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JPIC SENEGAL UPDATE
By Sister Laura Cantello, SFP

Everywhere in the globe we experienced a dreadful "summer": on the one hand, unbearable heat, and on the other hand, torrential rains that spread everywhere fear and death.

Going back to Koungheul these days I saw the sign of the flood that hit the area: uprooted trees, huts without roof, roads full of potholes. The usual landscape is totally disrupted. It gives the impression that the earth struggled against aggressors coming from far away.  It's very hurtful to realize that the desert advances and our world today is threatened not only by the atomic bomb but also by the ecological bomb.  Strictly connected to the ecological problem there are hunger, malnutrition, the situation of underdevelopment and poverty that Third World countries still experience. All peoples of the earth are more or less aware that the ecological bomb is already ticking: the number of skin diseases and tumors increasing every day confirms that.

What should we do? What is our answer as SFPs to help disarm this bomb?

Small gestures: to plant trees and give the people the possibility of doing the same. We began during the rain season, but it's still raining and we are not sure whether they will take root. Still, we want to believe that our brother trees will continue to give us some relief from the heat besides fruits and flowers.  It is clear that the ecological deterioration that we are experiencing is the consequence of policies geared toward personal profits rather than the common good. This is being slowly recognized not only by individuals but also by entire peoples.  A fresh breath of air is been felt also in Africa where democracy is beginning to catch on in some countries, while in others there are still wars. NEPAD (New Partnership for African Development) promoted by our Senegalese president Abdulaye Wade and comprising all the West African countries, is a definite sign of hope.  It is cause for reflection the fact that Africa represents 2% of world commerce and the average age is 48 years old.

The priorities of the program are as follows:

bullet working toward establishing a democratic government
bullet improve economy
bullet provide infrastructures
bullet education
bullet new technologies
bullet agriculture
bullet environment
bullet sources of energy
bullet entrance in the free market
bullet health care

The various countries have resolved to explore more fully on one or two priorities and then share the outcome so that countries can cooperate. Each priority definitely carries its own huge issues, but I find that the courage of the Third World to take charge of its own destiny is beautiful.

We SFPs, a small drop in this African ocean, know that there is a close connection between the charitable, educational and formative activities that we carry out and the protection of the Creation. To defend human life and to defend the universe are two sides of the same coin. We can understand this very well in the Canticle of the Creatures where St. Francis calls everything either "brother or sister" and recommends to us universal brotherhood, the milestone for building peace in the world.

         

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