Polish lay missionaries visit Ghana

For most of the members of the expedition, this trip to Ghana was their first direct contact with the African continent. Each of them dreamt to go there and to stay in that place, even though for a short time, and to see if it could become their permanent destination. Fr Maciek Zielinski had made a careful selection of the participants. He chose only people spiritually mature and professionally qualified. In this way, the members of the group “called” to visit Ghana belong to these three professions: medical, educational and agricultural.

“In my Father’s house” is a center built in 2000. It’s a place where more than one hundred Ghanaian children live. Most of them are orphans or are facing difficult situations at home. The center runs also a school where more than 500 children receive an education. Since its foundation, 12 years ago, the institution has grown to an impressive size. It has a large compound with many buildings. Its facilities are provided with electricity and running water. The project is sponsored mainly by the Italian counterpart of “In My Father’s house”. A project pursuing similar goals.

The Polish LMC visitors spent their time in collecting valuable data, but especially in engaging themselves actively in the life of the Center and even with some activities in the town of Abor. The Medical Group worked in a local hospital, helping patients, especially those in great need, medically or economically. The Teachers offered themselves to lead a number of additional classes on different subjects, creating a lot of interest and participation. The group skilled in agriculture promoted the plantation of tomatoes, onions, cabbages and many other vegetables. This project in the future will provide healthy food for the people of “In my Father’s house”.

This is the comment of Magdalena, a 23 year old physiotherapist from Poznań. “For me the journey to Ghana was a very valuable experience. At the hospital, I saw a lot of suffering, but that situation didn’t discourage me from participating in the activities of the hospital. I would like to come back here someday, because I saw that there is a lot of work to do”, she said.

Fr Maciej Zielinski made a similar comment: “Africa has something special. If I were offered to go to Africa to work there permanently, I would not hesitate a moment. It’s the place, where I would like to preach the Word of God.”

The group also visited the capital of Ghana, Accra, as well as Cape Coast and Mafi-Kumase. There they observed the activities of the local Comboni Missionaries and experienced living in their community. Most probably in the near future some members of the Polish team will come to offer their permanent help to the African Centers they had visited.
Artur Wiśniewski