Thanks to Yasmine Cajuste we have chronicles of events taking place at VFCAP CAMEROON, Vincentian Family Collaborative Action Program.

THE FIRST DAY

Ngoya, June 23, 2015

This formation session for the Vincentian Family was initiated today at the House of Formation (Father Poullart Des Places) in Ngoya at 7:00pm.

All the branches of the Vincentian Family in Cameroon are participating in this event: the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity (Sister Jean Anthide), the AIC, the VMY, MMA, SSVP, FAVIDE … a member from the AIC in Chad is also participating in this formation session.

In his introductory remarks, Father Clement Ondoua, CM,  regional superior of the Congregation of the Mission, welcomed the participants from the different branches of the Vincentian Family who are taking advantage of this opportunity that has been offered to them by an international team (Yasmine Cajuste, Haiti; Denise el Khoury, Lebanon).

Yasmine then presented the five modules that will be developed during the course of this session (VFCAP- program of action for collaboration in the Vincentian Family). The objective of this programs is to better the collaboration in the Vincentian Family by utilizing adequate tools.

The participants in this session ought to commit themselves to communicating this message to other members and to other branches, thus strengthen collaboration within the Vincentian Family that is ministering in Cameroon.

Some of the participants spoke about their hope and expectations with regard to this session.

This was followed by the celebration of the votive Mass for Saint Vincent de Paul and was presided by Father Clemente, Regional Superior. During his homily Father commented on the biblical texts that were chosen for this occasion and highlighted the example of Jesus Christ as he served the poor who are our lords and masters.

VFCAP CAMEROON – THE SECOND DAY

After the celebration of the Eucharist that was presided by Father Clement and concelebrated by two Holy Ghost Fathers, Denise presented a summary of the previous day and then introduced Martine who in turn spoke about the various branches of the Vincentian Family (namely, the AIC, the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity, the Vincent de Paul Society, the Vincentian Marian Youth Association, FAVIDE) … all of whom serve the poor and desire to engage in a process of collaboration in order to make their ministry more effective.

In the first module Yasmine spoke briefly about some Vincentian history and emphasized the follow four key points: [1] nothing can be done alone, [2] there is always a mutual benefit that results from collaboration, [3] serve is beneficial both for the one who serves and the one who is served, [4] Vincentians are rooted in the present. We were able to see that collaboration in the Vincentian Family is both essential and necessary. The second module was presented by Pulcherie and in this sessions the five characteristic Vincentian virtues were highlighted, namely, humility, simplicity, gentleness, mortification and zeal. These session was followed by workshops.

The afternoon began with the third module which revolved around the issues of community resources. There steps are involved in taking an inventory of those resources: first, the resources must be recognized (named), then they must be situated within a context and finally mobilized. Dieudonné Ayissi then spoke about individual styles in the process of collaboration and sister Angéle Tamacho, DC spoke about Vincentian prayer. Thus the second day of formation was concluded.

VFCAP CAMEROON – THIRDAY DAY

June 25, 2015

The session began with a concelebration of the Eucharist (the Holy Ghost Fathers and Father Clement). This was followed by a summary of the previous day. Yasmine then continued with the presentation of module #1 and spoke about Rosalie Rendu, Frederic Ozanam and Catherine Laboure. She highlighted the manner in which these persons ministered with members of the Vincentian Family and with other persons and organizations outside the Family. Catherine Laboure continued to be an important person with regard to collaboration even though she ministered in silence. Yasmine then spoke about the difference between cooperation and collaboration. The group then moved into the fourth module and developed the theme: the Vincentian as a facilitator (one who reactivates). In this section we reflected on the concept of being an agent of change, being rooted in God, and discerning the will of God through means of apostolic reflection.

After defining the concept of conflict, Denise presented this concept as one that, as a result of varying situations, creates an uncomfortable environment between individuals and/or groups. Different types of conflict were explained and then the participants explored different way of managing such conflicts. Later, the participants engaged in a conversation about project management and during that dialogue the aspects of planning, managing and evaluation were highlighted. We conclude this session with a reflection on the characteristics of a good coordinator and with a further discussion of Vincentian prayer focusing on the parable of the Good Samaritan.