Let’s give voice to the testimony of Father Augustinemary, a Claretian Father, on the social and pastoral reality of the Sarh diocese, where the Sisters of Charity have been present for several decades.
The United Nations Human Development Index ranks Chad as the seventh poorest country in the world, with 80% of the population living below the poverty line.
The Chadian Church is the youngest in Africa, so much so that it will be the last African church, in 2029, to celebrate 100 years since the first evangelisation.
It is a Church deeply marked by the evangelisation work of European missionaries. But it is now time to progressively hand over responsibilities to missionaries from other African countries and local clergy.
Here is F. Augustinemary’s testimony:
«As Holy Father declare that, this year dedicated to prayer in anticipation of the ordinary jubilee of 2025, I will say that the Missionary Evangelization in Chad (Sarh Diocese) is still “PRIMARY”.
The catholic diocese of Sarh is in the southern part of Chad which covers a land mass of about 97,000sq. kms. The diocese is made up of 15 parishes and 2 vicariates. These parishes and Vicariates found themselves in a very poor environment with harsh weather.
This is an environment where people die in tens, because of harsh weather, hunger and malnutrition. It is also an environment where illiteracy and beliefs in traditional religious practices are still high. Numerous work of evangelization is still needed here in Chad.
Through experience, the country chad is dominated with the Muslims when it comes in power (governments) and this sometimes makes the Christians feels or looks like, they are foreigners in their own country and home. Also the beliefs in the traditional practices has eaten deep in many of them (the faithful) that it is very difficult for them to accept change and corrections, and this have lead the poverty in the country to higher rate (percentage).
Looking at Sarh where I reside, most of the faithful here are farmers, who benefits from the labor of their hands, but as farmers who hope and believe in the work of their hands, because of the poor nature of the environment the equipment needed for those farm works are very far from the people.
And also the weather conditions most at times are not conducive for proper harvest for example this year is a dark year to the country, I call it dark year; because of great flood that destroyed the farms of many, this indeed will increase hunger and poverty for the coming year.
But looking at all this predicaments surrounding us here, Holy Father encourages us that, Christian hope embraces the certainty that our prayer reaches God’s presence; not just any prayer but rather the prayer of the poor! Pope encourages that through prayer we can become a path of communion with the poor and sharing in their suffering.
Thus, God knows the sufferings of his people because he is an attentive and caring father, he takes care of those who are most in need; the poor, the marginalized, the suffering and the forgotten. No one is excluded from his heart, for in his eyes, without God, we would be nothing. If God had not given life to us, we would not even have life. As pope encourages the poor and everyone to pray; he equally reminds us that happiness cannot be acquire by trampling on the rights and dignity of others. He encourages that our hope never fails us».
By Obiadazie Augustinemary U. cmf
