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THEY
WENT TO AFRICA WITH THE MSOLA,
AND THEY SAW...
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Meet
some of the young women who have "gone and seen":
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Puri
from Spain, in a refugee camp in Bukavu (DR Congo)
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In
Malawi at Bottom Hospital
On
October 10th 2004 I arrived at Lilongwe to stay for
five month in Malawi. Here I was. Simone, 23 years
old, a pediatric nurse from Germany.
I
stayed with the MSOLA in Lilongwe and worked at Bottom
Hospital, but how I didn't know how it would be.
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Simone
writing discharges
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The
nursery room at Bottom Hosp.
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In
my first weeks here in this country, so new for me,
I saw many of things. I learnt a bit of Chichewa and
I met many new people. I noticed people were bewildered
in people when I said that I would work at Bottom
Hospital. I didn't know how to interpret that. But
on November 1st when I took up my work there I started
understanding what it meant.
When I reached the maternity ward of Bottom Hospital
the first thing I saw were many pregnant women, lying
on the floor and waiting for a place in the Labour
ward. I went to the Nursery ward, which would be my
working place for the next four months.
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Most of
the time nearly 50 newborn and premature babies share 23 beds.
But it is not only the babies who occupy these beds; there are
also mosquitoes, flies and other insects.
As only
one nurse takes care of all these little patients, most of the
work has to be done by the mothers. They feed them, they wash
them and even check the weight. We nurses just look at the scale,
the mothers doing the rest.
The only
time we are alone with the children is in the morning, during
the cleaning of the room. Afterwards we go just in when a mother
calls us to see the condition of her baby. Indeed the condition
of babies can change fast.
On my second
day I had to resuscitate a small girl.A
doctor is supposed to come three times a week to see all the
babies, but usually he comes only once a week to look just after
the very sick ones.So
it is up to us to decide when to put a baby on antibiotics or
on oxygen; or if the baby has improved and can be discharged.
And we also confirm the death.
At the beginning
all these things made me afraid, but by now I have become used
to them.After
a few weeks I learned some questions in Chichewa, the ones needed
to admit the babies, who come from home. Now I am really doing
everything. Even writing the order for the pharmacy or keeping
the key of the poison cabinet; but in fact this puts me only
in charge of some bars of soap and a cockroach.
The staff
has lunch together in a small room where we sit around a small
table, which looses every day a bit more of its white paint.
Sometimes we get a strong smell from outside, and we also share
the place with mosquitoes, flies and other insects. I have got
used to many things I never thought I would be able to do.
But what
surprises me more are positive things. For example to see how
a baby with a birth weight of only 700g manages to survive.The
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) Method is something new for me. It
is used especially for premature babies. These babies are 24
hours a day skin to skin with their mother. They lye naked on
the naked breast of their mother and are tied there with a chitenje
(local material). The basic needs of the small ones are food,
warmth and love and all that they get abundantly!. They can
feel the mother's heartbeat,, smell her and hear her voice.
As food they have breast milk.
The nurses
in Bottom Hospital are very motivated to encourage the mothers
of premature babies to adopt the KMC-Method and the mothers
accept it very well. They have their own room, very nicely furnished,
with place for nine mothers. Each mother has her own bed with
sheets matching with the curtains. The women can listen to a
wireless and even watch TV, which has been donated by 'Save
Children".
In the KMC-Room
there is always a very good atmosphere. And if the mothers feel
comfortable, the children have more chances to survive.Since
I arrived in Malawi I have learned a lot about the country,
the culture and the people and I'm sure that, until March, there
will be something new every day.
Simone Hecker
- Germany
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Africa transforms
us
Young
people who have lived in MSOLA communities in Africa come
back "different".
Their
vision of the world and of Africa changes after having experienced
the welcome, joy of living and commitment of so many Africans.
Often, this new vision calls for a life committed to caring
for others and to serving the Lord in their brothers and
sisters.
Having
being confronted with social problems, poverty, and even
misery, the young people come back much more aware of local
and international injustices.
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Today,
many young people desire to have an experience
of life in Africa, to express a certain solidarity,
to discover other peoples, to share what they
are and have, and to take leave of their society
of plenty.
For
those who wish to live this experience in the
context of their faith, the Missionaries of
Africa, Fathers and Sisters, offer the possibility
of participating in their "'Project Africa",
where young people may share together in a discovery
of Africa. They are welcomed by communities
of Missionary of Africa, Fathers and Sisters,
who introduce them to their life and work, and
help them to discover the culture of the people
with whom they live.
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Sr.
Odile Striby and Conchi, a volunteer
in Espungabera (Mozambique)
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I
discovered an unimaginable environment...
in Burkina Faso
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| Cecile
Bredie, Sr. Alma Maier (Germany), Liberata (Burkina
Faso), Sr. Maite Sanz (Spain) and Gosia (Poland) |
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(Cecile
Bredie, from The Netherlands)
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!
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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!
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Sr.
Chantal (right) with some volunteers and children.
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Volunteer Holiday Service to Children
CLEMENTINE
and JULIA came from France to Tunisia. They spent
the month of July at Morouj community with Sr. Simone
Dislaire and Sr. Marie Josefa Caballero.
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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 popular 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 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 badly 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 fasten in their milieu. Some visits made with them
gave us great lessons of humility.
We wanted
to thank Sr.Simone and Sr. Marie Josefa for welcoming us
with such simplicity and cordiality, we extent our thanks
to all the White Sisters we have met during our stay. We
will not forget this month' experience. One thing is sure,
you will see us again in Africa !
Clementine
and Julia (France) .
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"Holidays Serving the Children"
Séverine,
(France)
Séverine,
spent her three-month holiday doing various activities at the
Children's Home in Mourouj 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."
Séverine
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The
group from Europe during their visit to Burkina
Faso with the sisters and their new friends.
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In
another world, with different values...
From Germany to Burkina Faso
Verena
Harz, (Germany)
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My experience in Burkina Faso was delightful:
the scenery, the people, their way of living,
their customs, everything made a deep impression
on me.
However,
I must admit that their way of life seemed very
strange to me. I felt as though I were in another
age, another world with different values. It
was interesting to have that experience. There
was so much to see and to discover!
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I
think it is normal that everything seemed strange in the
beginning because we were not used to the peoples' way of
living. Now I understand what missionaries must feel when
they land in Africa for the first time!
I
really love the African women very much. They are beautiful
and dignified -- and their babies are so sweet!
I
sincerely admire the people and how they remain joyful in
spite of their poverty.
On
August 15th we had a celebration together; we ate and danced
with the women and we really enjoyed ourselves!
Now
I'm back home again, and I have begun my courses at the
University -- but I keep in my heart like a precious treasure,
the experiences I have had in Africa, once before, in Tunisia
and this time in Burkina Faso.
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A
walk early in the morning after leaving the tent.
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I discover "the essential" in the desert
Béatrice
Van Diest left Belgium, her country, to make
a discovery of Tunisia.
During
her stay there, she found what she considered
'the Essential',in that she discovered herself
and had a clearer picture of what herlife-journey
should be.
Two men, a woman, two dromedaries… We walked
and walked,leaving behind all traces of civilisation,
to enter deeply into the immensity of the desert.
We were surrounded by sand which, while mirroring
the god Sun, dictated its own laws.
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I felt
myself in another world… somewhat alone, but at peace…Through
my eyes and my senses I was in presence of the ESSENTIAL!
Those three days spent in the Sahara in the company of Bedouins
were a key moment of my stay in Tunisia: the sky, the sand,
the times of solitude on a dune.
This
"ESSENTIAL", unveiled its riches all through the
three months of my Tunisian adventure, where it wasgiven
me to meet some exceptional people, people who are not afraid
of living life to the full, people who are gluttons for
generosity, for dialogue, for mutual help and who whet your
appetite for laughter and for hope.
Sharing
in the daily events, was like a loud whisper in my ears,
telling me of the importance of living fully each moment
of existence… because life is too short to taste it
only in part.
Each
one in his or her own way, opened for me the doors of a
world, so colourful and tasteful: the purity of
form, the beauty of smiles, the traditional dishes, the
fragrance of spices, the colourful displays, the rhythm
and musical sounds of the language.
I felt
a deeper motivation growing within me. I rediscovered my
desire to teach.
Today,
more than ever, I want to be part of a teaching profession
that listens and respects, that enableschildren
to express all the riches they have within them.
Beatrice
Van Diest, (Belgium)
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