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Monthly Archives: September 2022

Young People make their roots flower again.

The new Latin American generations are following the invitation of Pope Francis to “be proud of the history of their peoples”. Two examples of sustainable development from the Bolivian Amazon. Listening to the young indigenous descendants opens the heart and renews hope. In fact, they embody in their life the well-known “honour your father and…

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Peru. The Ayahuasca Ritual: the Gateway to the World of Plants and Natural Medicine.

The ancestral Andean Amazonian wisdom is transmitted through songs, mythological stories, and the narratives of the wise men and women, whose message is the importance of generating, preserving, and caring for life in its entirety. The Ayahuasca ritual in the Peruvian Amazon and the preparation process of the aspiring Amazonian shaman. The name ayahuasca is…

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Why all the cows belong to the Maasai.

In the beginning, the Maasai did not have any cattle. One day God called Maasinta, who was the first Maasai and said to him: “I want you to make a large enclosure, and when you have done so, come back and inform me.” Maasinta went and did as he was instructed, and came back to…

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Towards the 2023 Synod. The Spirit Shows the Paths to Follow.

From the diocese of Pando in the Bolivian Amazon region, Monsignor Eugenio Coter explains the horizons that the synodal journey is opening up to the Church.  “The synodal path is not a motorway. It is like one of the great rivers of the Amazon that I sail on when I go to visit the communities.…

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Brazil.The Struggle of the Piquià Community Against the Mining Giants.

Carajàs is considered the largest open cast iron mine in the world, in the heart of the Brazilian eastern Amazon. After more than twenty years of battles, the first families of Piquiá de Baixo, a suburb of Açailandia, in the state of Maranhã will be able to settle in a new territory, safe from toxic…

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Herbs & Plants. Steganotaenia Araliacea. The Carrot Tree.

It is a multipurpose medicinal plant and can be used, in particular, to treat pneumonia, asthma, arthritis, chronic ulcer, sore throat, and fever.  An essential oil is obtained from the leaves which is used for various purposes. Steganotaenia araliacea (Family Apiaceae/Umbelliferae), commonly referred to as the carrot tree, is a small, aromatic, deciduous tree growing…

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Africa. The Sound of Drums.

Drums play an important role in the life of African people. Traditionally, drums represent the soul of the community. They are used for celebrating ceremonial events and rituals within the community. Here are some popular African drums.   The Karyenda comes from Burundi and used to be the main symbol of the country. It also…

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Making a Common Cause with the Poor and with the Common Home.

About thirty members of the Comboni Family (Lay, Secular, Religious, men and women, from Africa, America and Europe), met  from July 27 to August 3, 2022, in Belém, capital of Pará, Brazil, on the occasion of the X Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (X FOSPA) and the Comboni Meeting on Integral Ecology. Here the Letter they sent…

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The identity ‘card’.

The latest census of India, that of 2011, indicates that 79.9 per cent of Indians identify themselves as Hindu, 14.2 per cent as Muslims and 2.3 per cent as Christians (about 30 million, divided almost equally between Catholics and those belonging to other Churches or denominations). However, while Muslims and Christians seek in their identity…

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Music. Ustad Saami. The Fascination of an Ancient Mystery

“The world calls me Ustad, the teacher, but I personally feel I am a Shagird, a disciple of music”. This is how Naseeruddin Ustad Saami, one of the most significant personalities in Pakistan and musical Sufism, defined himself. His songs and his music are infinitely distant from what is heard in the West; so much…

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Socio-economic imbalances.

Unlike most countries with a medium or high level of development, India has a population that is still growing rapidly and for the most part young, with an average age of 27.8 years, ten less than its neighbour and rival, the People’s Republic of China. Consequently, choices must be primarily geared to support employment, education,…

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Frontier’s Story. In the Shade of the Mango Trees.

For thirty years, Yeyo wandered from plantation to plantation in southern Mexico. Undocumented, humiliated, and oppressed, he decides with his brothers to return home. Yeyo grew up looking at the deep scars on his father’s back from carrying bunches of bananas during the hellish tropical days in Chiapas and his mother’s arms scorched from making…

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Advocacy

South Africa. Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu.

Activists Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu have stopped destructive seismic testing for oil and gas off South Africa’s Eastern Cape, in an area known as…

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Baobab

Beautiful Kaya.

Kaya was the most beautiful girl in the village. All the boys courted her, each bringing her small gifts. There were so many invitations from her…

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Youth & Mission

Tunisia. The future in the hands of young people.

While the country is in the grip of a serious economic crisis, in the oasis city of Tozeur, the OxyJeunes youth Centre focuses on schooling and…

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