Central African Republic is a landlocked African country of about 5 million people. It is boarded by Chad in the north, Sudan in the east, Congo DRC in the south and Cameroun in the west; thus it is located at the centre of Africa, hence it’s name. It is formerly a French colony and got her independence the same year as Nigeria. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, ravaged by war and diseases. It practices unitary system of government whereby everything is centralized in the country capital (Bangui), thereby inhibiting the growth and development of its prefectures. Its citizens are predominantly Christian. The population of Muslims is about just 5 percent. Since independence, the country has not experienced peace or a stable government. There have been different coup d’état and crises by multiple rebel groups till date. These crises have claimed millions of lives and properties worth billions. These crises which are consequent of the continuous battle for the abundant mineral resources and control of government have increased poverty and insecurity in the country. The average Central African feeds only once a day. Efforts are being made by the government to negotiate with the rebels let peace reign, but the more the talking, the more the killings because the rebels are more armed than the national army who at present are under embargo by the United Nations on purchase and owning of ammunition. Dozens of people are being killed every day including priests who are the only voice of truth in the country.

OUR MISSION SO FAR

We arrived at Bangui, on the evening of 30^th October, 2019 and were welcomed by the SMA Fathers who hosted us in their regional house for 6 months as arranged by our Bishop who is an SMA. There are two languages used in the country. French is the official language while Sango is the National language. The Bishop and all the people we met were disappointed that we don’t speak French. By the arrangement, we are to come and learn the national language in addition to the French which we are supposed to have learnt before coming. We didn’t know the effect until classes were organized for us to learn Sango. The teacher could not speak English; we could not speak or understand French. “Why did MSP do this to us?” we lamented. Again, we didn’t have complete immigration papers. We were practically living like prisoners because we did not have resident permit so we could not go out. In fact, once we went for a programme at the Cathedral and as we were leaving, since the Cathedral does not have fence we were arrested by the police for not having identification. It was not enough to say or show we are priests. This resident permit was to be prepared immediately we arrived but was not because we were supposed to travel with police reports from Nigeria certifying that we do not have criminal records which will be used in processing it. No one told us this before our departure and we looked like fools before the people. We managed to finish learning Sango and we hope to find a way on our own to learn French since it is a necessary tool for work here.

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL PARISH BORRO, BOSSANGOA

We finally arrived at Bossangoa diocese and were introduced at Saints Peter and Paul parish, Borro, Bossangoa on Palm Sunday 14^th April 2019. Bossangoa is one of the 9 dioceses in the country with a total number of 14 parishes. It is located in the north of the country, in Ouham prefecture (on the border with Chad), where the rebels have carried out most of the killings and are still killing people, as at the time of writing this report. Some of the parishes at the borders to Chad have been closed as priests and many Christians have been killed. There is the presence of the UN military base in Bossangoa, as it is in other devastated areas of the country, but it seems they are doing nothing to tackle this problem. The Bishop is working very hard every day to bring peace but this has not fully been achieved. Between 2013 and 2017, Bossangoa was a ghost land as many people were killed and properties were destroyed. It was the food basket of the nation and flourished greatly, but now its population has dropped to about 36,000. The parish was established in 1963 by the French Capuchin Fathers. It has an estimated population of about 4,000 parishioners, with 22 outstations. The parish church structure is dilapidated, as half of it is already falling, together with its roof. The Fathers’ house is also almost inhabitable. The Bishop has promised to procure two motorcycles for our pastoral work. For now we move with public motor bikes. These are challenges we would be faced with as we engage into active pastoral work here. We learnt that the Sacraments of baptism and First Holy Communion are administered during Christmas and Easter periods, and we baptised twenty-five persons on Easter Sunday, while thirty-two persons received first Holy Communion. The people are welcoming but have endless demands for material assistance. The crux of the work here is mainly primary evangelization as it seems to us from what we have seen; most people here lack foundational knowledge of the Faith. They may come to Church in numbers just to dance and dance and immediately after the Mass they head to their drinking bars. Basic spirituality is lacking.