The Poor Who Evangelize Us

The Lord has led me to Africa for a third time, to this still young and spellbinding land. On my last journey here I experienced a deeper sense of belonging to this land, as if a door to a greater awareness and appreciation of the Tanzanian reality had opened. What continues to touch me, even from the time I first set foot in Africa, is the smile of the people and their extraordinary capacity for welcoming. This is true even of the poorest or most incapacitated. If they have nothing else to offer, at least their smiles are always an expression of their sincere welcome.

Everyone knows that Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world; 60% of the people do not have electricity and 40% have no access to potable water. Few families have water in their homes, and the majority of them have to walk kilometers to a water source. In general, this task of fetching water is reserved for children or adolescents, who carry out this task after school, and often washing the family laundry when doing this. I still carry in my heart the image of a 6 year old child who had carried home a full bucket of water on her head energetically and even nimbly. Upon arriving close and seeing us, she set down the load with a big smile of joy. This small child showed me so much strength and courage. I remember another young boy who told us that some days before he had been studying by candlelight when he fell asleep because of fatigue. The candle fell and the house caught fire. When the youth came to the sisters, his hands were so burned that it was difficult for him to open them. Even with the pain and the loss of the house, he continued to smile and to show his patient acceptance of this new reality, which, according to him, had been allowed by God. It seemed clear to me that even in the most difficult and needy situations, any one of us can receive the light and the grace that help us on our way of following and working for the reign of God.

For me, these days in Tanzania have been an opportunity for a new spiritual experience. I have felt reinvigorated in my service and stimulated by the witness of our sisters who are in daily contact with these people. These women offer their lives for the dignity and promotion of the Tanzanian people. They do this with simplicity and courage, even tolerating, when necessary, the deep contradictions and ambiguities of the Tanzanian culture. I can say that if Moses had his face to face contact with God in the burning bush, I have seen the Lord face to face in meeting these poor and in sharing the life and service of our sisters among these people.

S. Clementina Copia

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