Four Maryknoll sisters set out last year to launch the congregation’s new mission in the Central African country of Chad, where the people suffer endemic poverty and political turmoil.
In April 2022 the Maryknoll Sisters began to consider a new mission. After months of prayerful discernment, they chose the Central African country of Chad. Sisters Lourdes Fernandez, Claudette LaVerdiere, NgocHà Pham and Norma Pocasangre embarked on this new mission journey. The following entries are condensed from their diary.
May 1 – 20, 2023: We four sisters left Monrovia, California, on a 14-hour flight to Istanbul, only to find on arrival that the next flight to Chad wouldn’t leave for four days.
On May 5, we arrived at N’jamena, the capital, to learn that not a single suitcase had been loaded onto the plane! Our driver took us to the diocesan hospitality center, gave us our keys and said, “Bonne nuit.” We had arrived.
Our first Chadian liturgy can only be described as exuberant, even in this 110-degree heat. The xylophone and drums blended with the ululations and gentle swaying of the congregation. The liturgy, in French and Ngambay (the local language), was a feast.
After many trips to the airport we decided that with or without our luggage we had to get to Moundou.
A nine-hour bus ride took us to our host, Bishop Joachim Kouraleyo Tarounga of Moundou, who had invited us to “come and see” the possibilities for mission in his diocese.
He asks three things of every religious community: that they set up their own house; learn the language; and foster local religious communities. Father Amédée Ekeurbe, the vicar general, would help us in every possible way. Father Constant Djerassem, diocesan économe (bursar), would help set up our bank account and arrange our temporary housing.
We soon learned that electricity is available only from 6 p.m. to 8:30 or 9 p.m.
The first rain of the season brought the temperature down to 103 degrees!
Left: Map of Chad. Right: In Chad many children from struggling families, such as these young street vendors, must work from an early age instead of attending school. (Courtesy of NgocHà Pham/Chad)
Things are falling into place very nicely. Lourdes, Claudette and Norma got their new local phones. We invested in a small router to get a Wi-Fi connection.
Claudette was having trouble maintaining her electrolyte level, which required a few trips to the local clinic.
Lourdes and Ha take early daily walks to the market, practicing their broken French and always coming back with a treat and sometimes an article of clothing. We are still hoping our luggage will appear!
Norma, Ha and Lourdes went to the bank together with Father Constant to open the account. Not so fast! One more letter from the bishop was required.
June 2 – 20: Today marks the end of our first week of French language school. There is a 12-minute walk during which we dodge the piles of onions, mangoes, grains, etc., that share the street with trucks, cars, motorcycles, bikes, rascha (three-wheelers), goats and people.
We attended an early Mass, exclusively in Ngambay. It was refreshing that the priest really welcomed people to share the meaning of the Gospel with one another. Incense is predominant — all in unforgiving temperatures.
At 8:30 a.m. the phone rang: “We have your luggage.”
Lourdes and Ha braved the afternoon heat to attend a program entitled “Violence Against Women.” The following day, Ha’s professor commented that women in Chadian society are treated as second-class citizens and education is not encouraged. Children as young as 9 and 10 are commonly seen selling in the streets.
July 1 – 22: Water has not been reaching the taps in our rooms. You should see Norma balance a bucket on her head, even going up the stairs!
We now need a rubber stamp, “Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, Inc.,” for our bank account.
Maryknoll Sister NgocHà Pham (right) visits Logone River where local people fish, wash clothes, prepare food and collect gravel for brickmaking. (Courtesy of NgocHà Pham/Chad)
All week, Lourdes has been ill and going to the clinic. On July 7, when Claudette arrived home from language school, she found Lourdes breathing with difficulty and unable to get up. We gathered by her bedside. Lourdes and Ha had often paused at a grotto of the Virgin Mary to say the Hail Mary in French. To comfort her, Ha prayed it in Lourdes’ ear. When she came to the end, “maintenant et a l’heure de notre mort” (“now and at the hour of our death”), Lourdes’ breathing relaxed. She turned to look at Ha and in that brief moment slipped into eternity and into the fullness of God’s embrace.
For a week, sisters and priests from neighboring parishes, as well as parishioners, came to pray with us.
We received our visitors as best we could.
Ha already had malaria. Then Claudette was diagnosed with malaria.
Even though Norma also got malaria, she and Ha hosted the Legion of Mary, the Catholic Women’s Group and the church choir. The outpouring of sympathy was more heartwarming than we can express. Following Lourdes’ death, the entire church of the Diocese of Moundou and beyond was present to us.
From the time of our arrival in Chad, Claudette was unable to digest the food. She was down to 83 lbs. from her normal 106. It was time for a drastic decision.
Claudette left Moundou for Maryknoll, New York.
Aug. 12 – 19: Norma and Ha continued to process all that had transpired and to prayerfully discern together whether or not to continue their presence in Chad.
The Congolese Contemplative Sisters of the Assumption welcomed us into their home and have become our extended community. We share meals and prayers with the sisters and take turns cooking.
Sister Pham, a nurse with specialized training in counseling shown here meeting with a client, was asked to help launch a mental health program. (Courtesy of NgocHà Pham/Chad)
Oct. 28 – 30: Ha was attacked from behind by a thief who pulled out a knife when she resisted. The strap around her neck broke, and the thief fled with her purse. To fill out a form at the police station cost 2,000 Chadian francs. The next day the purse was found, minus the 30,000 francs (about $50 USD) and the phone it had held, but we had to pay 60,000 francs ($100 USD) to collect it from the police.
Nov. 2 – 30: After Mass Norma did not feel well. It was the third time in five months that she had malaria. Fortunately, it was a mild case, and with medication we were able to attend a monthlong program for new missionaries to familiarize us with the realities of Chad. We had sessions on church, history, health systems, education, politics and traditional marriages, practices and languages. In the afternoons we learned some Ngambay.
Dec. 1 – 29: Upon our return to Moundou, Bishop Joachim proposed that Norma work in parishes and Ha, who is a nurse, in the cathedral’s hospital. We agreed to stay in Moundou.
After six months, we were approved for a bank account! Things finally seem to be moving forward.
After months of triple-digit temperatures, we now enjoy evenings and mornings that are cool enough for a sweater. Visiting our neighbors not only warms the body, but also friendships.
We hung some ornaments in our windows and placed a Christmas tree on the balcony.
(From left to right) Sisters Norma Pocasangre, Claudette LaVerdiere, NgocHà Pham and the late Lourdes Fernandez pose with Bishop Joachim Kouraleyo of the Diocese of Moundou. (Courtesy of NgocHà Pham/Chad)
Christmas Mass was outdoors, and Bishop Joachim presided. It lasted nearly four hours with singing, drumming and dancing. We celebrated with French toast made with bread saved for this special occasion.
We will be moving to a smaller house in the New Year. With all the changes and surprises we’ve been experiencing, we remain open for almost anything.
At the annual Christmas gathering for religious in the diocese, Father Amédée recalled the arrival of the Maryknoll Sisters and the passing of our dear Sister Lourdes and two diocesan priests. He then invited the congregation to stand for a moment of silence to remember them.
Despite the unknowns that still lie ahead, Norma and Ha choose to continue our presence in Chad. We are grateful for the support of Maryknoll, of our family and friends, and of the local church. We trust that God is guiding us in our new mission every step of the way.
Featured Image: Maryknoll Sister Norma Pocasangre (center) serves in pastoral ministry as part of a new mission recently started by the Maryknoll Sisters in the Central African country of Chad. (Courtesy of Norma Pocasangre/Chad)
