Three motorcycles for religious brothers in a rural area
The “Rural Missionary Brothers” (Frères Missionnaires des Campagnes) have been working in Africa since 1969. Today, they are present in four West African countries: Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Mali. However, numerous areas of West Africa now face the threat of jihadist terrorism. In Burkina Faso in particular, Christians suffer greatly from this violence and persecution. The situation is critical, and in 2021, two of the missionary brothers in Burkina Faso were in fact victims of kidnapping. Miraculously, it seems, they were later released, but for security reasons, the community decided that the young novices would carry out their novitiate in neighbouring Togo.
So now, in addition to the four brothers already working there, an additional five novices are stationed in Manga in the Diocese of Kara, in the north of the country. As their name suggests, the special charism of this community is the care of people in the poorer and underdeveloped rural regions of the country. The brothers regularly visit the often isolated and remote parish communities. In the past, however, this was far from easy, as there were only two motorcycles for nine people. Adding to the challenge was that often, several of the men needed to travel to different places at the same time, sometimes up to 50 km. apart.
Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we were able to contribute $5,106 for three additional motorcycles. Brother Basile Kiema, the prior of the community, has written to thank us: “We face numerous different challenges. But thanks to your help, we have been able to purchase three motorcycles, which will help us to more easily reach the people in need in the countryside and be close to them. We are most grateful to you!”
