Greetings to all of you
We would like to share with you a video about the health care that our international community of Comboni Lay Missionaries is developing in Mongoumba, Central African Republic.
In it Cristina tells us about the different activities they carry out and presents us the reality of health care and especially the dedication to the Aka population.
Thank you all for your prayers and support to our CLM service in the places where we are present.
Wrapped up in her mother’s lap, the cloths covered a little heartbeat!!!
Her body was thin, almost transparent, and you could see the cry coming from her tiny breasts.
Her mother, with a serene, delicate smile, was silently asking for help!
A few days earlier, hope had won the fight against a barely cured malaria and Annie had returned home.
But in this war of unequal combat, equity and inequality of completely irrational values, Annie couldn’t resist!
At her side, Jean Luca, with all the resources possible, in this remote part of Africa, is fighting the fight of his life!
There are no losers or winners here.
Heroes, yes! Many of them!
The hospital in Mongoumba in the Central African Republic is currently seeing many cases of malaria.
I suppose that perhaps because of the floods during the rainy season last year, the malaria mosquitoes have tripled in number and resistance to drugs has also increased.
My Easter was spent here:
Between the Sigh of Hope of Dying or Living!!!
My God! My belly bursts into tears at the sight of the breath evaporating from these fragile bodies!
Bodies so “Jesús”!
When will I cry these tears?
I don’t know, only He knows!
Because now what I see are the smiles of the children passing by on the street…!!!
And “He” once again makes me Believe…!!!
Cristina Souza, LMC Mongoumba
A day of faith and reflection
Still in the Easter mood, an invitation to revisit the intense days leading up to Resurrection Day, a unique week in which we tried to recreate with fervor the last steps of Christ as Man.
At the entrance to the village, under the welcoming shade of the mango trees, children and adults, men and women gathered in faith to begin the celebration of Palm Sunday. Everyone had their own palm, some of them beautifully decorated.
To the vibrant sound of the songs of “Hossana”, the community walked down the main street in procession, a sea of palms waving in the air, a unison chant that echoed the joy of faith.
In the church, the celebration went on for more than two hours.
Thus began Holy Week, paving the way for a time of reflection, a time to meditate on Christ’s sacrifice and the promise of redemption.
On this journey we are invited: to relive the footsteps of Jesus, to meditate on the meaning of his surrender and to reflect on the meaning of our own lives.
A unique opportunity to strengthen our faith and renew our hope.
Élia Gomes, CLM RCA
“Where I once left my heart”
After seven years in Portugal, five of which were spent supporting the family and working in elderly people’s homes (at the Missionary Sisters of Charity in Faro and at the Parish Center in Paderne) and another two years on mission in the parish of Camarate, I’m leaving to return to the CAR, where I’ve already been for five years.
It won’t be easy, but I know that this is the path God has for me.
The Central African Republic (CAR) is the place where I feel I have been called to serve God and people with joy, in the hope of bringing the message of the Gospel and helping to build a better and fairer world, together with the poorest and most abandoned according to Comboni’s missionary style.
I will face new challenges and difficulties, but I am confident that, with God’s help and the protection of Our Lady of Hope, I will be able to overcome them.
I thank my family and friends for supporting me in this decision.
I thank my parish of Paderne and the Parish Center for always welcoming me with affection despite my long absences.
I thank my community in Fetais and all those who helped me during my time in Camarate.
Finally, I thank the CLM Movement and the Comboni Family for transmitting to me the essence that inspires me to go.
“If I had a thousand lives, I would give a thousand lives for Africa”
Élia Gomes CLM – Portugal
His eyes shine crystal clear with desire.
Eyes that seek the horizon in the dense forest.
With the same intensity as yesterday, his smile is full of hope and joy.
Today school days are part of a near but long past.
He plays at survival with his family
He dreams of one day being a passenger, a driver or simply an observer of the beautiful car that passes by his house.
He dreams of clean clothes, whenever the white man shines.
He dreams of the simple touch of his hand, of the lingering greeting
This barefoot boy with his easy smile wants one day to be like “You”.
Inside his house made of green paper and red glue is the small fire that insists on warming the cold that is felt.
The red mantle of this land consumed by the sun, is now painted with the incandescent heat of the bodies that curl up with each other forming a large canvas, made of human paint
This boy wants one day to be like “You”.
He dreams of one day being able to have a tree all to himself full of fruits to eat and share
He dreams of being able to understand what books say.
The sun is peeking through the morning mist, it’s time to get up and listen to what the wind says.
The day is marked by the laziness of the daily and repetitive routine.
Today little André is leaving for the deep forest
He is going to meet the majestic and ancient trees, they are the masters of his world.
At this time of year, they are dressed in their most beautiful and delicious butterflies.
The family is happy, the scent of the flowers speaks of abundance.
In a little act everything is ready for the journey
Mama with a baby tied to her chest, with a basket on her back and on her head whatever was forgotten, winds her way along the path already traced by time.
Papa, machete in hand, makes way, for the trees insist on covering what is theirs.
André imitates his father with the small knife without a handle, tears the dense leaves like a true boy of the forest, makes life with his joy, he can dream of things that are not his, but his sweaty skin shines with pride and honor of being pygmy.
Cristina Sousa, Comboni Lay Missionary
Bangui, Central African Republic
