The current report from the Vincentian Solidarity Office writes of Minibuses, motorbikes and more
Scott Fina shares reflections concerning the heartbreaking loss suffered by our Nigerian Province. He is in his twelfth year of service as the associate director of the VSO.
This horrific news tore at my heart. In 2014, the VSO co-funded the purchase of the minibus that the seminarians were riding in when they had their accident. But my connection to the story goes deeper. The first travel I conducted for the VSO was to Nigeria in 2004. During my visit I made the same journey from the philosophy house in Ikot Epene to the theology house in Enugu. The sights on this road were typical of what I observed in Nigeria: immense poverty and many weary people struggling to eke out a living. The road itself was in drastically poor condition with numerous, deep potholes. Equally troubling, was that every several kilometers an armed soldier stopped traffic to collect an unauthorized “toll” from vehicles. For me, the road leading into Enugu came to symbolize one of the main issues impeding the economic development of Nigeria, a nation so rich in oil and other natural resources, and yet so poor: widespread public corruption that has undermined progress on basic infrastructure….
Motorbikes in South India
The mission parishes of the South Indian Province typically have outstations that are beyond walking distance. The people in these remote villages only receive pastoral services if confreres travel to them.
Training Program in Vohipeno for vulnerable youth in Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest countries.
The VSO recently assisted Tanjomoha with a new program: the Ecole Supérieure d’Informatique et de Gestion Appliquée de Tanjomoha (ESIGAT)
ESIGAT trains vulnerable youth, and youth with disabilities, in computers (IT), accounting, English and French, to make them more employable in Madagascar’s modernizing economy.
