I am attaching extracts from my diary from our project work in Africa. Hope you will enjoy it. Being the holiday season, we go for the 6.30 Mass instead of the 6.00 o'clock one. We go to the chapel of the University. The atmosphere is more homely. The samle crowd comes daily & wishing each other at the time of the Kiss of peace as well as after Mass has helped to bind us together. A pair of twins come almost everyday. I love to chat with them. They are called Noeli & Noela. They were born on Christmas day & are 16 years old.They are identical/ There are many twins here & they are very noticeable because the custom here is that one has a right to demand for money from the public for the upbringing of the twins & we are obliged to give or else we receive curses. So parents of twins have the chance to parade their twins & ask for money. The mothers here carry their children on their backs even up to the age of 4 or 5.

Love and prayers, Sr. Margaret

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MY DIARY FOR JUNE 2008

   


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1st June 2008
We had the Exposition & Sale of the handicraft of the girls of the Social Centre yesterday & today. All their work was beautifully displayed so that their parents could see the hard work put in throughout the year. Several girls kept the articles they made for themselves & their families but some of them put them up for sale so that they could get some money to pay their fees for the coming year. Some of them put up food stalls. There was loud music all day long & of course dancing.


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9th of June 2008
The Choir directed by Severin had a celebration. They had a homely Eucharist, followed by lunch which was ordered from outside; Then they had games with lovely prizes & finally a movie.

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10th of June 2008
All the girls of the Third year received a certificate & the 20 best girls receive a machine at half price. Each machine costs 60,000 franc CFA but they get it for 30,000 francs CFA. They are so happy to receive them & in these days the girls keep coming with their money. I was amazed to see how they carry the machine home - in taxis, hand-carts, on bicycles, on motor cycles, on donkey back etc.

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11th of June 2008
Its 31 years since I made my first vows today & 26 years since my final vows. How fast the time flies. We did not have any celebration but I remembered the past & I prayed for my companions. The rainy season has begun & the poor people cultivate in any place they find, outside their compounds. Its no man’s land. The Burkinabes also love to eat out & in every street corner there is an open-air restaurant with tables & chairs placed outside. Pork is roasted in an oven outside too. Porc au four is one of their favourite dishes.

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18th of June 2008
Our little kittens have grown so big. They can eat independently now. They are so playful. The kitten we had brought from Nasso has grown into a big tom-cat & he loves to sleep with the Mama cat & her kittens

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27th of June 2008
We have mangoes still, huge & delicious. They are called the ‘late mangoes’. Since the girls have gone home for holidays, there is no one to rob them & we are having a good feed.. When there is a strong wind & rain, they fall off. I made sufficient pickle & chutney to last me for the whole year with the half ripe fallen mangoes.. I also made squash but only Sr. Clara likes it. Soon she will be going to Spain for the Superior’s meeting & also to see her sister & brother who are ill. So there will be no one except me to drink it. We made plenty of jam too. Its delicious. I want to try out mangad but I will have to eat it alone.. The sisters here in this community do not like sweet stuff.

 

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30th of June 2008
It’s the holiday season, so to while away my time; I make rag dolls & little bags out of waste material. They are cute. I realize that I have a lot of creativity in me. When I go visiting, I give to the children. Here the people are so poor; they cannot afford toys & dolls. I am also learning to sew on the sewing machine. I do not like it much & I break the needles & the bobbin & irritate Sr. Consuelo who teaches me. I like to finish the work fast & have no patience if the thing takes long.