Day of the sick

Day of the sick

February 11th was the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the day of the sick: we had a moment of reflection, but also of presence and closeness with those that are sick. A light in the dark of pain, a seed of hope, where a resurrection buds.

In Central Africa the health system is very fragile. There are few facilities, few doctors (those who are here are mostly located in the capital), and in return very few services. On top of the lack of medical aid it also come with a fee! Whether it is for a visit for a prescription, or for some type of treatment, nothing is free.

For a family, or a person, especially if alone or elderly, it is almost impossible to find the money for treatment. Sometimes it is already hard to find 500 or 1000 f (around 1 euro) to be seen by a nurse or doctor (if there is even one available!). It then becomes almost impossible to buy medicine, or face the costs of surgery (for a hernia, it takes about 100 euros, in a country where the average salary -for those who have a job- is around 30-50 euros).

The Church is also very involved in health care, with dispensaries, maternity centres and hospitals. There is even a system of quality drugs, that are purchased wholesale in Europe and then made available to various healthcare facilities (private and public) at very low prices. Not to mention the hundreds of people who come help who also ask for a hand to heal themselves.

On February 11, we met, as every year, at the hospital, where we celebrated the Eucharist, and blessed all the sick. It was good to see the various movements of the parish engaged in cleaning the hospital, but also in the gift of food and soap for the sick.

These days I also went down quickly to Bangui, to accompany Giacomo, one of our volunteers, who left for Italy after 3 months of being here in Bozoum.

Giacomo