And though my experience was above all very enriching for these reasons it has also allowed me to discover so much more, particularly on the professional level. It certainly was not easy to form an instructress in three months but I think we have had good results. The children have also benefited a lot and that is the most important.

I was able to make wonderful discoveries about the country's culture thanks to the people (food, public holidays, daily life...). Above all, I experienced a solidarity that surpasses our western individualism as well as the incredible strength of life in a world where, paradoxically, life is not easy. This is truly another world with a culture which is so 'human' that one has a lot of difficulty "landing" back home again!

Dominique Nève
Belgium

Departure day finally arrived, and that very day, we discovered the humid heat of Ouagadougou. The Missionaries of Africa welcomed us at Lavigerie House where we experienced our first immersion into the African reality. The Fathers had organised meetings with specially chosen Burkinabe to help us to understand different aspects of their country: the political situation, the role of women, the place of the Church and the Christian faith in Burkinabe society. This fuelled our desire to visit different places in order to see with our own eyes what our ears had heard!

Then came the moment for visits "in the field". In Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, we visited a centre for elderly women who had been chased away from their villages. We were very touched by this… some 350 women living together in extreme poverty, within a very small space. They spin cotton with the hope of earning a bit of money.

I often think of these women who bear their lot so courageously.

Then, in groups of two or three, we were sent to different communities in Burkina Faso. I set off with Yolanta (Polish), for Dori, a small town bordering on the Sahel, in the north of the country. We were accompanied also, by two young women, one Burkinabe and one Polish, who are training to become MSOLA.

The sisters of the community of Dori, Agnes Madaï (Congolese), and Alma Maïer (German), welcomed us warmly into their small house. They "widened the space of their tent" to receive us and for two weeks the six of us lived together in a cordial and relaxed atmosphere. We were of five different nationalities and we learned a lot from each other.

Yolanta and myself had received the mission to do some tutoring for a group of boys who had signed up for a"summer course in French". In the afternoons we would go visiting in the neighbourhood and in nearby villages. It is very impressive to observe the Peul people: their women are quite elegant with their fine jewellery and beautiful multi-coloured clothing; and carrying a calabash on their head and a child on their back. They can be seen walking along the road on their way to or from their village, sometimes as far as 15 km away from Dori.

On our return to Ouagadougou, we were able to share our experiences with one another and with our group leaders, Sr. Maite Sanz De Pablo and a Missionary of Africa. Experiences were quite different for each one, and we found that we had discovered many new things in a very short time!

Cécile Bredie (The Netherlands)

Holidays at the library

Séverine, (France), spent her three-month holiday doing various activities at the Children's Home in Mourouj, Tunisia and at the High School Library of the White Fathers, while living at our House of Studies.

"From the beginning, I was greatly impressed by my discovery of the 'city'. To live among children and deprived families for a day teaches us to dismiss feelings of pity and to give way to all the love that we can possibly extend." As for the work in the library, she added: "What an extraordinary experience it was for me to spend all this time in this small paradise of happiness and of sharing, among these young people in search of their identity! I take it as a tremendous advantage to have been able to meet these young Tunisians with such an incredible will to work and to succeed.

Through their experiences, the sisters enabled me to discover the culture, the religion and the mentalities of this country. But more especially, I found that I came closer to the Lord by sharing life with them, and that brought about a great change in me; for to live in the hubbub of Paris causes one to forget many things. God is love and He is with each one of us."

Two men, a woman, two dromedaries… They have been en route for more than three hours, slowly leaving behind all traces of civilization in order to enter inexorably into the immensity of the desert. Surrounding them, the sand dictates its own law… mirroring the Sun god and leaving an occasional suspicion of green plant life. They feel themselves in another world. They are alone, …at peace… . They are in contact with their eyes and their senses…

The essential! A defining moment were those three days spend in the Sahara in the company of Bedouins. The sky, the sand, the times of solitude on a dune with "Jade" (Is this their guide? It is not clear) and the local scarabs (insects) as their only companions.

This "essential," unveiled its riches for Beatrice, the new nomad that she was during the 13 weeks of her Tunisian adventure. On the eve of her departure, all that evolved naturally and simply into conversation, exchanges, discoveries, observations and convictions. Throughout those three months she had met some exceptional people, people who weren't afraid of seizing life to the full, people who were "gourmands" for generosity, for dialogue, for mutual help and who made you hunger for laughter and hope. All those experiences lived, all those moments shared each day, seemed to whisper in her ear the importance of living fully each moment of existence, without denying a single instant... Because life is too short to only half live it.

The people she had met, each one in his or her own way, opened for her the doors of a world intensely colored and flavored. Her senses were drawn to wonder and to thought. With her eyes she devoured the purity of the shapes, the harmonious colors of the clothing, the beauty of the smiles. She savored the traditional dishes and enjoyed the fragrances of the colourful displays, some spicy, some sweet, some fruity. She let the fine Sahara sand run through her fingers. And in the end she let herself be seduced by the new sounds and rhythms as well as the music of the language.

Then, over and above the discoveries of a new culture and new relationships, she felt a deeper emotion growing within her. She rediscovered a desire to teach. Her head was buzzing with ideas and projects. Now, more than ever, she wanted to be part of a profession that listens and respects each child, a teaching profession that allows expression to the riches within the children.

Beatrice van Diest,
Belgium

"Tunisia: Animators in a children's centre"

Julia and Clémentine (France)

CLEMENTINE and JULIA came from France to Tunisia. They spent the month of July at the community of Morouj with Simone Dislaire and Marie Josefa Caballero. They tell us about their experience.

When we decided to give one month of our holiday to children of foreign countries, we contacted the White Sisters who sent us to Morouj's community in Tunisia. We worked as "animators" in a Centre that receives children of a poor area for the whole month of July.

The first part of the morning was planned for French lessons followed by games - manual work - and songs both in French and Arabic. The joy of the children - in spite of their family situation often very difficult - has deeply impressed us. To move around with them day after day for a whole month, made us aware of certain realities of Tunisia little known in France.

Being only two girls we could experience a community life with the Sisters whose relationships and spirituality are very different from those we know in France. We understood better the meaning the White Sisters give to their life through their work day after day but also to the friendly relations they create in their milieu. Some visits made with them gave us great lessons in humility.

We want to thank Sr.Simone and Sr. Marie Josefa for welcoming us with such simplicity and cordiality, and we extend our thanks to all the White Sisters we have met during our stay. We will not forget the experience of this month. One thing is sure, you will see us again in Africa !

Clementine and Julia.

In 2001 she decided to spent her Summer holidays in a community of MSOLA in Espungabera (Mozambique) where Sr. Odile (a French doctor) works in public health and the formation of community health assistants.

Her experience was so good that she decided to do the same in August 2002. Her experience helps those in charge of the health of the population.

Actually Conchi is working in Thika (Kenya) with a program for AID patients.