Appeals

If you have a need to ask for help or information,
to canvas support for yourself or other Good Causes
contact Paul West, and an article will be inserted in this section for you

Click on the Appeal you wish to view:

Information & Memorabilia for The Pelicans' Website

We'd be very grateful for any items of interest that could be use to extend this website - such as text, photographs and other souvenirs that you might have been hoarding all these years. We have had some wonderful support so far — but the site depends on people such as YOU to get up there in the attic and look for things that could be useful.

Peter Finn is always looking to fill the gaps in his extensive database of ex White Father students - and would welcome information about you and your friends (if only to corroborate details that he has collected from another source).

You might even feel like writing something from your own experience that we could include.

Above all, make sure that Eugene has your contact details, including your email address. Why not leave us a message in the Guestbook — you'll be pleasantly surprised at the reaction that you'll get from old friends.

The Pelican Badge

Eugene informs us that it is still possible to obtain a copy of one of the old Priory cap badges (limited edition).
Send your request with £10 to Eugene (p & p included).
Derek Biewer kindly sent us this photo of an original badge, for which we are very grateful. What a souvenir!

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St Anthony's Burse
Taken from The White Fathers - White Sisters Magazine

St. Anthony's Burse has been running for many years. It was established as a way of financially supporting the training of White Fathers. Over the years many people have contributed to this fund and have participated in our missionary work by supporting the education and ongoing formation of White Fathers in practice and in prayer.

The Bursary Fund is open to donations of all kinds, from the highest down to the lowest.
Donations and enquiries should be addressed to:
The White Fathers
129 Lichfield Road
Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands
B74 2SA
email: suttonlink@gn.apc.org

Why St. Anthony’s Burse' ?
St. Anthony is a very well known saint often invoked as a helper in times of need. He was chosen as patron saint of the Bursary for many reasons, but the main one is that he is a link between Africa and Europe. As a missionary St. Anthony had two things in common with the ethos of the White Fathers: he preached the Good News wherever he was and he worked with Muslims in Africa. Under his patronage the training and renewal of such missionaries continues today.

The life of St. Anthony (1195-1231)
St. Anthony was born in Lisbon, in 1195, and he was christened Ferdinand. He joined the Augustinians at Coimba when he was fifteen and stayed with them for nine years. He then joined the Franciscans and in 1220 he took Anthony as his religious name. St. Anthony went to Morocco for a time and he worked among the Muslims but had to return to Italy due to ill health.

At first St. Anthony stayed in a small hermitage praying and studying the Scriptures. When he was ordained to the priesthood he travelled and preached throughout northern Italy and southern France. He retired to Padua where he gained a great reputation due to his dedication to justice and his care of the poor. It is here that the roots of 'St. Anthony's Bread' may be found and is the reason for him being depicted, as in the picture of our statue, distributing loaves. He died in Arcella, near Padua, on 13th. June, 1231, and a year later was canonised by Pope Gregory IX and he was given the title of 'Evangelical Doctor'.

The actual Novena
St. Anthony's Burse runs throughout the year but our annual Novena is a special time of thanks for all we have received under the patronage of St. Anthony. The White Fathers take it as an opportunity to thank our benefactors for their great generosity and prayers and Holy Masses are offered each day for their intentions. We invite our readers to send their Petitions (in the enclosed envelopes), which will be placed at the Altar during the time of the Novena.

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Jubilee 2000 — using Zambia as a focus
By Fr Pat Fitzgerald WF
From a talk given in the Council Chambers at Twickenham, Middlesex

"EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION"

Education is not a luxury. Our government has given it a very high priority, in the knowledge that unless we improve its quality we cannot compete in today's world. And, in his budget speech last week the Chancellor certainly put his money where his mouth was! He announced "an additional investment in UK education of £1b. "Last year,” he said," every primary school was given £2000 for books. This year more cash will go directly to the classroom. Every one of the 18,000 primary schools will receive a new payment of £3000 for the smallest school, rising to £9000 for the largest. Schools offering special tuition to help the weakest pupils catch up will be able to draw on an extra £20m to boost pupil results". I would ask you to keep these figures for primary school in mind as we go along.

I turn now to a country, Zambia, in which debt-servicing (n.b. not paying off the debt itself) takes more of the national income than what is given to health, education, and all social services combined.

There is, in Zambia, a climate of despair as, with the passage of years and the faithful implementation of the IMF's Structural Adjustment Programme, things only get worse.

I focus my attention on primary education, a necessity for Zambian children as much as for our own.

Primary education in Zambia lasts for seven years, in principle, and is the only education the majority of children will ever receive. (Think in passing how many gifted children will never be given the chance to fulfil their potential!).Why do the majority finish their education after seven years? Partly because there are not enough secondary schools. For example, of the 1,411 children in one area of Lusaka who completed their primary education last December only 458 went on to secondary schools simply because there were not enough places for them. Another reason is the fact that, in the past ten years, payment of school fees has become compulsory; schools without other means rely on fees to survive. Many parents cannot afford fees. And it is worth reminding ourselves that 75% of Zambians are under 25 years of age. What happens to what are called the "drop-outs" we shall look at later.

Since primary education is all that the majority of children will receive it has to enable young people to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to take charge of their lives. It should also help to build character and develop moral integrity as well as physical and mental qualities.

These basic needs are not being met in Zambian primary education. For a start nearly one-third of children do not go to school because there is none in their area. Girls particularly are penalised. Fees have to be paid; if parents cannot pay for all their children it is usually the girls who will be sacrificed. Fewer than 60% of girls complete their seven years of primary education; in rural areas the figure is higher.

And of those lucky enough to be at school 50% are SERIOUSLY under-nourished, prone to ill-health and lacking in the capacity and motivation to study.

"Seriously under-nourished." 85% of Zambians are trying to survive on less than $1 a day, in a country where, under the IMF, all subsidies were removed and prices of basic commodities have gone through the roof.

Add to this the fact that there are now 600,000 Aids orphans in Zambia ( in a population of 10m).Who is to feed them? Who is to pay their school fees? In the Misisi compound school, near Lusaka, built with funds raised in the Lenten project at St. Margaret’s in 1995, over 85% of the pupils are either orphans, displaced or street children. Because this school is supported by people like you no fees are charged. But, sadly, this is a rare exception. Heavily impoverished families are taking in orphans. I know one grandmother who is working to find fees for 12 children. She is not an exception.

What of the teachers in these primary schools? They too are living (if that be the word) on less than $1 a day. When the government is challenged on this question of salaries, as it constantly is, the usual reply given is that the IMF will not allow salary increases. I believe there is SOME truth in that explanation. Certainly the government is increasingly unpopular, as you can imagine! Inevitably many teachers leave the profession and are replaced, increasingly, by untrained ones. Many too are dying of Aids. Some supplement their inadequate salary by other jobs. I leave you to guess the quality of their teaching. Strikes of long duration do not help.

BUILDINGS & EQUIPMENT
What will one find in a normal primary school classroom in Zambia? The statistics I give now are for the year 1995. Today they are certainly much worse. In a Grade six classroom, i.e. the last year-but-one of schooling: 28% of the classrooms were without chalk; 25% were without a blackboard; 33% had no atlas; 41% had no English dictionary ( English is both taught and used in teaching);58% had no desk for the teacher.

As for the pupils: 86% had no textbooks; 24% had no exercise books, 33% had no pencil; 32% had no ball-point pen; 58% had no ruler. As for class numbers, anything up to 45-50!

It was in such a classroom that I found myself a couple of years ago, where the teacher said to me before I spoke to the pupils, "You won't get much out of them, Father...each of you owes me £500....and we want it back."

THE FUTURE
Back to our drop-outs. What do they do? There is little or no hope of employment for such uneducated children. In the compounds some sell merchandise, some of the boys hang around bus stations, some clean cars, some get caught up in theft and drugs. Some of the girls make an early marriage; others drift into prostitution - courting an early death from Aids.

Many of the advantages of a good primary school education are denied to many Zambian children and the country is the poorer for it, and the legacy will be long-lasting. Here are a few examples: a good primary schooling helps a farmer increase his agricultural output; it increases the ability of households to improve their diet; children of mothers who had received primary education have a 20% better chance of surviving beyond their fifth birthday than the children of mothers who have had no education; and there is evidence to show that there are fewer teen-age mothers among those who enjoyed a primary education than among those who had none. Here are some of the long-term handicaps that will dog many Zambian children for the rest of their lives. As the African Development Report of 1998 says: "Once a generation of children is exposed to life without adequate health care, nutrition or schooling, there is little that can be done during their adulthood to reverse the damage."

It was in 1991 that the new, democratically-elected government of Zambia put itself, in the hands of the IMF. I remember well the spirit of hope and cheerfulness that was abroad at that time. The IMF produced its SAP, its purpose being to revitalise the economy, enable Zambia to pay off its debts and achieve a modest prosperity. Year after year since then I have witnessed the decline into widespread and degrading poverty as Zambia struggled to implement the IMF's directives. While not wishing to lay all the blame at the door of the IMF or exonerate the Zambian government from the charges of incompetence and corruption I believe there is strong evidence that if Zambia's debt were to be cancelled (a debt that stands today at $7b- or $700 per head, men, women and children) and if the funds released were invested in education and health hope would return. And while on debt cancellation here is what a Jesuit who has worked in Zambia for many years and has the confidence of many has to say: “How can we be sure that the money freed by debt relief will really go to help the poor and not simply buy more military equipment and benefit politicians with more fancy cars, houses, etc? In Zambia we are working to put in place a national "debt management mechanism" that is made up of representatives from civil society, Parliament and various government ministries. This task force will have the responsibility of monitoring and supervising debt negotiations, cancellation arrangements and diversion of freed resources to meet social and productive purposes. This is being pushed by Zambian themselves because they feel as strongly as anyone else that Zambia should only get debt relief if it benefits the poor.

Only if debt is cancelled and money poured into education "will a worth-while education reach out to all Zambia's children. The human dignity of each child demands this. The well-being of the nation requires it. The good of future generations depends on it."

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Zambia Calling

Fr Ben Henze WF writes:

Greetings for Christmas from Zambia

For most people in Zambia, the focus is on survival - making enough money to keep the family going. This means corners have to be cut and blind eyes turned to remain alive, keep children in school, pay for medicines and hospital services for the sick, etc. etc. which makes a mockery of the Christian Country slogan. And that is for those who have a job, not for the millions without work! We need a theology of survival! This is needed because 80% of the population are below the poverty line and because of the HIV AIDS crisis.

A new phenomenon has come to Zambia - scratchcards. For about US 30 cents (20p) a card can be bought which might win US$ 8,000 (£5,000). In a set up where so many full-time workers do not get one US dollar a day, we have people buying such cards in the hope of getting a big win. The promotion of this business is aggressive. Running parallel to this is the gospel of prosperity being preached by our many tele-evangelists. Church going is high in Zambia, but, I am afraid, it has a praying-for-miracles mentality of scratching the right card, rather than taking responsibility, asking awkward questions and making democracy racy work by calling Ministers to account . . .

Strange things happen here. For example, because we try to pay a just wage, our cook gets a salary which is 50% higher than I get as an inspector in the Ministry of Education. More than that, he gets a house, water and electricity free. Recently, a young student at Teacher Training College came to my office looking for material for an essay; suddenly there was a noise, she excused herself and took out a cell phone. My boss, the Provincial Education Officer, does not have a cell phone, and we are lucky if one line is operating to our block of offices.

We would like to have all the new RE books printed at Mission Press here in Ndola to give work and help the transfer of technology. But there is a problem. Books are imported tax free into Zambia. But paper, ink and equipment for printing purposes are heavily taxed by the Ministry of Finance. Now we find that our RE books can be printed in Mauritius and delivered in Lusaka at less than 30% of the cost of printing in Zambia.

Next year we have a general election for president and parliament. The signs are not good. The opposition is fragmented. And the general attitude among all leaders is to make money and lord it over them, and so the few rich get richer and the many poor get poorer; the biblical idea of service does not get a look in. There is a serious lack of solidarity with the people among our ministers. For example, if a minister is sick, he is flown to a South African hospital, all paid. Many government employees don't get paid enough to go to a Zambian hospital if they are sick. Although some of the ministers were trade union leaders, they have lost contact with the masses. Here the capitalist system has entered politics with a vengeance. Worse still, many of the church leaders have accepted generous handouts of taxpayer's money and so are compromised.

So, if any of the Pelicans have any spare change, we could use it for the workshops.

Every possible blessing, Ben.

A Plea For Help From East Congo

Robbie Dempsey has created a CD of a book by Fr Joseph Bouniol, entitled "The White Fathers and their Missions", which he hopes will raise funds to help the plight of people living in the diocese of Kasongo, East Congo— described below by the heroic Pere Valentijn and his compadres:

Robbie writes :

I would like the benefactor of this CD to be a certain Pere Valentijn. Diocese de Kasongo East Congo (DRC)

Fr. Valentijn de Belie (a Belgian WF) had to flee the anti-government rebels in the Congo in 1998 and broke his leg in flight. He stayed in London for a while but has since gone back to his mission station.

Today, I can tell you that his part of the world is in turmoil with fighting and famine. Perhaps the violence has calmed down a bit now.

Please checkout: the 2 items about Kasongo in News from Africa http://www.africamission-mafr.org/nouvelafrik.htm
(But this will tax your French).

Wamaza is in the rainforest of Manvema. Precise directions for your atlas are:
4 degrees 15 mins South of Equator 27 degrees 10 mins East.

A Word Of Thanks from Fr. David Cullen WF

Date : Tuesday, August 5th, 2003
To : "Eugene McBride"

Dear Eugene

Today I got word of the latest £50 from the Pelicans, and then there was also £150 from the Swinton Charitable Trust (via the Pelicans). Many thanks to you all for the much-appreciated on-going help.

Needless to say, the needs are always with us. Last week we had to buy our monthly stock of about 30 by 25kg bags of mealy meal, plus a sack of beans, either to be distributed to a few extremely poor families, or kept in our store for giving out in quantities of enough for a couple of meals to those who literally don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

Although I’ve been back less than two weeks, I’ve already had a large number of hard, or very hard cases to address. There are the children who can only stay at school with the help they get from us. One in particular, a refugee, Catherine, has 3 sons at secondary school, one of them actually having just finished his final exams. I gave her quite a good loan some months ago, as she seemed capable of running a small café in the big market in town. In fact she manages to keep the family going and pay me back gradually – something that doesn’t happen with a good deal of the loans I give – but I have also agreed to keep paying for Moses, one of the sons, who still has two years to go. If the eldest boy has done well, Catherine will want to send him on for some specialised training. I’ll have to wait to see what happens.

And there are many more of the same kind. Last week the headmistress of the Open Community School run by the nuns for girls here on the parish property, a school that offers some hope to children, mostly orphans, who can’t afford to go to the normal schools, asked me for shoes for 3 of the girls who don’t have them. Occasionally I have rather unusual requests in the realm of education. Davies came the other day. I’d helped him through a course to develop his skills as a writer. What he needed now though was about £16 to pay the publishing firm for them to consider two works that he’s produced, hopefully for publication. Brenda and Violet, two orphans, needed a pair of school shoes and school bag. Then there are other children, one called unusually ‘Talent’ from our shanty town Misisi, who needed school shoes, but also a blanket as she had none. The nights now are very cold. I usually need 3 blankets

The other day too the SVP escorted a lady down to the bus station and put her on a bus for home. She’d been sleeping at the bus station for some time, not having the money to return home, and a gang of men had beaten her up the night before.

Last Wednesday I said Mass in one of the four prisons I go to, Mwembeshi, some 50 km out of the city. I celebrate the Mass on a table under a tree and the inmates sit on the ground and are very attentive, the majority of them surely not Catholics. I take a group from the parish, usually to do the singing, as the prisoners don’t have too much idea about the liturgy. That day it was a group of the Third Order of St Francis, a very dedicated group who spend most of Wednesday here cleaning all the altar linen, vestments and altar boys attire. Even though they are mostly very poor themselves, many of them coming from our shanty town, Misisi, they like to collect money to give the prisoners something. Last Wednesday each of the 250 odd each got a little packet of salt and a piece of fairy soap, each bar being cut into five pieces. Since the prison authorities don’t give out soap and often not salt to put into the dull, meagre one meal a day the men get, the inmates were delighted with what they received. Scabies is a big problem and at times we take what is required to kill the lice and bed bugs. Normally I invite the men to sing something at Communion. Although we tend to get rather Pentecostal Church hymns, they sing very enthusiastically and harmoniously. I usually too have a big demand for rosaries, and today I was asked to bring next time 3 bibles for each of the 3 big cells, two in the local language and one in English, as also a football. Life for them is so hard I’m pleased to do anything to relieve their suffering a bit.

Thankfully the harvest has been quite good this year, and the price of mealy meal has dropped quite a bit. However I still have so often to help a family buy a bag to have the basic ‘bread’ to put on the table for the family. The other morning Elizabeth came. She still looks quite young, though she is now pregnant with her eighth child. As far as I know, both she and her husband are HIV positive, so what will happen to the child in her womb? The West has drugs I believe to ensure that the child born is not infected by the parents, but I have strong doubts that they have those drugs here. I must make enquiries at our home-based care group that tries to counsel and help AIDS patients and their families. Elizabeth needed food for the family.

We often have to help the sick. People have to pay K5, 000 (about 75p) per month, to be treated at the clinic. Many can’t afford that. Also, because of the great shortage of drugs, they’re often just given a prescription to take to the chemist, and many don’t have the money to pay for the medicine. Here too we have to come in to help.

Last Thursday I went to the women’s prison for Mass, again under a tree and competing with a strong wind. I always take a couple of drums with me, and the women really get a kick out of being able to praise the Lord with drum and dance during the Mass. As usual there were a few problems, food and clothing for the children with their mothers, contacting lawyers who seem slow in coming to see their clients, the need for rosaries of which thankfully I have a good supply and so on.

On Friday I went for Mass at Misisi. We have one especially for the sick on the first Friday, led by one of the small Christian Communities. After Mass I had to go into the compound to visit and anoint a number of sick. Several of the homes were real hovels; though one was a very large room in which, apart from the human beings, a couple of large ducks made themselves at home, walking in and out as the mood took them. They both left their ‘visiting card’ on the floor. Nobody batted an eyelid.

Last Sunday I was in still another prison, the Central where some 1300 men at least are herded into a very small space, with no room to lie down at night because of the cramped conditions. Yet we had a very lively Mass lasting nearly two hours. After Mass again I had a list of needs, the most urgent being that the leader of the Catholic Community, Moses, has to go for an operation next week, and has to find about £7 to pay for it. Also there are 78 TB patients in the prison, and with the congestion, it surely gets passed on to others. Though I’m not too well up in the realm of medicine, I was told that they had all started on treatment some four days ago, and needed something called ‘refina’, if I got it right, before the week was up, otherwise it would mean starting the treatment all over again. The prison clinic doesn’t have the medicine, neither apparently the local hospital. We shall have to buy it in the chemists to keep them going.

Also there is a chronic outbreak of scabies, and about three quarters of the prison population have rashes on their bodies. They had hoped to control it sometime ago, but again it’s got the upper hand. We were asked to get something called benzoic as also Rita pin (again if I heard right) and, if possible, clothes for those whose present wear resists washing out all the problems carried on the men’s bodies.

On return to the parish the SVP was coping with the usual large number of needy people, the stranded, the hungry, those in wheel chairs, those not able to pay for medicine and so on.

On Sunday afternoon I visited the home of Rafael and Emelda. Both are blind, but thankfully have jobs, even if not marvellously well paid, Emelda as a telephone operator in the big government hospital, Rafael I think in the library for the blind. They have been offered the small house in which they live for what for us would be an absolute song, though I have to add a bit to ensure they finish paying before the deadline in December. They have 5 children of various ages. Seeing Emelda bathing the small baby has always intrigued me. Their eldest boy, Xavier, finished school in 2000 but has not yet found a job. I’m looking into the possibility of his doing some kind of technical course.

And all of this is not by any means the end of it all, but I send this just to say how much I, and all of us hear, appreciate your loving concern. Many thanks for keeping me up to date with all the Pelican news and other items. May the Lord continue to bless and be with you all.

Date : Tuesday, August 30th, 2004
To : "Pat Gibbons" (Pelicans' Treasurer)

Good Shepherd Catholic Church
PO Box 50164
Lusaka

Dear Pat

Greetings. It was great news to get your e-mail with the latest donation from the Pelicans of £700. Will you please thank all those who contributed to this magnificent donation.

Today, Monday, is the day I try to steal away from the parish to do things I don’t have time for during the week, like writing this letter to you. Also in this provincial house, only about 4 miles from the parish, it’s possible to relax a bit without having to answer the door bell umpteen times a day. On Monday and Wednesday I very often have to say Mass for the Sisters of Mother Teresa, as I did this morning. They do a great job for the terminally ill with a spotlessly clean hospice, as also help orphans and many of the poor in the area. They provide a Christmas meal for over 2000 inmates at the various prisons, now raised to 5, for which I’m the Catholic part of the chaplains work done there.

Yesterday in fact, I had to celebrate 3 Masses, one of them in the Remand Prison. I first offered the 7 a.m. Mass in the parish, a nearly two hour affair for well-over a 1000 parishioners at which one of our nearly 50 Small Christian Communities provided the choir, the readers and the special offerings in kind that are given at the two main Sunday Masses, from floor polish for the church to live chickens for the priests’ lunches. We had a visiting priest from another area in Zambia concelebrating with me and he found the Mass ‘a beautiful celebration’.

The second Mass was celebrated in the largest cell of the remand prison with at least an as enthusiastic choir and congregation of about 60. As usual after Mass I got various requests from rosaries, holy pictures and prayer books, to contacting relatives to visit inmates, going to embassies for foreigners who usually have not got their papers in order, medical prescriptions, help with bail money, paper and ball pens, clothes and food. Yesterday though one South African, on whose behalf we have tried to do a lot to get him home, returned his rosary saying that his prayers are not being answered! That’s the first time I remember such a thing happening.

The afternoon Mass was for a group of about 60 youth members of the Legion of Mary from 3 parishes who had been on retreat using the classrooms at the Community school on the edge of our shantytown as their dormitories. I was very impressed with them, as well as with the young man who seemed to be the organiser of it all. He in fact wants to come with me to the Central Prison when I next go. We have recently started a presidium of the Legion of Mary there, but the inmates are struggling a bit, as it is all rather new for them.

I had also to visit several sick people, including baptising a sick baby in the hospital and going to the home of a bed-ridden young lady who began the catechumenate but is not able to come for instruction yet dearly wants to be instructed at home and baptised. In several instances I had to offer a bit of financial help too as those caring for the sick were not able to find nourishing food for the patients.

Coming back to the parish I was presented with a pretty hefty bill by the SVP, especially for two men from the Congo who had applied for refugee status and been refused. They have a very limited time to get out of the country or be arrested and of course they have no money to get home.

Another person in something of the same circumstances was Ngoi, from Congo Brazzaville. The Red Cross approached me about her several weeks ago. They are trying to find the whereabouts of her mother and had managed to get permission from the immigration authorities for her to stay here for a further 3 months whilst they carry out their investigations. But for the financing of this permit they said that this kind of need was not within their permitted range of offering help, nor apparently the UN whom they approached. So I was contacted as the last resort. It cost about £130 and I had also to look for accommodation for her. Fortunately yesterday a young lady from the Congo named Vivian whom we’ve helped quite a bit offered to take her in if we could help a bit with food.

It would be wonderful for a start to say that poverty in the country was diminishing. Not everything is bad news, but for the people at the bottom of the pile things don’t seem to get better but worse, with, for instance, bus fares going up due to the recent oil price increases that have hit the whole world. Petrol prices have twice been raised in recent weeks.

Our parish has got a name for helping a lot of poor people so we are getting them from all over. If we can do something to help I say thanks be to God. We have been getting a great number of prescriptions from one of the prisons we regularly visit. I have complained at the prison clinic about it, but the nurse in charge offered to show me her more or less empty cupboard. The officer in charge though did say he would ask for the prescriptions to pass through his office for checking as we have heard of the odd abuse, like one of the warders getting an inmate to order medicine through him. The officer in charge himself though wrote me an official letter asking for 5 litres of ‘doom’ for spraying in the prison often infested with flies and mosquitoes.

One of our favoured and frequent ways of helping is to give something to help people do ‘business’, even if that is no more than selling oranges and bananas on street corners, trying to avoid the cadres of council workers who from time to time descend on the vendors and confiscate their goods. Normally though the (mostly) women are back the next day if they have been able to raise enough money to find something to sell as the very survival of their children depends on them. For instance one young woman, unable to find a job, was asking for a loan to do a bit of business. She wants to buy a bail of second-hand clothes to sell where apparently there’s a good market for them, the cost being about £35.

A couple of weeks ago we began what we call a six-day guided retreat for about 45 volunteers who had signed up for what we do about 3 times a year. We begin on Sunday afternoon with the whole group, explaining that what we ask of participants is to give at least half an hour a day to personal prayer, using scripture and helped by their prayer guide whom they meet for half an hour a day. On Saturday morning we wind it up, finding out how those involved found it and whether they would like help to continue praying in that way. We invariably get a very enthusiastic response, those participating finding this way of praying one that has quite an impact not just on their way of praying, but on their way of living too. In fact we hold a monthly meeting for anyone who has done of these retreats to see how things are going prayer-wise as also to offer a bit of input.

Unfortunately, on the Sunday morning just before we began, one of our very experienced prayer guides, Sr Norah, phoned to say that the thieves had broken into their convent that morning and had not just stolen a lot of stuff, but also knocked her around and she was too shaken to start off the retreat with us.

There has in fact been a whole spate of attacks on Catholic parishes and religious houses in recent months. Some weeks ago a youngish Zambian priest was attacked by the thieves and left tied up on the floor of the toilet the whole night. The consequence was a severe pneumonia from which he died.

Even though I try to keep Mondays a sacred time away from the parish my hideout has been discovered and I get followed. On one of my recent Mondays there were two girls I had to help as they were out of school, one because she had no school shoes, the other because her school uniform got burnt. There was another woman who is waiting for her benefits from the prison service for which she was working – and it is likely to be a long wait - who needed urgent help for two sons, both in their final year at school. They were not allowed to sit for mock exams because of non-payment of fees. She also wants a loan for business to be able to return the money. She seemed very much the genuine article, recommended by several of her colleagues who were also prison officers.

Speaking again of prisons, we also helped an ex-prisoner who had been one of those who had masterminded the attempted coup seven years ago. It was very unsuccessful, being quelled within a few hours. Captain Jack Chiti should have served another 8 years, but was released because of suffering from terminal cancer. He was being kept in the hospital out of compassion, as he had no home to go to. He has a very devoted wife, Joyce, who has been sleeping on hospital floors for the last six months, caring for her husband.

They needed to pay 3 months rent in advance for accommodation. As they had four addresses of people in different countries who had given Jack a certain help whilst in prison, I wrote to them to ask if they could help pay for what I forked out in advance to enable the couple to leave hospital. Only one so far has replied, and he was not able to help. At the same time Jack was trying to get the Human Rights people to help him get a bit of compensation. As that seems not to be working I’ve asked the local parish Justice and Peace parish group to visit them and see if they can do anything.

When he was arrested in 1997, his wife was thrown out both of home and job and a lot of their household goods taken away. Also, like so many of the attempted coup soldiers, Jack was badly tortured, one consequence of which was a perforated eardrum, the consequence of which left him with only partial hearing in one ear plus a good many other ailments as well as the need of a wheelchair.

Unfortunately Jack did not survive very long to enjoy his home but passed away very suddenly a week or so ago. I’m sure though that Joyce will continue to need some support. I’ve in fact several times had to help with food.

One of the now five prisons I go to once a month is the open prison of Mwembeshi. There is always a group that goes with me. On a recent occasion it was the turn of St Anna’s Women’s Group. They are quite a powerful body of women who, amongst their other good works, come twice a week to clean our house and the parish offices and surroundings. They had clubbed together to give each of the 311 inmates a piece of soap, a small packet of sugar and a small packet of salt. The prison authorities issue no soap and quite often there is no salt in the food and sugar would just not be part of their diet. The prisoners have to work the whole day on a cup of boiled rice in the morning and about 5 p.m. get their one meal of boiled maize and beans. Hunger is certainly one of their main sufferings.

We have Mass under the trees, led by our parish group as the liturgical timing of the inmates is not that accurate. I remember saying Mass in one prison at Easter and when I asked the inmates for an Easter song I got Adeste Fideles! We always ask them though to sing after communion and inevitably get a couple of rousing Pentecostal hymns that are beautifully sung. Also, during the homily I get a few ‘amen alleluias’ if the congregation thinks I’ve made a good point. We always take clothes for those who are coming out of jail the following month, a number of them after a long sentence. They also ask for rosaries and bibles. On the last occasion I was asked for a maths grammar. We are also asked if, when they are released, we could help them with the fare home. Again the prison authorities do not supply. They are very short of medicine too and we are trying to get another parish to help obtain some medical supplies.

Five days a week our St Vincent de Paul Society deals with our daily group of needy people. We get quite a lot of requests from the social worker at the large government hospital who has lots of good will, but no money. When we complained about the number of cases she sent to us, she explained that she sends only the most desperate of them. We also have many school needs, like the request of an orphan who had completed school but could not get her results because of a debt still to be paid for school fees. Then there was a young lady, Patricia, whom I’d helped to pay for a short computer course as she assured me that it was the gateway to a job. She came later with another problem: her young brother in hospital needed a brain scan which costs over £100, something totally out of the reach of the vast majority of people here. For us too that’s too heavy, but we made a donation and advised her to go round to various places like banks and businesses who quite often do help emergency cases such as these. We also advised her to visit the various stores in town that are owned by mostly Indian Moslems. On Fridays especially, according to the Koran, they have to give alms. I was once near a mosque on a Friday and noticed one of our regular customers, Martha, a rather difficult girl of about 18, epileptic amongst other handicaps, sitting with the other women, wearing a Moslem shawl, quite happy to have a slight change of religion for the day I strongly suspect more for the financial rewards than the spiritual ones. Anyhow Patricia eventually came back having found most of the money needed and we were able to make up the shortfall.

Recently four women, with children but no husband for different reasons, needed help to start a mini-business, most of them going in for buying fish quite a way out of the city and selling at a good profit in the markets here. One of them is HIV positive and has a small baby. Being unable to feed the baby herself, we have to help quite a bit with baby milk, something in fact that we have to do at times for others.

Several weeks ago we celebrated the first Mass of a newly ordained Zambian White Father, the first in fact from the very south of the country. I missed the Mass as I was in the Central Prison. The Mass we had there last month was celebrated together with the Archbishop of Lusaka, who baptised six catechumens who had, like all our catechumens, been preparing for two years, and confirmed three others. Both the staff and the inmates were very pleased with his visit. He has a very genuine concern for all prisoners and has written a letter to all the parishes in the archdiocese telling them that he expects them all to do something for the prisoners at least once a year. A week later in fact he turned up at the parish with a box of his old clothes that he wanted us to donate to the prisoners. I found that very wonderful, as he’s an extremely busy man.

Recently in the Central Prison there has been formed an education trust. I was asked to be a member. As not only the convicts spend a good many years there, but also those who on remand can easily spend 4-6 years before their case is completed. We would like to offer training skills. There is a carpentry shop, but this can hardly absorb the 1200 or more inmates crammed into the dreadfully overcrowded cells where they have to spend about 16 hours out of the 24. We also want to offer some kind of counselling service. The prison authorities are very concerned about the number of deaths in the prison, an alarmingly high number of them due to depression.

One of the convicts, a formerly high-placed figure in the previous administration who fell foul of the new government on charges of corruption, is using his skills to improve the small library in the prison. In one of my previous letters I appealed for books for the library and this offer has been taken up despite the hefty cost of postage, even using the cheapest means of sea mail and ‘printed matter’. Richard, the librarian, is delighted with the news.

I hope you haven’t lost courage in reading all this. Just to give even more reading matter I’m enclosing a list of recent education needs.

Wishing you and all Pelicans and supporters the Lord’s continued loving care,

Sincerely yours,

David Cullen, w.f.

Moving To A New Parish
A Christmas letter from Fr. David Cullen WF
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

itMphangwe Prayer Centre
P.O. Box 511154
Chipata
Zambia

Dear Pelicans,

Just before leaving Lusaka on October 11th, I got the good news of a donation from the Pelicans via the Irish Treasurer of 166 euros plus more good news from the British Treasurer of another £500. That was a real bonanza. Many thanks to all those Pelicans who put their hands in their pockets to send these much-appreciated donations to me.

You will notice the change of address. I’ve been here at Mphangwe for just about two months now. It could scarcely be more different from Kabwata as it is very quiet and tucked away in the hills not far from where I spent 8 years nearly 20 years ago, Katete. There are very few people living in the immediate area which is good really if this is to be a retreat centre above all.

My first day though was unexpectedly busy. One of the Zambian priests from this diocese lost a sister and we had the funeral Mass and burial in the village from which the family comes just 4 km away. The Mass and burial took four hours altogether as there was a good walk from the house where the Mass was celebrated to the cemetery used by the people in that area. Sadly she was buried next to the grave of her husband who died just a few weeks ago. There will be big problems in caring for the four children now orphaned. There is only the priest concerned, Fr Benjamin, and one other relative able to do something.

Anyhow, apart from that I spent much of the first few days unpacking and settling in. Four good ladies from the parish in Kabwata helped me to do the packing. I would never have managed without them. And two young men from the parish came with me as ‘minders’. With so many good things stored in my car it was thought that it would be good that they accompanied me to ensure safe arrival. They seemed to like it here, especially as I taught them to play rummy, and stayed for a whole week. They were very helpful with the task of my unpacking and settling in.

The parishioners at Kabwata gave me a wonderful send-off. On Monday the 10th October there was a special evening Mass to which a large crowd came, including members of other Churches in the area with whom I’d been linked in an ecumenical committee. I was loaded with presents from the people, including a TV and DVD player from the parish council, which is good news for the community here, as up to now they have not had that kind of entertainment. Mind you it is a mixed blessing as there is the danger as everywhere of precious time being used for watching what are often very poor quality programs. Also being the only place in the area that has electricity, it is an attraction for those, especially the youngsters, who may never have seen a television in action.

In fact so far the local people don’t seem to be very fanatical about the telly, which is just as well. For a start, despite an outside aerial, what we largely get is ‘snow’, tucked away in the hills as we are, and that in black and white. There is a book that goes with the TV that might be helpful. There’s one small snag about it: it’s written in Arabic and our Arabic is not quite up to the mark. Maybe one fine day I hope I can swap it for an English version. However the DVD works very well. Last Sunday evening Br Simon, my companion here, the cook and myself, together with a group of the youngsters around were watching a ‘video’ when suddenly the electricity collapsed. This is by no means a rare occurrence here. In fact last week I think we had more times when it was off than on. This is the rainy season and when there’s a storm especially somewhere along the line, out go the lights.

The bishop aptly describes as ‘passable’ the 4 km road from here to the tar road, about the only positive thing that can be said for it, so any improvement that can be made to it is a plus.

Some time ago two young keen footballers and a supporter visited me. We have made a contract with them, that they fill in some of the worst holes in our road and we’ll give them a football. They have already done quite a good job and have promised to finish it. The balls I have came from India. I was able to get them in without paying customs duty, though I’m near the end of my supply. For years I have been getting in these footballs for my fellow White Fathers working in rural areas like this and for the youth in my own parish. If there is football going on in the village it means entertainment for everyone on a Sunday afternoon and a healthy activity for the youth.

Our football field here at Mphangwe is carved out of the bush and the goalposts are homemade, not perhaps as straight as those of the English Premier League, but the youth enjoy their matches very much. We also have a netball pitch for the girls. They too have been working on the road and we’ve managed to find a ball for them too.

There remains a lot to be done to get the retreat centre going. The buildings were put up some years ago, but getting the two hostels, the dining room, our own quarters and another visitors house ready is a slow business. One of our WF Brothers from the next parish comes with a team of workers at times to put anti-mosquito mesh on the windows and it is the team that has to make the many tables that we shall need for hostels and dining room. We have the plumbers from the same Brother’s team here at the moment installing basins and getting the geysers in order. The church is there, plus a chapel on the hillside dedicated to Our Lady, but even basic things like a sanctuary lamp and a monstrance are missing. In fact today I’m going to try to look for the bits and pieces to enable us to make our own sanctuary lamp.

I can feel though that I’m really in the bush. One evening I had in my room a centipede. The African version is not the gentle, harmless little thing we have in England or Ireland, but a vicious, black wiggly thing that gives a bite of the same nature as a scorpion. Another day too I had to despatch a scorpion that found its way into our living quarters

On my first Sunday I had to go for Mass to one of our five Mass centres, St Joseph’s. The church, which is made of mud and grass roof, was absolutely choc-a-bloc, with as many outside as in. I noticed though that the people have baked a lot of bricks. They obviously intend to build a bigger church. The liturgy was very lively, with a choir and a number of instruments giving the usual African rhythm, as also a troupe of small girls giving us liturgical dancing at such moments as the entrance, the Gloria, the Holy, Holy, Holy and the thanksgiving hymn. No one seemed to be in a hurry. As there is not Mass there every week, it is something of an occasion when the priest does come. In fact it may be that soon it will be difficult to get there, as the road to it is not very famous, reachable for the most part only in second gear. Once the rains start in earnest it seems that there is no way of getting there by car. The Council has been approached to come with a Grader, but it will take a good deal more pushing before something is done. I hear that a local clinic is also prevented from its outreach program in the area for the same reason. In fact I spoke to one of the male nurses from there the other day when we had a meeting for the Home-based Care group, those helping people who are HIV positive. He agreed that perhaps our combined forces could give a stronger push to the Council.

After Mass that Sunday we had lunch in the headmistress’ house, there being a primary school just nearby. It seems that she was a teacher 19 years ago when I was in Katete. I’ve already come across quite a few people that remember me, and the odd one that I too remember, especially several catechists. We were given the local staple diet of boiled maize, what is called ‘nsima’, and chicken. Traditionally the ‘chief’ is given a special part of the chicken, the chief in this case being me. Actually it’s a part of the insides that would not have been my first choice, but this is where we have to learn to adapt!

My task here is meant to be primarily starting retreats, and we have already done some one-day retreats for the various groups in the parish. Usually the people come in the evening and sleep in what as yet are pretty basic conditions. We provide a roof and a sleeping mat. The parishioners bring their own food and anything else required. We had a retreat last Saturday for the leaders of various groups in the parish. They complained of being bitten to death by mosquitoes in the night. I’m going to look today for some spray that may hopefully improve the situation.

I’ve also been asked to help in the formation program of the Brothers of a locally founded congregation, the Brothers of St John the Baptist of which Br Simon is a member. The Bishop mentioned that, as a sideline, there is a small (by Zambian standards!) parish attached. Being the only priest here, especially the ‘sideline’ does seem a bit daunting. There are five regular Mass centres. The parish is composed of 11 Small Christian Communities. For the most part we don’t have villages around here, but small farms.

Before leaving Kabwata those who are the ‘regulars’ from the shanty town especially came looking for a bit of help, knowing that I will be more out of reach here, in fact over 500 km, although many have told me that they are going to visit me. In fact I’ve had eleven already! I’m trying though to discourage them coming here, asking them to go to Fr Oswald, who has taken over my role as chaplain to the SVP. Apart from everything else, it costs quite a bit to get here and I have to pay the journey back!

During my last month at Kabwata with the SVP I was trying to help a good many people with mini-businesses so that hopefully they can help themselves, including a support group in Misisi of those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. The SVP had drawn up a list of elderly women who needed at times as little as £10 to start a small business. One too I thought I had really to help was a small orphan girl brought by one of our parishioners. She’d been bitten badly in the face and on the arms by a dog that could not be traced. To have the anti-rabies treatment needed about £40. For me it was a matter of life or death.

We also had our daily numbers of the hungry, the homeless, the stranded, the crippled, those unable to pay for medical care, ex-prisoners as also the needs of those in prison, clothes, food, posting letters, contacting relatives and even supplying coffins for the all too many who die there and have no relatives able to help in that way. On my return from leave to Kabwata I began to revisit the prisons and the first thing I saw was a dead prisoner on a stretcher being carried out. The prison conditions are so appalling; I believe that anything we can do to relieve the suffering of the inmates fits the gospel’s explicit concern for such as these.

There have also been a good many requests for help with education and I’m still getting them. I’ve left quite a bit of money with Fr Oswald to carry on helping and promised to send him more from sources like the Pelicans as I want to do everything possible to continue to help those we already begun to help at schools and colleges.

Here though in Mphangwe the level of poverty is in many ways greater than in Kabwata. The vast majority of children have no shoes, at least during the week. Some manage to come to Mass on Sunday wearing shoes, but by no means all. The vast majority of people live in grass-roofed mud huts. A lot of youngsters, and their parents, have problems finding money for schooling. They don’t beg, but ask for ‘piecework’. Wanting to get our road a bit more in order I’m able to provide plenty of piecework. There are also emergency cases, like the young wife, nine months pregnant, who came the other day, deserted by her husband and without food, as also another turned out of the house by a husband who has taken another wife, again needing something to keep body and soul together.

We have a group here called the ‘Good Samaritans’, the equivalent of the SVP. I try as much as possible to work through them in giving aid. What I appreciate about the group is that they are prepared to do hands on work to help people, as also that they have a development project of their own, growing cotton if I remember well.

One recent needy person was Margaret who lives on the hillside just behind our church. She has two grass-roofed mud huts in which she and 13 other children, grandchildren and others live. Like nearly everyone else in this rural area, she depends on what she grows for survival.

Several of the women on the hillside I visited are heads of families. One blessing is that there is an abundant supply of water from a stream flowing down from the hills. These women have carved out a piece of land where they grown maize, cotton and other things. They have to carry the water from the stream, but still it’s a blessing for them. The children had accidentally burned down one of the houses. Everything was burned, clothes, blankets, crockery, the lot. I requested the local Small Christian Community of St Patrick’s to re-thatch the house, which they did and we’re still in the process of providing what we can to help her. I was able to use some of the presents like a strong blanket and some clothes that were amongst my Kabwata parish gifts.

I also found that none of the children there were at school and asked Margaret to inscribe at least the eldest three for next year, promising to pay the probably fairly minimal costs. Mind what the children get is pretty minimal. I asked some about how long they were at school. The answer was from 8-10 in the morning. Presumably another stream comes in then.

Here distances are very different from Kabwata where the furthest point of the parish was only about 5 km away, even if we had some 25,000 parishioners. Here the distances to the Mass centres vary, but some are certainly a good deal further than 5 km, especially during the rainy season that began a couple of weeks ago which means that in some cases I may have to make a big detour for some of the Mass centres not to get stuck in the mud. Also the nearest big town, Chipata, is 70 km away and the road to it is full of potholes.

I was there a few weeks ago for different reasons, one being the collapse of my care's handbrake. To my relief, the diocesan garage kindly got down to repairing it at once. Whilst the mechanics were repairing it, they selected from my music tapes to accompany their work. I was struck by the choice that they were obviously best pleased with: Gregorian chant!

One Sunday several weeks after my arrival we had a farewell Mass for the young Zambian priest whom I’ve replaced. Being a rural area, the presents offered were of a different kind to mine, plenty of chickens and ducks for a start. Anyhow the Mass was very lively, as it always is here. What impressed me was that the powerful choir, drawn from our different Christian Communities, had a wonderful rhythmic background, thanks to drums and especially guitars, all homemade. The guitars sounded just as good to me as the bought jobs. We had the liturgical dancing girls. One of their jobs here I noticed is for two of them to stand next to the boys in front of the church when the people come up to put money in the collection. Standing either side they give a little rhythmic shuffle and sway to the beat of the guitars and drums accompanying the hymn.

I gather that the bishop expects all the parishes to provide food and other needs for their priests. It might be a bit much for a small parish like ours. There must have been a few hundred present at the Mass. The collection came to less than £3. Very popular as a donation are the notes of 50 kwacha, the local currency. As I get about 6000 kwacha for £1, we need quite a lot of those widows’ mites to reach the bishop’s target.

In fact the kwacha has appreciated in recent times for whatever reason so that I get quite a bit less for my pounds than I used to. Anyhow, although the collection may not come to that much, quite often people offer gifts in kind, a chicken, some rice or vegetables, even a couple of bottles of coke on one occasion, and they have a real concern for ‘the care of the priest’.

Recently, when the electricity had not been working for over a day and our water tank ran dry, a group of women suddenly appeared with plastic containers of waters on their heads drawn from a well with a hand pump to fill a bit plastic drum we have for such emergencies.

Whilst the diocese has certain funds for the centre, I think I will have to help out myself using money from people like the Pelicans at least for the beginning. At the bookshop in Chipata I bought 12 bibles in the local language to lend to those who come for retreats. Also I bought a board plus black paint that I also use for retreats and workshops. The people, the majority of whom could not afford a bible of their own, appreciate this very much. Wanting to get more I find that the stock has temporarily run out.

What has set us back quite a bit financially is that there was a Brother here for nearly a year who turned out to be not quite what is expected of a Religious Brother. The priest I replaced already warned me and I had to make quite a few investigations about rumours and allegations all around. However all this was overtaken by events. The bishop was sent a letter from a lady in Lusaka claiming that the ‘Brother’ was in fact her husband and that if he didn’t come back to her to take care of their child she would sue the Brothers Congregation. Needless to say the bishop had to dismiss him at once. I found though that a great deal of money was unaccounted for and have had to pay £300 to settle debts left by him.

Our main source of income is a grinding mill that at the same time gives a valuable service to the people around. The snag about it is that when the electricity goes off that’s it. Quite often I’ve seen the people waiting the whole day for it to come back on. Moreover, after two poor harvests, the stock of grain people have is running out. The worse months are probably still to come, January and February. We may have to do something to help those whose food stocks run out.

Life is pretty basic here in the rural area, but still it is a privilege and joy to be here. As I’ve found everywhere in Zambia the people are very friendly, the children a delight and a good number of people willing to offer their services in the work of the apostolate.

I’d better stop here, but would wish all Pelicans all the blessings the Lord surely dearly wants you to have and may his loving care be with you in the year to come. Many thanks to you too for your loving care of us here.

Sincerely yours,

Fr David Cullen, M.Afr

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How Your Donation Has Helped

An Update from
Fr David Cullen

Mphangwe Prayer Centre
P.O. Box 511154
Chipata
Zambia

Temporary address:

Missionaries of Africa
P.O. Box 320076
Woodlands
Lusaka
Zambia

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Dear Pelicans,

I’ve again received some splendid news from the Treasurer in London that you had contributed another £500 to help us out here. Many thanks indeed.

I’m in Lusaka at present, but should not really be here. The reason is that about 3 weeks before Christmas I started to feel unwell. When eventually I went to the local rural hospitals, I was treated for malaria, all to no avail. By Christmas Day I was totally flat, unable to say Mass. Fortunately one of my fellow White Fathers was able to come to Mphangwe for the Masses. At the same time he was driving to Lusaka on Boxing Day and was able to bring me here to Lusaka where I spent nearly a month in hospital. Eventually it was discovered that I had TB.

For 12 years I was going to the prisons in Lusaka, very much exposed to the literally hundreds of TB sufferers incarcerated in the prisons. All this exposure seems at last to have caught up on me, so I now have an enforced 2 months rest and convalescence.

The pills I have to take daily are obviously doing me good, although sometimes I experience the side effect of a feeling of weakness. No doubt things will improve all round. Having completed the first 30 days of treatment last week I went back to the hospital and was given the same pills for another 30 days. Strictly speaking, that should be the end of my two months rest cure and I hope I shall be able to return to Mphangwe towards the end of next month. I’m missing the bush, but I must say it is very pleasant where I am, a retreat house, very quiet and peaceful. Even when I’m back in Mphangwe I will have faithfully to take pills for a further 4 months. It seems that if you miss just one day, you have to begin the treatment all over again. I think that will motivate me strongly enough to make sure I don’t miss a day.

Why your help is so timely is that although I left Kabwata last October, the SVP there still looks to me as their principal source of income for the poor. At the same time where I now am in Mphangwe there is also a lot of poverty, of a different kind from the town, but very real just the same. The good news though is that a parish of 140 parishioners in Kent wrote to me asking if I could put them in touch with a poor parish with which they wanted a partnership. Hopefully it was the Holy Spirit, but I explained in detail the work of the SVP in Kabwata and how pleased I would be if someone else would take over the major responsibility for providing funds. The person who corresponded with me seems quite enthusiastic, but needed the approval of the parish priest.

At the same time my fellow priest, Fr Oswald Mallya, who really took over the SVP and the prisons from me, is in England following a 3-month course of spiritual direction and prayer guidance, very similar to the one I followed in 1997. The parish has asked him to visit them when the course is finished, early in April. I really think that he will be persuasive enough to enlist the help of the parish as he has a heart very much for the poor and the prisoners.

For the time being though I try to help the SVP with their daily care of the poor, the sick, the lame, the homeless, the prisoners, those stranded and sleeping at the bus station and so on. Whatever happens in the future I will continue to help with education needs there, especially those I started to help whilst I was there. In fact a number of these have already received help, as January here is the beginning of the academic year.

To give you up an up-to-date list:

HELP WITH EDUCATION: KABWATA PARISH
January-February 2006

1. Sydney, a former WF student, needing help for his training course to settle back into normal society:            £70

2. Andrew and Matilda, the children of Bernadette, a sweeper at the hospital most of whose money goes into paying the rent: for exam and school fees £60

3. Caroline, an orphan we have been helping for many years, now in her one but final year, for fees, food (as it’s a self-boarding school), uniform and shoes: £75

4. James, about whom my memory fails me, to complete his exam fees: £25

5. Matildah, whom we have been helping for many years and whose father is dead and mother often sick: fees and uniform £50

6. Mao, now in her third year at university, whose mother Elizabeth is HIV positive, given the disease by her husband who died many years ago. She was pushed out of her mother’s home because of the stigma of AIDS. She does high quality stitch work, making cushion covers and the two daughters plat hair to help survive for food and rent, fees, books etc £240

7. Beatrice, a medical student at the university, also in her third year. Her mother is a widow, retired with no pension. She still has one son at school. For fees and books: £200

8. Barbara is the daughter of a house servant who has 3 other children who are not at school. Her mother made the contribution of toiletries and food. She has still two years at school. We have been paying for her. For fees, jersey, journey money £70.

9. The same Matilda as above who has now left school to enable her to do a computer course, hopefully in view of a job.

10. Milton, a double orphan from Misisi, final year (Grade 12), first term fees: £30

11. Aaron, a double orphan from Misisi, final year (Grade 12), first term fees: £27

12. Charles, a deaf child we have been helping all through school. His mother lives in great poverty in Misisi: first term fees of Grade 9 at a special education school: £25

13. Rodgers Musonda, a double orphan from Misisi, Grade 11, fees: £36

14. Rodgers Lunda, whose father is dead and mother is a volunteer at the home based care, catering for AIDS patients. Together with her other family commitments, she cannot afford the fees, Grade 11: £25

15. Vence, a single orphan from Misisi. We have helped his mother with money for a mini-business. With her other children to care for, she cannot afford the terms’ fees: £27

16. Aklas, a deaf child, a single orphan from Misisi, at a special needs school, term’s fees: £25

17. Nathan Mungo, one of our most faithful SVP members for many years, a junior member, to continue studying for an advanced certificate in social work. He got a ‘distinction’ in the first part and has been doing voluntary work at the hospice. A help towards his course: £90

18. 8 men have died in the Central Prison of cholera. The Catholics managed to give a workshop to help contain the disease and it was much appreciated. Hopefully there will be fewer deaths. So far there have been no further deaths there. At the other big prison, the Remand, where there are over a 1000 inmates, an urgent request was made to give them a workshop. I paid about £200 as a two-thirds contribution to this, hoping that we can save a few lives. Several days afterwards in fact Teresa, a great person for the prisons as also the one who gives the workshops, told me that she had been able to get hold of the last third for the course and had in fact given the workshop. So far from that prison, no deaths!

19. Mike Kaputula, Grade 12, an orphan from Misisi whose aunt sells tomatoes to survive, for exam fees: £8

20 Simon Mbewe, Grade 12 a single orphan staying with his grandmother who sells roasted groundnuts to survive: exam fees £8

21 Mwila Mubanga, an orphan in the care of her grandmother in Misisi. She too survives by selling groundnuts, for exam fees £8

22 Angela Malitali, whose is lame. Both parents are alive, but seem to survive by begging, for exam fees: £8

23 Nancy Chanda: a single orphan. Her father died when she was very young and her mother has recently lost her job. She is at Lusaka Vocation and Training College and needs £50 to continue. Her mother was paying the fees when employed.

24 Boniface Muchelenje: Grade 10. His father died last year and his mother is unemployed. His mother, Nelly, is in fact a very wonderful woman who is deeply involved in the care of HIV/ AIDS sufferers. She is also one of the two members of the parish who is being trained this year as a prayer guide. She was my number one helper at the hospice when I was the chaplain there, preparing for baptism those who wanted to become Christians.   Grade 10, £65

25 Patrick Mutale: recently selected for Grade 8, from Misisi whose mother is extremely poor, trying to survive by selling maize. She is a permanent ‘case’ of the SVP. His father died long ago. Fees: £37

26 Ireen Chanda: The SVP helped her parents last year with a small amount to begin a mini-business. What they earn is not enough to pay for Ireen’s school fees. The family lives in Misisi and have contributed more than half. To make up the rest: £35

27 Aaron and Friday Chiti: Their parents died in a road accident in 2004 and the SVP has been assisting them since. They live in Misisi, in the care of their grandmother who sells vegetables on the streets in the city. They are doing Grade 9, and school fees are £95

28 Mercy Kafwanka from Misisi whose parents are both blind. The SVP keeps them going. She is doing Grade 9,   fees £38

29 Vernius and Nancy Nkhoma whose father is out on bail for stealing a car and whose mother died a year or two ago. He will likely go to jail and is a real crook, having cheated me on a number of occasions. However we cannot visit the sins of parents on their children:   school fees Grade 8, £60

30 Rachel, who is mentally retarded and perhaps also damaged. Her mother Brenda is inadequate, unable really to take proper care of her. Brenda’s husband died in prison many years ago. There were 3 children. The social welfare put the other two girls into a local orphanage knowing that Brenda was not able to give them what they really needed. Then, with another man, she had twins. These were taken to an excellent orphanage we have in Lusaka run by nuns. Unfortunately one died. Brenda now has another baby on her back. Who is the man involved? Brenda has been allowed to keep and care for Rachel, but the care is very poor. We wanted her to take her to the special needs school in Misisi, but she is not able to be consistent. Then we heard of a boarding school for special needs which has agreed to take Rachel. I’ve told the SVP that I will pay everything so long as Rachel can go there and so have some hope in life, more particularly when Brenda is no longer around.

You will notice that the vast majority of those helped come from Misisi. In case I haven’t explained before, Misisi is the poorest part of the parish being composed of an illegal compound where nevertheless there are about 50,000 people living, some of them having been there for many years. Because it is an illegal settlement, there are no proper roads, no sewage system, no clinics or schools, but plenty of flies, mosquitoes, rats and bits of plastic all over the place. The only amenity supplied by the Council is communal water taps where the women and girls spend long periods queuing with their buckets and plastic containers for water. Some try even to exploit their fellow poor by hiving off some of the water to their homes and then selling it.

For years our Justice and Peace Group, together with a representative group from Misisi, have been pushing the Council to legalise it. We hear rumours that the majority of the Council is in fact in favour of doing so, with certain provisos. As this is an election year I suspect that the Council is waiting for the eve of elections before giving a decision to legalise it.

A new, unhappy development here in Zambia is that the local currency has recently been re-valued by 40% so that I’m getting 40% less for my pounds. This is very bad news for me and for all the needy around. I find it almost incredible that a currency can suddenly take on a value of 40% in just a few weeks and wonder if there is not some political intrigue afoot even though the official reasons given are that Zambia has qualified for the HIPC and so does not have to pay debt scheduling, as also that the price of copper has increased quite a lot, but 40% …?

Anyhow we have to accept the situation as it is. It is not only people like us who are badly hit, but local businesses who now get far less when they try to sell their produce abroad. For a long time the government has been encouraging people to diversify the economy that depends very heavily on copper. Having begun to make good money in other ways like selling exotic vegetables and flowers to Europe, the government now makes it nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit, at least without laying off a great many workers.

Having said all that, even with the reduced rate of exchange, your pounds go a long way. For a 25kg bag of mealy meal, the staple diet sacks of which the SVP keep for the more desperate, we pay about £6. For a 90kg sack of beans, also kept by the SVP, we would pay about £40 and a sack like that goes a long way. The bus fare to the furthest point of the country would still only cost about £12 or £13. There is a big market here of what is called ‘salaula’, second hand clothes sold very cheaply. A pair of shoes for children at salaula prices would cost about £4. On the whole too medicine is fairly cheap.

In my new home and parish of Mphangwe, the situation is very different. We are right out in the ‘bush’, actually only 30 km from the parish of Katete where I spent 8 years from 1978-86. My main reason for being there is to help get off the ground a retreat centre that was built many years ago but has never become operational. At the same time there is – by Zambian standards – a small parish, one that in fact takes in a part of my old parish of Katete so that I’m meeting some familiar faces of the years ago when I was there. The spot is very picturesque, just at the foot of some high hills, and very quiet. I’m also meant to help with the formation of a Brothers Congregation, the Brothers of St John the Baptist. So far though we have not been able to get anything off the ground.

I have to find funds for education in my new home. Already quite a few have asked for ‘piecework’ to earn money for school for themselves or even for their children. Over Christmas two young men at secondary school, Joseph and Peter, one of them actually a minor seminarian, helped me enormously and I’ve paid for their coming year’s fees. Also, amongst others, I was one day asked to visit Margaret, living up on the hillside near us. It was quite a climb to get there. She, the head of a household of 13, lives with them all in two mud huts with straw roofs. Unfortunately the children set fire to one, so the roof and everything inside was destroyed. I asked the local Small Christian Community to help her by re-roofing the house, which they did. Then our Good Samaritan Group, the local equivalent of the SVP, made a door for the house and we were able to provide some clothes and money to help.

I admire these women who carve out of the hill a garden in which they plant all kinds of things. Fortunately there is an abundant water supply flowing down from the hills, but still it has to be carried quite a distance. I discovered that none of the children were going to school and asked Margaret to subscribe at least the eldest 3, which she has done, promising her that I would pay. I have to follow up the schooling here. I hope I got it wrong, but I asked some children what time they began school and was told at 8 a.m. and yet they are out by 10 a.m. and another stream goes in. As the school is cut off during the rainy season I will have to wait until March to visit it and find out the situation. I asked a headmistress here in Lusaka about the schooling and she told me that the children should have at least 3 hours. Anyhow I shall look into it when I return to the ‘bush’.

There are no villages in the area, but for the most part subsistence farmers. Their homes are made of mud with straw roofs, though as time goes on they try to replace the roofing with corrugated iron. They are entirely dependent on what they grow so that a good rainy season is absolutely crucial for their survival. The last two years have not been that marvellous though this year so far the rains have been good. The poverty is of a different level from town. I hardly ever see children wearing shoes, and often their clothes are very ragged. Probably for school they have to buy shoes and at Sunday Mass quite a few also have shoes.

The people plant two crops: maize for their food and cotton as a cash crop. They do reasonably well with the cotton, though they would surely get far more if the American cotton farmers were not subsidised up to the hilt. One of our parishioners named Setrida was telling me how last year from what she got for her cotton she was able to buy two cows. In our immediate area we have good plentiful water, thanks to the streams coming from the hills and many people have a garden in which they can grow vegetables. In the latest budget though it seems that the government again wants to penalise the poor by putting on a tax of 17% for goods like cotton.

Quite a few have asked me for a loan for fertilizer to ensure a good cotton yield and I’m pretty sure I will be repaid. I’m sure more would be asking me for help were I there as these months of January to March are the most difficult, with last year’s food supplies gradually running out. I would like to have a fund for such needs as fertilizer to ensure that the people can get the best results from their crops. Your donation certainly makes a vision of that kind possible.

The people are very friendly and helpful in Mphangwe. At the two parish councils I’ve attended so far one of the agenda items was: ‘care of the priest’. I was very struck one day when, due to the poor electricity supply, we ran out of water. Hardly ten minutes had passed before a flotilla of women arrived with buckets and plastic containers of water on their heads, drawn from a hand pump, to pour into a container that we have for such emergencies. Also when I go to the out-stations, even if the collection is rather meagre, the people often give something in kind, eggs, vegetables, a live chicken and other items. Poor though they are, they do their best to take care of me.

The big difference between a parish like Kabwata in the city and Mphangwe is that in town there are plenty of parishioners with leadership qualities and abilities able to give their services to the parish, but in the rural areas we have very few. In Mphangwe there are some very committed leaders and it was especially a teacher couple and another teacher who were rendering very valuable services. Of the couple the wife, Maria, was in fact the head teacher and her husband, Paul, one of the staff members. He was also the vice-chairman of the parish council. Unfortunately in November when the pupils were sitting for the state exams, the exam papers were stolen from their school. There is no electricity there and the thieves broke through the protective bars of the school offices.

Maria was blamed for not having hired a night watchman. Yet the local authorities had certainly not insisted that she should do so. Anyhow she was ‘punished’ (I would say made the scapegoat) by being told she had to leave that school and go elsewhere, a sore blow for the parents, as she is a person of very high quality. At least the local authorities, probably recognising the injustice of the punishment, told her she could choose any school she liked and she would be transferred there as head. She declined, saying she did not want to push out someone who was already in the job and was prepared to go somewhere where there was need. In fact she agreed to go to somewhere right out in the bush where there has not even been a head teacher for 3 years and where the teachers house lacked a roof. Of course they won’t move until the house is repaired. Yet she said ‘God is sending us there’. In spite of her being the head, I’ve seen her on her knees polishing the church floor with the other women. For me the example of this couple shows what real Christianity means.

Of course their going is a blow for me, but hopefully the Lord will provide others.

The retreat centre is gradually taking shape though it will still take some months before we can take in those who want a proper place to stay. I have already given some one-day retreats to different groups in the parish. They come, ready to sleep on a reed mat in the parish hall or elsewhere and also bring their own food, so all they require is the ‘spiritual food’. However we want to have something that will bring in those who need something more and want a week’s retreat, although I hope we can keep the costs as low as possible. People in the rural areas don’t have the kind of money those in the towns often have.

Whilst in hospital they took a long time to discover that I had TB, especially as it did not appear in the sputum, the good part was that they went through my body with a fine toothcomb. The result is that all my parts are in very good condition, such that, presuming that the Lord still has something to do for me here, I should have a fair bit of mileage in me still.

So that’s my news. I am really grateful for the on-going support of you the Pelicans. I haven’t heard recently of Eugene’s health, but hope that no news means good news and that he is making a good recovery. My own ailments pale into insignificance in comparison with his load.

Wishing you all the Lord’s continued blessings and loving care.

Sincerely yours

Fr David

Fr David Cullen, M.Afr

DATE	THE APPEAL	CONTACT
January 2010	An update from Chipata (Zambia) February 2010	Fr David Cullen
January 2010	A 'Street Child' slideshow with commentary by Fr Patrick Shanahan	Eric Creaney
September 2009	News from Chipata (Zambia) September 2009	Fr David Cullen
August 2009	Life in Konadougou Parish, Burkina Faso	Fr Patrick Odhiambo
May 2009	Sponsored Run, in aid of StreetInvest	John Scully
May 2009	'StreetInvest', supporting street children (StreetInvest is an independent Charity and not part of The White Fathers, Missionaries of Africa).	Fr Patrick Shanahan
May 2009	'Streets Ahead' initiave could fold without your help! (Streets Ahead is not part of The White Fathers, Missionaries of Africa).	Fr Patrick Shanahan
April 2009	News from Chipata (Zambia)	Fr David Cullen
Jan 2009	News from Chipata (Zambia)	Fr David Cullen
Aug 2008	Books for the Prayer Centre	Fr David Cullen
May 2008	Mphangwe Prayer Centre	Fr David Cullen
Sept 2007	Mphangwe Prayer Centre	Fr David Cullen
Mar 2007	Mphangwe Prayer Centre	Fr David Cullen
Aug 2006	Thank you for your donation	Fr David Cullen
May 2006	An Update from Fr David Cullen	Fr David Cullen
Feb 2006	How your donation has helped February 2006	Fr David Cullen
Dec 2005	Christmas 2005	Brother Trevor Robinson
Oct 2005	Moving To A New Parish (October 2005)	Fr David Cullen
July 2005	Summer 2005 update and Thank You	Brother Trevor Robinson
July 2005	More Words Of Thanks (February 2005)	Fr David Cullen
Dec 2004	A Christmas Thank You	Brother Trevor Robinson
July 2004	Street Child Africa	Fr Pat Shanahan via Eric Creaney
Aug 2004	A Further Word Of Thanks (August 2004)	Fr David Cullen
Aug 2003	A Word Of Thanks (August 2003)	Fr David Cullen
Feb 2003	A Plea For Help From East Congo	Pére Valentijn via Robbie Dempsey
Oct 2001	A Plea For Help From Ghana	Brother Vincent Davies
Nov 2001	Zambia Calling	Fr Ben Henze
July 2001	Jubilee 2000	Fr Pat Fitzgerald
Jan 2001	St Anthony's Burse	Fr Bill Turnbull WF: The White Fathers
Jan 2001	The Pelican Badge	Eugene MacBride
Sept 2000	The White Fathers / White Sisters Magazine	Paul West
Aug 2000	Information & Memorabilia for The Pelicans' website	Paul West