Colombia: The Nasa – A Proud People
In Colombia, indigenous people are but a small 2% minority, subdivided into about a hundred peoples scattered throughout the entire country. One very important ethnic group among these is the Nasa people – compromise during the guerrilla war; the struggle for survival by defending their lands and their traditions. At present, the Nasa, which in […]
Digitsation: A Chance For Africa
While in Africa mobile and smart phones are spreading and ingenious local adaptations are being developed, people in the industrialised nations are talking about the 4th industrial revolution, the large scale linking of digital and other systems. Where has digitisation reached in Africa? To what extent can it contribute to the economic and social development […]
Life Flourishes When There Is Respect, Compassion, Love And Equality For All
In the world today, we see a great struggle between those who have deeply held beliefs about the value and dignity of the human person and those who do not. Most people treasure their own survival, life and dignity and their right to live in peace and prosperity in a society based on the rule […]
Africa: Voices Of Opera
Through the interpretation of numerous opera repertories by African singers and authors, new paths are opening up on the stages of the world. It was during the inauguration ceremony of the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, 2014, in her elegant long red dress, that 38 year-old, Pumeza Matshikiza, nicknamed the ‘Callas of the townships‘, enchanted […]
Catholics Rise In Africa And Asia: Decline In Europe
The statistical yearbook of the Vatican registers an overall increase of 1.285 million of baptised Catholics in 2015, 49% of which live in the Americas. For the first time since 2000, there is a decline in the number of priests. In five years, Catholics in Asia, and especially in Africa, have grown from 15.5 per […]
South Sudan: How Comboni Missionaries Help Victims Of War
The current four-year-old conflict in South Sudan has forced more than 2.3 million people to flee their homes. These war-affected populations also need psycho-social and spiritual help to mitigate the effects of war traumas and to enable them to move on with their lives. Fr. Yacob Solomon is a Comboni Missionary who has been evangelizing, […]
Syria: The Children Are The First To Die
The children of Khan Sheikhoun were the first to suffer as the suspected nerve gas sarin, a deadly, fast-killing agent, caused the children to suffocate. As they tried to breath with damaged lungs, they started to foam at the mouth. Twenty died horrible deaths at the last count, and there may still be more. By […]
Catholic Bishops: “Peace Will Prevail In Sudan And South Sudan”
“The Crucified One invites us, as people of Sudan and South Sudan, to bear the sufferings of one another, to keep patient vigil together in the darkness, to listen even in death for life’s heartbeat… Our mission is not to roll the rock over the grave but, together with the One who goes before us, […]
Reportage and Nigeria: A Challenge To Immigration
First woman in Nigeria to graduate in mechanical engineering and founder of the ‘Lady Initiative’, which supports girls into the mechanic profession, providing both work and dignity. She welcomes us in her large mechanic’s workshop on the outskirts of Lagos. She is wearing the blue overalls of a mechanic. She has just finished taking apart […]
Nepal: Meet Medicine Men On The Streets Of Kathmandu
Kathmandu is the capital and largest municipality of Nepal. There are a lot informal markets in the streets, where you can find everything you need. One of the main attractions is the medicine man who promises to cure everything… almost. Not far from the railway station we met Shakya M. Aakar. He was talking to […]