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“Thank you! May God bless you!”

Fr. F. X. Sudarmanto, sx

Sep 16, 2016
4841

On Monday, 5th September, I made a ‘tour’ and visited Kiridu, Dinkirito and Karifasania villages. These villages are along the same road between Mongo town and Semesadu village. The scenery along the way was beautiful, though the road, especially from Mongo to Kiridu, was very bad at some points due to the hilly and rocky places and some small streams.  With Honda XL 125 cc, the journey was just manageable.

There were quite a few people travelling on the road because it is a shorter route to link Mongo town with villages like Semesadu, Tuba, Tilikoro and Farama. I was surprised to find out that some of them were going to Sonkonya market (luma) in Guinea. They were going on Monday, the market day was on Tuesday, and on Wednesday they were going back. What a long and tiring journey! Many others I met were farmers working in their farms. I stopped quite often, anytime I met people passing by or working in the farm, just to greet and make short conversations with them. I have not been familiar yet with people of these areas, so I wasted my time intentionally to be with anybody I met on the way.  “Tana masi!” (Good morning!), “I kende?” (How are you? Are you well?), “Allah tanto!” (Thanks God!), “I tala ming?” (Where are you going?), “Masomaio!” (Good bye!), “Mateleo!” (Have a nice day!) These are simple sentences I used to greet the people. They smiled and laughed, I felt comfortable and not strange to them. When I had to say more, I spoke in Krio, of course, which they understood, as well.

Fortunately, the town chief of Kiridu was around, so I visited him in his house. People of the village thought that when a father (priest) comes, there must be some special reason. The town chief himself asked me, “Father, what is the problem?” He meant: what is the purpose of coming to our town?  I told them that I came just to greet them, to know if everything in the village was fine, and whether teachers, students and the school were ready to start the new academic year. I met the town chief of Dinkirito, but unfortunately I could not meet the town chief of Karifasania because he was in the farm.

There is a community school under the Catholic Mission Agency in Kiridu, while in Dinkirito and in Karifasania, which are very small villages, the schools - better called “learning groups” - were just started recently without belonging to any agency. They expected to be under the administration and care of the Catholic Mission Agency. Most children of these villages are not going to school, or some attend an Arabic school. Actually children of Dinkirito and Karifasania should attend the school close to their village. Before they started their own ‘learning group’, children of Dinkirito attended the school in Kiridu, while children of Karifasania attended the school in Semesadu. Due to problems of distance and lodging, they decided to start their own “learning group” with a volunteer teacher.

I was lucky: the day was bright and clear. But considering the road conditions, I decided to go back to Mongo not too late in the evening in case of problems on the road. Every time I said, “Masomaio!” “Goodbye!” to them, they replied, “Thank you! May God bless you!” They felt bad because there was no chicken as a gift for me, only ground nuts just harvested. They told me that if I come during the dry season, I would meet a lot of villagers and enjoy more time with them. I just smiled, while my heart already felt joyful and grateful for their warm welcome and openness. Seeing their poverty, and also their hard life and struggle, I just pray that God may grant them what they need. Their gratefulness and prayer in saying “Thank you! May God bless you!”  was ringing in my ears during my way back to Mongo. It was beautiful to meet poor people who have a big heart; who are not complaining about their situation nor comparing themselves to anybody. Like angels, they are spiritually, though not materially, rich. “How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). “Thank you! May God bless you, too!”

On Monday, 5th September, I made a ‘tour’ and visited Kiridu, Dinkirito and Karifasania villages. These villages are along the same road between Mongo town and Semesadu village. The scenery along the way was beautiful, though the road, especially from Mongo to Kiridu, was very bad at some points due to the hilly and rocky places and some small streams.  With Honda XL 125 cc, the journey was just manageable.

There were quite a few people travelling on the road because it is a shorter route to link Mongo town with villages like Semesadu, Tuba, Tilikoro and Farama. I was surprised to find out that some of them were going to Sonkonya market (luma) in Guinea. They were going on Monday, the market day was on Tuesday, and on Wednesday they were going back. What a long and tiring journey! Many others I met were farmers working in their farms. I stopped quite often, anytime I met people passing by or working in the farm, just to greet and make short conversations with them. I have not been familiar yet with people of these areas, so I wasted my time intentionally to be with anybody I met on the way.  “Tana masi!” (Good morning!), “I kende?” (How are you? Are you well?), “Allah tanto!” (Thanks God!), “I tala ming?” (Where are you going?), “Masomaio!” (Good bye!), “Mateleo!” (Have a nice day!) These are simple sentences I used to greet the people. They smiled and laughed, I felt comfortable and not strange to them. When I had to say more, I spoke in Krio, of course, which they understood, as well.

Fortunately, the town chief of Kiridu was around, so I visited him in his house. People of the village thought that when a father (priest) comes, there must be some special reason. The town chief himself asked me, “Father, what is the problem?” He meant: what is the purpose of coming to our town?  I told them that I came just to greet them, to know if everything in the village was fine, and whether teachers, students and the school were ready to start the new academic year. I met the town chief of Dinkirito, but unfortunately I could not meet the town chief of Karifasania because he was in the farm.

There is a community school under the Catholic Mission Agency in Kiridu, while in Dinkirito and in Karifasania, which are very small villages, the schools - better called “learning groups” - were just started recently without belonging to any agency. They expected to be under the administration and care of the Catholic Mission Agency. Most children of these villages are not going to school, or some attend an Arabic school. Actually children of Dinkirito and Karifasania should attend the school close to their village. Before they started their own ‘learning group’, children of Dinkirito attended the school in Kiridu, while children of Karifasania attended the school in Semesadu. Due to problems of distance and lodging, they decided to start their own “learning group” with a volunteer teacher.

I was lucky: the day was bright and clear. But considering the road conditions, I decided to go back to Mongo not too late in the evening in case of problems on the road. Every time I said, “Masomaio!” “Goodbye!” to them, they replied, “Thank you! May God bless you!” They felt bad because there was no chicken as a gift for me, only ground nuts just harvested. They told me that if I come during the dry season, I would meet a lot of villagers and enjoy more time with them. I just smiled, while my heart already felt joyful and grateful for their warm welcome and openness. Seeing their poverty, and also their hard life and struggle, I just pray that God may grant them what they need. Their gratefulness and prayer in saying “Thank you! May God bless you!”  was ringing in my ears during my way back to Mongo. It was beautiful to meet poor people who have a big heart; who are not complaining about their situation nor comparing themselves to anybody. Like angels, they are spiritually, though not materially, rich. “How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). “Thank you! May God bless you, too!”

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