Ethiopia: Timket: The Feast of the two Testaments
The feast of Timket or Baptism of the Lord is celebrated in Ethiopia on January 19, 12 days after Christmas. An original feature with regard to this celebration is that in Ethiopia the Old and New Testaments are combined, since, in addition to commemorating the baptism of Jesus, the Ark of the Covenant or Tabot […]
Kenya: People with a future in their hands.
Many years ago, a local district officer gave a small plot for a non-formal school in the Mukuru slums of Nairobi. The Mukuru Promotion Centre (MCP) started and along the years has become an important place for thousands of people giving them a future and dignity. We visited the Centre. Mukuru is one of the […]
The entrepreneur who uses technology to save African languages
At the age of 31, Elizabeth Kperrun has founded a start-up that makes digital material available to children while valuing their mother language and African cultures, combining tradition and innovation. Who says tradition and innovation must be in opposition? Elizabeth Kperrun, one of the ten most interesting female entrepreneurs emerging in Africa according to Forbes […]
Christmas in Ethiopia: A Day of Joy.
The Christmas cycle begins with a long period of fasting, corresponding to Advent in the Latin rite. It begins around November 15 (Hedar 6 in the Ethiopian calendar). The feast of Christmas or Ledet (the Birth of Jesus) is invariably celebrated on January 7 (28 or 29 of Tahsas in the Ethiopian calendar). If […]
Philippines: To give dignity
When Sr. Mary Varguese, a nun who used to work with special children in India, arrived in the Philippines to take care of a centre of mentally-challenged persons, the conditions were so bad that she was “completely shocked.” However, after some years of hard work, the situation has greatly improved. We visited the place. When […]
Western Africa: The confraternity of Knowledge. The mysterious world of the Donso hunters.
They are seers and traditional healers with a vast knowledge of medicinal plants, spells and fetishes. They represent an example of moral integrity. Today they enjoy a high position in Malinke society, especially in the rural environment. African societies have always lived in a close relationship with the world of visible powers and that of […]
Sr. Maria Victoria: At service to the Word in Africa
It is true that a vocation is a gift from God, but it presupposes a response on our part. Sister Maria Victoria Acebes from Spain, tells us her vocation story. When I finished my university studies and was teaching grade school in Madrid, I was starting to doubt my call to religious life. I felt […]
The Jesuit Refugee Service. The African microcosm in the streets of Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia is Africa’s second largest refugee hosting country with more than 800,000 of them in its territory. They are victims of wars, persecutions or natural disasters. There is just one centre for refugees in Addis Ababa and it represents the microcosm of some of the problems that affect the African continent. The large outdoor patio […]
Philippines 2019: “Year of the Youth”
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has announced that it will dedicate 2019 as the “Year of the Youth”. The year-long celebration, which will start on the first Sunday of Advent on Dec. 2, will carry the theme “Filipino Youth in Mission: Beloved, Gifted, Empowered.” Its observance, which the bishops described as part of […]
Peru: “Mission is timeless”
“The little miracles and signs that have reached me through these people who are now part of me.” Neuza Francisco, a Portuguese Comboni lay missionary working in Peru tell us her experience among poor people on the outskirt of Lima. Many lives are already part of me, and many are the smiles that belong to […]
