As part of the canonical visitations, Fr Félicien Mouendji, on behalf of Fr Carles Gil, Superior General of the Order of the Pious Schools, travelled to Burkina Faso, more precisely to the locality of Zingane. Zingane is a small village in the rural municipality of Koper, in south-west Burkina Faso. This village is close to the border with Ghana. It is a Sahelian region where cereals are grown seasonally and where small-scale goat rearing and small domestic poultry keeping are practised.
The Zingane community has a particular characteristic: it is multicultural. The three religious who live there come from different countries. Fr Stéphane Kouadio is Ivorian, Fr Kisito Chilla is Cameroonian, and Deacon Jacques is Beninese. What is striking is that this cultural diversity is a real strength for the community. There is a good atmosphere and harmony among the religious.
The Piarist presence in Zingane revolves mainly around a small nursery school that the Province of West Africa has built for early childhood education in the village. In addition to this nursery school, Fr Kisito and Deacon Jacques teach at a diocesan secondary school located in the neighbouring town of Dano. For the good of the people of Zingane, the Province of West Africa has begun the construction of a socio-cultural centre.
From a pastoral point of view, the three confreres lend a hand to the parish. The community chapel is open to the public for daily Mass. A community of sisters located not far from our house takes part each day in the Masses with Lauds celebrated by the fathers.
Little by little, the three fathers are doing everything they can to become part of this Sahelian context, which is entirely foreign to them. It is a true socio-anthropological school in which they are managing rather well.
Fr Félicien Mouendji, Sch. P.
General Assistant for Africa
