The Inter-confessional Bible translation project in Ncham language of Bassar, a joint ecumenical venture of the Bible Society and the Association of Christian Churches in Bassar, is ready with the first draft of all the books of the Bible, including the deuterocanonical books. The Bible Society is also preparing to publish the Book of Psalms by next year. Our confrere Fr. Davis MEKKATTUPARAMBIL, the regional biblical coordinator of TOG, who also speaks Ncham language, is the treasurer of the association. Fr. Davis participated in a two week seminar on ‘A Thousand Ways of Using the Bible’ in Kara, Togo. The participants of the seminar, about 40 of them, were introduced to the use of traditional and modern means of communication to provide easy access to the Word of God for all people. One interesting feature of the seminar was that practically all the exercises were done in the local languages which the participants were representing. This proved to be very useful in a context where a large majority of the Christians remain illiterate. Sixteen different dialect groups from Togo and Benin were represented during the seminar. Other interesting topics of the seminar included translation work, adult literacy, Bible sharing, prayer groups, meditation on the Word of God, and pastoral ministry to AIDS patients and to members of the Church. What remains to be done is imparting these techniques to the leaders of the various communities at the grassroot level. The Bible Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Togo organized a Bible Week  for all the Catholic parishes of the country. A 10-point program was proposed to pastors from all over the country on Word of God. SVDs are working in eight parishes in four different dioceses of Togo.

The lush green Kwahu mountains of the eastern region of Ghana, where our novitiate is located, is something like Mount Sinai or Mount Tabor for every Ghanaian SVD. A mention of these mountain ranges evokes a sense of soothing spiritual calm for many SVDs here. Most of them pitched their tents here at different periods of time during their inner journey to respond to the divine call to embrace the SVD family. At present, there are 17 novices in the Kwahu novitiate from Ghana, Kenya, Togo, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Recently, parents of these novices came to visit them with gifts and food items. A 30 day retreat is planned in Kumasi, a Christian village, and former Vice-General Fr. Joseph CONNOLLY (USC), will direct this retreat for the novices.

Kenya is still going through a time of turmoil. Though the intensity of the violence has come down, the displaced people are yet to return to their places. The sporadic violence in many parts of the country makes the people insecure. Some of the displaced people took shelter in the compounds of our parishes in Eldoret. Many of our Christian families are playing the role of hosts in their homes to their displaced brethren. The after-effect of these clashes has left many traumatized and desperate. Various agencies and Church organizations help the displaced people with the necessary things and counseling. The SVD contribution in Kenya is diverse. The SVD parishes in Nairobi are actively engaged in collecting clothes and food items for the people. Fr. Anthony AMISSAH helps out in counseling, through the Amani Counseling Center, in different camps within Nairobi. He is also involved in holding counseling sessions for pastors and leaders of different Churches within the Eastern Deanery in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, which is worst hit by the clashes. These pastors, after training, become agents of peace in their areas and also in the churches where they serve. Damage has been done and the country has undergone violence, riots and killing. The country is divided on ethnic and tribal fronts. No one won the election, but the Kenyans have lost it. The Church leaders have not spoken in one voice and that voice was barely audible.