AFRICA/ETHIOPIA - In the small community of Kofale mission begins thanks to children

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Kofale (Agenzia Fides) - Kofale is an ancient city with a Muslim majority in the region of Arsi, at 2600 meters above sea level and is 265 km from Addis Ababa. The presence of a small Catholic community began in the mid-90s thanks to the missionary, Father Gianfranco mangoli. At first it was a branch of the parish of Gighessa, today it is a parish belonging to the Apostolic Prefecture of Robe. In this small village there is a missionary station that covers a large plot of land donated to the first missionaries by the municipality. The compound is composed of the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ’s house, the house of the Capuchin Fathers, the church, an ethnic museum, a home for hospitality, a kindergarten and infant school, a laboratory for the work of bamboo, a small shoe factory and a sports complex with a football, basketball and volleyball field, as well as tracks for track-and-field events. Father Bernardo Coccia, founder of the Children's Education for Development in Addis Ababa in 1990, is currently busy with the missionary children of Kofale. They recently celebrated Mass together all led by the children themselves, and distributed to parents two booklets with color drawings, prayers and life of Jesus in Oromo, in the local language, made by him and his collaborators. Kofale is inhabited by the Oromo ethnic group who are mostly farmers and traders. The natural fertility of the soil favors the growth of corn, potatoes, cabbage, beetroot and carrots. The vegetation is very luxuriant and rich of zigba, eucalyptus, pine trees and lots of other vegetation. Father Bernard has been in Ethiopia since 1978 with the aim of helping the population who are suffering due to famines and wars. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 01/08/2013)


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