Missionary Oblates in Cameroon: Ministry with Poor War Refugees

 Share The Journey Campaign series  

Pope Francis’ global migration campaign “Share the Journey Campaign starts September 27th. Joined by Bishops around the world, the campaign aims to raise awareness and understanding of the global migrant issue and an opportunity to come together to promote a culture of encounter to strengthen the relationships between migrants, refuges and host communities.

 As part of this campaign, here is a testimony by Missionary Oblates who are serving and having an impact of action and witness by accompanying migrants and refugees.

 

Br  Ernest Mbemba OMI-  picture courtesy  of  OMI World 

In Cameroon, Missionary Oblate, Brother Ernest Mbemba OMI describes the  ministry with poor war refugees.  The following is a recent testimonial from Missionary Oblate Brother Mbemba OMI:

“It is this community of displaced people that I visit once a month, to share their difficulties, to ensure a comforting presence and together to find solutions to improve their living conditions as war refugees. It is a community that lacks everything: school, a health center, arable land, drinking water. In addition, many of its members do not have official documents (birth certificates and a national identity card). I have already made several approaches to the traditional, the administrative and the municipal authorities of Lagdo (80 km from Pikba village), the district on which Pikba depends for all these problems; for some of them, we are beginning to find solutions. ……For water, the refugees get their supply in ponds where they compete with the domestic animals. Consequently, there are many water-borne diseases. The refugees want to have wells that do not require maintenance other than drilling.” 

(Originally posted on OMI World website, Read the entire  testimony  here )

You can help your community, parish, diocese to participate in the “Share the Journey” campaign along withPope Francis.  Through your prayers and acts of compassion, you too can help shape response, conversations and actions to answer the Gospel call to love our neighbors and welcome the stranger.