The celebration of December 1st

 

i bambini della scuola materna "Il Germoglio"
les enfants de l'école maternelle "Il Germoglio"

 
 

 

 

 

The celebration of December 1st

The Central African Republic was made official on December 1st, 1958. It was the first step towards independence, which came two years later, on August 13th, 1960.

For Central Africa, December 1st is "the" holiday: celebrated with parades in all the cities and other events.

Various schools, some religious organizations, the military and law enforcement agencies, associations and small businesses participate in the parade.

Prepared and rehearsed numerous times, the parade takes place on the main street, in front of the local authorities and dignitaries.

The children of our nursery school, the mechanical school and some schools from the nearest villages also marched.

On Saturday December  2nd I left for the more distant villages, where I spent the night. I left at 5, and while on the road I had a couple of nice surprises: a hippo and a stork fluttered in front of the car!

I arrived in Yoro around 7:30am, 75 km from Baoro, and set off on foot for Sinaforo, 7 km away, where I arrived after an hour.

Here the children welcomed me, shouting and jumping, and the catechist with the rest of the village.  We celebrated a beautiful Mass, in the hut that acts as a little church.

After Mass, we had a bite to eat together. A nephew of the catechist also arrived and started eating quickly, without wasting time. I believe that the meal, with so many of our brothers and sisters, was a bit of a struggle to ensure one had enough to eat and to not miss out on any of the food!

Around 12 I left for Yoro, and continued to Bayanga Didi, where the next day, Sunday, I celebrated Mass.

On the way back I was surprised by a nice storm, where the road turned into a river...

Tuesday morning, at 4, I left for Bangui, to follow and work on the construction site of the new convent.

 

lakòdkasò

Gli alunni della Scuola Meccanica di Baoro
Les élèves de l'Ecole Mecanique de Baoro

 

Upupa epops

Una cicogna
une cigogne

Sinaforo

Bon appetit!

Bayanga Didi

L'entrata del nuovo convento in costruzione
L'entrée du nouveau couvent en construction

 

 

Promises, commitments and work

 

 

 

Promises, commitments and work

Friday, November 24th, after a morning of work on the Bangui construction site, I left with Alessio Vada, the bricklayer, and returned to Baoro.

On Sunday I was in Dobere to celebrate Mass. Today was a celebration for the community, because 29 people made their official promises in the Legion of Mary movement. They are women, the majority, and come from Dobere and nearby villages.

On Monday morning we left at 4 for Bangui, in order to avoid any rehearsals for the parades of the 1st of December, "the" national holiday. We arrived in Bangui shortly after 9, and with Alessio, after a good coffee, we immediately went up to the construction site to continue the work.

In recent days Alessio finished all 44 arches of the cloister, and is currently finishing the last 4 on the entrance.

I'm staying in Bangui for a few days, and I returned yesterday, November 30, here in Baoro. In time for the party and, above all, to leave for the most distant villages on Saturday and Sunday.

Cultivate and grow

 

Orti scolastici a Dobere
Les jardins scolaires à Dobere

Cultivate and grow

Finally last week I managed to stay in Baoro without moving!

I was able to visit our schools in the villages, and as always it was interesting: seeing the teachers enthusiastic, and the pupils even more so, was a great joy.

All 9 schools I visited have already prepared a small, fenced field for vegetable gardens. This year I launched this initiative, for those who wanted it, and all the schools participated. In the next few days we will bring some tools (a cart, watering cans, shovels, hoes, etc.) and seeds to each school. We'll revisit in a couple of months, to see the fruits of their labour!

School, education and training are the tools for building a more peaceful, less poor tomorrow. The hope is to avoid (but unfortunately it is already happening) Central Africa being sold off to the strongest and most overbearing buyer. Just in recent days the Chinese arrived in Baoro, to exploit the gold.  This was despite an official decree from the Minister of Mines, which prohibited any semi-artisanal installation.

On Sunday I celebrated Mass in Zoungbe, a small village on the road to Bangui, and then I went down to Bangui. The work continues with Alessio Vada almost finishing the construction of the 44 arches of the cloister, they are making progress!

Mbormo

Dayanga

Kouisso Baguera

Zoungbe

Alessio Vada

Construction sites and first fruits

 

 

Construction sites and first fruits

Following the work of the new convent under construction in Bangui is quite challenging.
Last week I stayed in Bangui again, to accompany the volunteers and workers for the electrical and plumbing systems.
Enrico and Giovanni are continuing the construction of the arches, while Mario and Giovanni Vezza take care of the electrical and plumbing. Andrè is welding the railings that will protect the convent.
Saturday morning I left Bangui to spend a few days in Baoro.
On Sunday I remained in the parish, because the three new Carmelite priests; Wilfrid, Aimé and Alfred, celebrated their first Mass here. In French there is a beautiful expression: we talk about the "prémices", the first fruits of priestly life.
While in German there is a beautiful proverb, which says:
"A pair of shoes can be broken for the blessing of a new priest" (meaning; no journey is too far to receive this precious blessing)
These days here in Baoro I try to see the progress of the various projects, especially the schools.
Wednesday and tomorrow, Friday, I will be visiting the village schools. I brought some material for the teachers, for the little ones (a slate) and for the older ones.
There is still a lot of rain, but oddly enough I'm very happy that the dry season hasn't started yet!

I primi archi
les premiers arcs

Giovanni e Alessio, e la prima inferriata
Giovanni et Alessio, avec la première grille

Bayanga Bode

Samba Bougoulou

 

 

The work continues

 

Eclissi di Luna
Eclipse de lune

The work continues

I didn't show up on the blog last week, because the work in Bangui continues.

This is the second week that I have spent in Bangui, on the construction site of the new convent.

With Mario Mazzali we continued the electrical and plumbing systems on the ground floor.

For a few days we have had some reinforcements. On Friday 2 November, Giovanni Grossi Bianchi (the architect of this project), Giovanni Vezza (electrician, from Priocca – CN), Alessio Vada, bricklayer from Novello (CN) and Enrico Massone, from Pallavicino in Val Borbera (Al ).

Enrico has been coming to Central Africa for almost 40 years, and Alessio is on his third stay.

It is the two of them who are starting a very particular job these days: the construction of arches over the pillars of the veranda of the new convent. A job that is new in the country, and which involves the bricklayers of the local company.

Saturday morning though... we had to unload the container! We had 12 meters long, with access made more complicated by wet ground and difficult access. Thank God the young people of the community give us a strong support. We started unloading around 10am, and finished at 5pm. The container, prepared with passion and professionalism by our Arenzano Prosecutor's Office, contained a lot of Providence, and also important material for the work on the new convent.

Sunday was a day of rest, and on Monday Alessio and Enrico began to prepare the work for the arches: there was a metal arch, to be adapted to the spaces between the pillars, on which the bricks will be placed. The result was very beautiful.

Enrico, Alessio e Giovanni

Lo scarico del container

La realizzazione degli archi
La réalisation des arcs

Giovanni Vezza e Severin