Kitty Phetla, ballerina and choreographer with Joburg Ballet, grew up…
01 Jan 2019, Culture January 2019
The feast of Timket or Baptism of the Lord is…
01 Jan 2019, Churches January 2019
The Limpopo River Basin is a fragile environment threatened by…
01 Jan 2019, Dossier January 2019
The Zambezi River is one of Africa’s main energy assets…
01 Jan 2019, Dossier January 2019
The Menjas live in the south-west of Ethiopia. They are…
01 Jan 2019, Churches January 2019
Hundreds children are begging in the streets of Kampala City. …
01 Jan 2019, Churches January 2019
The year 2019 looks extremely challenging in many countries of…
01 Jan 2019, News January 2019
With the catchy rhythms of Afro-Pop, African artists are increasingly…
01 Jan 2019, Culture January 2019
The Senegal River is a main source of life and…
01 Jan 2019, Dossier January 2019
The Niger River is the main source of life of…
01 Jan 2019, Dossier January 2019
Despite having lost both legs in a bomb explosion, Sr.…
01 Jan 2019, Churches January 2019
From a security point of view, in 2019 in Africa…
01 Jan 2019, News January 2019
Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi human rights activist and…
01 Dec 2018, News December 2018
Now popular in many countries, African wax cloth owes its…
01 Dec 2018, Culture December 2018
Many years ago, a local district officer gave a small…
01 Dec 2018, Churches December 2018
A 'no deal' Brexit could mean a temporary interruption of…
01 Dec 2018, News December 2018
Illegal fishing or unauthorized fishing is a scourge affecting the…
01 Dec 2018, News December 2018
The comfort of political correctness to the detriment of ecumenical…
01 Dec 2018, Churches December 2018
The Christmas cycle begins with a long period of fasting,…
01 Dec 2018, Churches December 2018
The security of the continent has now become a 'private…
01 Dec 2018, News December 2018
They are seers and traditional healers with a vast knowledge…
01 Dec 2018, Culture December 2018
More than one year after he was sworn in, the…
01 Nov 2018, News November 2018
The desert is not a no man’s land but the…
01 Nov 2018, Culture November 2018
The largest infrastructure project in East Africa is likely to…
01 Nov 2018, News November 2018
In the south of Madagascar live the Bara, a cluster…
01 Nov 2018, Culture November 2018
It is an herbaceous food legume belonging to the plant…
01 Nov 2018, Culture November 2018
She is the first female mechanic in the country. She…
01 Nov 2018, Churches November 2018
Every year, thousands of migrants and refugees arrive in Johannesburg…
01 Nov 2018, Churches November 2018
Negative impacts of deforestation require proactive interventions in order to…
01 Oct 2018, Dossier October 2018
It consists in a microcredit project for women and grants…
01 Oct 2018, Churches October 2018
Seventeen abandoned children have been rescued from wandering around the…
01 Oct 2018, Churches October 2018
The most common pressures causing deforestation and severe forest degradation…
01 Oct 2018, Dossier October 2018
Either the elections are rigged or they cannot take place…
01 Oct 2018, News October 2018
A beauty now, the patrimony of humanity. Most of all…
01 Oct 2018, Culture October 2018
The invasive plant is spreading rapidly, threatening the ecosystem, the…
01 Oct 2018, News October 2018
The Sidama people are a deeply religious ethnic group that…
01 Oct 2018, Culture October 2018
Some dioceses have had their priests killed and churches destroyed…
01 Oct 2018, Churches October 2018
In Africa, forests play a vital role in providing goods…
01 Oct 2018, Dossier October 2018
Political Battles Are Creating a Distraction from Main Problems Weakening…
01 Oct 2018, News October 2018
Vitex doniana (Family Verbenaceae) is a useful, multi-purpose tree providing…
01 Oct 2018, Culture October 2018
Man is aware that he did not create nature. The…
01 Oct 2018, Dossier October 2018
The issue of the redistribution of the land is splitting…
01 Sep 2018, News September 2018
Refugee teachers create a school for young people in South…
01 Sep 2018, News September 2018
The Teso (or Iteso, people of Teso) are an ethnic…
01 Sep 2018, Culture September 2018
Young Senegalese artist Ina Tiam takes fashion shoots in places…
01 Sep 2018, Culture September 2018
Exact rites mark the passage to an age group or…
01 Sep 2018, Culture September 2018
It is a medicinal plant whose therapeutic values undoubtedly have…
01 Sep 2018, Culture September 2018
The Catholic Church celebrates the bicentenary of its presence in…
01 Sep 2018, Churches September 2018
The increase of the population, the great demand of coal…
01 Sep 2018, News September 2018
Commonly known as bitter melon or bitter gourd, it is…
01 Aug 2018, Culture August 2018
Since his appointment in April, the new Prime Minister, Abyi…
01 Aug 2018, News August 2018
For 35 years now, Grégoire Ahongbonon has been helping African…
01 Aug 2018, Churches August 2018
The Kakwa people are a small minority group living in…
01 Aug 2018, Culture August 2018
Forests are rapidly vanishing in Zambia. The country's rate of…
01 Aug 2018, News August 2018
If we analyse the actual reality of the continent from…
01 Aug 2018, Dossier August 2018
After the beginning of the crisis in Mali in 2012,…
01 Aug 2018, Dossier August 2018
Apparently, the US government’s discretion on its military initiatives in…
01 Aug 2018, Dossier August 2018
According to Feldstein, an analysis of the African situation leads…
01 Aug 2018, Dossier August 2018
The proximity of Yemen and its strategic geographic position have…
01 Jul 2018, News July 2018
This plant plays important role in various communities for the…
01 Jul 2018, Culture July 2018
The parish of St. Francis Xavier in the outskirts of…
01 Jul 2018, Churches July 2018
The Congolese government is considering to declassify areas in two…
01 Jul 2018, News July 2018
African cuisine offers a wide range of dishes of great…
01 Jul 2018, Culture July 2018
It is one of the well-known popular plants which is…
01 Jun 2018, Culture June 2018
Started in a Comboni Parish Our Lady of Africa in…
01 Jun 2018, Churches June 2018
According to UNESCO, Lake Chad has shrunk by 90 percent…
01 Jun 2018, News June 2018
One evening, Mamadou Touré had just left the disco and…
01 Jun 2018, News June 2018
When a child is born among the Lugbara people in…
01 Jun 2018, Culture June 2018
Pope Francis has written a new Apostolic Exhortation on “the…
01 May 2018, Churches May 2018
In Africa, there are thousands of myths to explain what…
01 May 2018, Culture May 2018
According to the opposition, the referendum would be a “death…
01 May 2018, News May 2018
A sound formation, pastoral competence, a political vision and single-mindedness…
01 May 2018, Churches May 2018
The 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia…
01 May 2018, News May 2018
Congo’s most popular politician, the former governor of Katanga, Moise…
01 May 2018, News May 2018
Under the Guise of Security and Resources Niger Has Attracted…
01 May 2018, News May 2018
In the end, Mons. Peter Okpaleke resigned. He was rejected…
01 May 2018, Churches May 2018
In the north of Togo and the north-east of Benin…
01 May 2018, Culture May 2018
This ethnic group of agro-pastoral herders live in arid or…
01 May 2018, Culture May 2018
It is commonly known as Jamun or Jambul. It is…
01 May 2018, Culture May 2018
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, the chief opposition…
01 Apr 2018, News April 2018
A string of private financiers has met a considerable part…
01 Apr 2018, News April 2018
Amulets are an important part of an African's life, from…
01 Apr 2018, Culture April 2018
Rebecca Bitrus, a former Boko Haram captive, shares with us…
01 Apr 2018, Churches April 2018
China’s and other emerging countries’ appetite for raw materials is causing…
01 Apr 2018, News April 2018
The plant is commonly found distributed in the Sub-Saharan Africa. It…
01 Apr 2018, Culture April 2018
It took almost four decades for the people of Nigeria…
01 Apr 2018, Culture April 2018
The roots of puppet shows in Africa are as old…
01 Mar 2018, Culture March 2018
Ethiopia is passing through a period of turmoil due to…
01 Mar 2018, News March 2018
A tiny group of Christians in a predominantly Moslem environment,…
01 Mar 2018, Churches March 2018
After the phenomenon of Moroccan foreign fighters joining the ranks…
01 Mar 2018, News March 2018
The conflict diamonds issue is dying down, but new challenges are emerging. Will Africa be able to add value to the rough product ? Will the industry be able to cope with the threat of synthetic…
Land grabbing and the scarce revenue generated by agriculture are forcing Burkinabe farmers off their land. The De La Salle Brothers in Burkina Faso have launched a project called the Lasallian Centre for Training in…
Despite the bloody repression of the pro-democracy marches organised by roman catholic organizations and the profanation of churches on the last 31 December, the number of demonstrators was even larger on the 21 following January.…
The Tharaka are one of the nine ethnic groups that make up the Meru of Kenya. They number 100,000 and occupy the low plains between the slopes of Mount Kenya to the west and the…
At recent EU-AU summit of Abidjan, much attention was focussed on the tragedy of migrants sold as slaves in Libya, revealed by CNN. But for Mauritanian abolition campaigner Biram Dah Abeid, this is only the tip of…
Every year, young students from Madagascar participate in the sports and cultural competitions that take place on the occasion of the National Days of Catholic Education. Inhabitants of Toamasina, the populous port city of eastern Madagascar,…
The Baganda or Ganda are the largest single ethnic group in Uganda representing approximately 20% of Uganda’s total 34.7 million population. They occupy the central part of the country which was formerly called the Buganda…
The Mossi are the most numerous ethnic group in Burkina Faso with 6.2 million members making up 40% of the population. Mossi wisdom notes. For the Mossi, wisdom consists in respecting traditional practices and customs. 'If…
Pelargonium sidoides is a small geranium-like plant which is commonly referred to as 'South African geranium' or Umckaloabo in the Zulu language. It is highly regarded by traditional healers as one of the major curative…
When we visited the Anthropological Museum of Luanda we were fascinated by a small statue known as 'The Thinker', which is the cultural symbol of Angola and to which an evocative apologue is linked. The National…
The Jesuits in Africa are 1,600, and they work in 34 countries. They are mainly involved in the fields of education, management of natural resources, prevention of AIDS, and assistance to refugees. In addition, they…
Among the many cultural dances of the Acholi people, who live in the northern region of Uganda, the Bwola dance is known as a royal dance performed before the chiefs. Unlike many tribes in Uganda that…
General Elections in Egypt, Sierra Leone, Mali, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo. Possible political instability in South Africa. Crucial year in Gabon. In North Africa, one of the main challenges is the improvement of the…
Indigenous Africa offers examples of alternative ways to reach peace. It is the way of truth, social forgiveness, and integration. A reflection from Laurenti Magesa, a Tanzanian theologian. Peace does not mean the absence of…
In 2018 several African states will have to face a series of challenges at the security level. In some cases, their governments will have to manage different threats simultaneously. Some of these threats have been…
Africans have a big and rich diversity of cultures, beliefs, languages and ways of life. From this background the conception of beauty is not uniform throughout the continent. Two big parameters can be used as…
Tensions are rising since end 2016 in the English-speaking part of the country. Local bishops deplore a « barbaric » repression A curfew has been imposed at Bamenda, the capital of the English-speaking North-West of Cameroon, on the…
It belongs to the Pedaliaceae plant family and is commonly referred to as devil’s claw, grapple plant, or wood spider. It is a rare, highly valuable plant which is only found widely spread in the…
Gubissa, the naming ceremony for the eldest son, is an important moment of the social life of the Borana people, an ethnic group living in northern Kenya. The celebration is held between six months and two…
The Nacala Women’s Polytechnic School, which is run by the Comboni Missionary Sisters, was established about twenty years ago and it has become a reference point in the country. Its goal is to provide Mozambican…
The French justice will investigate on accusations against BNP Paribas’s financing of weapons which may have been used to perpetrated the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Other banks may have to respond to similar charges. Twenty-three…
Malawi is a country with over 10 tribes each with different cultural traditions and beliefs. Historically almost all Malawian tribes migrated from somewhere else with the indigenous ‘Akafula’ or ‘dwarfs’ being the original tribes. The Chewa…
Places sacred to both Christians and Moslems where the faithful tend to join together and pray. Moslem devotion to Our Lady. Christians who visit the holy tombs of Moslems to beg their intercession, Moslems making votive…
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent health problems led to the emergence of Nigeria’s health problems. This African country showed some weak spots that could cause instability if the transition of powers at the top levels…
Among the Borana, an ethnic group that lives in northern Kenya, there are three funeral celebrations: the day of the burial, two weeks after the death and one year later. The role of the eldest…
The Chewa people are the matrilineal society where married men are used to playing a marginal role. Marriages follow a matriarchal system where the man moves from his parents and lives with his wife at…
She has helped deliver 34,000 babies. Close friendship with a Moslem Imam; she has lived in the country for more than half a century. Witness to much suffering but also to great hope like that…
Last funeral rites in many Ugandan tribes and cultures is marked as a way of celebrating the life of the deceased and to some it also marks the end of the mourning period after a…
It is a multi-purpose tree that has been used for more than 4,000 years as food, human and veterinary medicine, and in art and crafts. The plant is highly valued for its potent effect in…
A contemplative community inserted into the social texture of the village, through prayer and work, gives testimony of the presence of the Kingdom of God. At last we reached Natitingou, in the heart of the Atakora…
Napenda Kuishi Rehabilitation is a rehabilitation programme for Nairobi street children run by Comboni Missionaries. It is based in the shanty towns of Korogocho, Dandora, and Huruma in the eastern outskirts of Nairobi. The director…
In the small Chewa village, death has come; the bam-owl has announced it by its call. The myth of the blue-headed lizard, the messenger of death has become true. Time has come to perform the…
The initiation rites for girls take place in the village or a place close by it. This is because, among the Chewa, a matriarchal society, it is the woman who is the real owner of…
The Nuer are a tribe of South Sudan numbering about two million people. It comprises four sections: Nuer-Bentiu, Nuer-Fangak, Nuer-Ikany, Nuer-Lou. We look at the traditional marriage among the Nuer-Gawar that belongs to the Nuer-Fangak. …
The survival of Nigeria as we know it now is increasingly put into question by separatist movements. Even if it is difficult to assess the real consistence of these groups, the danger cannot be underestimated. The…
While rebellions still rage in Eastern Congo and Kasai, tensions are rising in the Western Province of Kongo Central. Over the last two decades, the eastern part of the country has been the main focus…
It is one of the well-known medicinal plants that has its origin from the continent of Africa. The plant is commonly known as the Madagascar periwinkle or basically Vinca Rosea. It is a tender, perennial plant, which…
Tooro Kingdom which is one of the four traditional Kingdoms in Uganda is located in the western part of Uganda with Fort Portal town as its Capital. The Kingdom was once part of the large…
The HIV plague is severely affecting young people but even more women, who are also victims of violence and outrage. A religious institution has established the Hakumana project (which means 'let’s meet' in the Ronga…
Marriage among the Borana people, an ethnic group living in northern Kenya, requires a long period of preparation and it is characterized by several phases. Among the Borana people marriage is preceded by several stages and…
Analysts said that in the future conflicts (especially internal wars) will be fought more and more in urban areas. How are governments, international institutions ready to answer to these new challenges? How will urbanization impact…
In Nyala, in South Darfur in the south-west of Sudan, mission is just a presence and silent witness; a mission without much visibility or spectacle, in quietness; a mission where one cannot expect great personal…
Father Jacques Seck continues his lifelong vocation: that of promoting understanding between Christians and Moslems. As for the extremists, he says: “Let no one try to divide us”. Despite his 83 years, he walks steadily through…
The basin of the Nile is the turf of different wars between the riverine states. The main conflict is between Egypt and Ethiopia, but there are other disputes that, on a lesser level, put the…
A Comboni Missionary, who has been living in the Arabic world for almost 25 years, talks about his origin and how he feels working among Christians and Muslims. “My missionary experience changed from trying to…
Churches, convents, schools, priests and bishops are under threat by violent youth groups and by militias. All protected by powerful people. In the capital Kinshasa there are groups of youths, called koluna, trained in aggression…
Initiation into voodoo is an important time that unequivocally marks the life of a person. It has the purpose of gradually calling the profane person from non-existence to existence as a sacred person, to make…
Marriage is one of the important aspects in the life of Buganda. The role of the in-laws. If the time has changed some characteristics steps to be made remain. Buganda kingdom is the largest organized…
African music is strictly linked to the cultural, economic, social, and magical-religious aspects of the society of this continent and one must listen to it carefully to capture the wide range of symbolic meanings. African musical…
The Outachi, an ethnic group of the south coast of Togo, practice voodoo, a traditional religion that has, for generations, inspired the thinking and actions of this people. We here present some elements and significant…
The return to the home and resuming contact with family members takes place under the guise of amazement. The novices are convinced that their real relatives are still in the compound of the voodoo and…
Four years of war have deeply affected the women and children. A Comboni Sister tells of her journey at their side. The newest nation on the planet has not yet found peace. After a clash…
The rite of erecting the Heviesso, for example, takes place at midnight on the day of rest and starts with the arrangement of a jar of symbols of the voodoo: objects of gold, symbolising the…
Kigelia africana (Lam), Benth (Bignoniaceae family), is a highly valuable medicinal plant that is native to Sub-Saharan Africa. The name 'Africana' reflects the tree's African. Although there are a number of species of the genus…
A country in search of peace. A secondary school in Juba is trying to provide concrete answers. A city that formed on the left bank of the White Nile, about a hundred kilometres from the…
There are two types of enkipaata, a ceremony before circumcision, one for boys and one for warriors. After the ceremony of Enturoroto e motonyi, the boys wait for four years, or as long as their godfather-group…
North Africa is one of the battlefields of the fight between the two major organizations within the jihadist galaxy, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). Al Qaeda’s branch, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb…
Boys and girls meet at dance parties or at communal work or while tending domestic animals. When a kind of friendship has developed, a type of secret engagement may take place. And when the young…
“ Rocks or hills can never meet. Only our peoples can come together”. A Pökot saying Under the acacia tree, Makiab, the old man, was looking at the Mountain Tiatiy, a sacred mountain, 'where the sun…
When a pregnant woman is about to deliver usually other women, most probably two, help her. One of them is an expert mid-wife; this lady is called kama echö. When the mother is about to…
Since November, a series of strikes and demonstrations in Cameroon have been affecting the North-east and South-West Anglophone regions. So far, the response of long-term president Paul Biya has been one of repression. At present,…
Sapana is a celebration undertaken by young men, around 20 years of age, to become recognised as adult men. Only after the rite, will they be considered as adults meaning that they will be allowed…
The plant plays a fundamental role in treatment and management of numerous kinds of diseases. The preparation of the herbal remedy from Combretum collinum can be in the form of infusions, or as a decoction.…
The Langata female prison is the largest female prison in Kenya. It hosts more than 800 inmates in all categories of offenders. “An inmate is already condemned, by the majority of society and often by…
Money is what hurts the most. Popovic, the founder of Otpor (Enough), a student movement that played a key role in toppling Serbian dictator Slobodan…
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A long time ago, both thunder and lightning lived on this earth, among all the people. Thunder was an old mother sheep and Lightning was her…
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A faith-based youth apostolate movement, committed to the principles and values of evangelisation, formation, social justice and advocacy, wants to expand in Africa In Africa, the YCS…
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