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Sr. Valérie Kaboré Sibdou
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Sr. Valérie is from Burkina Faso. Now she
is in Algeria in the community of Hydra. For the time being, she does not have
a fix job. She works two days and half in a library in the section of Biology
and Medicine. Once a week she works at the reception of the Basilica of Our lady
of Africa and Saturdays she works in a center for young people called
“Friendship without borders”
Hélène Kavula Bikwe: Reflect
on your entire experience with the MSOLA Congregation. Recall a time when you
felt most alive, most involved, spiritually touched, or most excited about your
involvement. Tell me about this memorable experience that you have had with in
MSOLA. Describe the event in detail.
Valérie: The
experience, I would like to share happened, in 2000, when I was in Chad for the
apostolic experience. I was in charge, at the parish level, of the group of
“guides” a youth organization created by Lord Baden Powel. It came to me from
the others girls that one of them (the niece of the wife of the catechists) was
pregnant. I couldn’t believe it, since she was so quiet and simple. Then I
called her to check. She denied it, but after a quick examination, we had to
face the reality of the pregnancy. I then invited her to go to the dispensary
to register herself and follow up what was proposed. When she reached 8 months,
she was detected with anemia and it was decided that she goes to the bigger
hospital in Moundou.
Usually for the transportation, the
dispensary (run by our sisters) pays 2/3 and the family 1/3 of the cost. For
that too, she needed to go either with her “husband”, the father of the child
to be born (whom we didn’t know) because of the necessity of any possible blood
transfusion. Here the problems began. The family refused to go. One of the
sisters had to go to the house and find out what were the reasons. After a long
time discussion, the girl confessed that it is the parish priest who made her
pregnant. What a shock! What to do? This same priest was about to leave for
studies in Rome. We shared the situation in the community. We came to the
conclusion that we had to do something about it. We then went (the 3 of us- 2
sisters were on home leave) to share the situation with the others sisters in
our second community in Dely. It took a whole afternoon for reflection, prayer
and sharing. We came to the decision to inform the bishop. Two sisters were
sent for that. After listening to the sisters, the bishop came to the parish
and the priest was stopped from going to Rome. He also had to take care of the
girl (unfortunately the child didn’t survive.)
Hélène: What made it an
exciting experience?
Valérie: It was the
whole process we went through and the awareness of fighting for Justice: the
examination of the reality, the involvement of all the sisters and the feeling
of being a community living in solidarity and ready to assume the consequences
together.
Hélène: Who was
involved?
Valérie: The entire
community, the young girl and her family and the bishop of the Diocese.
Hélène: How did
you feel?
Valérie: I had mixed
feelings: The joy of being involved in the process of community discernment.
The fear of the consequences, especially the reactions of the priests and the
local people, and the assurance that together we can!
Hélène: What you did as
a result of the experience?
Valérie: Looking back at
the experience, I discovered that I shared a deep and fruitful apostolic
experience. I felt strengthen in my desire to become a MSOLA. This experience
has been a stepping stone that I recall in mind when I find myself in hard
situation.
Hélène: Now, what are
the things you value deeply about MSOLA? When you feel best about being a
MSOLA, what about yourself do you value? What is the single most important
thing that MSOLA has contributed to your life?
Valérie: About MSOLA, I
value the deep faith of many of these women, I had the chance to meet, the
respect of people to whom they were sent to, and the strength they are able to
communicate to others.
What I value about myself, is the deep
awareness of being able to stand on my feet with the Lord, because nothing can
cut off the flow of God’s life within every human being and in the world.
The single most important thing that MSOLA
has contributed to my life is the rootedness in Christ who calls us to be “all
to God and all to the others” no matter the situation. In other words, it is to
always go beyond boundaries (my own limits, difficulties, ignorance…) so that
to give and receive the life of God.
Hélène: What do you
think is the core value of MSOLA? What values give life to the Congregation?
What is it that, if it did not exist, would make MSOLA totally different than
it currently is?
Valérie: For me the core
value of MSOLA is the rootedness in Christ, our intercultural community life
and the dedication to become channels of life.
The values which give life to the
Congregation: faith, promoting life to his fullness in every human being,
reaching out to promote different cultures.
If we lose our inter-culturality (when
accepted and lived peacefully) and our call to always go to… and beyond… we are
lost.
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