Central African Republic – Page 4 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Where the Spirit blows

19 March, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

He is no longer “the same person who left” in 2017, Simone Parimbelli, 38 years old, Comboni Lay Missionary of the Diocese of Bergamo, who returned in September 2020 from Mongoumba in Central African Republic. Because, as he says with light in his eyes, “the mission opens the heart and the horizon and being outgoing changes you: from the conception of the missionary style to the relationship with time and space, with oneself and with God”. It happens when you are “in close contact with the sufferings and joys of the other” and live for three and a half years in the heart of the tropical forest, in the diocese of Mbaiki, in Mongoumba, where the Comboni Fathers have been working with the AKA pygmies for more than 30 years.

“It seems absurd, but these people are not recognized by other ethnic groups and have no access to education or health care; enslaved by the Bantu masters and without a birth certificate, they are ghosts in the flesh,” says Simone, denouncing a country that, despite many riches, lives in a condition of colonialism and misery.

“Being next to them, you become a door to knock on”, continues Simone who, as a layman, has sometimes “managed to enter into the concrete lives of people much more than priests, divided between the administration of the parish and the Eucharistic celebrations over a vast territory”. When he arrived in Mongoumba, he proposed several activities of animation, transforming for example the school of Ndobo, close to the pygmy camps, in an oratory, like the one of his parish of Osio Sopra, where growing up, at a certain point, he asked himself “what is the use of my faith?”.

From the question about vocation to the answer to a call, the step is, so to speak, short: it’s 7,500 kilometers along with everything else. But “when you have perhaps intuited what you can be in the world and for the world, you have to prove it”.

So, the diocese of Bergamo, Bishop Francesco Beschi, the Missionary Center and the international movement of the Comboni Lay Missionaries give him “the possibility and the grace to live this experience: 1,300 days of fragility and brotherhood” in a young Church “that knows how to generate children in faith and where joy prevails”.

Sent and welcomed: in a continuous cycle that, in the future, perhaps, will push him elsewhere, where the Holy Spirit blows, which, in Sango, the language of the Central African Republic, is called Yingo-Gbya.

(By Loredana Brigante, POPOLI e MISSIONE magazine. February 2021)

1300 days of…

7 January, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

…FRAGILITY

The parish of Saint George in Mongoumba runs a small dispensary to help the structural deficiencies of the Central African health system and the non-existence of the welfare state. Here the Comboni Lay Missionaries carry out the service of welcoming life, “to make common cause with the most abandoned”, “to embrace the whole human family…, to hold in our arms and give the kiss of peace and love to our unhappy brothers and sisters”, would say St. Daniel Comboni. Newborns, children of all ages, young people, mothers, fathers, elderly people, find in the small dispensary a point of reference, a home more than a hospital, where they can be recognized as human beings, listened to in their pain, cared for in their suffering. Every day, day and night, at all hours, we met the mystery of our human fragility, we experienced human limitations and we returned to the great existential question: “Where is God in suffering and pain, when we need Him most??”. Even doing the best of our abilities and possibilities, sometimes, not to say often, we lost the battle with life, we had to surrender to the awareness that we were not omnipotent. There is a human limit that we cannot overcome, we are fragile, however… faith remains… in other, Other with a capital O, and when we touch the bitterness of defeat only tears and prayers to God, Father of all humanity, remain…

…BROTHERHOOD

St. George’s Parish in Mongoumba runs a school to support the Central African educational system, which is cancelled every time war breaks out, in order to guarantee a minimum of education for the new generations. St. Daniel Comboni writes: “…I think it is more useful to invoke the action of the missionaries for the education of the young blacks of both sexes in various institutes… this education must aim to prepare in the pupils to become the future apostles…”. As a Comboni Lay Missionary, I have tried to transform the school into a small oratory, especially the one in Ndobo, 5 km from the center, near the pygmy camps. The oratory is a house of regeneration, a space of brotherhood, even without having mega-structures, and mixing school lessons with dances, manual workshops, games, music, the school of Ndobo, a small red brick building surrounded by forest, had become a place of social promotion, human growth and evangelization. The transformation in oratory style worked, “…the Plan works…”, being present every day, and almost all day long, working on time and not on space, created relationships and bonds, we became a big family, we all became brothers and sisters, and we were able to talk about Jesus, our Brother, and to witness God, Father of all humanity: “an infinite myriad of brothers and sisters belonging to our same family, having a common Father up in heaven” …

…FRAGRANCE

The day began early: 5.30 am wake up, just enough time to wash my face, have breakfast and then I leave, at 6.30 am already out of the house on the road to Ndobo, on foot, with the backpack, the radio for dancing, the football bag, frequently with the computer to watch movies, on Monday with the box of clean aprons to start the week. While people were having breakfast on the side of the road, before going to work in their fields, I walked through the village and after about 50 minutes, I arrived at the school and we started the day by playing ball, dancing and jumping with the music blaring, blasting through the forest. If during the week I went to see the children, on Sunday they would take the opposite route, they would come to the parish; and if it rained, they would arrive all muddy, soaking wet and shivering with cold. We had time to wash our hands, faces and feet, to put on clean shirts and shorts, to receive from Cristina (CLM from Portugal) talcum powder and a splash of perfume, and off we ran to church, leaving behind us a trail that spread through the air. After Mass, we had breakfast together with hot milk, cocoa and cookies, the place was filled with the sweet aroma of chocolate, then we continued with music, dancing and games: “it was an attempt to find a probable way in order to begin a measure of regeneration” would say St. Daniel Comboni, it was our look of closeness and proximity to make present the joyful and tasty fragrance of Jesus, our Brother, and of God, the Father of all humanity…

Simone Parimbelli, CLM Mongoumba (CAR)

Central Africa Republic – Help for “DA TI NDOYE” Medical Center

14 October, 2020 by Alberto de la Portilla

Central Africa Republic – Help for “DA TI NDOYE” Medical Center

Comboni Lay Missionaries, serving on the mission in Mongoumba, are young people who want to dedicate part of their lives to work among the poorest and most abandoned of this world. However, it is not always as easy as it sounds. We create an international community here and participate in the life of the parish in collaboration with the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ).

Our mission in Mongoumba in the Central African Republic is situated right on the border with Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our service is primarily to integrate people living in the depths of the forest – Pygmies with the people of the village. We go to small villages situated in the forest to provide at least basic medical help to these people, together with our local health center employee, we conduct short lectures on diseases occurring here, personal hygiene, we introduce simple catecheses that can be applied to their lives, as well as we give moments of carefree childhood to the youngest through games and fun.

Pygmies are a tribe that the local people of the village consider cheap or free labor, they are pushed to the margins of society, but unfortunately that’s the reality here. Integration is the most important task for us, but it is hard to talk about integration, when it often happens that Pygmies are not willingly admitted to the hospital to dress wounds, test for malaria, or even show the slightest interest in their health. They are sent home or to our mission.

On our mission, we have a small health center that is not in the best condition and a rehabilitation center called “Da ti Ndoye”, which means “House of Love”.

The project aims to modernize this rehabilitation center that has existed since 1985. We would like to combine it with our health center to create one complex offering many possibilities. It is one of the few rehabilitation centers to which patients come from the entire area of the M`Baiki diocese. In addition to restoring the physical building, we would also like to renew our missionary animation through physical work for the benefit of the local people by giving the most precious gift – health.

Depending on the financial possibilities, we would like to:

replace the water sewage system; clean and disinfect the water tank or replace it with a new one; clean the well; purchase a generator for pumping water, replace water supply pipes;
install solar panels and batteries
purchase a power generator
renovate the kitchen (replacing worktops, installing tiles)
renovate the toilets (cleaning the walls, installing tiles, replacing doors, purchasing equipment)
make a ramp for wheelchairs and install railings on the porch
replace the ceiling throughout the building, clean and renew the walls
equip the offices with the necessary equipment
purchase the most necessary drugs

BUDGET

Drugs and dressing materials: EUR 4,000

Equipment for physiotherapy: EUR 2,000

Construction materials: EUR 12,000

Equipment for health center: EUR 5,000

Solar panels and batteries: EUR 5,000

Water pump and generator: EUR 4,000

Employees: EUR 3,000

Transport of materials: EUR 1,000

Sewage: EUR 2,000

TOTAL 39,000 EURO

If we manage to receive an extra money, we will use it for medicines and the health care and development programs for the pygmies’ population.

Donations can be done to MCCJ account in your country with annotation: Medical Aid Center “DA TI NDOYE” in CAR. CLM Mongoumba.

CLM in Central Africa Republic

My First Experiences in the Central African Republic

2 May, 2020 by Alberto de la Portilla

I feel like an heir of the prophetic vision of St. Daniel Comboni wanting to “Save Africa by means of Africa,” whose vision has now been expanded to Africa saving the world. The Lord tells us: “As the Father sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21)

On the morning of Sunday, March 15, that promised to be a beautiful day I arrived in my mission land with my luggage, the Republic of Central Africa. I have no words to describe how I felt in the utmost depths of my being at that time. I landed in Bangui, after a long period of formation that included a community experience in Kinshasa. It was for me a moment of heartfelt emotions, on the one hand I felt the joy of being in mission, on the other hand I felt the pain of separation in leaving behind the country of my birth, the land of my ancestors, my family, my work, my community, my friends, etc… I still had in mind my last face to face meeting with my father the night of my departure and then this morning my mother who accompanied me to the airport together with the chaplain of the CLM of Congo, Fr. Celestine Ngore and our coordinator of the CLM in Kinshasa, Mr. Gerard Kambaji.

By then I knew that I belonged to a new family, I had been adopted by a new land and was happy to know that the Lord was waiting for me, here in the CAR, and that here I had new brothers and sisters.

The adventure begins

When I arrived in Bangui I was well received by Fr. Claude-Bernard, mccj who had come to pick me up and take me to the community where I was going to live. When we reached there, he showed me the place and told me that I needed to be quarantined there for 14 days to check on the coronavirus. That is when I realized that I had reached Bangui at a time marked by the pandemic of Covid-19. This was being a particular difficult time for the Comboni delegation in the CAR, because the first Covid 19 case in the country had been the one of a Comboni Missionary who had tested positive upon his return from Italy. Thus, his confreres who had been in contact with him when he returned to Bangui, were quarantined for 15 days to check on them. In this context, the government adopted preventive measured to limit the risk of contagion in a country where the health structures capable of fully facing this pandemic are few. So, every individual entering the CAR must be quarantined for 15 days.

At first it was difficult for me, and I had moments of loneliness in a house I hardly knew. But even though I was physically alone, I felt united to thousands of people who are isolated in this world, prisoners unjustly held in their cells, sick people without help, marginalized people living alone, plus I was receiving supporting and life-giving messages from all over through the social media. I felt strengthened by the words of our founder that “the works of God are born and grow at the foot of the Cross.” And since it was Lent, I took this opportunity to enter more deeply into this mystery and to offer my mission to the Lord and spend some time listening to him. And finally, like Comboni, I thanked Jesus for the crosses.

Discovering the CAR

At the end of my quarantine I did not show any sign of the virus, and could get out and meet the others, but always following the safe distance rules. So that, together with the fathers we started the legal steps for my papers. I could finally see Bangui, the monuments in the various squares of the city, like the Martyrs, the Peace monument and those of Bartolomé Boganda and Oumar Bongo Odima, just to name a few. It is a city with a rich culture. The trees were covered with dust because this is the dry season lasting six months. I could see and listen to the locals, and it was nice to listen to this new language, and speak gently and beautifully a language that uses also Lingala words we speak at home. Aside from these few words, it was also difficult for me, because I could not understand anything else in this language that we back home call Sango, where Sango means a minister of religion, while here it is the name of the language. So, I realized that I have to learn it all even though I thought we would have more similarities between the CAR and the DRC, because they border each other and we share several tribes. I concluded that I had to learn everything without exception, because Africa is one but varies according to the culture of each country.

At this time, while the entire world is affected by the coronavirus, the CAR authorities have declared a health emergency and have invited people to isolate themselves and strictly forbidden the gathering of more that 15 people. In view of this, they have closed the schools, the churches, the bars, and all sporting events or events of any type. But around here, people in general do not respect the order of the authorities to stay apart. I am realizing that it is difficult for the majority of the people who are poor and live on a day-to-day basis as we say around here. So they need to go out to sell or to look for food for the family. Here is where I realized the presence of the Lord’s grace and of divine protection.

For the time being I am staying in Bangui to keep on learning the language and other things that will be useful in my mission of Mongoumba. Our founder, San Daniel Comboni, asks for the formation of persons who will be holy and capable. During this time of preparation, I keep on being patient, open and listening attentively with the attitude of a child. I as you to pray for me and I will not forget to do the same for you.

Enoch, CLM

“Trust in Jesus and follow him through the darkness,” says Anna Obyrtacz, a Comboni Lay Missionary in the Central African Republic.

16 September, 2019 by Alberto de la Portilla

She had never wanted to leave. She was dreaming about starting a family and live in Poland’s countryside, but one night in a Dominican church changed her life. Anna Obyrtacz, a CLM in the RCA, speaks of her vocation and her mission in Mongoumba, Lobaye, with the pygmies where she found God.

Reporter (R): Hi Anna! How did you receive your call to serve the Lord as a Comboni Lay Missionary?

Anna Obyrtacz (AO): I had never thought of mission. It had never been my dream or deep desire. I was a young woman looking forward to marriage and a good life in my country. But the Lord is great, and came looking for me to send me to his harvest. Me a missionary? At times, when I think of it I still find it funny, because for years it had never been a deep desire. But now, I assure you, I cannot think of my life without mission and daily I ask myself where this journey from the Lord will lead me.

I studied in Krakow, Poland, where I also started working. My meeting the Comboni Missionaries was totally accidental. For me perhaps, but not for God. It took place in March 2012 in a Dominican community I frequented. On that day, the Comboni Missionaries had organized an adoration.

R: And what happened next?

AO: After graduating and finding a job I continued my little life. I was thinking, as I said, to start a family. So, I was concentrating on my job and on my life of prayer, Mass, the Eucharist, daily prayer. Then, one day, I do not know why, I cannot say, I was inspired to join the student pastoral. It was a ministry called KOMPAS dealing manly with young people. On the invitation of a Comboni Missionary, I joined the team for a retreat. During this retreat I met several people, especially people involved in missionary activities around the world. I had the chance to talk with them about mission and about being a missionary. However, at the time I still had no thought of going to the missions.

R: But after this first retreat experience, you went to Africa. How do you explain it?

AO: Soon after that experience, I began to think of mission. The conversations I had had with the missionaries kept on coming to mind. So, I started having an interest in mission. I started knowing new people, especially among missionaries. Later I had the good fortune to be sent to Uganda for a month as a first missionary experience. It was in 2013. As I left Poland, I expected to find the worst in Uganda, but something within me was telling me that it was worth the try.

R: What was your first impression of Africa?

AO: I have a foggy memory, it was very hot (laughs). At first, I was under pressure and truly wanted to do everything I was told. We had passion, good will, but the language was our barrier. I remember the faces of the children in the orphanage where we worked, who wanted to talk to us, but since we only spoke English and they only spoke their local language, it was difficult. So, being unable to communicate, we simply stayed with them, without words, and this fact moved us deeply.

After spending a month in Uganda, I returned to Poland where I got in touch with the Comboni Missionaries to discern my vocation: to be missionary in Africa? Should I do it at home? Work? Get married?…

R: Did you struggle with these thoughts for a long time?

AO: Very often in life, monotony leads us to change life’s patterns. I thought that I needed to take time to discern my feelings. For this reason, having consulted people who were guiding me, I made a retreat with the Jesuits in Zakopane. It was a time of personal reflection, a meeting with my own self and with the Lord. During these precious days I spent with the Jesuits, the Lord answered all my worries and I also raised questions, but I trusted in Him. There are times in life when we have to learn to be “blind” and let the Lord guide us. In Polish we call it “seeing in the darkness.” You have to decide to step into darkness and let Jesus lead you.

Another facet of my vocation was the support of my family. They supported me a lot both at the beginning and then during my mission experience. I pray to the Lord that he may bless them and fill them with peace.

R: Why Africa and the Central African Republic?

AO: For the Comboni Missionaries Africa is a very special place. Our founder started his mission in Africa and had a real passion for the continent. At the time we had several options: Mozambique, Ethiopia and the RCA. RCA is a post-war country, very unstable, and many people were afraid to go there. There were many reasons to believe that mission in the RCA was going to entail lots of sacrifices: the poor, the war, insecurity, etc. What I dreaded the most was French (laughing). I had never studied it, you see? But I steeled myself with courage, especially following the example of Comboni, to serve the poor. Today I can truly say in all sincerity that the RCA is a marvelous country. Having come to the RCA, it has become like my second country.

R: How did you prepare to go to Bangui, considering your lack of French?

AO: It worked well. I officially joined the Comboni Lay Missionaries on June 12, 2015 in Warsaw before leaving for the RCA, where I was going to learn French. Then, we celebrated a mission sending Mass in my parish of St. John the Baptist in Oakwa on the feast of the Sacred Heart. The celebrant was Msgr. Grzegorz Rys. I went to Congo (RDC) for four months, where I was received by Irene, a Congolese CLM. She helped me understand the African mentality, especially in Central Africa. It was a great time, because I was not only there to learn the language. The day I left for Bangui, Irene gave this advice: “Remember that we are sending you to these people to try to understand them and to love them. Share with them what you have and you will find happiness.”

R: What were the first difficulties when you first arrived in the RCA?

AO: From Kinshasa, where we lived like we do in Europe, I found myself in a forest, without internet, electricity and hot water (laughing). At the beginning it was difficult. Difficult because I did not have many friends and had to start from scratch. But now I am happy, because I have gone much beyond friendship, and now I have a family.

R: What was your ministry in Mongoumba?

AO: The lay community of Mongoumba is made up of four people: one Italian, two Portuguese and I am Polish. We decide in common how to live and help each other. In Mongoumba, the lay people take care of education, the Pygmies and health. As for myself, I worked at the clinic. Concretely, I took care of the Pygmies first and then of undernourished children. Now and then we also organize sessions for the formation of caretakers, etc.

R: Is it a unique mission because of the Pygmies living there? And how do you help this minority?

AO: The Pygmies have a special place in our activities. They are a priority. In this part of the RCA they are not taken into consideration. These are the type of people that our founder wanted to know and serve. However, working with them is not that easy because, for example, they are very free people who do not like to be confined by a structure. Slowly, we teach them to read and write, to keep basic hygiene, how to avoid illnesses brought about by dirt, etc. I tried to show them other ways of life, to live independently, to administer the little money they have.

R: What are the needs in this area? What are the main problems affecting the RCA and its people?

AO: What we need most in the RCA is peace. Peace in the streets, in the hearts, in the cities. People want to live without fear, raise their children, work, grow. Th government must spare no efforts to ensure security for its people, who only want to live in peace. The other challenge for the RCA is education and the creation of business opportunities. Young people should be able to study well, in good conditions and find job opportunities at the end of their studies.

R: What are the dangers of missionary service in this region?

AO: In Mongoumba we are safe, being a rather secure area where we are not bothered. However, the RCA is very big and there are still areas where people are hiding, and live in constant danger because there is still armed conflict. Probably the only real danger is disease. Of course, there are medications available, but you never know where. God, however, always protects us.

R: What do you ask the world for the RCA?

AO: I ask one and all to support the RCA through prayer and especially with concrete help. I refer to help in the way of projects, financial contributions, etc. I also invite other lay people to come to this beautiful country.

R: Anna, what has mission in the RCA given to you personally?

AO: First of all, I learned to open up to other people, very often very different from the way I grew in a different culture. I learned to live frugally, humbly and be satisfied with what we have. This is one of the best experiences I have had. This experience also showed me that, when we leave our biological family, God gives another one.

R: What are your plans for your immediate future?

AO: After my vacation in Poland I will go to Canada for three years to study psychology. It is a program for missionaries. As I told you earlier, if God gives me life, I will return to RCA to bring psychological help specifically to those who have been traumatized by war and others. Back there, I will give hope to those who have been wounded and abandoned.

Interviewed by Eustache Michael Mounzatela