LILANDA-LOCHGILPHEAD LINK-UP

Teddies Galore

Our links with Lilanda Parish in Lusaka were forged even more strongly this summer when we exchanged joyful songs, moving messages and a suitcase full of teddies.

My regular visits to this poor Zambian parish are a mix of joy and sorrow. Joy at meeting with people whose worldly possessions amount to whatever 65 pence a day will buy their families yet whose spiritual wealth makes Bill Gates look like a pauper. Sorrow because each time I make the trip, I learn of more and more families where illness (usually AIDS) has snatched away another mum, dad, son, daughter, or a much longed-for new baby.

Julia, the cook who makes such lovely meals for Fr Dario, Fr Dawit. Fr Jude and Fr Piero, told me she is now responsible for ten members of her family. Joseph, the charismatic house father at the Koinonia street kids project founded by another of the Comboni missionaries, and his lovely wife, are still mourning the loss of their baby son. Many faces are missing from the communal table at Koinonia.

But at Mass, the 2500-strong congregation cheered and ululated when they heard Fr Michael's message, wishing them peace flowing like a river from Lochgilphead to Lilanda along with the love and prayers of the congregation of St Margaret's. The children at the Lilanda parish community school for orphans - the one which started up a couple of years ago for 40 children and this Christmas will have 200 on the roll - were wide eyed when they saw the 70 teddies which the women of Argyll had sent out to them. The pens and pencils were received like gold dust.

Fr Dario's latest email says: "Thank you for the photo of the community school. Last Friday I went there to celebrate Mass for the children and close the school for a month of holidays. At the end of the Mass we distributed the dolls and some ball pens. Each child received something. They were really happy."

His project to create a further education scheme for the older youngsters is gathering momentum with possible funding being raised in Ireland by an elderly sister who visited Lilanda last Christmas. The plan is to teach teenagers animal husbandry skills, carpentry and sewing so they won't end up on the streets. Every little helps - whether it is a donation to move this plan along or a gift for the little children who now have to live with hugely extended families and often go to school running on empty. Some of the generous gifts from individuals in our parish will pay for meals; others will make sure they have clothes and shoes.

As usual, I took guitar and banjo strings for the Lilanda choirs. But this time there was a special gift - penny whistles and a Scottish song book from Fr Michael. They couldn't wait to get started - and Fr Jude loved the music we sang at the consecration of the cathedral in Oban, so there may be a slight change to the Nyanja Mass next time I go.

I asked the junior choir to record a tape of music from their Masses. I intend to have it copied and sell the tapes at Christmas to raise funds for Lilanda's choir. We have music weekends with Fr Michael at Oban, Fort William and Kinoull - Lilanda's talented musicians need all the support they can get (perhaps we can pay Fr Michael's fare to Lusaka so they can have a music fortnight?).

Fr Dario's newsy email tells us that this month (August) a group of 25 Comboni missionaries from a number of African countries are meeting in the recently built Comboni novitiate in Lusaka. "Today they came to celebrate Sunday Mass with us: half in Kizito and half in Lilanda. They were amazed, impressed, astonished... with the celebration, the songs, the participation of the people, the groups and so on, and so on... We are the best!"

And they really are. The worship in these two neighbouring parishes (Fr Piero is parish priest at Kizito) is so joyful, exuberant and sincere that you have to be there to believe it. Why don't you come next year to see and hear for yourselves?

We have a permanent open invitation to the Koinonia project to share time with the children and skills with the staff (and yes, we ALL have skills we can share).

This summer I talked with half a dozen really bright senior boys who are ready to go on to higher education. They hope they can get funding to pay their fees (perhaps just £30 each but far too much for the project to pay). A new Koinonia project for little girls will also require funding.

But it isn't all about money (small change though their needs are to most of us). The links have become stronger because of Fr Dario's visit last year, because of the time and love the ladies invested in knitting the teddies, because of the voices on tape - ours and theirs - which make us all realise how much we have in common.

Fr Dario's thank you letter for our gifts said: "The love of God which unites us is stronger than distances, cultures, races and borders....we remain united in friendship and prayers."

As always, he says in his latest email: "Greetings from all your friends here to all our friends there in Scotland." Perhaps YOU would like to send greetings or photographs of your family, church events (the parish commemorative picnic to Eilach an Naomh, for instance) to Lilanda, c/o Fr Dario Chaves, Lilanda Catholic Parish, PO Box 37121, Lusaka, Zambia, or via email to Fr Dario Chaves at combonis@zamnet.zm