09 May 2019
We are delighted to have received a letter from Br Jean Manga MSC with an update from our MSC community in Righini, Congo.
Earlier this year, we reached out to our mission friends to help the MSC community in Righini as part of our 2019 World Projects Appeal. 15 MSC pre-novitiate students live in the Formation House in Righini, along with their two formators. Here, they work, study, and pray together as they contemplate the missionary journey. The residents of the formation house live primarily on a grant provided by the MSC French African Union – a grant which allows each person a sum equivalent to €11 per day.
As part of their daily routine, the pre-novitiate students travel to the local university to attend classes. They also travel around the surrounding areas, visiting parishioners and undertaking parish ministry. An old minibus served as their only mode of transport, until it broke down beyond repair in April 2018.
MSC pre-novitiate students work together on the missionary journey in Righini, Congo.
MSC pre-novitiate students work together on the missionary journey in Righini, Congo.
MSC pre-novitiate students work together on the missionary journey in Righini, Congo.
For the past year, our MSC students and their formators have had no choice but to travel on public transport, which is unpredictable, undependable, and time-consuming. The community has been unable to travel together, and the lack of transport has made it very difficult for duties around the parish to be undertaken efficiently and effectively. It has also incurred great costs, with $10 per day spent on public transport as opposed to the cost of fuel for the minibus at $30 per week.
The support and generosity of our mission friends here in the Irish Province meant that we have been able to contribute to the cost of a new minibus, and Br Jean has sent a message of thanks from Righini.
“We thank the Lord for you and your great generosity,” he writes. “You have made it possible for our pre-novitiate students to have a brand new school bus. After many months of hope, the bus is now with us.”
“You have our sincere gratitude,” he continues. “God bless you fully!”
We would like to join with Br Jean in extending our heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed to our ongoing 2019 World Projects Appeal. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps us to change lives for the better across the world.