Ilse
writes:
I have had a very good time in Ghana and I learned a lot.
Of course I had a picture of Africa from the stories of
the Fathers, but now I saw it with my own eyes! I have learned
a lot there. It is unbelievable! There I often said: "what
a good life we have". And that is still how I feel
about it. When I came home I thought: "Would the people
in Africa have all of this".
I also see things differently now, I do not know exactly
how to say it, but I still often see the things I saw there
before me. It also took quite a time before I had dealt
with all that I have seen there. Soon I will show the pictures
to the fathers, I was not prepared to it before.
I am very happy that I went with this trip, I would not
have missed it for anything.
I also learned a lot from the different cultures in our
group.
In Bunkpurugu I had very nice conversations with the girls
and boys of the village, really I will never forget that.
I recently received a letter from one of the girls there,
she writes she misses me, very sweet!
I would like to invite one of the girls to come here for
a few weeks, but the tickets are so expensive. I would like
to show my culture, but perhaps one day … that is really
what I would like to do most.
I really hope we will meet again as group!
Liefs Ilse
Mieke
writes:
In the summer of 2003 I was given the opportunity to
travel with an international youth group to Ghana. Not just
a touristic trip but also a holiday with "the youth
Missionary movement" of the White Sisters and White
Fathers.
After
getting to know each other a bit in Esch (Netherlands) we
left for the Airport. Arriving in Accra Sister Elisabeth,
MSOLA and Father Thomas were waiting for us. As they had
spent many years in the North of Ghana, they were ideal
guides. They did a very good job, they took us to many beautiful
corners and introduced us to very special and warm people.
The
first week we stayed together and we took time to acclimatise
and see the environment. After a week we were ready to know
the real Africa and we split up in small groups.
I was brought to Gumo together with Jon (England) Myriam
(France) and Jeannette (The Netherlands). Gumo is a very
small village about 10 km from Tamale. In Gumo people still
live in small round huts, there are no shops or tourists.
Many of the people are Muslims, there is a small group of
Catholics. Because Gumo did not have a school yet, the sisters
decided to build one, a kindergarten for two classes.
During
our stay there Myriam and myself got to know life in this
school, we even got to prepare and give some lessons. For
me this was special because I am a kindergarten teacher
in Belgium. I learned a lot from the differences between
education here and there and I was happy to be able to help
a bit building on their future. Jon was asked to give extra
English lessons to some boys, which he enjoyed very much.
For
the rest we had a lot of contacts with the people of the
village. We saw how they lived, what they did, how they
worked, celebrated, we talked with them and were invited
in their homes.
For
me the meeting with the Sisters has been very important.
We lived together, we ate, prayed, sung, worked and we relaxed
together. We had many interesting discussions on religious
life, faith, ordinary questions on life and the differences
between Africa and Belgium.
Only after 10 days of living together so intensively I can
understand a bit what it means to be a Missionary of Africa.
I am very happy that I could take part in this rich experience.
I hope that many young people take the chance to get to
know Africa and their faith in this way.
I would
like to finish by expressing my gratitude to all who have
made these holidays possible. Thanks to the Fathers and
Sisters. You do marvellous work for the people in Ghana
and other African countries. I will never forget you.
Mieke Vandenbroucke Belgium
Laurent
shares:
When I reflect on the reasons why I went to Ghana,
I reckon I first took the experience as a self-test: I was
afraid of Africa, of the image we have of it in the north
(sickness, poverty...). I wanted to go against this fear
and beyond and get out stronger from this. A bit self orientated,
I am afraid. Nevertheless, I was also interested in discovering
another culture, meeting African people, getting to know
their beliefs, references, ways of living. Finally, even
though I was reluctant to this, I think I wanted to open
to God in a way, to go past my selfishness and fears, as
I knew I would be moved by the experience.
What
I learned from the experience: I first realised how rich
the North is and how poor the South is and what it means
to live in a developing country and economy. I knew it theoretically
but to live it in the country, even some weeks is quite
different. I have been shocked by the material poverty of
Ghana, by the precarious life people live. I think I used
to take a lot of things for granted, from the comfort we
have, the possibility to study and get trained, to the security
we enjoy (having hospitals nearby, getting cured when we
are sick...).
I also
met very friendly people, open-minded and extremely welcoming
people, who take time for people and relationships, people
who have kept a sense of community and brotherhood. In a
way, I think I rediscovered the simplicity of life, of just
being with others, taking time for relationship, which I
had forgotten a bit.
I also
had to revisit my conception of God: I used to consider
God a bit like a jupiterian God, who provided for my life
and comfort and who had set me where I was. I used to thank
him for the chance I had... Now I realise I could have been
born in Africa, that it was pure hazard if I lived in the
North and that I could as well have lived poverty or injustice.
After
this experience, I see things differently: now I enjoy life
much more. I enjoy the fact of just being. I also appreciate
thousand times more the comfort I have. On the other hand,
it gave me the will to help more also, taking time for this,
or financially. I also try to open more to people and take
time for relationships. Will I go back to Africa: yes I
would very much like to, definitely.
The
experience of the group was very good, to live with people
from different backgrounds and cultures, with the same faith.
I would be glad to meet the group again.
Again
I would like to thank you Janet, Jacek, Sister Elizabeth
and father Thomas, who organised so well the trip. And I
would definitely recommend to anybody tempted by the experience
to go and learn.
Laurent
Jon
writes:
My trip to Ghana with the Missionaries of Africa was
challenging, exciting, and educational - the way I view
the world in which I live was challenged, living among a
completely different people in a different culture was exciting,
and I learnt more in three weeks than I ever could have
imagined!
It was
a privilege to travel and stay with Father Thomas and Sister
Elisabeth whose knowledge of Ghana, from people to politics
helped me make sense of the events I saw and experienced,
many of which will remain with me for the rest of my life.
One
of these experiences was sharing views on Africa and Europe
with the African sisters I stayed with. Their brutal honesty
in sharing events and opinions on the Western world is as
vivid in my mind as it was then. Another was watching confused
faces change slowly into huge smiles as my pupils understood
the mathematics I taught them! Yet another was riding home
in a small vehicle along with around 30 other people and
4 chickens!
I now
have a huge respect for missionaries, much more even than
before I left! The trip gave me a fantastic exposure to
the difficulties, challenges and joys faced daily by those
who have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord in this
way.
Jon
