Living a 3 Priority from Nigeria (2nd part)

LIVING A LIFE THAT IS COMMITTED 

TO JUSTICE, PEACE AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION

IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

This year, we have already contacted a priest who is well vast in the Social Doctrine of the Church in Lagos to help us out with the formation on Social Doctrine of the church and he was very kind to accept our request. He is only waiting for our schedule. We hope this formation will be programmed to go on for the whole year if possible. For us again, this “entails a commitment which requires a gradual and systematic assimilation of the Social Doctrine of the Church (SDC) in order to discern God’s call in the challenges of the social reality and in the responses which need to be given thereby promoting the values of justice, peace and integrity of creation (Cf. General Objective, n. 49)”We can only offer what we have and so, if we know better or we are better informed, we will no doubt be able to offer others better services also.

And we have planned a formation for all our collaborators too, so that we could all have the same priorities in mind as we carry out our various missions and responsibilities. We did it last year and planned to continue this year too.

The AFJM in Lagos came out with a beautiful project for this year and the community is ready and willing to collaborate with them to bring this project to a reality. In one of the Parish’s outstations ( a chapel, St. Raphael’s Church),  the majority of the people there, are fishermen and are people from Benin Republic who migrated and are living there doing their fishing jobs.

They live in very poor conditions and they neither write or speak or understand English or French. Even the catechist speaks only Egun, their local dialect or Yoruba (another dialect that is spoken in both Nigeria and in the Republic of Benin). The only translator (Bernard) was educated and sponsored by our Sisters particularly Sr. Gladys Rodricks (from India). Thanks to this translator, the non-speaking Egun and Yoruba priests who go to celebrate masses for them are able to communicate with them.  The idea, plan and project was made known to these people and they were very happy to be offered such opportunity. The plan is to begin by teaching them English, how to read and write and then send those who are ready for a normal school to  the  Nursery and Primary School that we are running for the Arch-Diocese of Lagos, on scholarship programme if possible. The project is due to begin this January, 2016 by God’s grace. These children at the moment only do fishing, selling fish but no school, no English language… This is not surprising as their parents do same and see no need for a formal Education. The positive thing is that, they are willing to allow their children attend classes and the children want to learn to speak, read and write English like Bernard!

Linda Abicha rjm for Lagos community Nigeria.