the councilors of the various communities, and of the wives of the catechists ended on Saturday morning. The councilors left in the morning, and the women worked with Sister Biagina: all with knitting needles in hand, and a few balls of yarn arrived with the last containers (thank you, and if you have more we are always accepting donations ...!).

On Saturday, around 2 pm, I left with the wives of the catechists from the furthest villages, for a few days of pastoral work until Tuesday. We arrived in Yoro, 75 km away, at 5 pm, where  I spent the night. The accommodation was a bit sparse, but we managed.

Sunday, October 30, after a couple of hours of confessions, I celebrated Mass in the village chapel. In the afternoon we had a meeting with the councilors and catechists of a couple of villages, to take stock of the training received and, above all, to try to put them into practice. At 6 pm we viewed a film, for young and old.

Monday 31 October I went to Sinaforo. Since the rains are still here, the road is not passable by car, and I had to go on foot. It was only 7 km, and I arrived at 8.30 am. The chapel is made of mud, and is covered with old metal sheets. With the priest's arrival we had a bit of a feast in the village: we read the Gospel of Zacchaeus, and it felt as though I was seeing Jesus arriving in Jericho, 2000 years ago.

I returned to Yoro, still on foot, at 1 pm, and after a little rest I left for Bayanga Didi, bringing a couple of sick people who needed some treatment in the small dispensary. Upon arriving I saw the red light that shines next to the tabernacle, a small sign of the great presence of Jesus the Eucharist in this village.

Here too I showed a film, and in the meantime I met the catechist and the community. I spent the night here, and on Tuesday, November 1st we celebrated Mass on the feast of the Saints. Meetings and discussions followed, which focused mainly on the school: both here in Bayanga Didi (where we opened the nursery school last year), and in Yoro, where the schools are closed. The director of Yoro has not yet shown himself, and while the authorities (Inspector, sub prefect, head of the district) watch without actually seeing since the children have not been to school for some years!

I'm thinking of doing something ... Let's see!

I returned to Baoro on Tuesday evening, with a sick woman, whom I will bring to the doctor. Unfortunately to get some treatment here you have to move to where there are hospitals, which are far and few between, some tens or hundreds of kilometers away ...

I continue to follow the various construction sites, especially those of the schools  that we are doing, thanks to the support of the NGO SIRIRI.OPS.

 

 

Bayanga Didi

Sinaforo

Strada/sentiero per Sinaforo
Route/sentier pour Sinaforo

Yoro

Yoro

Disegni didattici
Fresques didactiques - Bawi