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Sr.
Brigida with a group of women from the weaving workshop
where they learn to make carpets.
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The
MSOLA community at Nouakchott.
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Meaning of the presence of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of
Africa in a Muslim country
Mauritania
is a Muslim country with a minority of Christians, coming mainly
from the neighbouring countries and from
other continents.
The sense
of the presence of the MSOLA in a Moslem country
The presence
of the MSOLA in the middle of a Moslem population addresses a
call to the Church of our time. The sisters, following the inspiration
of C. Lavigerie, their founder, live the gratuity and the universality,
in an attitude of service to the Moslem population in the middle
of which they live.
Their concrete
attitudes: learning the language and the local customs, their
becoming close to the Moslem population, but especially their
daily encounters and services given to all, allow them to come
to a true discovery of Islam.
Lavigerie
sent us to be witness of the gratuity and the universality of
the Christian way of living in the middle of the Moslems. The
mission in the Moslem world underlines the common vocation of
each Church in Maghreb : to be a local Church in a Moslem country,
to live a human and spiritual solidarity with a society whose
religious and cultural tradition is Islam.
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Sr.
Carmen with some of the women working at the workshop.
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Center
for the Promotion of Women
Carmen
Garcia, a Spanish MSOLA, works in "PK 10
"a poor and forsaken district of Nouakchott.
The
population is mostly Negro-African with some
Moorish people.
When
I arrived there the misery I saw touched me
deeply! And I tried to do something to make
the center answer to the needs of the women.
Today the Center has changed!. It welcomesd
70 women and 130 infants. Though the primary
aim of the Center is to give the women a formation
in sewing and dyeing, they also get an income
from their production.
The
formation lasts 3 years. If they succeed the
final exam, they receive an attestation, which
is very important for the women.
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| Sr.
Carmen teaching the women how to make the accounts,
to keep the shop and workshop.. |
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The 10 helpers, are "my eyes and my hands"
in giving the basic formation. My task is mainly
to supervise the functioning of the whole. We
work hand in hand and a big part of the success
of the Center is due to these women-helpers.
Our visitors are struck by the spirit of fellowship
and work that exists even between women of different
ethnic groups.
To
hand over more responsibilities to the women
and remembering Lavigerie's (our founder) words:
"The real work will be done by the Africans
themselves", we opened up a Boutique where
the women can sell their handicrafts. It is
the women who manage the shop.
The
Boutique, where they can sell their handicrafts
opens new perspectives for the future to the
women trained at the Center. The fact of getting
an income gives them a strong motivation to
work. Twenty women, former students, work for
the Boutique, and take care of their finances.
In this business it is important to create new
things, new models. This is our task as a team
of teachers: to be vigilant and be attentive
to the changing fashions.
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The
Center has a strong impact in the district, the women's
lives are transformed. They say: "When we came we did
not know much but we have learned so much that we can manage
our lives".
The
Center is now well known: even women from the city come
by bus to follow the training. In this time of struggle
against poverty in Mauritania, the Boutique is a model.
Many people come to visit the Center and the Boutique, and
we sometimes hear these words: " Here is something
which is successful and requires little means".
The
Boutique will soon be self-sufficient. But the Center still
needs financial help to assure the helpers' indemnities
and the children's meals.
I feel
great joy at seeing the women becoming more and more capable.
One who did not know how to read, is now the stock manager.
The helpers take full responsibility for the financial management
of the Center, each one sharing in this responsibility.
Sister Carmen Garcia,
Nouakchott, Mauritania
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Sisters
Piluca, Pilar Navarro, Yolande with the family
who lives next door.
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In
the Muslim countries the neighbours are very
important. They
are nearly your family.
We
share in their religious feasts and they celebrate
with us the christian festivals.
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| Sr.
Piluca with some neighbours. Sharing the food is
a sign of friendship. |
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The
social relations play an important role. We are often invited
and the participation in the religious feasts brings us
closer to the population of the country.
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The MSOLA in the health services
Since their arrival to Mauritania, the MSOLA
have been present in different health services,
offering their know-how and making their effort
to bring the health services to all. Some of
the sisters that have lived their mission in
Mauritania:
Sr.
PIluca Benavente, a
nurse, worked in a dispensary.
Sr.
Maria Jesus worked as a pediater and at
the service of children and public health from
September 1983 - October 1994. She made her
"Final profession" at Nouakchott,
during the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday. This
was the only occasion during the year when all
the priests come together, around their Bishop.....
Sr.
Micheline Laroche, a nurse, worked in a
dispensary.
Sr.
Jeanne Guérid, worked in the social
field with women.
Sr.
Marie-Christine Rousseau, medical doctor
working with Caritas International to improve
the health of the children.
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Sr.
Micheline Laroche at the dispensary looking after
twins. .
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| Sr.
Marie-Christine with the nurses with whom she works,
at a feast. |
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Making the rounds of the health services in
Aftout
Sr.
Marie-Christine who is a medical doctor, makes
regular trips to the region of the Aftout with
the Caritas Team, going from village to village,
in order to improve the health of the children.
The
presence of a European woman does provoke reactions.
They often question Sr. Marie-Christine and
that gives her the opportunity to explain the
profound meaning of her presence and to be a
witness (albeit discreet), of the love of God
for everyone, especially for the most deprived.
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To help
these men and women to become aware of their own personal
dignity, to help them to re-create a more favourable environment:
isn't that to promote the Kingdom, here and now?
The
Aftout is a semi-desert region South-east of Nouakchott,
one of the poorest of Mauritania and the one that is most
affected by famine and malnutrition.
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"Every other month I spend six to
ten days covering the region, going from
village to village to be able to determine
the state of health of the children, to
meet with the villagers and to participate
in the discussions they hold concerning
their problems. Together, we try to elaborate
solutions that will include as much participation
as possible from the villagers, by using
techniques they know well (repair works,
the strengthening of dikes or traditional
wells, etc...). As I first made the rounds
of this region that has so long been neglected
by the authorities of the country, I was
touched by the near non-existence of health
structures. We succeeded in getting the
medical authorities of the region to decide
on implementing a basic health system
in the villages and sectors that were
deprived. These journeys enabled me to
support the effort of the villagers for
implementing their own community health
system.
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Sr.
Marie-Christine in one of her tours discussing
with the local people on thehealth policies
for children.
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As
for myself, Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa,
these visits helped me to be better acculturated:
I am more aware now of the complex reality of the
Mauritanian society.
Each
journey helps me to better understand the rapport
between the different casts, ethnic groups and races
that are part of Mauritania. It also gives me the
opportunity to share for a few days, the harsh life
conditions of this population - the majority of
whom are 'Haratine' (former slaves).
For
each one that I meet, I am the 'Nasrania' (white/Christian).
Often, It is the very first time that they see a
"white" woman pass through their region
which is considered remote and uninteresting, and
that causes them to ask questions. They question
me about my identity, my motivations and in that
way they give me the opportunity to say something
about the profound meaning of my presence here,
and to be a witness (surely, discreet), of the love
of God for everyone, especially for the most deprived.
To help these men and women to become aware of their
true dignity, to help them to re-create an environment
that is favourable to them: isn't that to promote
the Kingdom, here and now?
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An Artist of the Needle
"
If Jesus-Christ had not sent us, none of us would
be in Mauritania. "
Brigitta
Altmeyer is an artist of the needle. She does
beautiful embroidery work. She has a workshop
whereyoung women learn the art of embroidering
patterns from their own culture. The girls follow
a three-year course.
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| Sr.
Brigitta teaching the women the art of embroidery. |
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The
sale of their products enables them to earn a little money.
"In October, all the young people of the workshop were
delighted to begin their embroidery work again.
The
16 young women of the 2nd and 3rd years have come back.
That really means something! They all want to get on with
the work to earn a little money. To obtain the materials
and to prepare the work and the art patterns require a lot
of time. My days are often too short..
I accepted
six new beginners. There were so many applications that
I decided to do something different. I asked the help of
one of my fellow-workers from the Social Services, who is
very good at sewing.
An exhibit
room will soon be opened in town where the women will be
able to show their products. I am hoping that this willbe
a good means for selling what they have produced with so
much enthusiasm."
Sr.
Brigitta Altmeyer, MSOLA (German)
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Sr.
Jeanne Guérid with a group of the women of the
cooperatives. They produce materials that they sell
to earn a living for their families.
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The
Msola bring a difference to the minig town of Zouérate
The
MSOLA have been 19 years at the service of the population
of Zouérate, a mining town in the North of
Mauritania. From there the train filled with mineral
undertakes the long journey of two or three days before
reaching the harbour. The sisters have taken care
mainly of the handicapped, and the women.
The
witness of the director of the society of the mines,
to the bishop, during the negotiations about the lodging,
says what one of our sisters (he could have mentioned
many others) was for the population.
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"Sr.
Jéanne Guérid brought to our attention a social
problem that had not been considered in Zouérate.
Though
she started her work with nothing, she was able to mobilise
the leading citizens...those locally elected and those responsible
for the mine, to help her to start a centre for the physically
handicapped.
And
for years, this Centre has made it possible for men and
women who before, had to drag themselves to move about and
were obliged to beg for their bread, to earn their living
through their work. She, a Christian, was able to involve
Muslims in this project, and she brought them to be responsible
for it. During all those years, she brought us to collaborate
with respect for our differences."
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