A thousand and more

 

Famiglia e volontari al lavoro per preparare la Comida
Famille et bénévoles au travail pour préparer la Comida

A thousand and more

Today is my last day in Spain.

I arrived here on Wednesday, after a long flight (Bangui - Addis Ababa - Frankfurt - Madrid) and the train from Madrid to Córdoba.

I had been here last year, in May, and it was wonderful to find myself welcomed with so much affection by Bishop Aguirre, his large family, and hundreds of people who help and support the diocese of Bangassou.

On Friday morning my sister Marisa and family also arrived, and it is great to be able to hug them again.

I am here in Córdoba because Fundacion Bangassou is organizing, as it has every year for the past 25 years, a grand Comida a large charity luncheon to support the works and projects of the diocese.

The Comida takes place on Saturday, March 8, in a beautiful venue, the "Circulo de l'Amistad," a facility that accommodates the more than 1,000 guests!

I arrive a couple of hours early, along with Mons Aguirre. There are more than 200 very young volunteers busily putting on the finishing touches as slowly the guests enter.

There are some authorities, Fundacion volunteers, and so many people who love and work for Bangassou.

This year the Comida serves to fund the construction of a soap-making workshop for the women of Bakouma, a very fragile area 150 km from Bangassou.

These are days of meetings, and also of discovering some of the beauty of the city, which over the centuries has been a crossroads and a meeting place between Christians, Muslims and Jews.

The meetings are warm and interesting. And we often find ourselves sharing the excellent local cuisine.

Today, Tuesday, March 11, I am preparing to leave for Madrid by train, and will continue on to Bangui in the evening. Tomorrow I should arrive in Bangui, and on Thursday I hope to leave for Bangassou.

Muchas gracias!

Foto di famiglia
Ma famille

Tutto pronto
Tout est pret

I volontari
Les bénévoles