African Witness: South Africa – Archbishop Denis Hurley
As Chairperson of the Southern African Bishops Conference, he denounced the Apartheid system as “intrinsically evil”. Denis Hurley was born in Cape Town in 1915 of Irish parents. Educated at St Charles College in Pietermaritzburg, he joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) and was ordained a priest in 1939. In 1947, he was […]
Malawi: Rock art and biodiversity
Lake Malawi, a unique habitat. One of the deepest water deposits in the world. Distinctive rock art representing the cultural traditions and the history of the people who inhabit the Malawi plateau. Twenty per cent of Malawi is covered by water and it has the fifth largest lake in the world, Lake Malawi, the third […]
Africa: The Fight Against Plastic Waste
34 African countries have passed strict laws. Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda as models for the world. From the first of June 2019, tourists arriving in Tanzania must take care not to bring plastic bags with them in their luggage as these will be confiscated on arrival. This is the final move in a struggle which, […]
Madagascar: Poverty can be beaten
Pope Francis is going to Madagascar in September. During his stay he will visit the Akamasoa Humanitarian Association. Its Founder, Father Pedro Opeka speaks about it. With the help of a group of young people, Father Pedro founded the Akamasoa Humanitarian Association – in the local language it means “The Good Friends” – to help […]
Herbs & Plants: Funtumia elastic – A Medicinal African Rubber Tree
Highly valued in traditional medicine for treatment and management of a number of diseases and disorders. Funtumia elastic common name silk rubber is a medium-sized deciduous tree with distribution from Guinea to Cameroon and in the Congo basin, and along the Nile basin in Egypt, Sudan, east Africa especially in Tanzania and Uganda. Bark greenish […]
African Witnesses: Blessed Pierre Claverie
In January 2018, Pope Francis approved the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his eighteen companions. The murder of Pierre Claverie, a Dominican and the Bishop of Oran in Algeria, was the latest in a series of tragic killings that cast the Church of Algeria into grief between 1994 and 1996. The other victims were […]
Ethiopia: Metema, the loss of all hope
Each day it is criss-crossed by invisible travellers who arrive after placing themselves in the hands of human traffickers, under cover of darkness, crossing the frontier with Sudan along paths lost in the thick undergrowth. Welcome to Metema, a city in the north-west of Ethiopia, on the Sudan border, the Launchpad of the migration routes […]
Africa: Start-ups rolling out
The continent is changing thanks to the increasingly frequent use of new technological tools. A journey through the most innovative start-ups in Africa. Innovation is today the most used word by those who want to talk about Africa going beyond the narrative that speaks of a continent between needs and conflicts, leaders clinging to power […]
African Witnesses: Vivian Uchechi Ogu
The striking heroism in the story of Vivian is in the remarkable way in which she expressed her Christian faith, having extraordinary influence on the lives of others from the tender age of nine and the courage with which she put into practice what she had been preaching when the opportunity came at the age […]
Africa: The art of food – Ancient flavours and genuine ingredients
From the Maghreb to Southern Africa, a myriad of flavours, aromas and colours. A journey through past and present tells of the rich traditions in the art of African food. Fonio is an ancient cereal that is resistant to drought. It is one of the oldest crops cultivated in West Africa, from Nigeria, through Benin, […]
