Alberto de la Portilla – Page 30 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

The 4th African Assembly in Benin Cotonou

8 December, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

From 3rd December 2022 to 12th December 2022

The African assembly brings together all Comboni Lay Missionary groups in Africa.

The 4th assembly started in Benin on 3rd December 2022 to 12th December 2022. The African Assembly has been postponed for two years due to Covid 19 Pandemic. This year the participants are from Tchad, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, TGB and Egypt

The opening ceremony was presided over by the Togo -Ghana-Benin (TGB) Provincial Superior Fr. Timothy Hounake.

He welcomed the delegates present to his province stating that it has been along journey waiting for this meeting. This was due to the postponement because of Covid19 Pandemic.

He assured the delegates that as a province of Ghana, Togo and Benin they are working very hard in Vocation, Evangelization, Baptism, Schools and Formation for new Comboni Missionaries. He however reiterated that they are working extremely hard in fighting the evil in the society. That there are still many of injustices that they are fighting through Peace and Justice Commission.

Fr. Timothy thanked the Comboni Lay Missionaries for holding the meeting here in Benin as this is a motivation to the people and may make them active. He thanked the fr. in charge of CLM TGB province, the co-Ordinator’s of different CLM groups for choosing Benin as their venue for the assembly.

Opening remarks by the Africa CLM Assembly Coordinator – Likambo

Mr. Likambo welcomed members for the assembly. He expressed his appreciation to the host TGB province and Fr, Leopold Adanle for facilitating the meeting. He thanked all the groups present for coming even though the threat of covid19 is still active. However he regretted that Some groups could not make it due to economic challenges, these are Mozambique and Republic of Central Africa.

He noted that some groups are finding it difficult in putting their mission into practice. He urged members to have a resolution to solve the problem.

Reports from different CLM groups

Togo, Ghana, and Benin.

TGB is one province in three different countries, though currently CLM is present in Ghana. After nearly 10 years the candidates were accepted as Lay.

Report from Egypt

After the conclusion of the general assembly in Rome in 2018, the group of the CLM of Egypt embarked on completing the statute of the CLM. At completion of our program of formation we celebrated our commitment within the church and the Comboni family. Animate by the desire to live a missionary life, ready to go where no one wants among the most abandoned and neglected. We work with immigrants, in prisons, and in haut Egypt in very poor and marginalized villages. Currently we are focusing on vocation animation, to increase our family as Comboni Lay Missionaries.

Report from Uganda

The CLM has been in existence for nearly 22 years.

They have residential kind of formation where candidates reside for 6 months. They have one CLM in mission in Kenya

Tchad

The CLM presence are in different cities where Comboni MCCJ are.

The formation takes 6 months.

We have income generating projects that help us.

Currently we have a numerous group but none in mission .

They have 15 CLM members.

Congo

The CLM group was started in 1996

We are 68 lay committed members.

We work with the poor and marginalized.

Mozambique

They were not present for the meeting but their report were read by Alberto the CLM central committee coordinator.

They consist of 5 CLM 3 international and 2 local CLM

They face different challenges including internet connectivity and languages. They have requested to meet with other African CLM through online the CLM has been in existence since 1998.

Central African Republic.

The coordinator was absent due to economic problems, but their report was read by Dido.

They have 2 CLM from Poland

Kenya – Martin

The CLM in Kenya is young nearly 1 year old. The first Lay members were commissioned on 12/12/2022. Non of the lay is on mission either inside or outside Kenya.

They have 4 lay missionaries, and 6 candidates.

We have international community in kitelakapel where it is Linda Mitcheletti from Italy and Pius Oyuma from Uganda. We have several income generating projects like selling Horney, Peanut Butter and Tamarind Juice.

Participants
Central Committee. Alberto de la Portilla (top row center) P. Arlindo Ferreira Pinto (photographer) CLM
Coordinators
From left back row Martin Juma Onyango (Kenya), Christian Wotormenyo (TGB), Dieudonne Likambo Kwadje (African committee), Frank Amenyo(TGB)
Front row from left
Linda Micheletti international community in Kenya, Hani Chafik Khalil (Egypt), Benjamin Amekon(TGB), Gerard Kambouj (RDC), Anicetus Adaku (Uganda), Justin Noughur (TGB), Madjita Haroun (Tchad)

“Seeds” project assists cyclone Gombe victims in northern Mozambique

2 December, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

Since March when the powerful cyclone Gombe hit Carapira in northern Mozambique, destroying houses and farms. We, the CLM, have been working to alleviate the suffering of the population. Always in partnership with friends and people with good hearts.

With the help received from Brazil it was possible to carry out small projects. Among them the seeds project.

This Wednesday, November 23rd, we started the first phase of this project, which consists of delivering 5 kg of corn and 3 kg of beans to the most vulnerable families for planting.

The benefited families have the commitment to return the same amount received at harvest time, so that we can continue the project.

The Carapira Parish is composed of 94 communities divided into 5 regions with 22 zones. We chose to make the delivery in each zone to facilitate the access of the families.

The second phase will be on the 29th of this month. And the third will be at the beginning of December.

In this project there are more than 300 families contemplated.

On behalf of the families and the people of Carapira, I thank everyone who generously gave a little of what they have to help those who have even less.

God bless you all.

CLM Carapira

Prayer Intentions of the Comboni Family December 2022

1 December, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

We pray that all the families of the world may welcome with joy and gratitude the gift of life and protect it as the Holy Family of Nazareth did. Lord hear us.

Dreaming the mission

29 November, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

In September 2021, we arrived in Camarate, more precisely in the neighborhood of Fetais, full of expectations about the work that we would develop with the local community. We knew there was a lot to do, but we didn’t know the needs. Not everything went as we expected, but as God wanted, and despite the difficulties encountered, we “felt” that we should continue in this mission.

With the departure of Pedro Nascimento new challenges are posed, since only two of us remain, Maria Augusta and Élia, and we continue to dream that it is possible to make Fetais a mission land where the CLM presence is a reality and not just a place of passage. We ask the Lord of the harvest to guide our steps so that, with humility and wisdom, we can be messengers of the Gospel to these people who come from such distant and different places, in search of a better world that they have difficulty in finding.

Dreaming of more mission in the parish of Camarate passes through what has been our experience over this time, what we have received without giving anything, which encourages us to continue this path, sometimes not easy. We want to be more in this mission because

… it warms our hearts the tight embrace of a child; the smiling good morning of an elderly person, hearing our name shouted from the playground of a school; a mother who tells her three-year-old daughter to give a kiss to her “aunt” (whom she met on the bus) …

… our hearts are warmed by the neighbors on the “slope” who already call us for two fingers of conversation; the pomegranates offered with the taste of friendship; the cat next door who lets himself be stroked, and the owner of the cat who already says good night when we cross paths on the street …

… our hearts are warmed by the people who ask about Pedro and talk about him with gratitude and affection for the moments he dedicated to them…

… and our hearts are also warmed by the small/large victories we achieve with the children who attend the Young Awakening where we have already spent “cold days”, but where there is warmth and joy and, because “the best in the world are the children”, everything we do for them and with them will always be small.

If God calls us to make a difference, to be a presence in different communities, with simplicity we can only say: “Lord we are here to serve you, light our way”.

In the certainty that we are not alone in this mission.

Embrace in Christ

Maria Augusta and Élia- CLM in Camarate

New GEC meeting in Brazil

28 November, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

At the meeting of GEC (Comboni Spirituality Group) São José Operário Parish – Carapina/Serra/ES held last night (11/21/2022), we had the presence of Father Xavier.

He told us his life and mission story, details and curiosities about the projects carried out in Santa Rita, a city on the outskirts of João Pessoa in Paraíba.

Chico started the project with recyclable material collectors, Father Xavier joined the project and started working with children and teenagers, daughters and sons of the collectors and other residents of the neighborhood.

His words echoed in our hearts. A life story where we find faith incarnate. Total giving.

Autor: Tranquilo Dias, Grupo de Espiritualidade Comboniana da Paróquia São José Operário/Espírito Santo