CONTENT

Editorial: Lucie Pruvost

“Fashioned by a Church Movement”

1. Love within marriage, witness to the love of God, Amalia Garcia
2. Stimulating effects of a women’s movement, Lucette Guy
3. The Kizito-Anuarite in D.R. Congo, Tina Anthonissen
4. You will win the confidence of your people, Andrée Geoffroy
5. From mother, to daughter - The Impact of the Ruche, Françoise Dillies
6. I, Florence, a former Anuarite, Florence Mwamba
7. “La Ruche in Kabylia” a MSOLA remembers and shares with us, Madeleine Côté and Monique Racine

In Tandem

1. A growing 130 years cooperation, AGiC.G. MAfr/SMNDA
2. Our common world and vision collaboration, Community MAfr et MSOLA, Tandale, Daressalaam, Tanzania
3.  A single family, Patricia Massart

Meditation

Developing an ecological mentality, Thérèse Gravel

Editorial staff

Editorial

   Launched well before the Objectives of the Millennium for Development, the youth movements founded in Africa by the MAfr and the MSOLA took part in their own way, in the human and spiritual development of the continent which is so dear to them. Are they not concerned just like Objectives 2 and 3 fixed by UNO in the year 2000, to provide primary education for all and to promote equality and autonomy for the African woman?

   The Dossier of this issue of Sharing is dedicated to this particular aspect of our mission with young and less young people who, both African lay people, as well as religious, have been “fashioned by a Church movement”, of which they were animators or members. The first text gives an account of the experience of an accompanist of the Équipes Notre-Dame, a movement which was inspired by the Catholic Action and introduced in Africa by the followers of Lavigerie.

   The other texts refer to a rather different model. Several MSOLA, inspired by the educational methods of the Girl Guides Movement, were at the origin of movements adapted to cultures, societies and religions of Christians, as well as Muslims. They have thus contributed to the formation of formators, to the development and the spreading of universal values such as love of neighbour, respect for the other, loyalty, the desire to serve, etc. This is certainly the case for la Ruche of Kabylia. Launched in Algeria around 1940, the “Ruche” (Beehive) was able to integrate the best of the respect observed within the family for this structure, known for its advanced social organisation. Several articles of this issue mention this form of inculturation respectful of the Muslim faith of its members. Although mention is not made in this issue, we do well to remember that one “Native Youth Section of the Red Cross” founded by the MSOLA around this same period to gather the girls of the Kasbah in Algiers was inspired through the same spirit of service. 

It is within the Church and from a similar perspective that were born, around the 1970, in the Congo, the Kizito/Anuarite groups, inspired on the one hand by the Scouts Movement  and by the Eucharistic Movement for young people. If one of the two texts speaks about the experience of one of the animators, the other witnesses of the impact the movement had on its author’s own vocation.
 
      “In tandem”, this column which appears twice a year since 2008, shows another aspect of our life at the service of Africa: the relationship of collaboration established between MAfr and MSOLA, confirming our common commitment to the same apostolic project. This column is more developed this time since both Sharing and Le Petit Echo present the same texts. The first one, written by the two Superiors General of our respective Institutes mentions how this collaboration  developed in the course of these last years. The second, born out of the experience of the two communities, MAfr and MSOLA, evaluates a common pastoral ministry lived in one of the parishes of Tanzania.  Finally the third one speaks of our former and present collaboration, with its lights and sometimes unknown factors.

      We are all very much occupied with the preparations for the forthcoming General Chapter, whose theme has ecological connotations: “God’s love is birthing a reconciled creation: what an incredible challenge!” A theme which also refers to Objective n°8 of the Millennium “To guarantee a long-lasting environment” and which has already inspired various Meditations. One of them has been sent to Sharing, and we are happy to share it with you.

      As usual you will find various Communications from the General Council or from the secretariat, allowing you, amongst other things, to update your documents and to pray for those members of our families and of our Institutes who have “Entered eternal life”.

      This issue of Sharing will arrive shortly before the start of the holidays for many of us and perhaps also a new appointment for some of us. Be assured of the closeness of all those who have participated at its edition.

  Lucie Pruvost

“Fashioned by a Church Movement”

LOVE WITHIN MARRIAGE, WITNESS TO THE LOVE OF GOD

     It was at the request of some young married couples and with their active collaboration that during the years 1939-40, Fr. Henry Caffarel founded in Paris the Équipes Notre-Dame (END). Together, they laid the foundations of spirituality for married couples. A novelty for a period in which spirituality was considered a privilege for religious and celibates and from which married couples seemed to be excluded. Caffarel based his reflection on the close link which exists between the love of God and human love. In 1947, after the war, the groups began to multiply. In 1969, the movement received the official recognition of the Church. Today, the groups (END) are present in 50 countries throughout the five continents, numbering about 58.600 couples.

The objective
     The objective of the groups (END) is to help married couples to discover the richness of the sacrament of marriage and to live the conjugal spirituality, in communion with other couples who have the same ideal. These couples intend to be faithful to their baptismal promises, to place Jesus-Christ at the centre of their life, to witness to the love of God and Christian values, and to seek personal holiness, holiness within the couple and within a group of couples. A group (END) is made up of 5 to 8 couples and meets once a month. Once every three months, the groups of one sector meet, and three or four times a year, they gather in general assembly.

The strong points and commitments
     The strong points of the groups (END) are regular and untiring listening to the Word of God, personal prayer, as a couple and as a family, marital dialogue or “duty to sit down together”, the rule of life, an annual retreat of at least 48 hours. Their first mission is to witness to the love of God through their mutual love. From the lived experience of their love as a couple, they discover the love of God, his faithfulness, his desire to see them happy. Without this twofold dimension, their love would be crippled.

     The members of the movement commit themselves in several activities: catechetics, Caritas, animation of Christian communities, mainly in everything concerning the pastoral care of the family as well as the preparation for marriage…

The shadows and lights
     These objectives are realized through shadows and lights. The shadows?  Normally, it is as a couple that we take part in the meeting. In the Congo, unfortunately, because of the difficulties for survival these last years, it has often happened that either the husband or the wife was travelling and could not attend the meeting.  Moreover, the duty to sit down together or the “marital dialogue” is one of the strong points of the groups, a very important point for husband and wife. It is the time that the couple decides to put themselves before the Lord in all truth, and tell one another of any progress or regress in their married life. They reread their life, and make plans to realise the set ideal. But this “duty” is not always easy to carry out. In the Congo, it is difficult for a certain number of couples to reach a certain depth in this conjugal dialogue.

     But there are lights also. The meeting of the group (END) takes place in an atmosphere of great frankness. This allows for an in-depth dialogue on the life of the couples, their faith and their commitment. They consequently develop among them a bond of friendship and solidarity. In Africa, the movement is an opportunity for the women. They can dialogue with their husband on an equal footing and rely on the group to say what they think. Most of the time, the children are well looked after and grow up in an atmosphere of love and respect.

My commitment
      I myself started accompanying two core groups (END) in Kalemie, Congo in 1988. As spiritual accompanist, I had several tasks: prepare the meeting of the group with the couple in charge and the couple appointed to give the theme; make the summary of the Gospel sharing during the meeting; be available to the couple desiring to speak with me. For many years, I was one of the animators of the annual retreat. From 2002 to 2007, year in which our community left Kalemie, I took on the responsibility of counsellor for a whole sector, namely nine groups, as I am fully convinced of the values of the Christian family, for the couple, for the children and for the society.

      I discovered the “Équipes Notre-Dame” in Málaga where there are 82 groups. The couples asked me to give my missionary testimony, and I was happy to talk to them. Now, I continue with them at occasional intervals.


Conclusion
     I would like to conclude with three words which qualify the “Équipes Notre-Dame”:

• A project: To live the richness of the sacrament of marriage to be able to answer as a couple the call of the Lord: “Come and follow me” (Mt 19:21)
• A face: Gathered in the name of Christ in communion with the Church, witnesses in the world - “May they all be one so that the world may believe it was you who sent me” (Jn 17:21)
• A way: Advancing in love, fraternal charity, the reading of the Word of God: “I am the Way” (Jn 14:6)

Amalia García Mendoza, Nueva Málaga 

STIMULATING EFFECTS OF A WOMEN‘S MOVEMENT
 
    “La Ruche (The Beehive) from Kabylia” was founded by the MSOLA and was meant to be a youth club aiming at gathering Kabylian adolescents and young girls, respective of their Muslim faith and traditions of their country. It is therefore not properly speaking a “Church movement”, but rather a movement in view of human formation in the full sense of the word. A MSOLA shares with us her experience as a member of ‘La Ruche’.

Origins of ‘La Ruche’

This is how the notes found in the archives of the MSOLA speak of its beginnings:

   “La Ruche originated from a strongly felt need by one of our sisters, Sister Régis (Yvonne Le Pennec), at that time Regional of Kabylia and superior of the community of Oued Aïssi, at the end of 1937, and of the sisters who were ardent missionaries, in charge of the schools in that same region… In those days, the children left school at the age of 11, 12, 13, in any case too young to be ready to face the life which awaits them. For the young girls of those days, education did not seem to be very important, nor a priority. However, within this structured Kabylian society, a woman holds a special place, even if that place is obscure and seems to be second to the one the man is holding.

     Several sisters drawing their inspiration from their experience with the Girl Guides’ movement expressed the desire to start, in Kabylia, a women’s movement, adapted to the milieu and their culture, “inculturated” and capable of answering felt needs, a movement which is fulfilling and practical, with the Bee as ‘living’ symbol, well known and valued in the country. We then tried to develop the initiative, the personality, together with opportunities to practise the B.A. (Bonne Action – Good Action recommended by Baden Powell).”

What did I receive by being integrated in this “Ruche”?

     My answer will certainly be biased, incomplete and limited and will need to be understood in a whole series of experiences lived by our sisters in Kabylia, efforts of inculturation, recognition of values, etc. Before entering the MSOLA, I was asked to spend some time in Kabylia, to test my health. This was in 1956, during the war in Algeria. I arrived in Tizi-Ouzou, where I was afterwards appointed in 1960, after our international year of St. Marie. At once, I was offered to work with the young people of
La Ruche. Thus, I also became filled with this spirit of respect and initiative to which   Sister Thérèse d’Alençon (Marie-Thérèse Biner), a real missionary, wanted to introduce me. She did it, whilst instilling in me the understanding of the milieu, religion and traditions. I owe her a lot and thanks to her, I understood better what it meant to be respectful of the other, of anyone else, above all during this time of the War for Independence.

     The formation of the young people was done through different kinds of apprenticeships: sewing, embroidery, knitting, childcare, etc. Practical and instructive subjects which have formed generations of Abeilles (Bees)! There were also holiday camps, camps for adolescents, excursions and encounters between young people of different villages. Times of formation intermingled with moments of relaxation and hard work, because the mountain of Djurjura is a great learning school of endurance and “steep climbing”. In Tizi-Ouzou, amongst many others, we had a pre-adolescent girl, who had a rather difficult character. Sometimes, it was hard for me to accept some resistances on her part, no doubt because some bonds of affection had already been created between us. Now, she is one of my greatest friends. Life has taken us beyond character differences. In any case, I am convinced that amongst the “ados”, the most difficult ones become strong personalities and are capable to make of their life a work of art.
   
      I remember the words of one of our leaders, concerning the young girls or the women we met: “We must not go faster than the Algerians themselves in their desire for emancipation and liberation.” My whole life has been permeated with this and I continue to believe in the respect of each one’s journey, according to her family and social environment. Of course, I am unable to mention all the witnesses received, during the course of all those years, but, I think I can certify that these many years have marked me and also marked the young people whom I could accompany. Those many links are still alive, unforgettable and very often become manifest on the occasion of feast days, times of grief.

     The majority of these young people are now married, leading their own life with determination; sometimes they are expatriates. Internet allows us to keep in touch, and addresses are exchanged, giving us the opportunity to keep up to date with many of them about their family and social life, according to the milieu in which they have settled down. I have received so much satisfaction; it really goes beyond me. God’s imprint is present everywhere!  Many times, I thanked the Lord and I continue to do so in the face of so many manifestations of His working, in the life of former members of the Ruche.

Challenges of the encounter with the other

     Yet, I believe that, as the years pass and the longer time I spent in Algeria, the more I feel a “stranger” in this world which is so different, be it on the religious level or on the human and social level. Our values certainly differ: we have always to learn the meaning of hospitality, of human relationships. Our faith is always confronted with the faith of the other: simply pronouncing the word “God” leads to confusion: behind this word, there lies hidden a different experience, a different belief.  Challenge of silence, challenge of the limits of our language. This does not mean that there is a lack of questioning on both parts. Many a time, it has happened to me that I was questioned by one or the other, by sons, by husbands and we enjoyed our mutual sharing and confidence.

      This time passed in Tizi-Ouzou has formed my whole existence and my idea of service, whatever it may be. Especially that time with the young people of the Ruche has strongly marked and shaped me; strong and faithful bonds have been woven. It became easier to get on with our distinctive features. It is there, I think, that spontaneously, my desire to really respect the other in her differences and her richness has originated, respect without which we can never deserve the confidence which is given to us.

Lucette Guy, Marseille, France

THE KIZITO-ANUARITE IN D. R. CONGO

1.  Origin of two movements adapted to young Christians of the Congo: Anuarite and Kizito

     The Anuarite movement

     The years 1972-1973 were disastrous for the young Congolese people in general, and in particular for those of the diocese of Kalemie-Kirungu. Youth movements were completely abolished, and religious education was forbidden in schools. Consequently, this situation was a considerable loss for the fundamental education of our young people. Every Sunday after mass, a dedicated young girl, Miss Tabu Amisa Marguerite, catechist in the parish of Christ the King, (Kalemie) gathered the children under the mango trees, in order to give them some joy and recreation through dances and games.

     In 1977, Marguerite asked me to help her to give more structure and content to these encounters. Since I had always been in the Chiro movement (a Christian movement for young people founded in Belgium) and the Eucharistic Crusade, I had some assets to start a new movement, not just for games and dances, but above all to complete the Christian education of the children and the young girls, which was showing some gaps. The movement was put under the patronage of Sr. Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta, a Congolese martyr, killed by rebel soldiers on 1st December 1964 at Isiro, in      the Democratic Republic of Congo.

  The Kizito movement

     The Kizito Movement for boys originated under the impulse of Fr. André Thys, MAfr. He already used to choose the “Kizito” among the altar boys of the parish of Kifungo, in Kalemie. When on 9th April 1979, Mgr. André Kaseba was appointed Bishop of the diocese of Kalemie-Kirungu, he took the movement to heart. To allow the good running, he appointed Fr. Thys as diocesan chaplain, and me as counsellor. He approved the Rule of life, which had already some experience.
     Where does the name “Kizito” come from? It is the name of one of the young boys of the group of Martyrs of Uganda, who were burned alive in 1886 because of their faith.


2. Aim and different commitments

     The aim is forming the conscience of the children, the young people and the adolescents, to help them discover the deep meaning of their life, the joy of living and their vocation as committed Christians. We seek therefore the complete education and the formation of the child, boy, girl, as young Christian and young Congolese in the following way:

• Helping them to be faithful to their baptismal commitment and giving them a spiritual formation
• Helping them to fully assume their responsibilities in their life and work environment
• Helping them to respect all authority, in the family, church, politics and administration.
• Guiding them towards a real commitment to others, the poor, the aged, the sick and the children and to get involved in developmental parish activities.
• Giving the children and the young people good ways of relaxing through games, songs, dances and camps: relaxing with a view of respecting and loving others.     

The young people commit themselves to take part in the different meetings of the movement in their sector, acolytes, choir and visits to the sick and the poor. They also commit themselves to doing some services to the church, the upkeep of the plot, the sacristy and also in the preparation and the organisation of various diocesan manifestations.

     The strong moments of this formation are experienced during four camps, each representing a step forward according to the following themes:

• Growing with Christ: focussing one’s attention to deepen our Christian life
• The road to happiness: helping the young people to discover their vocation
• Living with Christ: aiming at a better knowledge of the Word and different ways of expressing it and of living it in prayer
• Bearing witness to Christ: focussing one’s attention to a real commitment in the environment of life and work.

These four camps, the weekly Eucharistic celebrations, the preparation of the meetings, as well as recollections and other activities of the movement were also accompanied and animated by the MAfr.

3.  My role within the Kizito-Anuarite movement

     Within the movement, I am called to various tasks:

• To create structures to facilitate the realisation of the ideal of the movement
• To organise different encounters and Sunday group meetings, recollections and other responsibilities within the parish
• To prepare and animate the formation camps for the leaders of the movement
• To visit the groups in their different parishes and holiday camps.

4. The influence of the movement in the milieu
     Various influences are observed:

• Joy and relaxation for the children and the young people in the villages
• Comfort given to the poor and the sick
• Good relationships and mutual support with the leaders of the parish
• Vocations arising to the priesthood, as well as to the religious life and Christian families committed in their milieu.

Conclusion

     The Kizito-Anuarite movement has spread to several other dioceses in the Congo, as well as to other African countries: Gabon, Cameroon, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea and even in England. Today’s responsibility is in the hands of local leaders.

Tina Anthonissen,Bukavu, D. R. Congo 

YOU WILL WIN THE CONFIDENCE OF YOUR PEOPLE!

   From the beginning of my religious life and my arrival in Algeria, in 1964, I was a member of the “Ruche” movement. It was certainly through this commitment that I began to discover the Algerian woman, her possibilities and aspirations. At that time, most young girls only received education up to the time of puberty. Because of the seriousness of the work of the movement, we gave the parents enough confidence, not only so that their daughters would continue to come to the meetings, but also so that they could continue their studies. One of the mottos of the “Ruche” was: “Grow in competence and responsibility and you will win the confidence of your people.”  Besides, because of the considerable emigration of the fathers or older brothers, who had left to ensure the survival of the family, the woman took on more and more responsibilities within her environment and showed doubly that she was capable to “row the boat”.

   It is in this context that I slowly discovered the importance of the formation given through our movement. Those years, I above all took part in the formation of the leaders of the team and with them, of 10 teams of young girls of “golden swarm” from Tizi-Ouzou. The most fascinating moments were during a two-week formation camp for the leaders, living in a big house built on a hilltop at the borders of the Meftah forest. The participation and the incentive were such that everything which was proposed became fascinating. Very quickly some team leaders became responsible for the swarms and in this way, the formation has developed in collaboration with the elders of the movement.

  I also took part in the preparation of the small magazine “La Ruche de Kabylie” with the aim of reaching those who were married, so that they continue what they had begun in the “swarms”. After many years of silence, this magazine was the inspiration for the magazine “Hayat”, which now has spread all over Algeria for the past 27 years. This bilingual magazine, Arabic-French, continues to give women a taste for reading and is a means to improve their formation in many different fields.

Andrée Geoffroy, Hydra (Algiers), Algeria

FROM MOTHER, TO DAUGHTER – THE IMPACT OF THE RUCHE

      In 1955-56, I was a boarder at « les Châlets » at Azazga in Kabylia as a lay teacher and, at the same time, I was in charge of a group of young pupils of the Ruche (The Beehive). As a young professed sister, sent to Beni-Yenni in 1960, I took part in the activities of the “Essaim Jaune” (Yellow Swarm) during 6 years.  Having already gone through the whole “Scout career”, I entered fully in that movement which strongly resembled what I had already lived in the line of scouting.

“La Ruche de Kabylie”  
“La Ruche de Kabylie”, is a successful adaptation of the formation within the Scout Movement in feminine Kabylian society of that time. It was started in 1940 by two MSOLA, Sr. Jean Bosco and Sr. Regis, who were both concerned with meeting the aspirations of the young girls and of their families. The motto of the Ruche, ALWAYS BETTER, expressed very well the progressive formation programme destined for the education and the promotion of broad-minded, cultivated women, capable of doing everything in the household and for the children… The name and the symbol of the Ruche had been chosen with reference to the working and organised bees, showing a team-spirit where each one has a role to play.

 
The organisation of the Ruche
      The organisation of the Ruche was very structured: young girls according to age groups received a formation during many years before making their Promise to enter definitively the Ruche and becoming Abeilles (Bees) within a “Essaim” (Swarm), each village having its own proper colour. The oldest ones took it upon them to encourage the younger ones, Avettes (The very young ones), so that one day they also join the group of Abeilles, who in turn would continue the journey to become Rayonnantes (The radiant ones). A bimonthly news bulletin supported the activities and allowed for exchanges and creativity from one Ruche to another. During the summer, colonies and organised camps for team leaders were strong moments of formation and of togetherness, sustained by the spirit of the Ruche. Each Essaim was composed of several teams having the name of flowers whose mottos were proclaimed at the beginning of each day or half-day weekly gathering. Here are the mottos, which represent a whole programme besides the daily B.A. (good action):

Pansies (Pensées): God the first served
Bindweed (Liserons): Faithful despite everything
Poppies (Coquelicots): As long as possible
Mimosas : Without B.A., no joy
Daisies (Pâquerettes): Always true
Roses : Never mind the cost
Violettes : Always “yes” and with a smile
Lilies (Lys): Frank gaze, pure heart
May blossoms (Aubépines): For others, not counting the cost

     The Berber language was used particularly for the songs which underlined the educational methods and aims of la Ruche. The Arabic language was introduced in the years 1965, together with the Arabisation of the educational system and the Algerisation of the leaders.

The end of the activities
      But the new official directives issued by the Ministry of Youth and Sports forbade the pursuit of the activities of la Ruche which therefore stopped definitively in 1972. Since then, many encounters of former members in Algiers and in Tizi-Ouzou were an opportunity to meet again, and each time, it was a real success in an ambiance of exchanges and shared joys. All were still filled with the values of the Ruche which up to this day sustain them. However, in spite of the repeated requests, we have to remain discret.

   To conclude, I would like to say how much I am struck to see the impact which la Ruche had upon those women, who are now mothers and grandmothers, who faithfully transmit the values and their enthusiasm to their close family, friends and acquaintances. Very often we hear them say that la Ruche has formed generations of women whose influence is still felt today.

Françoise Dillies, Alger Palmiers, Algeria

P. S. Lately, Mrs. Bahia Amellal, daughter of a former Ruche member of Taguemount, published a book entitled: “La Ruche de Kabylie”, much inspired by La Ruche heritage, in particular from the songbook “Avette chante” and the News bulletins as well as from the archives of the MAfr. We would have wished that such kind of work would have been written by an Abeille, who could have talked about it from within. But as some would say, “it is deserving of praise”.

I, FLORENCE, A FORMER ANUARITE

      The K.A. is a diocesan movement for children, teenagers and young adults. This movement was founded in the diocese of Kalemie-Kirungu, D. R. Congo (former Zaïre) in 1978. Our sister Tina Anthonissen was one of the pillars in the foundation of the K.A. The movement has spread throughout all the parishes of the diocese, even in the neighbouring dioceses that have been attracted by its rich spirituality. 

Character and spirituality
      The K.A. simplicity and its concrete and inculturated character are relevant to children, as well as young people in their journey of growth. Its spirituality is holistic in its evangelisation of the young ones. It is based on the Incarnation of Christ, who has come from God, left everything and became one of us. Therefore, it urges the young one to know Christ and to become his fervent disciple in daily life. 

      I belonged to the K.A. and loved this movement very much. I joined this group when I was 10 years old and left it 10 years later, just when I joined the MSOLA. This movement taught me how to love Christ and to be his fervent disciple. It taught me to live and interact with different people. It taught me leadership and service of the poor and the little ones.

Objectives
      The goals and objectives of the K.A. can be better expressed through the aspirations of a K.A. which derives from the K.A. main motto: “To live on Christ”. In this spirit, the movement aims at bringing young people to have a close loving relationship with Christ, as well as to live good friendship/fraternity among the members of the group.

I desire…

• To know Christ and to live like him;
• To forgive all those who have trespassed against me;
• To participate faithfully in the Eucharistic celebration every Sunday;
• To receive the Holy Communion every Sunday;
• To pray every day;
• To receive the sacrament of reconciliation regularly;
• To participate actively in the Christian community and to do some apostolate specially to the unfortunate;
• To pray to the Virgin Mary to help others to grow in Christ.

Rules of life
The values encouraged in our group were expressed in form of the ten stars of a K.A.:

1. A K.A. lives on Christ;
2. A K.A. is a witness;
3. A K.A. serves others;
4. A K.A. is a good Christian.
5. A K.A. is a good friend.
6. A K.A. thinks of others;
7. A K.A. avoids evil;
8. A K.A. lives joyfully;
9. A K.A. sacrifices himself/herself for others;
10. A K.A. passes on to others the Word of God.

      Each K.A. is expected to let these stars to guide his/her daily life, to think of them while facing difficult or challenging time in life and to cherish them as a life companion.

Organisation of the movement

      How is the movement organised? The Kizito Anuarite is a movement with two parallel branches. The Kizito are the boys, and the Anuarite for the girls. Weekly meetings for the group are held separately. The leaders of the groups are separated as well. Girls lead girls, and boys guide boys. The K.A. meets every Sunday, usually after the youth mass, in parishes where it exists. During the meetings, there is an integration of games, Bible sharing and education to faith/life programme. An area for action is assigned every week so as the groups look practically how they can concretize in daily life the Word of God that they have heard. Here they are encouraged to exercise their creativity to visit and help the less fortunate individually and as a group. Each K.A. group in the parish (boys and girls) meet together once a week for a group mass, usually celebrated by the group chaplain.

      The K.A. chiefs and chieftains from all parishes around the town meet every Wednesday afternoon for ongoing formation. The K.A. diocesan chaplain in collaboration with the K.A. formators usually animates this. The K.A. formator is a K.A. leader who has done a total of 4 K.A. formation camps. These camps lasts usually a week and must be achieved within 4 years of K.A. leadership. The meeting takes place at the K.A. diocesan headquarters. In every parish, every Saturday, the leaders meet to prepare for the Sunday meeting with the group. An adult (man or woman) supports them.

      The K.A. group has other activities: Summer camps are often organized as times of enjoyment, prayer, study, apostolate, and for great charitable actions. The youth who are in leadership service of the group improve their competence through formation camps. Three recollection days are organized annually to empower them and assist them in their mission to guide the younger ones. The commitment of the group is prayer, service and Christian joyful living.

Strongest moments

      My strongest moments in the group, as well as the quality of commitment, I found them in the weekly meetings, the time for ongoing formation, the liturgical celebration and animation of masses including: liturgical dances, group feasts, apostolate among the poor or the prisoners, football matches, competitions, games, outings, recollections, holydays camps, formation camps and ongoing formation programme. The leadership of the troop was my last responsibility before I joined the MSOLA.

      This movement helped me to grow and to become a loving person. In my diocese the K.A. movement has been a cradle for religious life and priestly vocation, as well as Christian marriages. Kizito and Anuarite, these young models of African saints have been of great inspiration of a life of holiness, purity, service, sacrifice and commitment to God. Like these two young martyrs, we, the youth, were inspired to believe that it is possible to follow God through the way of renunciation, sacrifice and celebration of life. The example of the two martyrs cultivates in me and my fellow youth the desire to be a saint.

Many challenges

      In spite of the beautiful model of spirituality that the group has, there are also many challenges found in the group. At times, some things tend to be done as a routine and considered as heritage, passed on from one generation to the other, and the young people can fail to grasp the real meaning of rituals. Some other challenges are linked to the stage of confusion that adolescents can find themselves into. Therefore, the young people need a grown up person to accompany them in their journey.

      When I was a small girl, I started as a member in the junior troop. When starting secondary school, I joined the senior troop. Two years later, I was chosen to go to the first formation camp. This was quite challenging because I was leading adolescents who were nearly my age group. Three years later, I was chosen as the main group leader. My great joy was to serve my fellow youth. Together with them, I promoted honesty, loyalty and commitment to our Christian vocation.
Yes, I have really been fashioned by this Movement!

Florence Mwamba Malunga, Lilongwe Area 2, Malawi

‘LA RUCHE’ IN KABYLIA, A MSOLA REMEMBERS AND SHARES WITH US

     Monique Racine, who is back in Canada, offered to interview Madeleine Côté who for many years worked in Algeria, and in particular in Kabylia, the region which was at the origin of ‘La Ruche’.

Monique Racine – “La Ruche de Kabylie”, is the title of a book by Bahia Amellal, presented at the ‘Maison de la Culture’ in Tizi-Ouzou in November 2009. The author referred to the birth of a women’s movement, La Ruche in Kabylia. The presentation of this book gathered a large number of people, which is a sure sign that La Ruche is still very much alive. What are your memories of this movement?

Madeleine Côté – It was a school, preparing for life under its different aspects. This movement inspired by the Boy Scout movement was an answer to the wish of the parents who desired a human and domestic formation for their daughters.

Monique – You knew La Ruche from the very beginning and also how it developed. Is it not surprising that people still talk about it even today?

Madeleine –Since my arrival in Kabylia in 1944, my main concern was to get accustomed to my new environment and to know the language. I learned Kabylian with the sisters of my community and the people I met. A neighbour traded in dry figs, which was a good way of improving my vocabulary! Figs are very important in Kabylia; a whole vocabulary developed around this fruit which, small and white, becomes blue; then it is dried and preserved for the winter. Another word, elfal, has helped me to discover all the ceremonies linked to salt.
    
Before me, Sr. Jean Bosco (Jeanne Margot) had understood that the people of this mountainous region were one with the laws of nature. Sr. Jean Bosco herself watched the beehive in her garden, which was another important feature of the Kabylian life. With the bees, are not organisation and meticulous work the factors of success? It is from this that she had the idea of the movement and how to develop it.

Monique – And you Madeleine, what was your role in la Ruche?

Madeleine – I remember the time when there was no school. It was the father who taught the boys. If the girls came to our sisters, it was to learn sewing and knitting. We answered the requests of their parents. However, some parents also requested literacy classes for their daughters. My main activity was to gather the girls on days off to continue their education. The support of the parents and the thirst for knowledge facilitated my task.

The motto of La Ruche, “Always better” is the equivalent of a popular Kabylian expression: “Today better than yesterday, tomorrow better than today”. It was in this spirit that I prepared a programme destined for three age groups: the small girls, the adolescents and the older ones. These young girls enjoyed the few hours of meeting, and their number quickly increased. We had team games, workshops for pottery and painting. Some proved to be poets through the songs they composed in Kabylian. Others, actors-comedians put humour in the meetings imitating small conflicts between stepmothers, the petty annoyances of the stepfather and other nuisances of daily life…   

Monique – How would you describe your last stay to Tizi-Ouzou in 1967, after an absence of seven years?

Madeleine – What a joy it was to see again the girls of La Ruche who had become responsible women! Several of them were following a teacher or nursing training; others were studying medicine or law, etc. It was a race for valorization. Concerning La Ruche, it met the needs of the moment by contributing in a concrete way to the evolution of the country. Within the movement, communication passed from Kabylian to French and to Arabic.

      Le journal de la Ruche published in Kabylian for many years continued to interest the former members as well as the new ones. In this publication, we could find recipes for the kitchen, knitting patterns. Serial novels attracted inquisitive readers impatient to read the next chapter. The last of the 16 pages of each issue gave news of one or the other: births, successes at school etc.

     When, during my last stay in Algeria in 1968, I organised a big party for the former members of La Ruche, with their husbands, their children and friends, more than 300 people turned up. What did we talk about? Of past evening gatherings, holiday camps, of the study of the law preparing us for life and the service of others…

Madeleine Côté and Monique Racine, Montreal Cartierville, Canada

The column “IN TANDEM” initiated in October 2008 continues to develop. What is new is that the three testimonies which follow are also published in the “Petit Echo”. They witness of experiences of collaboration lived on various levels: general, intercommunity and personal. They are testimonies of the same desire: to act with the same heart born of a common charism.


A growing 130 years Cooperation
     
Since the start of 2006, both General Councils of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa and the Missionaries of Africa decided to meet regularly to pray and think things out together, to renew our ties in cooperation and thus encourage our confreres and Sisters to do likewise.

      A first initiative was to prepare two recollections days together, with the hope that ‘Sisters, Fathers and Brothers meet to spend a time of prayer together, wherever possible.’ In 2008, we did not have a joint recollection, but we continued to invite communities to meet, to take time together to get to know one another and to discover new ways of working together.

      Still with a view to deepening our mutual understanding, the Petit Echo published a reflection by a Sister on a chosen topic. In turn, the Partage Trentaprile, the MSOLA bulletin, published a reflection by a Father on the same topic. This kind of contribution began with the October 2008 issue, in the ‘IN TANDEM’ column, and continued to appear twice a year.

      We have been meeting three times a year since 2006. The reflection topics touched the various areas of the life and mission of both our Institutes. These include Missionary and Vocation Promotion (MVP), joint apostolic projects, Ongoing Formation (Transition Sessions, Jerusalem, cooperation in the retreat leadership team); JPIC; sex abuse situations and professional attitude in our pastoral relations. We exchanged information about our visits, Assemblies, Chapters, meetings of formation staffs, participation at the Synod for Africa, etc.

      In this beginning of 2010, while the Missionaries of Africa are preparing to host their General Chapter, we found it an apt occasion to ask ourselves what the fruits of these meetings were. There are truly wholesome fruits among them! We are very pleased to have grown in greater mutual understanding and respect as well as in sensitivity to our respective ways of living as sons and daughters of Lavigerie. We also had the occasion to experience the obstacles and challenges in living in a reciprocal relationship. Times of prayer, recreation or a shared meal were quality times where we consolidated our joint ideal within our respective diversity.

      What impact did these meetings have on our Institutes? It is hard to assess and probably uneven, depending on persons and places. Nevertheless, we heard echoes of this creative cooperation in various areas. Some examples are proof of this: cooperation in the Mission field (e.g., Tandale, Dar-es-Salaam); support in times of distress, in bereavements; celebrations such as the 130th anniversary of the arrival of the Missionaries at Bagamoyo; the centenary of our presence in Northern Ghana; our Patronal Feast on the 8th December; visits to our respective communities; mutual support in the area of Vocation Promotion… you can fill in the rest yourselves.

      We also had the pleasure of noting that the impact of our cooperation extends beyond both our Institutes. Indeed, together, we have served as the catalyst for the organisation and leadership of inter-Congregation sessions in training programmes for JPIC, organised in Africa (Kinshasa, Bamako, Kampala…)

What of the future?
     
      Other tangible steps have been foreseen, such as selected conferences in our respective General Chapters. We also wish to encourage the reading or our respective magazines (Petit Echo and Sharing Trentaprile), in order to enrich our understanding of the values and challenges we face in each of our missionary families. 

      We hope that this kind of meeting between both our General Councils will continue into the future. The MSOLA are having their General Chapter in 2011. Their General Council is committed to doing everything possible so that these enormously constructive meetings can also be experienced by the members of the next General Council of the Missionaries of Africa. Our dearest hope is to see cooperation develop between both our Institutes, in all Provinces, in the Mission field and in Missionary and Vocation Promotion.

Piluca Benavente and Gérard Chabanon

OUR COMMON WORLD AND VISION

COLLABORATION MINISTRY IN TANDALE PARISH

The road less travelled

When we received the invitation to write an article together about our cooperation as MAfr and MSOLA, we did not hesitate to respond. We were all ready for it, but at the same time we thought that this was a good occasion not just to say the nice things concerning our cooperation, but to make a deep and sincere evaluation of our work together. By so doing, we  took what we could call the ‘road less travelled’. We gave ourselves time to reflect as communities and we withdrew ourselves from our daily activities to take a full day off for sharing openly and truthfully. We still came together to approve what we wanted to present to you all.

Our history of cooperation

First of all, we would like to offer you a short insight into the history of our cooperation. How did it all begin? In early 2005, Tandale Parish, (Saint Charles Lwanga) emerged as a new reality. The parish is placed in a real missionary setting, a context of local Swahili language and customs, marked by poverty and a majority Muslim population. The beginning was very demanding in all aspects; our cooperation was spontaneous, shaped by the needs and demands of the people. The MAfr community lived for two years in a house rented from a Muslim in the middle of the local Swahili scene. MSOLA Sisters travelled daily in ‘daladala’ (town minibuses) to reach Tandale. Nothing was really organised among us, except for a freely offered ‘Where can I help?’ We had a natural, shared understanding of developing the social services as part of our parish ministry. The first projects initiated were adult literacy classes, a library, English classes, a tailoring school, and an orphanage….
     
      Eventually, it became to be known as TASODEC (Tandale Social Development Centre) as we kept including new projects like WFP (World Food Program) Computer School, and Nursery School… Slowly, we also began sharing in other pastoral activities more related to traditional parish ministry. For two years, we shared daily meals together; we helped one another with the demands of the environment. Gradually, our cooperation began to take on other aspects and forms as the Sisters came to live in the parish compound.

      We are conscious that we have not yet reached the point at which we would like to be, but the reality is that we have taken important steps to come closer to one another, aiming at working as a real pastoral team, that shares not only work but life in a broader sense. We see the need to have monthly pastoral meetings, and every now and then, we try to have a social gathering in one of the two houses or elsewhere. We have personal encounters and sharing on a daily basis related to work or other matters.

Enjoying a ‘World of differences’

      In all these instances, we certainly find moments of joy, sorrow and frustration. We also encounter some challenges, which, properly addressed, are possibilities of growth for each one personally and for all of us as brothers and sisters. We acknowledge our differences through being men and women - Fathers, Sisters and Fraters, through each having a different formation, culture and personality. However, we all experience great joy, whenever we do not erect these differences as barriers between us, but as a feature complementing each other’s efforts. We then rejoice in supporting and helping one another, in learning from one another or simply admiring one another’s talents.
     
      For both communities, the support given to us by our Provincials and members of the General Councils has also been a source of joy and encouragement. Their presence through visits here in Tandale gave us the confirmation that they believe in what we do together. They have seen the needs of the people whom we serve and they have trusted that what we are doing is responding to their needs and is very much in line with our missionary charism.

Feeling at home in a ‘World of difficulties’
     
      As we are human beings interacting together, there are moments when we experience misunderstandings, often due to a lack of communication. It can become difficult to understand the motivations of the other’s actions and it can create a blockage in relationships. While examining this together on specific occasions, we saw the need to improve our ways of communicating with one another, mainly in matters that affect our respective apostolic activities. We saw the importance of feeling ‘at home’ with one another to be able to tell each other how we feel and what we think, without fearing a possible break in the relationship. Used in a humble manner, this freedom can be a very healthy foundation for our desire to work as a real pastoral team!
     
      Another aspect to which we have dedicated some time is the issue of respecting co-responsibility in the different leadership roles we play. We find a great challenge in leaving the other fully responsible for the task entrusted, without losing the perspective that this does not mean doing what I want or falling into individualistic traps. At the end of it all, we come back to ‘me’ being part of a larger team at the service of a parish. In our specific context, we realised the need to help the Tanzanian Christian community to decentralise their hierarchical understanding of leadership.

Journeying in a  ‘World of prejudices’

      We could have just finished the journey of our collaboration at that point, but we were not yet completely satisfied, because we all perceive that there is ‘something’ hanging in the air we breathe as MAfr and MSOLA that is being transmitted from generation to generation. This ‘something’ seems to be often a real obstacle to our collaboration wherever we are. That is why we question ourselves on how we perceive one another, MSOLA to MAfr and vice versa. In the answers we gave, we could finally point out that indeed, we work together, we try to do many things together, but within we live in a ‘world of prejudices’ towards each other. These are expressed in forms of generalisations, by those who have little personal experience of working together. They come across in comments and remarks that are full of feelings of superior or inferior power complexes. It is like we know all about ‘them’, either the MSOLA or the MAfr, so what else?

      If we as missionaries are called to be men and women who bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to others - the one who in God’s name broke down all barriers and prejudices among human beings and offered us the ‘One Bread’ in a table where all can sit - we may have to learn how to look at each other differently, as brothers and sisters. We may be pleasantly surprised at the discoveries we can make about one another!

Our common vision

      We share a very strong common bond, and it is not only the same Founder, Cardinal Lavigerie, but what is still more important, the vision of mission he had and his love for Africa and the African people. He also strongly desired to be a man for ALL, without distinction of any kind. Are we, his sons and daughters of today, not ready to follow in his footsteps? We the MAfr and MSOLA of Tandale want to make it a reality!

María del Carmen Ocón and Vickness N. Muleya, MSOLA;
Yago Abeledo, Deogratias Ngowi, Binu Jose, Jean-Noël Baraka
and Julian Kennedy, MAfr., Tandale, Daressalaam, Tanzania

A SINGLE FAMILY
     
Personally, I was so pleased at all the initiatives you have taken since 2006. I kept them in my heart from a distance, trying to make some little progress in that direction in our life context. Besides, we sense that you are working together and it reinforces the family spirit. I am very sensitive to details that show, in their writings, for example, that they associate with us. A single family!

      One event had its importance: when Gérard Chabanon and Raphaël Deillon paid a visit to the Missionary of Africa community next to ours, Raphaël came to spend a little while with us. We were very moved by this. It seems that Detlef Bartsch, Provincial of Europe, did the same thing last year, although I was absent at the time.

      Since I returned from Africa, my experience has been very deprived in comparison with what we were living in the Congo. I find here that relations with MAfr communities depend a great deal on Local Superiors, both on the side of Fathers and Sisters. There are sometimes blockages. At Namur, where I live, there are two Missionary of Africa communities. La Plante has a community of fourteen senior Fathers, where we were very well received on the 8th December and the 30th April, but nothing more on the level of community as such. We ourselves don’t have the material facilities to welcome them. During recollection days proposed in 2006, there was not the slightest inclination to cooperate in its spiritual preparation. By contrast, there are good individual contacts, including the day our community invited two MAfr who had the reputation of never getting out and we spent a marvellous evening together.

      In the other community of Salzinnes, quite near to us, where there are five MAfr, contacts are very friendly. There are occasional visits, a gateau from time to time, conversation about MAfr and MSOLA news, a weekly Eucharist in the house of the Ursulines where we live and the vital assistance of Fr. André Pirmez for the computers. However, with both the Fathers and us, age makes itself felt and moving around is less easy.

            The Sisters say to me often, “You know the Fathers so well”. It is true that some of my appointments put me in contact with them: Missionary Promotion in Belgium at Thy-le-Château; a good working relationship between both Provincial Councils in Central Africa from 1973-1979; then at Goma, (Kivu-DRC), the door was wide open for everyone, between 1983 –1989, and then the sessions at Rome with Fr. Herman Bastijns. It seems to me that other Belgian communities also have good contacts, joint preparation and cooperation for recollection days, in line with suggestions from both General Councils.

      I would like to add a little testimony that is perhaps a real gem. I thanked Fr. André Pirmez for all the help he gave us for the computer. This is the email he sent me on the 27th February 2008. I have always kept it! “Dear Patricia, thanks for your thanks! However, it is my pleasure to help the MSOLA out: it is a kind of revenge for the ‘prudence’ preached at us here and there in regard to our relations between women and men - the MSOLA and the MAfr in particular! I always considered this type of ‘cautionary lecturing’ unnatural. Even if some MAfr and some MSOLA lost their footing, it seemed to me their nature was taking its vengeance too, and I was always reluctant to criticise them. Now, you see, we have the occasion to maintain normal relations, as between brothers and sisters in a family. Let us cheer this real progress!

Patricia Massart, Namur Salzinnes, Belgique

Meditation

DEVELOPING AN ECOLOGICAL MENTALITY

 A reconciled creation, spirituality of the environment, developing an ecological mentality… those words stir up something within me. So far I have not managed to integrate them fully in my spirituality and in my life. I reflected very much about it and here is what I would like to share. After having watched on television the opening of the Olympic Games, I consider them as the reconciled creation.

     All those mountain peaks made me feel dizzy and filled me with wonder! This nice snow invited us to plough through it in silence and joy. All this was put at the disposal of the competitors. Everything was done to welcome the participants in the Olympic village, to offer them comfort, technical facilities, to give them whatever was possible to facilitate their training and their participation in the championships. Impossible to come to such achievements without celebrating! And the inhabitants of Vancouver have really shown how they can welcome and celebrate. When we saw the giant Totems of British Columbia coming up from the ground, we were very touched. Turned towards the four corners of the horizon, they were raised up one after the other, arms widespread as a given welcome by the people of the First Nations. Bravo! Then, we joined in the dance of those illustrious characters belonging to the four large tribes of the Province. With what ease and beauty they did beat their drums and accompanied the dancers who in turn welcomed the parade of the athletes of the 83 countries! This was followed by the solemn parade of competitors in groups of 30, 40, 60, 100 and more, each one led by the bearer of their national flag. How moving it was to see the bearer of the flag majestically advancing, followed by only one, two or three athletes. Those small numbers of competitors received as much glory as the bigger groups. Then followed the flag of the Olympic Games carried by renowned people of the country: Jacques Villeneuve, Colonel Dallaire, Mrs. Julie Payette, and others.

     Once the flag was hoisted, it was the handing over of the Olympic Flame, which had crossed the whole of Canada. This happened with such great consideration for the individuals! The first bearer of the flame, a former competitor of the previous Games, was in a wheel-chair, like the other three who followed one another as far as the hearth of the fire where the flame got all its meaning.  Suddenly there were three immense wooden logs which were kindled by the torches of the bearers. What a blaze! It expressed the burning fire in the heart of the participants. That was it! Everything was in its place; the Games could begin!

      Thus under our very eyes, was unfolding the expression of a life of freedom, of the joy of living, of harmony, of mutual help, of brotherhood, in a true spirit of being and in the beauty of creation. A reconciled creation for the glory of the Creator.

     What should we remember from such a demonstration of beauty, harmony, expertise, human warmth? Yes, this is really the reconciled creation! The desire of the Creator asking the first couple to develop the soil, to cultivate it, to fill it. The Games are for me the image of what should be the realisation of God’s desire. The entirety of this beautiful creation has been put to the service of a particular group through their commitment and coming from every corner of the world to give a spectacle of beauty, to serve their needs. Creation provides the necessary material for these Games: the mountains, the snow, the space. We also see the buildings which housed the people, the technology which was used to supply everything needed to favour the comfort and the unfolding of the sporting qualifications. They know how to celebrate. We experienced something unique in a brotherhood which is being developed.
    Thus, the competitions could start in the same sporting spirit. We noticed the determination of the competitors, the team-spirit, sharing and mutual support, the acknowledging of the talents, the joy and the sympathy expressed in moments of defeat. But also the encouragement, the shared sorrow following the accidental death of one of the competitors, right before the Opening. Bonds were created and will not break once the games are finished. The competitors learned to win as well as not to mount the podium. This does not mean to lose. On the contrary, they will have learned to appreciate the qualification gained throughout the training and the competitiveness. This demands a lot of abnegation and self-control.  The acquired knowledge will then be shared. There are no losers: all are winners, but in different ways.

     Is that not what we would love to see in our world, at the level of the planet? We are meant to celebrate, to praise and to be happy, and the earthly Paradise is for us a sign to tell it to one another. God, the Creator, has given us the creation to enjoy it: “Go, multiply, develop this creation for yourself and for your descendants.” Is that not what I contemplate?

     The poor become more numerous. They migrate to lands which are more flourishing. We have to welcome them, make their integration easier to continue the celebration: enjoy what is already there, allow them to work, to serve, and to blossom… Through this migration, we catch a glimpse of the future with a different missionary action, more and more situated in the cities where the exodus from the villages is gathered. The Christian spirit coming from the South will evangelise the North. Our world becomes more densely populated with young people. We must believe in these young people, instruct them, form them and allow them to take part in the development of creation, in God’s Project and give them their place… give special attention to the education of young girls and women. They are those who will change society.
      Whilst respecting the individuals, we have to work at cultivating a great openness to world dimensions, seeing ourselves as world citizens: technology brings people together, there are no more barriers  This demands of us to accept each other with our differences. As for Africa, it does not stand aside, but is an integral part in this global context. Therefore, it is necessary to give special attention to the African woman. Africa is now in our midst, in the countries of the North, with the immigrants, the refugees. God’s project is manifested in the welcoming of these people, with respect for their differences. Was it not said to the Hebrew people: “Remember that once you were a stranger…”

      Our place for us MSOLA, is there, being remunerated or working gratuitously. We have to develop amongst ourselves a great and strong family spirit: there are not those who are high up or those who are low down. We are all together striving towards one and the same goal: to celebrate and to praise the Lord who calls each one of us personally to work with him, at his Project of reconciling creation, helping others to celebrate, to work, to grow and in so doing encourage others to do the same. The aim of creation is to praise and not just to work. But through our work, we meet the needs of all; thus, the work becomes a fulfilment. Our spirituality is one of reaching out to others, the All to all. Our charism urges us on to pray, to work for the good of all. This is God’s Project. The whole of creation will be reconciled: “The wolf will live with the lamb… The cow and the bear will graze… the infant will play over the den of the adder…” (Is 11:6-8) And in Col., we read: “The whole creation is reconciled and transformed in Jesus.”
   
      Let us never forget who we are. Mother Marie-Salomé said: “Because of our religious profession, we belong to Jesus-Christ.” It is Christ who urges us on to work at the integral development of persons in the creation, in a world where there is harmony, justice, and mutual love. We believe that this is our vocation and pray to hasten that day…This Project becomes our project, and let us search together how to realise it.

Thérèse Gravel, Montreal, Av. Laval, Canada

Sharing Trentaprile is published 5 times a year by the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, at Viale Trenta Aprile, 15 - 00153 Rome, Italy  -
E-mail: l.pruvost@smnda.org; pruvostlucie@hotmail.com
Editorial staff: Chantal Vankalck (G. C.), Lucie Pruvost (Editor), Madeleine Bédard, Hildegunde Schmidt (archivist) - Translation: Reninca and  Lucie Pruvost - Computer layout : Patricia D’Ortenzi-  Mailing: Nicole Robion.