Basankusu: Meeting friends and challenges – old and new

Meeting friends and challenges – old and new

As we move firmly into 2015, I’ve made some progress in meeting … meeting old friends and new, meeting situations and challenges. Mill Hill Missionaries used to be the driving force of Basankusu Diocese, in the Congo – now we are a community of only three: Fr John Kirwan MHM from Merseyside, Fr Stan Bondoko MHM who is Congolese, and myself – a lay missionary from St Gabriel’s Parish, in Ormesby, Middlesbrough.

Francis Hannaway in one of the Basankusu schools for orphans.
The children are enjoying sitting at their new desks.

My first meeting – and challenge – was the extremely hot and humid weather; it’s so tiring. To do a day’s work in such stifling heat is sometimes like climbing a mountain. We have had a little respite recently, with some cooler days and a little breeze now and then. We are lucky to have a generator which we turn on for a few hours each evening. It gives us enough power to turn on a few lights, the TV (three news channels are all that’s worth seeing), pump water into the oil-drums in the loft (that’s our water tank), and use the washing machine. The electricity generated isn’t enough to pump water and run the washing machine at the same time, though, so we have to do one thing at a time. As time goes on, you start to get used to the heat … perhaps after a year.

My next meeting was with the teachers and children of the voluntary schools for orphans. Last year I visited one such school, called the School of Hope (see my YouTube channel), and met children who were starting lessons who otherwise would be barred from school because of the cost. This year I was taken to two more similar schools for orphans. It was really uplifting to see the local community making such an effort – teaching children to read, write and count … and to provide meals as well – when so many of the volunteers have so little themselves. A wooden desk for three children costs £10 – perhaps you’d like to buy one to help them on their way.

The children sit on the floor.

I met with my own students, here at Maison St Joseph (St Joseph’s House). Candidates who want to discern their vocation have a long road to travel. The school leaving certificate isn’t considered enough to get them into the seminary. We give them nine months of “orientation” – lessons to set them on their feet before they enter “basic formation” in Kenya. After two years there, if they are successful, they can enter the Mill Hill seminary in Uganda. I’ve got to say, that I couldn’t wish to meet a nicer group of young men and wish them every success in their life-journey.

Happy children with new desks

I met with Bishop Mokobe, the bishop of Basankusu. He welcomed me to his house and chatted about his own experience of travelling, having just returned from a gruelling tour of the diocese by river. He also had some amusing tales to tell about his visits to Europe. Above all, he was very welcoming, very pleased that I had taken the plunge and come to Africa – despite all the terrible things that are happening here, not least, of which is Ebola, of course. He also asked me to teach at the minor seminary in Bonkita, 12 miles down the river from here.

Fr Stan Bondoko introduced me to the Basankusu Youth Choir. They seem to half the ability to improvise complex harmonies at the drop of a hat; when I met them here at Maison St Joseph they did just that. The choir were on their way to spend three days performing at churches in Waka parish of Christ the King. Although it’s only fifty miles away, it took them almost four hours to get there in a 4-wheel drive car – because of the poor state of the roads. Amongst the choristers were some very capable youth leaders who hope to get young people to play a greater role in the life of the local church. Choir members accepted the hospitality of parishioners for somewhere to eat and sleep.

I left Kinshasa over a month ago and it seemed disorganised but peaceful. This week, however, I met with the grim realities of life in a country without democracy and the rule of law. Today sees the third day of protests in Kinshasa; it is to do with the President trying to cling to power by changing the constitution. Cars have been overturned and shops looted. The government’s response is, of course, to open fire on – not just the protesters – but anyone who is in the vicinity. I can’t begin to describe the terrible things that have happened – suffice to say that there are many dead.

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If you would like to send a donation to support the school for orphans,

Send a cheque or contact me for bank details or Western Union

(£10 will buy a wooden desk for 3 children) make cheques payable to, “Mill Hill Missionaries (Francis Hannaway - Congo)” and include a covering note. Send to: Mill Hill Missionaries, St Joseph’s Parish Centre, PO Box 3608, MAIDENHEAD SL6 7UX