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Work and festivities
August, and it's raining!
In Central Africa the month of August is the culmination of the rainy season. And even this year it is no different.
Last
week, with Caritas, we distributed household goods (buckets, soap,
etc.) for 400 Bozoum families. Within the same project, with the help of
Misereor (German Caritas) and Cordaid (Dutch Caritas) we provided beds,
mattresses and kitchen equipment for 38 families in situations of
severe poverty. And with the help of the Lutheran World Federation we
are building 11 homes for as many families.
Sunday,
after the celebration of 2 Masses, I left for Bangui. The purpose of
this trip was mainly the participation in the meetings with our
Provincial, Fr.Saverio, who was passing through Central Africa. We met
with the other Carmelites who work in Central Africa in the communities
of Baoro, Bouar (Yolé and St.Elie), Bozoum and Bangui.
On
Tuesday afternoon, 12 people from SIRIRI, the NGO of Prague, will
arrive in Central Africa for 2 weeks, for teacher training on the method
"Learning by playing": some come from the Czech Republic, others from
France.
We will leave with them on Wednesday morning to Bozoum.
We arrived on August 15, the feast of the Assumption of Mary.
As
per tradition we celebrate the Mass in Doussa, a village 4 km from
Bozoum, on the banks of the Ouham River, a few hundred meters from the
yards of Chinese companies that extract gold. Some Christians from other
nearby villages are also present.
Unfortunately,
despite the publication of the river water analysis (which revealed the
worrying presence of mercury) NO ONE moved, NO ONE took care to inform
the population of the risk of contact and water use, NO ONE reacted .
So
at the end of the Mass, we made a small pilgrimage to the bridge over
the river Ouham (built in 1943 by Italian soldiers taken prisoner by the
British in Ethiopia!). We carried the statue of Our Lady: in our simple
faith, we know that when NO ONE on earth listens to us, it is still
her, the Mother, who does not forget about her weakest and most
abandoned children. After having arrived on the bridge, we entrusted to
her and to her Son the men who suffer and are at risk, the creation
entrusted to us, the water that flows into the river.
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| Distribuzioni Distributions |
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| Concelebrazione della Messa al Carmel con p.Saverio Concélébration au Carmel avec le p.Saverio |
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| Messa a Doussa Messe à Doussa |
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| Benedizione del fiume Ouham Bénédiction du fleuve Ouham |
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| Formazione dei formatori Formation des formmateurs |
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