North-South Solidarity Project

Province of Belgium – Netherlands

Five young women who participated in the project share their experiences

rscj. Tchad

My desire: to work towards greater lucidity and responsibility as a world citizen.

My name is Natalie and I am thirty years old.  I have experience as a veterinarian specializing in dealing with wild life and the environment.  I was a little wild myself when I left for Africa the first time with my back pack; it was mainly for the adventure, the kind one sees in films or reads in novels, mixed with open spaces and freedom.  Very soon I became preoccupied with the subjects of justice and equality.  But for a long time, however, I had understood this preoccupation as a question of personal choice, a way of life, of behaving, a sort of respect for the other that I must try to safeguard at all cost.  Social commitment seemed to me then above all like a work: mine consisted of environment management.  To each his/her own! I lived for nearly a year-and-a-half in Botswana, spending most of my time on national reserves and in national parks of the country until one day I had to move and settle in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe. It was another country, other people, another politico-economic context.  There, far from nature and its splendours, my eyes were opened to the reality of the “local population” and on the gap, widened and deepened by the chance of birth, between rich and poor, between blacks and whites.  At this moment everything began for me.  And when I exchanged looks with a little street-child begging at the city intersection, I became acutely aware that I too had a role to play in all this, however modest that might be on the world ladder, but at the height at which I was capable of giving.

Some months later I returned to Belgium.  I made contact with various humanitarian organizations and decided on “To leave with a project”.  They made me understand very quickly that good-will was not enough.  Then I decided to acquire some experience tackling the problem from another end: “You want to help people? Well, help those who are here!  Here is where there are problems….”  I contacted the association “Transmission” which coordinates information on most of the associations in Brussels.  I resented the need to work specifically with women and children.  I concentrated on teaching adult literacy and on some tutoring.  It was then that one fine morning I rang the bell at the rscj community, ”Potiers”, who – being situated in a very markedly immigrant area – work chiefly with Moslem women.  Thus, I became acquainted with Aïcha, Myriem and Yamina and all the others… and I realized that I had made a good choice: the feeling of being useful gave me my wings!

This experience, however, I had chosen to be short, keeping always in mind my idea to leave again for Africa.  Also during this time I took two formation courses preparing me to help as a Development Aid.  The Potiers Community proposed its own standard for reflection on the question, and our many conversations allowed me to clarify my desire for a commitment.  Another formation session with the Association Iteco likewise opened my eyes not only about development aid but also about my motivation to want “to leave”.

Today I have been living in Chad four months.  While my companion, an ecologist, is working on an environmental project based here in N’djamena, I am trying to put into practice what my experience in the life of the Brussels associative taught me, and also the numerous reflections and discussions which accompanied my time back in my country.  Actually, I am working with a small group of women who want to set up their own literacy school.  I follow the activities of several small associations working in N’djamena.  Their life is exceptionally dynamic.  They desperately lack financial resources but there is determination, a lively spirit, revolt against the established order, heart and courage.  I hope I can bring something by my work here, but I know already that it is I, above all, who will be changed by this experience.  My present wish: to be en route towards more lucidity and responsibility as a citizen of the world.

There is much to do; everyone knows that.  And the real enemies of “equitable development” are not always there where you think they are.  International aid, often poorly distributed, ends up at times helping the generous donors rather than the “poor” country to which it had been destined…

Contrasts

I would like to leave you with some impressions from my journal during my visit to Béni-Ebeid in Upper Egypt.

“A fellah on his donkey with baskets filled with sugar-cane, speaking on his mobile telephone, or again the large screen television in a mud-baked house…these kinds of images of Upper Egypt have stayed with me.

The enormous contrast that exists between modernity and the people of the village as in Béni-Ebeid where they use the internet without being able to write with a pencil!

One is aware also of this enormous gulf when one goes from Upper Egypt to Lower Egypt.  I do not think it is worth while to repeat it, but they are clearly two separate worlds!

In this world of the countryside one lives by the sun and nature…The  warm climate of the country affects their behaviour; they are always welcoming and ready to offer you whatever they have: “Etfaddali!”is without doubt the first vocabulary word that an Egyptian learns.

It is incredible how the people of Upper Egypt are satisfied with so little and know how to get along with almost nothing.  There is always a solution for everything – or else one becomes content with “Maalech” which expresses the fact that, in the end, things are not so bad.

The elderly are content with their way of life and let themselves be led along but, I believe, that certain young people are not satisfied with their life especially when they have had the opportunity to visit Cairo, or simply to watch television.

That being said, all their traditions give them life and colour. I can well understand that they would not want to leave their country, their village, or even their family because nothing can replace their sympathetic ties and convivial rituals.  Sometimes these rituals are mixed with superstitions (avoiding the evil eye, sending away evil spirits…) – but these usages allow them to have a feast or a diversion from daily life. They appear happy and seem to be less prone to depression than people of the North.  Sun and energy give life and create this relaxed atmosphere, because everyone lives outdoors, perhaps one on top of the other, but together! They have a gift to be able to support one another; as for me in this situation I would be incapable.”

Going out to meet the other person

We speak often of respect, of tolerance, of acceptance of the others and what makes them different.  But, if we really want to experience opening ourselves to another reality, we have to go beyond that.  We have to, in a way, be prepared to forget ourselves and to begin at zero.  It is a new world that opens up before us and we have to learn about and from others.  I remember resenting the feeling of becoming like a child again, of having to learn all over again : to say yes, to wash, eat, dress, say good-bye.

It is not evident but it is necessary to re-learn, to bracket the values that guided our life, our principles, our rules of conduct, our preconceived ideas.

I arrived there like a good student, having attained all the distinctions possible at the scholastic level and I found myself face to face with people who did not even grasp what I was speaking.  Education which is the mainstay of our life, here has, at times, no importance in the life of the other. All the same, I have begun conversations with tribal peoples who have no notion of money because they are content to live with their annual harvest of rice without becoming involved in any form of commerce.

My opinion on education has been turned upside-down as has been my idea of beauty, (a beautiful Indian woman is white and solid), and  of politeness (when invited out, one eats with one’s fingers).

We must be ready to welcome a reality that goes beyond our own and to try to look at things through the eyes of the other.  I have had occasion to discover a society extremely rich on some points and almost devoid of aspects of western societies, such as :

• Spontaneous generosity (small children vie with one another to offer their teachers a part of their snack);
• An extraordinary welcome : in the Indian culture, the guest whoever he or she may be and whether expected or not, must be treated as the equal of a god;
• A sense of family and community beyond the norm

Many things have also revolted and  shocked me; it was inevitable and that has taken me some time to put myself in their place to understand them.

• There are many novices who are very young : religious life is attractive to them because it is a societal promotion for the Indian woman; she is respected, can work, travel, and live in conditions of life much superior to the average person.
• No matter who may have servants these persons have almost free range to do whatever they want : it is the duty of those with means to help others in offering them work (it’s an overpopulated country).
• The young people have very little or no ambition :the caste system even if it is abolished takes away from these young people the possibility of dreaming of a better future.  Besides, most have seen only their little village and could not even imagine a different life from that of preceding generations.
• Children serve the older people : unlike us with the reign of the child-king and the retirement houses where one puts away the old people, in India, one owes every possible duty to the elderly.
• The people buy a television before a refrigerator : the TV is a sign of wealth and is a diversion.

I have learned that there are several ways to see things and that ours is not necessarily the good one.

To open oneself to the other, it is necessary, first of all to forget oneself and then to accept a relationship of equality.  One has as much to receive as to give. I have had the occasion to live true relationships with persons totally different from myself : a rich Indian musicologist, a young religious woman, and an illiterate servant girl.  These friendships have been extremely enriching human experiences.

Odile Dayez (India, 2004, aged 18)

« Look at Jesus, look into His Face.  There, you will see how He loves us … »

That is the « advice » that St. Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face gives us.  I was able to look at Jesus, to look at his love,  at his suffering , - He has suffered and continues to suffer for us and with us – and to experience such suffering looking at my human brothers and sisters at the other end of the world….I spent two months in R.D.C. (Congo), at Gombe, in a community of religious of the Sacred Heart (rscj) and I had a  little apostolate in a Centre for handicapped persons.

Everything began from a desire deep in my heart to put things aside and go away, to put myself where I would listen and be of some small use.  A desire also to return to « a little way », that of confidence and abandonment… to place myself with « Our Father » who himself knows what we need.

It was a time also that allowed me to look at Mary – Our Lady is very present in the African culture – and to learn patience, gentleness, constancy in faith, to welcome God’s love and the love of  my brothers and sisters – through whom God is very present, - to learn to re-enter little by little into God’s designs to do not my will but God’s will and to be ready « to be the servant of the Lord ».

I have thus lived a strong « spiritual experience » and at the same time a rich « human experience ».  In Africa, human relationships are simple, true and sunny.  Being mundele (white), it was not always easy because the white people convey the image of material wealth, but once I got past this phase, we were able to carry on « deep » relations.  I had also to overcome the phase of wondering « what were the others going to think about me? ».  This was, indeed, an experience which also gave me some self-assurance.  But I had to be careful because the « white » is still quickly put on a pedestal as the one who knows what is to be done!  I had, thanks to our good relations, to show them that they had great riches and that we would work in collaboration: each exchanging our know-how – an enriching experience!

It was also an apprenticeship of poverty – which, moreover, was not only material - : to learn to do without small comforts, to do without things that I had forgotten or to learn to ask for things to borrow, things to do;  to ask how to do this or that, … and it was also the apprenticeship of life in community – our common life, sharing, dealing with opposing view-points, and being able to allow for expansion and growth.

Yes, in Congo, I have seen how Jesus loves us.  Each coming together, each day’s greeting, each look, each hand-shake – is Jesus, who came towards me and I have been able to love each of my sisters and brothers with Jesus’ love.  I continue to carry in my prayers this people who have made me enter a little more into the mystery of God, my brothers and sisters of Congo who are « a letter of Christ written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, on our hearts » (as St. Paul said to the Corinthians)

That is what the Lord sowed in me and then allowed the seed to open up a little in Congo, and I pray to « fulfill what he began ».  May the Lord allow other young people to discover this great happiness of letting themselves be sent on mission, to follow him….whether it be for awhile or for life …

Sonia De Vree (Congo, 2003, aged 33)

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Kenya, Helen O’Regan rscj

Richesse / Pauvreté

Il va sans dire que notre pays, l’Europe est plus développée et plus riche que l’Afrique au niveau matériel. On a tout ce qu’on veut : on mange à sa faim, on a le chauffage, notre cuisine est super équipée, on dort dans de bons lits, et j’en passe. C’est sans doute sur-développé.  On veut toujours plus grand, plus performant, plus rapide, plus beau.

En Afrique, ils sont riches autrement.  Ils ont une richesse dans leur culture. Même s’ils vivent dans des maisons délabrées, qu’ils ne mangent pas tous les jours, qu’ils n’ont pas la voiture dernier cri, ces gens ont des valeurs qui sont plus fortes que leur besoin matériel.

• Ils ont un sens de l’accueil : tu es toujours accueilli avec le sourire, c’est une joie pour eux que tu viennes leur rendre visite.  Tu es souvent invitée à entrer dans la maison alors que tu ne connais pas les gens.  Quand tu te promènes dans la rue, tout le monde te dit bonjour.  Les enfants courent dans tes bras.  On s’arrête, on parle.
  En Europe, on est trop pressé, on connaît à peine son voisin ; on ne prend pas la peine de s’arrêter pour discuter.
• Il y a également une grande solidarité : Même si les gens sont pauvres, qu’ils n’ont rien, ils s’aident les uns les autres.  Je me rappelle, un jour Mary n’avait presque plus de charbon pour cuire son souper.  Sa voisine, qui n’en n’avait presque plus, lui en a donné un peu afin qu’elle puisse cuisiner.
  Quand j’arrivais dans une famille, ils voulaient toujours m’offrir un coca ou du thé, alors qu’ils n’avaient presque pas d’argent.
  J’ai pu voir de nombreuses organisations qui ne fonctionnaient qu’avec des bénévoles.Souvent, les gens sont atteints du SIDA et créent une association afin de venir en aide aux autres sidéens.  Ils soutiennent     et     aident des familles. Ces gens ne gagnent pas un rond mais ils gagnent de l’estime de soi, de la reconnaissance; c’est leur moteur de vie.
• La foi est très importante.  Pour eux, c’est une grande richesse.  Ils « comptent » sur Dieu, ils se raccrochent à Lui pour avoir de l’espoir.  Ils croient en Lui d’une façon incroyable.  Dans toutes les conversations, on parle de Dieu.
  Le dimanche, c’est une grande fête.  Les églises sont pleines à craquer.  Les chants sont rythmés et il y a des danses, les gens sont heureux.
• La famille est également très importante. Les enfants aident les parents.  Ils vivent souvent tous ensemble dans une maison.  Les grands s’occupent des petits et les vieux sont respectés.
  Evidemment, le problème est que, souvent, dû à la pauvreté, on préfère envoyer les enfants travailler pour qu’ils rapportent de l’argent.  De ce fait là, ils ne vont pas à l’école.

Même sans rien, il y a moyen de vivre.  Les gens vivent de leurs plantations mais aussi et surtout grâce à la chaleur humaine, la solidarité et la foi qui les unit.Moi, ma pauvreté là-bas, c’était d’être seule.  Au début, je ne connaissais personne et j’étais à l’autre bout du monde.  C’est grâce à l’accueil sans frontières, aux sourires, à la gentillesse des gens que je me suis sentie intégrée dans ce monde inconnu.