OUR PARISH YOUNG PEOPLE WAKE UP TO THE NEW YEAR

GENERAL YOUTH MEETING HELD IN BINJU-NKAMBE PARISH
FROM 20-21 JANUARY 2007.

The meeting started at 4pm with 80 participants who came from their various missions to the main mission in Binju. They came from Kungi, Bakinchini, Bansobi and Binju. There were no young people from the other mission stations. Kungi and Binju were in large numbers. We had to collect mattresses from the presbytery where they are stored. Thieves would break into the centre to steal if they were left on the beds in the St Martin de Porres Pastoral Centre. They had broken there once and made away with one mattress and sheets!!

At 6pm all participants settled in the dormitories, despite the shortage of mattresses and beds, we still managed to double ourselves on one bed (three people per bed). The bunk beds in the SMPPC were short. Some young people stayed in the rooms of the former convent.

The aim of this meeting was to help the young people of our parish to know themselves well and to become more responsible in future. With explanations form Rev. Fr Robert Tanto and even disclosing to us what other young people around the world are up to and capable of doing, the young people of this Parish realised that they were still like backyard chickens who don’t know that they could fly higher.
When Rev. Fr Robert Tanto further explained and shared his experiences in the youth ministry and how he had formed many young who are now very responsible and well to do, most of the young people felt that they could change the situation of this Parish. They promised to work as one Parish, by knowing the truth and working for it, despite all temptations that may come their way. After these explanations, the young people were grouped in Tens to share their lives and past experiences, which many of them collaborated with their various group leaders and came out with good resolutions that could help build the Parish as one. Such solutions include: Avoiding-Gossips, Laziness, Negative impression about others. At 10pm the young people had supper with food which was prepared by the young people of the host mission (Binju) in their respective homes. Since they did not know the number of young people who were to come for this meeting, what they prepared was not enough to feed the large crowd that came. With the generosity of Rev. Fr. Robert Tanto, he bought more food for the young people, which many of them ate and were satisfied.

At 11pm, all the young people retired to their various dormitories. The next morning which was Sunday 21/01/07, they got up at 5:30am and prepared themselves for mass at 7:00am.During the mass they also participated very actively, and after mass they went back to the Centre for evaluation and drew a calendar of activities for the young people of this Parish for this year.

This meeting ended with a word of prayer by Maurice Afor, blessing of food and participants by Rev. Fr Robert Tanto. After food the participants took photos and departed.

Immaculate Giwa