First of all, the announcement

In a letter from Yaoundé (Cameroon) by Sister Clara Zanatta, published in Popoli e Missione, the mercy of those who take “care of their brother”

Edited by Chiara Pellicci

For the past two years I have been living in Yaoundé, Cameroon. I live with my community 11 kilometers from the capital, in a neighborhood that is growing like wildfire.
We are a community of five sisters, two of whom are studying at the university.

The first mission of our congregation (Institute of the Sisters Teachers of St. Dorothy, ed.) is the proclamation of the Word of God.
Our interest is to take care of our brother, especially those who experience situations of hardship, both human, psychological and social.

Already from our name it is clear that we are concerned with the educational aspect, in which we try to give the best of ourselves.

I, since this year, have been following a group of boys who are preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
In addition to this, I follow the project of school support for poor children who cannot pay for their studies; not forgetting other problems related to health, nutrition, lack of work of the parents.

There are children who live with their grandmothers or aunts because they are abandoned.
Sometimes real dramas arise, which are bigger than our possibilities to intervene.

We also follow a project called Bibliothèque Luciole and another library dedicated to our founder, Don Luca Passi, for children in the neighborhood.

The Luciole Library is mainly for the benefit of street children. There are two sisters who follow this project and devote four days a week to it: two days they stay in the library building, one day they go to a home for street boys, and another day they go to the train station where there is a home for boys run by the religious of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME).

What do they do? They follow a program that includes offering different activities such as reading, teaching about various aspects and values of life, games, movies, but above all they assure the boys of a female presence that loves, listens, accompanies, and consoles.

So many cannot read or write. Many have become attached to the sisters and willingly follow what is offered to them.
Of course, the grit learned on the “street” and the accompanying violence are always with them. It is quite a challenge, but on the whole there are also those who, although with difficulty, manage to return to live in their families.

During the summer vacations we also organize some activities for children and youth in the neighborhood, helped by local entertainers.
Our house offers hospitality to people who wish to share a period with us or who want to retreat in prayer.
How do we support ourselves? A little with the reception and then with the sale of products from the camp and the chicken coop. We don’t have big things, but we try to be self-supporting, at least in part.

Sister Clara Zanatta
(Popoli e Missione, July-August 2019, pp. 47-48)

Source

• Popoli e Missione

Image

• Dario Leoni