A presentation of our community in Gitega, Burundi
Greetings from Burundi, the land of a thousand hills and a thousand smiles.
In Gitega we are a community of three sisters: Anastasie Muzinga from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Maite Oiartzun from Spain and Nathalie Wendata Sedego from Burkina Faso. With us there are six young Burundian pre-postulants who are at the first stage of formation, one pre-postulant who has just begun to improve her French and one young aspirant who is experiencing community life.
We bear witness to our international character; we are an intercultural missionary family dedicated to the mission. This is a great treasure that we share amongst the people to whom we are sent.
We are a community dedicated to the formation of new sisters. We all work together to help young people grow in our MSOLA missionary vocation. We give thanks to God because Burundi is a country favorable to MSOLA missionary vocations. We hope that the seeds sown over the past two years through Sister Victoire’s missionary and vocational outreach in various regions of Burundi will bear fruit and that the MVA will continue to flourish.
We live in a working-class neighborhood, where Christians and Muslims live side by side; we enjoy good fraternal relations and a spirit of good neighborliness.
Next to the community is our “Notre Dame d’Afrique” Health Centre, where Anastasie and Nathalie carry out their apostolate. It is a place of encounter and dialogue where we live out our ‘all for all’; we welcome everyone, regardless of religion or social status. Among the staff, we work alongside lay people and the sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth. It is here that we also pass on our charism and share our intercultural experience.
Sr Maite’s apostolate is in the field of education. She gives Catechesis in secondary schools: the social school, Lycée Sainte Thérèse and the Lycée Christ Roi. Over 700 pupils from different ethnic groups, religions, social classes and regions of Burundi benefit from an education grounded in human and Christian values. She also shares JPIC education: raising awareness about modern slavery and fostering inter-religious dialogue amongst pupils of different faiths
Sr Maite has also started two ecology projects promoting the Artemisia, a medicinal plant used to prevent and treat malaria, and the Moringa trees to improve pupils’ nutrition and promote reforestation. These projects will also improve academic performance
In the secondary schools where she carries out her apostolate, she also shares our MSOLA vocation, and the pupils are encouraged to take part in MSOLA vocational sessions, where they discover the Lord’s call to become missionaries.
It has been a year since we launched three groups of lay missionary associates: one group in Kirundi in our parish, a second group in French in our community, and a third group in Bujumbura.
The bicentenary celebrations marking the birth of our beloved founder, Lavigerie, have helped us to rekindle our passionate and renewed commitment to the peoples of Africa.
May we remain one mission. Thank you for the spirit of family, and may we always be united in prayer.
