Poor

As a young person in our parish, although not aware, the late Fr. Xolile Keteyi SJ helped us through his homilies and catechesis -especially during our preparation classes for the sacrament of confirmation - to make sense of the injustices that were around us at that time.

Our work for the benefit of the population is essentially based on a series of studies conducted to understand the population, the events and the context and to collect the needs, priorities and concerns of this population in order to transform them into a series of actions...

I was touched by their generosity. Despite their hardship they were very generous to us. I felt the need to do something for the poor and IDP children in our neighborhood.

Any reference I make to my life as a Jesuit these past 42 years inevitably refers to the mission of faith and justice, and to friendship with Jesuits in my province

Economically, the country was experiencing run-away hyper-inflation that set a new world record. There was shortage of basic goods in shops, and when they were available their prices simply prevented the majority poor from accessing them, especially given that many had been rendered jobless by the closure of several companies.

The retreat was very difficult—after being woken up by a gong at 4:30 am, and spending numerous sessions in silent meditation with only two small meals of brown rice and steamed vegetables, by the early evening most of my own meditation centred on food.

I first started with CEPAS to work on their Congo-Afrique journal, the centre's organ of communication which publishes articles on topics such as; the economy, politics, and social and cultural life.

I am Elba Polanco. At some point in my life, I discovered that serving was one of my passions. I feel I have a sensitivity which allows me to enjoy, when I serve, helping other people. Moreover, my learning to serve was fostered in great measure by seeing my father passionately serving other people; the rest is history, as God has taken care of infusing me with His grace.

Thank you for being here this week. I am very conscious of the great effort behind a meeting like this. That is why I thank every one of you. I also thank Xavier and Rossana for all the coordination they have done to prepare the meeting.

For many years as I grew up, I lived by the conviction that my destiny was to develop myself in the engineering career. I grew up in a mining town, in Mufulira, Zambia and seeing the prospering lives of engineers of all kinds who worked for the mines, I felt attracted to the good life that those engineers led. At the same time, I grew up in a very Catholic family and so from very early on I had a strong desire to become a priest. So, for the first three decades of my life, my vision of life oscillated between serving my own personal career goals and the deeper goals of serving God and humanity.