Almost online again!

 

 

 

Battesimi a Bawi
Baptèmes à Bawi

Almost online again!

The connection is finally back, albeit with some hiccups and often slow, but also quite expensive.

However, our work still continues!

The celebration of Baptisms continued in the villages. After having done the most distant villages first, I am now reaching the closer ones. Sunday the 11th I was in Dobere, where there were 9 baptisms, and about twenty new catechumens who began their journey of preparation for Baptism. I also celebrated, like the connection, with some hiccups, because I had a bout of malaria. But I managed to complete them and above all to experience the gift of new Christians with the small community of the village.

And at the end of a school year, it too with hiccups, we came to the closure of the activities in the 9 village schools. From Monday to today, Thursday, I went from school to school to attend the small end-of-year ceremonies: some speeches, some poetry and some sketches, and the delivery of report cards.

I like to live these moments with teachers, parents and children. I like to see the imagination of the teachers, who compose poems, songs and skits that the children perform. I like to see the joy and pride on children's faces when they receive their report card (and they know they are promoted). And I always like and move to see the pride and joy of parents who come to hug their children, bringing a biscuit, or a simple hug.

It is a difficult time for everyone. This year, due to the fear of war, covid and elections, the number of pupils in our schools decreased dramatically: from 1,800 pupils at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year, we went to 750 in June 2021. More than a thousand children did not attend school this year!

This will require a big effort to get them all back to school for this September. And we are all working on it: parents, children, teachers.

Courage!

 

 

Pate Bonambolo

Dobere

Dayanga

Kouisso Baguera