Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: FACTS OF LIFE AT TAMALE ‘REHAB’ CENTRE

Monday, October 21, 2013

FACTS OF LIFE AT TAMALE ‘REHAB’ CENTRE

It is almost 6 months down the line that I have been going for my weekly ministry at the Rehabilitation Centre. The ‘Rehab’ is a training Institution that offers vocational courses such as tailoring and dressmaking, shoe making and repairs (leather work), weaving and knitting, for physically challenged young men and women both from both within and beyond Tamale.

Spending time with them every Thursday has been a great opportunity in my life. I have witnessed what it feels to be both poor and physically challenged. It is indeed a challenging life for the students, but the centre is also encountering a number of challenges. One of the major ones that faces the institution year in year out is a lack of funds to operate.

It is quite surprising that, although it is a government institution, very little support comes from the government itself, and if it does, the money passes through a chain of hands such that, by the time it reaches the Rehab, it is just a token. Hence, it is not enough to cater for basic needs and this has made them highly dependent on donations by individuals or churches, religious congregations and NGOs. These alternatives, too, are not consistent.

Nevertheless, I have been encouraged by the way the students, teachers and managers face this reality very boldly and enthusiastically. Their faces are always full of joy, hope and faith.

I have experienced enormous love from these people of God. It made me feel energized while working with them. I have also developed a compassionate heart. Each day I shared with them, there was something new in me. Their kindness is another thing that I cherish.

On the other hand, I also encountered some challenges at this place, e.g. my lack of special communication skills (sign language) in communicating with the students, especially those with a hearing disability. I found it hard to accommodate all of them during various activities such as the weekly hour for devotion and in class time. You can imagine working with the dumb, blind, cripples and deaf under the same roof at the same time! However, I managed to learn a few basic skills in sign language.

I feel my presence at the ‘Rehab’ has been of mutual benefit, to the centre and certainly to me. It enabled me work with zeal. I will always remember their amazing phrase, “Because we are his children, God loves us too. He will always provide for us our daily needs.”

I have many reasons to appreciate these marvellous experiences. I feel they have boosted my emotional, social and spiritual growth. I am looking forward to a new challenge when we change ministries next month.

Teaching Mathematics!

Lawrence solves the problem!

Lawrence (Standing - First from Right),
last day with students from the Rehabilitation Centre!

Lawrence Agalo

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What do we want this novitiate to be?

There is a saying that goes something like this: “If we don’t do what we believe in, then we’ll end up believing in what we do”. Without a vision that is authentic and alive to guide our actions, then we can settle for rationalizing the status quo or what is convenient and comfortable.
One of the first things the new team in Tamale did was to spend time beginning to articulate its vision of a novitiate beyond the basics laid down in our Constitutions. Here are some elements of what we came up with:
Novitiate is a journey, a process that involves KNOWING, EXPERIENCING and CHOOSING.
It is an INITIATION into Christian Brother religious life, so a “rite of passage” into a new identity, a time of learning and testing.
Novitiate confronts the novices with the Brother’s vocation as a call to brotherly solidarity and community, not to privilege, status and security.
It involves exploration of the basic values of faith and vocation, and the challenge to embrace these out of personal conviction and free choice.
Novitiate means understanding that a religious vocation makes a claim on the whole of the person and his life, including his inner life, his relationships and his professional activity (ministry). Furthermore, it challenges the novice to see the dynamic inter-relationship of these areas and to learn what their integration means.
Novitiate is a time of DISCERNMENT. The novice learns more deeply who he is, and what this Christian Brother life is. There is a constant back-and-forth movement between these two poles as an answer is sought to the question, “Is this where I am meant to be? Is this the life that will enable me to find my true self in God?”