Fr. Abel Agbulu, CM reports on a thriving (72 members) Vincentian Marian Youth group in Nigeria. It is of particular interest not only in that it is a collaborative effort of the CM and the DC but also in that it has a vision of how they can do outreach using the internet as well as integrating persons with speech or hearing difficulties.
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The following is excerpted from his letter to me.
“The CIF program left a wonderful impression on me, the most significant of which is zeal in the community’s charism and apostolate.
Here I am deeply involved in the facilitiation of the Vincentian Marian Youth group. We are actually establishing it for the first time in the this country. I have two other Daughters of Charity in the team of facilitation.
Nigeria as you may know is almost one-third the size of the United States of America. And we are nearly 200 million in population with over 100 million of average age of 28. On the church front, there are 48 dioceses and mission areeas. Following this statistic, we are taking up just one out the 48 dioceses, in order to ensure a solid foundation of the Association, facilitating a proper formation in the spirituality and life of the Association.
We needed the Bishop’s approval to embark on the apostolate of spread, which we in turn received gratuitously. We are tremendously amazed at the response from the youth; we began a proper initial formation of registered members on 4th September 2004, and, we have laready got a steady group of 72 in regular attendance.
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They are excited themselves by the interest they demonstrate. They seem enthusiastic with great eagerness to bring in their God-given skills and talents; they show equal desire in the work for the less privileged in the soicety, in the catechesis of the Church in the light we present thematerials, in the excitement of meeting other youth from distant places, and so on.
There is indeed a greater potential of gathering more youths in thousands in the nearest future banking on the Spirit of God evidently at work among us.
We consider the internet – the website – as a faster and more effective medium of reaching out to thousands of youth still within the region and beyond. The group suggested we open a website for this purpose. Hence, presently three young perssons from among the youth volunteered to do a crash indtroduction on website creation and management.They are two weeks old in the endeavour.
There are a unique group of deaf and dumb – 18 in number – who are as well undergoing this formation. Thank God one of the Daughters of Charity – Sr. Linda Okpara, DC is trained in special education. She does the tranliteration/translation for this special group in the group. They are enthusiastic, they are professionals, and they are willing to share their gifts with people outside too who are less privileged.
They consider embarking on Gospel-based melodrama for ongoing publication as one of the numerous ways they could transmit their message.
we are grateful to God for all these channles of Grace of Christ for us and for the group. One of the ways you can be of tremendous help to this endeavor is to assist us through your contacts to procure any or all of the following:
1. A computer for the Association’s proporals to establish a base for reaching out through the internet.
2. A video camera for coverage of subsequent productions – melodrama, music concert, and physical projects for the poor – all meant for outreach.
3. Two guitars and a flute for songs, music, and group performances.
John, this group is truly multi-talented; they deserve such morale boooster wherever it come from.
So if you consider this matter reasonable and worth trying, you may write back through my email box: vinsson2010@yahoo.com
Your confrere Fr. Abel Agbulu, CM
Nigeria
(Editor’s Note: I met Fr. Abel when I doing a presentation on Vincentian use of tec hnology for the International Vincentian Formation Center in Paris last year. I can attest that any help given him will be effectively utilized.
I think I have a video camera lined up and am working out the transportation details with him. Perhaps someone has recently upgraded a computer and can re-cycle the older one?)
Tags: Youth
