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Friday, November 24, 2017

At work!



Il riso di Bozoum
le riz de Bozoum


At work!
On Sunday, November 19th, Father Odilon, a newly ordained young Carmelite priest, is here at Bozoum to celebrate his First Mass. It is a moment that the whole parish community and Father Odilon were waiting for.
This week I go to take a look to the rice fields. It's a visit I always enjoy, kind of tonic for my hope while at the same time it’s a pleasure and encouragement seeing these areas cultivated with order and passion. Is with me a Councilor of the Prime Minister, who sees the fields for the first time, and He is amazed for such a vitality and beautiful work. This year the farmers feel encouraged by the opportunity to sell rice to the World Food Fund (WFP), which is then given to various schools. Because of this, instead of the usual 14 hectares, this year they did cultivate 32 hectares of rice!
On Tuesday I go to Bocaranga. I leave at 5.30 am, and after 3 hours and a half of a severely damaged road and 125 km, I’m in Bocaranga. I am amazed by the tranquility I find: the villages are full of activities, and some signs warn that it is forbidden to go around in the city with weapons. The market is full of life, and the schools are open. To me it seems almost a miracle! The city had been attacked by rebels in late September, and most of the people had fled (nearly 4,000 arrived in Bozoum). In early October, the UN Peace Keepers had finally intervened with a military operation, which caused the rebels to run away. Even though the rebels aren’t too far away, there is at least some peace and a bit of much needed tranquility.
I’m here in Bocaranga with Caritas employees and a "refugee woman" who had fled to Bozoum. The visit is important because the refugee people can see firsthand the real situation and then decide whether to return to Bocaranga or not. My visit here in Bocaranga allows me to understand how we can act as Caritas. Many people are giving us a very important help (Caritas Germany, Siriri.Org and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, the parish of Cassina Amata in Italy ...) and this will allow us to work in many fields. First of all, the school: over 200 teachers from 64 elementary schools will receive a small monthly contribution, as encouragement and stimulus. Then our caring for the sick, the elderly and for those who have come back and have to build up a new home.
And, if we succeed, in January 2018, we will manage to have once more the Bozoum Agricultural Fair. Through the Fair farmers and cooperatives will be able, taking part, to have an opportunity to sell their products.










P.Odilon













Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Senegal and Kenia: the return





Senegal and Kenia: the return
Friday November 10th, after three whole days of meetings with the Carmelite brothers of the francophone Africa, we left Kaolack to Dakar.
We stopped at the Benedictine Abbey of Koeur Moussa, founded in 1961. Here there is a successful example of the enculturation of the liturgy, with the singing accompanied by the Kora, a traditional instrument made with a big pumpkin. We celebrated Mass with the whole Benedictine community which then welcomed us for lunch. After the Vespers celebrated in the monastery of our Carmelite sisters  of Sebhikotane, we went to Dakar to spend the night.
Father Saverio left during the night and I have taken advantage of Saturday morning to meet with some of my former seminarians and students who live and study here: Junior and Evariste Yekatom, Tite Wratchet, Prince Gbae, Saintete. It was a very beautiful moment.
Saturday afternoon I left Dakar. The journey lasts approximately ten hours. When I arrived in Nairobi, surprise! The flight to Bangui first was delayed two times and then was canceled. So Kenya Airways put us in a beautiful hotel and after half a day of rest I was able to leave on Monday morning towards Bangui, where I arrived at 8:40. Here I met with Enrico Massone who just arrived for a 10 days stay.
On Monday we started to organize two important projects at Bangui Carmel: the tidying up of a house for the Indian Sisters CMC and the place for the construction of bricks with the Hydraform machine that we purchased in South Africa. On Tuersday morning I went back to Bozoum, where I arrived at approx. Noon. Finally at home! Wednesday afternoon I went to Konkere, a small village at about 30 Km. from Bozoum, where we are making a water well, right close to the school that we have just built.








Dakar

Dakar

Nairobi

Nairobi

Pozzo a Konkere
Forage à Konkere

La nuova scuola ed il pozzo a Konkere
La nouvelle école et le forage à Konkere

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Kenya and Senegal





Kenya and Senegal

These days I am traveling in order to attend a meeting of the Carmelite Superiors of francophone Africa. Friday afternoon I leave towards Nairobi with Father Saverio, our Provincial superior, to Nairobi. We arrive there in the evening. Here we are very well greeted by our Carmelite confreres. On Saturday morning, I meet Father Nicola Fogliacco member of  Consolata Missionaries. He has been here for about forty years and still at present continues teaching Theology with enthusiasm to young generations of all over Africa. I gladly see him again, also because we have common ruts coming both from the same town, Madonna delle Grazie, in the Province of Cuneo. In the afternoon, we tour the city, and on Sunday morning we are fliying  towards Dakar. And after ten hours flight finally we are in Dakar, Senegal. Here we meet with confreres of Congo, Cameroon, Madagascar, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Rwanda-Burundi and Senegal. Some Fathers came from our General House in Rome. We'll meet in the coming days to discuss and share the various experiences of our Carmelite life in many different Countries. On Monday morning, before going to our Kaolack convent, we visit a very symbolic and meaningful place: the Gorée Island. Located about 3 kilometers from Dakar, this small island (900 mt. X 300 mt.) here the ships   use to dock to take on board African slave people. Many of the houses were "slave houses" where Africans captured inside the continent, were sorted out, subdivided, weighed, and palpated as cattle, and then loaded into hundreds of ships in horrible conditions to sail for two or three months towards the Americas, where they were sold as slaves. Pope John Paul II, visiting this island in February 1992, said:
"How long is the way which the human family must walk before its members learn to love and respect each other as God's images, to finally love each other as children and daughters of the same Heavenly Father?" In the evening we arrive at Kaolack, where our French confreres have a magnificent monastery, surrounded by savannah The climate here is very hot. These are very busy days, which begin in silence in the chapel, with the liturgical celebration of the Hours, followed by the Mass. During the meetings, we share the real every day life of all districts. In many Countries (Central Africa, Congo, Burundi) the situation is very difficult, but in all areas, there is a good growth, with a large number of young people and a positive presence seeking to bring the richness of the spirituality of Carmel everywhere.

Incontro con il Cardinal Nzapalainga, arcivescovo di Bangui, p.Saverio e p.Mesmin


P.Nicola Fogliacco

la cattedrale di Nairobi


Reusrrection Garden - Nairobi

le strade di Gorée


La parrocchia dell'Isola di Gorée
la paroisse de l'Ile de Gorée

la porta attraverso la quale gli schiavi salivano sulle navi


Couvent des Carmes Déchaux de Kaolack









Saturday, November 4, 2017

No bandits!





No bandits!
No bandits this week! On Thursday, October 26th, after a very uncomfortable night still scared because of what append earlier with the bandits inside our Mission, we got up early at 5.00 am in order to go towards Bangui. I bring there the Indian Sisters of which two of them are Superiors leaving on Friday. They bare on their journey back to Sudan, Are leaving also Fathers Andrea, Lorenzo and Davide who came for the great Priesthood Ordinations. Despite a convoy trucks (escorted by the UN Peace Keepers), we did arrive in Bangui at 1.00 pm. In the afternoon and the next morning I take part to various meetings, and on Saturday morning I begin my journey back to Bozoum.
Are three weeks now that I have been traveling between Bozoum, Bangui and Bouar, and in 19 days I have been driving and driving for 4,200 km. Courage!
Between Sunday and Wednesday I am finally home in Bozoum, On Monday we have a first meeting with the teachers of our St. Augustine's Middle and High School. It is about checking how the schools are doing class by class.
Tuesday I visit the schools for refugees: 8 classes, where a variable (too variable I should say) number of students finally attends school. The number of kids goes from  210 and 400- The refugees are undecided between stayng in Bozoum or going back to Bocaranga and elsewhere .
Educational work is a must. Just in these weeks, thanks to the benefactors from USA and our brothers from Czech Republic, we are close to end building two new schools: one at Kpari and one at Konkere.
Courage!

la scuola in costruzione a Kpari, e a fianco la "scuola" attuale

la scuola di Kpari... adesso!





Scuola rifugiati: guardando al futuro.