14-08-00 Monday
Fr. Stephen Okello IMC laid out the aims and structure of the meeting. He affirmed that J&P are an expression of the "consolation" we are called to bring to the world, and that J&P are at the heart of our charism, an integral part of evangelisation. In this activity we must also involve the lay people who co-operate with us. This meeting calls for a response.
Sr. Patrizia also extended her greetings and remarked how wonderful it was to be at the centre of the Institute to talk about a matter that we already know, but that we wish to reiterate in order to be ready to accept the new J&P ministry. A passion for J&P is a gift of God.
Many of the participants were new to J&P activities.
Fr. Stephen Okello had to leave in order to make final preparations and to confirm which relators will be addressing us over the coming days, and Fr. Louro Norberto accepted the role of moderator. We began with the presentation of reports from the various regions and delegations. Some of the reports were prepared by fathers and sisters working together, but most were prepared separately. The reports were all in written form and each delegate received a copy. Mozambique courageously opened proceedings with its report. In that region, the fathers see J&P as being imposed from above. They appreciate what has been said but are unable to get down to work. Mozambique is very big and it is difficult for North and South to come together. Lay people are also involved in J&P at the national level, but the IMC/MC are not yet well organised. J&P is also organised at the diocesan and parish levels. Much work has been done by Sr. Odonia.
Then followed the report from Ethiopia, written separately by fathers and sisters. The sisters' report affirms that fathers and sisters meet on the 16th of every month in order to study together how they approach the charism (family spirit) and the local culture. Fathers and sisters work well together. The fathers' report complains of the continual changes in the J&P delegates for the region. In Ethiopia the Catholic Church falls under the "Disaster Prevention & Repair Office" and every three months is obliged to give a report to the local government, submit registers for examination etc.
Following tea, the report from Kenya was presented by Fr. V. Salemi, the new delegate (though yet to be officially confirmed) of the Secretariat for Missions. In the meantime, Fr. Franco Cellana arrived to complete the picture drawn by Fr. Salemi. Fr. Cellana informed us that the situation in Kenya is critical: Environment - deforestation in order to create drug plantations contributes to desertification. The privatisation of land, with multinationals buying the land and evicting the people that live on it. Urbanisation - the growth of slums, people without land, work or housing. Around two million people live in the slums of Nairobi. The problem of street children. Education - too expensive, people cannot afford to pay. Even school uniforms have to be imported from Europe. The text books change every year. Health - Specialists do exist but the prices are too high. If a person is admitted to hospital, the family must sell everything in order to pay. Economy - 10% of the people are extremely wealthy, 60% are poor and live on the minimum wage, 30% live in abject poverty without enough money for rent or food. Corruption - politics, tribalism, unemployment etc. In Kenya, fathers and sisters work separately in J&P, apart from in isolated cases. The MC Sisters are more involved than IMC Fathers in J&P.
There then followed reports from Ivory Coast, South Africa and Tanzania.

15-08-00 Tuesday
During the morning, Fr. John Mary Waliggo gave an interesting address on "Violence as a result of exclusion and injustices" which was followed by a discussion in two groups, "Yes" and "No", which considered various questions. The secretaries of the two groups took the results of the discussions to the general assembly. (Are the salient points in "News Print" in the possession of Fr. Okello?).
In the afternoon, reports were presented by participants who had not had the opportunity to do so yesterday. There then followed presentations from regions and delegations who had no representatives at the gathering but whose reports we had received.
The gathering then divided into groups from whence the following points arose and were shared with the assembly:

Reports from circumscriptions and delegations

Problems common to all circumscriptions

" Ignorance of rights and fear of standing up for them.
" Lack of formation for developing a critical approach in all fields: education, religion etc.
" Education and healthcare in decline.
" The culture of corruption: "That's what everyone does...".
" Crisis of democracy.
" Growth of poverty.
" Environmental degradation.
" Increase in violence at the individual, family and national level.
" HIV/AIDS on the increase.
" Exploitation by multinational companies presented as international aid.

Prevalent difficulties in working for Justice and Peace

" Our commissions are still embryonic and very fragile.
" Scant collaboration between IMC/MC.
" Difficulty in communicating the results of J&P meetings to our communities.
" We have little awareness of the problems of other regions in the continent.
" We are ill-prepared for these J&P activities.
" We compromise ourselves with those in power/multinationals.
" Scant critical analysis of the situation.
" Paternalism/maternalism/protagonism.
" The prophetic approach is lacking.
" Precarious position of J&P delegates.
" Delegates without real interest - people appointed simply to fill a gap.
" Lack of co-ordination with other forces committed to J&P - our work is often isolated.
" We ask ourselves whether the Regional Curias truly believe in this ministry.

Our feelings concerning Justice and Peace

" We feel there is a lack of practical co-operation with the delegate on the part of confreres and sisters.
" The delegate finds himself/herself in a situation of risk due to his/her words or actions.

16-08-00 Wednesday
In the morning we travelled to Nairobi, to the parish of the Consolata, in order to listen to a talk by Anthony Njui, director of the J&P commission of the Episcopal Conference of Kenya. This was followed by a session of group work in which the following questions were considered:
1. How do you see your role in the J&P commission?
2. Can you ignore the J&P commission?
In response to the first question: In all countries, the Church has a J&P secretariat at the national and diocesan level, although they do not always work well. Many missions have a J&P commission, although many missionaries are not much involved. Missionary sisters work better in this field. Help must be forthcoming to create J&P structures.
In response to the second question:
- If the sound of a new-born baby crying is a call for attention, for justice... this means we cannot do without this commission.
- However, we must not confuse "welfarism" with J&P activities. J&P seeks to understand the causes of problems and commits itself to eliminating them.
- We must educate our Christian brothers and sisters to be involved in J&P. We must work together, as a group, and collaborate with other Christian denominations.
During the afternoon we visited the Korogocho "slum" and met Fr. Zanotelli and Fr. Anthony. It was an interesting experience to be able to see how people survive in those inhuman conditions.
Fr. Zanotelli told us a little about his work and experiences, which are neither easy nor gratifying: It is almost impossible to help these people to work together, to form co-operatives capable of surviving or building an economic project. It is even more difficult to expect a "Christian" life from individuals who live in conditions of such poverty.
"Testimony" is important, but it alone cannot resolve the problems. Forceful intervention from outside, from the government, is necessary in order to give these people land on which to live and essential structures such as roads, water, drains etc.
We were amazed by the "open" approach of Fr. Zanotelli who does not see "his way" as being the "only way", but accepts that others can work in a different manner. We were also struck by the fact that, in such a situation, he continues to read, to keep himself informed.

17-08-2000 Thursday
Mr. James Nduko, of the Kenya human rights commission gave us his testimony. This was followed by more group work.
In the afternoon, the J&P Manual was introduced by Fr. Stephen Okello.

18-08-2000 Friday
Sr. Patrizia dedicated the whole day to the theme of non-violence. The atmosphere was evoked by the Bible - Word of God, and a lighted candle - the Risen Christ.
Non-violence is an interior attitude. Those who work in the field of J&P must:
1. Gather information and pass it on to the regional and general councils etc.
2. Propose forms of action, activities etc.
3. Animate our communities
4. Contact other organisations that do similar work, collaborate with them.
Non-violence provokes, humanises, applies pressure.
Who am I? A person
1. With a name that identifies me.
2. Full of dignity.
3. Unique.
4. Unrepeatable.
5. Possessing interior energy capable of creating a strong, free and profoundly human personality.
6. Possessing a great capacity to love and to be loved.
7. Destined for happiness.
8. Destined to know the origin of my being.
(Sr. Patrizia can provide any further explanations)

19-08-2000 Saturday
During the morning, Sr. Patrizia and Fr. Okello presented the Justice and Peace Manual to us.
The manual is a work full of precious information and offers us material for our own knowledge, for conferences and for moments of prayer.
The contents of this manual can be enriched with pages concerning our own particular delegations, regions, the countries in which we work etc. It is not a novel to be read from cover to cover; it is up to us to present it to our confreres and sisters and encourage them to use it. The manual is a work tool.
On Saturday afternoon we travelled to Thika in order to meet a number of workers and union representatives from the huge Del Monte pineapple plantation. Working conditions and pay on this plantation were not good and, consequently, a campaign against this multinational was launched in Europe last year. We were interested to hear whether the campaign had had any effect.
The meeting took place in the hall of the Catholic church of St. Mulumba. Apart from the workers, there was also a human rights representative from Nairobi. A number of relators participated.
The impression we received was that there have been improvements in some fields: pay, protection against chemical products, houses for workers who live on the plantation etc.
Yet much remains to be done before the situation can be described as satisfactory.
The atmosphere was good, calm and positive. We were also offered refreshments. Later we went to the market square where we saw two brief theatrical performances illustrating:
- Working conditions on the Del Monte plantation.
- An attempt by the authorities to close the existing market in order to build another in the "European style". This market would have belonged to the authorities who would then have rented it to those who could afford to pay: Exploitation to the advantage of the authorities. Attempt failed.
In both cases, the message could be interpreted as: united we stand, divided we fall. United and non-violent work brings the desired results.
It was an interesting experience to participate in this market theatre surrounded by children and adults.
It was an example of popular resistance against the injustice perpetrated by the strong: Del Monte, civil authorities and the police.

That evening, after dinner, evaluation of the course:
1. There had been some problems in receiving the course programme in time. Problems with e-mail, with people receiving the messages and not passing them on to those responsible. August did not seem the most appropriate month because of the tourist season (in Kenya).
2. Timetable of the course OK.
3. Liturgy, preparation, participation. The idea of assigning a day to each nation/nations was excellent. The liturgy was concise and vibrant.
4. Participation by members in assemblies and groups: Participation of sisters and fathers from different countries was uplifting. There was spirit of flexibility (to the lack of lighting, changing places for meals, liturgy etc.), an open attitude and a will to learn. The representatives, both fathers and sisters, all participated in general matters.
5. The themes chosen, their relevance and usefulness. Principal theme: Violence and how to overcome it:
- Fr. Waliggo gave a definition of violence.
- Human rights representatives.
- Visit to Fr. Alex Zanotelli and his attitude.
- Sr. Patrizia and non-violence.
This theme is a current and universal issue in Africa. The theme of violence in language, in speaking, is very common among we religious. Internal and individual violence is present within our communities. Assist fathers and sisters to come together in order to speak of certain problems that can exist in some missions. "Empathy", a word used over and again to express a deep reality, profound sharing. Sr. Patrizia's course on non-violence was useful, interesting and helped us personally in the search for J&P in our own communities. It would be helpful to hold a workshop on non-violence in order to learn a technique that may make it a reality.
6. The relators: preparation, contribution, behaviour: It would have been better to find some women relators: "Gender balance". The presence of two lay people was appreciated because they were well prepared and spoke from "experience" with an attitude of "non-violence". It was good too, to be able to use "local" people.
7. Wednesday's experience in Korokocho with Fr. Zanotelli: The preparation to enter the "slum" was a negative experience: remove your watch, leave your camera behind. Our missions are fortresses, centres of wealth. Fr. Zanotelli's house was open. If we have a lot of things, people seek after our wealth, if we are poor, people seek after us. We showed little respect with our haste to leave while Fr. Zanotelli still had things to tell us. We were impressed by Fr. Zanotelli's personality (kind, patient) and by his keeping himself informed.
8. Proposals for the future: Have a person in each region who is free to organise these meetings. Have someone capable of using a computer... At an internal level, the J&P commission should seek to push the delegation/region towards J&P, while at an external level, each region should accept a theme, a problem, to which it can commit itself with the local Church. It would be better to have one programme for the whole of Africa: this would make it easier to pass information between ourselves and to write up a report at the end of a project... It would be better to create a programme within each delegation/region than to come back from Sagana with a project already defined... Consolidation of the J&P commission in the regions, use and presentation of the J&P Manual, involvement of the local Church in J&P programmes. By January 2001, each region/delegation is to send the agreed J&P programme to Fr. Okello.
9. Location of the meeting, Sagana: The place is a little out of the way. In earlier encounters it was suggested to us that we hold meetings in the country's capital; easier to find well-prepared relators, to undergo different experiences... If possible we should meet at our own house. At Sagana we were lucky that the supply of water was continuous and that the electricity only failed on a few occasions. The biggest problem was that of going to fetch the relators then taking them back again.