The Southern Cross, July 23 to July 29, 2014
MINISTRY
9
Laying the foundations for peace In a city torn apart by war and natural disaster, a parish is trying to lay the foundations for peace by building a sports ground. Parish priest Fr EVANS CHAMA M.Afr invites us into his community.
F
OR those who follow international news, the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) needs no introduction. It has been a battleground for a couple of decades. However, the youth of our parish, Notre Dame d’Afrique (Our Lady of Africa), are determined to give Goma a new image. Goma is the capital of North-Kivu province, in the east of the DRC. Since 1994 people have lived in the horrors of wars and today many nurse wounded memories of all kinds. There are many women and girls who were raped, some of whom have contracted HIV or given birth. Thus they live with a constant reminder of the violence and the humiliation they have suffered. Several women have been abandoned by their husbands, together with the children born in the act of violation. And how do you deal with the boys who were conscripted as child soldiers and have become used to killing? Apart from the trauma they suffered themselves, they are also a threat to the population for they have learnt to earn their living by using force. As a result they are ready to shoot at anyone who resists them. Our township continues to record deaths of this kind. These are but a couple of examples of the open wounds in this postwar period. But this is only one side of the story; there is another side. Although the security situation still leaves a lot to be desired, I appreciate that we nevertheless are enjoying a significant level of calm which was unimaginable just some months ago. If only this peace would last so
that people can reconstruct their lives! It is not enough just to wish for peace, we must be ready to soil our hands to build and consolidate it. At our parish of Notre Dame d’Afrique, we are particularly concerned, among other things, about accompanying children and the youth in their healing process by creating a friendly space where they can relax, play and do physical exercises. Not only is play important for human development, but it is also remedial. But where will these children and young people of our township find a space to play? Imagine this! In our parish, which is located in a densely populated township called Katoy, we have nine parish schools: three secondary schools and six primary schools. And this doesn’t count the cluster of poor private schools around. These nine schools have only a small space for the youth and children who frequent them to play. That is why we have offered a little piece of land close to the parish church for development into a sports ground. This creates new challenges. In a different area, it would suffice simply to slash the grass, uproot a few trees, draw lines, fix posts—and, voilà, you have a ground ready for play. This is not the case with Goma.
Missionary of African Father evans Chama (inset) has started a large building project at his parish in the DRC. Parishioners of Notre Dame d’Afrique parish must break through volcanic rock to level the ground for their new sports ground which will be dedicated to promoting peace in the area.
B
esides the wars and insecurity, there are also eruptions of the still- active volcano Mount Nyiragongo. The last eruption took place in 2002 (the video at bit.ly/1jwMfGd gives you an idea) which has left the entire town of Goma with a carpet of rough, black volcanic rocks. You have to watch your feet with every single step you take on the street. Even the piece of land we are developing into the playground is nothing but a mound of volcanic rock. Our project involves making a mini-football ground, two volleyball courts, a basketball court and a space for gymnastics. The work involves breaking the mound of rock, which we do by hand, spreading the broken stones to fill up the valleys, transporting soil from no less than 20km in the outskirts of Goma in order to cover the rocks, and cementing the
basketball and volleyball courts. This project is estimated to cost about R570 000. With the contributions from the youth, schools, parishioners and help from wellwishers, we have raised about a third of that. We still have a long way to go. Whenever my confrere from the Missionaries of Africa comes to the worksite, he tells me: “Evans, this is a crazy person’s project.” He is right. Certainly, you must be crazy to take on such a project, given the magnitude of work, the difficulty and the limited means. Indeed, standing before the
Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus
mound of rock, the first overwhelming feeling is to say: “It’s too hard; we just cannot do it.” But then we realise that what we are looking for is actually the cost of peace. We must pay the price. And if we want lasting peace, we have to build it on the solid rock—our volcanic rock. We are convinced that uniting young people from different tribal identities and from different religious beliefs around this project of constructing the sports ground, and finally bringing them to play together when the construction is completed, will itself be a school for peace.
The St Boniface Community
is presenting its annual Church Bazaar on Sunday 31 August 2014. Starting with an open-air Mass at 9.00am at the St Boniface Community Centre, Cnr Puttick Ave and Kowie Road, Sundowner Ext 8, Randburg. Tel 011 795 3651
MICASA TOURS
We are conscious that with every stone we put in place, we lay the foundation for peace. This is what gives us the energy to go on. Do you want to join hands with us in laying a foundation for peace in this war-torn region of Congo? n Fr Evans Chama M.Afr. is a regular contributor to The Southern Cross. His series on the Church’s social justice teachings concluded last month. He is currently preparing a new series of articles on the “Saints of Christian Unity”, which will commence in The Southern Cross later this year. He can be contacted at evan schama@gmail.com
GABRIELLE PHILLIP SOUTH AFRICA
makers of
LITURGICAL VESTMENTS Superior quality at affordable prices
Clerical shirts, Cassocks, Server Robes, Choir Robes, Habits, Albs, Surplices, Cottas, etc.
(2-3 weeks’ delivery time) Phone/Fax Maggie Pillay 033 391 3202 /083 945 3631 Postal address: 9 Granadilla Crescent, Newholmes, Pietermaritzburg, 3201 gabphill@telkomsa.net
Easter Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Are you called to join us to love God, in praising Him in Prayer and serving Him, as we care for people in need, especially children? Write, phone or visit us
Holy Childhood Sisters P.Bag 553 Eshowe, 3815
Sr. Teressa Zungu Phone: 035 -4744242 Cell: 082-0932002 E-mail: awerresh@netactive.co.za
Mbongolwane Convent P.Bag 506 Eshowe, 3815 Sr. Bongiwe Xulu Phone: 035-4766262 Cell: 076-3064446
Led by Lionel Samuel 01-09 April 2015
Pilgrimage to Fatima, Garabandal, Lourdes, Dozulè, Liseux and Paris Led by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI 10-23 May 2015
Pilgrimage to Italy-Shroud of Turin, Passion Play in Sordevolo, Milan, Rome, Verona, Venice Led by Father Victor Phalana 09-21 June 2015
Holy Land Pilgrimage
Led by Father Christopher Townsend 31 August -09 September 2015
Pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes , Rome and Assisi Led by Father Robert Mphiwe 07-19 September 2015
Contact: Tel: 012 342 7917/072 637 0508 (Michelle) E-Mail: info@micasatours.co.za
REMEMBERING OUR DEAD
“It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins” (II Macc XII,46) Holy Mass is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month in the All Souls’ chapel, Maitland, Cape Town at 2:30pm for all souls in purgatory and for all those buried in the Woltemade cemetery.
For further information, please contact St Jude Society, Box 22230, Fish Hoek, 7975, Telephone (021) 551-1747, dpaarman@mweb.co.za