Emmanuel Mubanga Chisanga
Kindly be informed that I reached Mali safely and that I am now well settled in Faladie, 80 kilometres from Bamako, where the language Centre is situated. We are seven students pursuing to immerse ourselves in the famous Bambara language and culture. The people of Faladie are very much used to welcoming students for about half a century now and our teacher has the experience of teaching Bambara in this same Centre for thirty five years. We are in class in the morning and in the afternoon we go into families to practice what we learn in class. As you all know, learning another person’s language and culture demands humility and dedication, accepting the other in his or her own worldview. My inspiration remains Jesus who let himself be immersed in a particular culture and setting with all its strengths and limits. We shall be in this Centre till the end of December when we shall go for our Christmas break in our respective communities. At the beginning of January, we shall come back to the Centre to be allocated different villages where we shall go and stay in view of becoming ‘one of the Bambara.’ It is indeed a time for learning and adapting oneself.
So far so good, you might have heard about the confirmed Ebola case in Kaye. The authorities are trying their best to contain the situation. The victim was coming back to Mali from Guinea with her grandmother. We keep our fingers crossed as the Ministry of Health try to put up measures to avoid the spread of this deadly disease. Life continues as before though people think twice before going to Kaye. The usual Annual National Pilgrimage to Kaye, which was scheduled to take place next month, MAY have to be put off. This is a very important event for the Catholics of Mali and the whole of Mali at large. With the Ebola virus confirmed to exist in one person in Kaye, the Episcopal Conference of Mali may have to think twice about this year’s pilgrimage. May ‘Notre Dame du Mali’ who, every year, gathers all her children in Kaye, guide and protect the inhabitants of Kaye and indeed all the people residing in Mali. Emmanuel Chisanga Mubanga, M.Afr
juvensio apatsa galagade
Indeed we are seven and the course is on and hot but we hope and believe that we are to make it for whatever the spirit of man desires can be acquared what counts much is dedication and commitment.