Volunteers in Dar-es-Salaam
Volunteering with one of our communities is a way to get to know our charism better and to have an experience full of faith and conviviality. Here is the account of the experience of two girls who wanted to spend a few months as volunteers in our community of Dar-es-Salaam We are two young business school graduates. Before beginning our professional life, we wanted to take a few months to share what we had the chance to receive during our studies. We have chosen to take part in a project to support women entrepreneurs in Dar es Salaam. We are therefore leaving for 3 months to meet the Tanzanians, and particularly the four women that we accompany. Each of them has a project with a social or environmental goal. During this stay, we are fortunate to be welcomed by the Community of the Sisters of Our Lady of Africa: the…
Christiane and her Desert Rose
With happiness in her eyes, Christiane Baulieu talks to us about the sand rose, its extraction in the desert, all that it represents for her today. “If by chance you come to see me in my room at Chevilly Larue (which would make me happy!) you will be able to see above my cupboard, a beautiful stone, the one we call “Rose des Sables”. All Saharan people know about it. The “sand rose” is different depending on where it is found. Thus, that of El Goléa is different from that of Ouargla made of gypsum crystals. Sand roses were and still are very popular with tourists. Just see as soon as they arrive, the crowd of small sellers rush towards them… Because in fact, it is their livelihood. But can you tell me, where do they find these sometimes very large pieces of rock? In the desert? Yes, but only…
Book review: THE DEY OF THE HOSPITAL An adventurer in Algeria
In her first novel, “The Dey of the hospital – An adventurer in Algeria”, Laurence Huard bears witness to the hope and courage of those who leave their countries. In a style that is both accessible and pleasant, Laurence testifies here to exceptional lives and journeys! She says she was overwhelmed by extraordinary encounters, which remain in her memory. It is these very strong links with Algeria that she wants to keep so that these lives are not forgotten, their paths are not erased, and that these adventurers are recognized and honored. She is totally transparent, so that these encounters that have touched her, in turn affect the readers. Here is what the media say: “In twenty years of life on the African continent, Laurence Huard, a young Angevin, full of dynamism and enthusiasm, has crossed paths with extraordinary men and women. By writing, she lends them a voice and…
Remain in my love
A testimony from the Juniorate of 2021-2022 The Juniorate is a time of discernment that novices spend in the General House in Rome. In these five months, they follow the formation of preparation for the final vows. “Taste and see how good is the Lord.” Our Juniorate project was marked by the symbol of a tree rooted in the African world. By its roots it is oriented towards the source from which it receives life. We expressed our desire to be rooted in Christ, our source. We desire to live this time well and take advantage of our growth in order to better commit ourselves to the mission. This desire accompanied us during our journey, and allowed us to receive and taste the fruits of our various experiences. Indeed, this stage of the Juniorate allowed us to be away from all our apostolic and community activities, with a view to…
Our best wishes to the Junioristes of 2021-2022!
PREPARATION FOR FINAL VOWS: THE JUNIORATE The juniorate stage is primarily a time to go more deeply into the spiritual life, a time to allow each sister to receive from God the grace:
Mother Marie-Salomé and Breton Spirituality
Over the centuries, Breton Spirituality has venerated Breton personalities known for their exemplary life from a Christian point of view. Few of them have been recognized as saints by the Church’s canonization procedure, but they have been honoured by the people, their very existence not always being historically attested. From 2021 another statuette has been added to this demonstration of ancient popular spirituality, that of our Venerable Mother Marie Salomé, who was carried on the pilgrimage by Danielle Burthier and 3 lay people from the Lavigerie family. An article by Danielle will follow on Sharing Trenta Aprile with details of this experience. According to a late literary and hagiographic construction forged from the eleventh century, the seven founding saints are traditionally reputed to have founded the seven bishoprics that existed in the late Middle Ages. Because of their precedence to any canonical procedure, these saints have not been officially recognized by…
An extraordinary year!
What an extraordinary year! In 2021, 8 sisters will make their final committement
He has filled the hungry with good things
On July 3, 2021, in Gogo, diocese of Manga, Burkina Faso, our sister Julienne BOUDA vowed to follow Christ in obedience, chastity and poverty, according to the charism of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa. The sisters on mission in Burkina, Faustina from Ghana, the novices and the postulants came to be with our sister at this important moment in her spiritual journey. There were family members of our Burkinabé sisters, friends of the community, the family of Sr Julienne and many parishioners. Two Sisters from Gogo came to support their compatriot in her commitment as well as several other sisters. The Lord, who was the first to be involved in Julienne’s life, got ahead of us in all the preparations. The sky blessed us with a calm rain the day before, but on this day the weather was fine and even the temperature went down a little.…
The benefits of plants
As part of the love for creation and for the benefits of nature’s gifts, many of our sisters encourage the use of two particularly beneficial trees: Artemisia and Moringa. Artemisia Annua from the large Asteraceae family which also includes tarragon and wormwood, is a plant widely distributed in China. They are plants used for more than 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to fight against fevers and viruses. In 2015, Chinese researcher Tu Youou won the Nobel Prize for her research into the effectiveness of Artemisia Annua extracts against malaria. Moringa Oleifera, native to India, thrives in particularly dry and arid soils. In the Nile Valley, Moringa is also known as “Shagara al Rauwaq,” literally “tree that purifies.” Used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine, it gives the power to fight more than 300 diseases, including colds, diabetes, and high blood pressure or to stimulate the immune system. Moringa leaves contain…
The joy of moving towards…
By early 2020, following lockdowns imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of ZOOM increased sharply and thousands of businesses and educational institutions had switched to online courses using ZOOM. As the company offered its services free of charge to schools from kindergarten to high school in many countries, the number of users per day increased from 10 million in December 2019 to 200 million in March 2020, with many new participants working online for the first time. ZOOM has also become a social platform and its users have organized family reunions, sports classes, concerts, weddings, etc. Our congregation quickly adopted this new medium of communication. At first with some difficulty but very quickly, and with a lot of practice on the spot, several sisters became very skilled in the use, and ZOOM became the means of bonding between individuals and communities. What a pleasure to connect between Europe, America and Africa to…