TERENURE TO KRISTE MAMBO

In June 1995 a Fact-Finding Team travelled from Terenure College to Kriste Mambo School in Zimbabwe to further develop the links between the two Carmelite schools, which were twinned in recent years. The team consisted of Mr. Brendan McCauley, Feargal O’Connell and Bernard Broderick. Feargal and Bernard from Transition Year were chosen for the trip on their success in a project competition and interviews.

June 7
We left for London on June 7th and transferred to our night flight to Harare. Terminal Four at Heathrow from where all British Airways long-haul flights depart, is an amazing place. It seemed as if all the nationalities of the Southern Hemisphere were represented at the check-in areas. The flight time to Harare is eleven hours and we arrived at 9.00a.m. on Thursday morning to bright sunshine.

June 8
We were met by Frs. S. Coughlan and B. Kiernan from Harare and Fr. Louis Bouthilette, our host from Kriste Mambo School. After a brief nap Fr. Louis brought us to a snake and wild life park in Harare. This was certainly proof that we were in Africa, not that we had any difficulty knowing from the first moment of our arrival. We got to handle some snakes and take photos of cheetah which were only metres away from the car. We learned another fact about Zimbabwe – night comes quickly. It began to get dark around 5.00p.m. and in an hour was fully dark. It also gets very cold in the evening. We were in Zimbabwe in the middle of their winter. During the day it is very sunny and warm, maximum 30C, however it can be cool in the shade. At nighttime the temperature can fall to zero. That evening we met Fr. C. Kennedy also of the St. Joseph’s Hatfield Community and we were joined at dinner by Bishop Mutume from Mutare and the leader of the parish.

June 9
We set off for Kriste Mambo, Rusape which is two hours east of Harare. The main roads are excellent – similar to our national roads. Fr. Louis had several stops to make en route to collect supplies for the school. We arrived in late afternoon and again received an excellent reception from the community there. Kriste Mambo, or Christ the King, is on the main road to Mutare, about an hour east of Rusape. The Novitiate of the Carmelites in Zimbabwe is also based at Kriste Mambo and we met the Prior and Director of Novices. Frs. Leo Gallagher and Conrad Mutizamhepo and the fifteen novices who live in Community there. We stayed in the headmaster’s house, which we had to ourselves, a small building in the middle of the campus.

June 10
We awoke to the sound of tremendous industry early in the morning. The laundry is located behind our quarters and Saturday is laundry day at Kriste Mambo, which is a girl’s boarding school. Zimbabwe has suffered a drought for the last number of years and the Summer rains during November to March have not been sufficient to replenish water stocks. Because of the water shortage the girls are allocated buckets rather than use running water. The washing takes place outdoors and hence the noisy reveille. We were surprised that the girls wore heavy sweaters and hats and scarves. It was very sunny but they found it quite cold. Things start early in Zimbabwe, around 6.00a.m. mainly because night falls so early in the evening and in the country areas, at least, the people do not venture out after dark.

Fr. Louis brought us on an informal tour of the campus. We saw the piggery with its many newly born piglets which were being cared for by the pupils from the Agricultural Science Class. The potatoes from their own farm are acclaimed as the best in Zimbabwe. We saw the foundations for the new Sixth Form Block.  Fr. Louis explained that they hope to begin enrolment for Fifth and Sixth Form pupils in 1996. At present the school takes First to Fourth Form pupils. That the school should embark on such an ambitious building programme shows the Community’s optimism and confidence about the future.

We saw the dams – a series of artificial lakes – on a slope away from the Campus, that Fr. Louis uses to collect rain and surface water and then pump this back to the campus. The implement attached to the tractor that was used to scoop out the dams was bought with money donated by Terenure College. It was fascinating to see that money raised at a fund raising event back home was put to such practical use. It was also chilling to see however that the first two lakes were dry and the entire Campus was dependent on the last lake for water. There would be a serious problem if the rains in the coming summer were not good.

In the afternoon we visited a Marist Brother’s Mission and School at Mount Melleray in the beautiful Nyanga region. This school is surrounded by mountains and to get to it involves a very bumpy drive on a dirt track. Fr. Louis, a French Canadian, came to Africa in the 1950’s as a Marist brother and taught at Mount Melleray for several years. He joined the Carmelites in ’80’s, completed his studies in Gort Muire and was ordained to the priesthood in 1989. The Marist School must be a source of considerable joy for him today as it is one of the most successful boys’ Sixth Form schools in the country and boasts a swimming pool and other fine sporting facilities. On our return to Kiste Mambo we were joined by Fr. Eanna from home who was to spend the Summer in Zimbabwe filling in for priests who were due home on holidays.

June 11
Each priest at Kriste Mambo has responsibility for eight parishes or ‘out stations’. He visits each station one Sunday a month to celebrate Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On other Sundays the Liturgy of the Word is led by a local Lay Minister. Our Mass at Bingagura our station was the highlight of the trip. It was very moving to be part of a congregation who really celebrated with music, words and movement their thanks to the Lord even though they had very little in material terms. The Mass was held in a classroom in the village and some had travelled many miles on foot to be there. Fr. Louis heard confessions in the garden before the mass. We were given a very warm welcome and after lunch Feargal and Bernard joined the novices in a soccer game against a local youth club. Kriste Mambo boasts good playing pitches and a running track. The Kriste Mambo boys won despite intense sun and the altitude of 6,000 meters.

June 12 & 13
We spent two days at school, Bernard and Feargal attended Fourth Form Classes and I visited classes and answered questions on Ireland. We were formally welcomed to the School at an assembly of the whole school and staff. There are about 550 pupils – 500 girl boarders and 50 day boys.

In Fourth Form the pupils sit the G.C.S.E. which is examined by the Cambridge Examination Board in England.

The curriculum is broad and offers the same range of subjects as in Terenure. At Kriste Mambo pupils study agricultural science, fashion and design and of course Shona. One is struck by the diligence of the students and their attentiveness in class. Class begins at 7.45a.m. and continues to 1.00p.m. After school pupils take part in extra curricular activities. Feargal and Bernard tried their hands at the main school sports, netball and volleyball.

June 14
St. Killian’s Mission. The novices from Kriste Mambo along with their two new international signings played soccer against the St. Killian’s School team. St. Killian’s has a co-ed Primary and Secondary school, a hospital and church. We were well received and entertained by Fr. Joe Neville O. Carm. and Fr. Constantine Masarira O. Carm. Our team won.

June 15
To Mutare where we were welcomed by Fr. Des Clarke and enjoyed an excellent lunch. Fr. Ned Ward took us on a fascinating tour of St. Joseph’s Carmelite Parish in Mutare. This area is euphemistically called a ‘high density suburb’, in other words this was a black township in the previous regime. Fr. Ward told us that many people in the shanties take lodgers and put them up in any available space in their tiny homes. Outside the small leanto shacks they had very small quantities of fruit or firewood or any saleable item that might raise a few cents. One doubted that there were many calls to have ‘enterprise’ included on the curriculum in local schools.

We walked around Mutare city centre. Mutare is Zimbabwe’s fourth largest city and is beautifully situated in a bowl-like valley surrounded by mountains. Formally known as Umtali, it is near the Mozambique border and as Zimbabwe is landlocked it depends on Mozambique for access to the sea.

June 16
We went on a tour of Rusape. Our first visit was to the Novitiate of the Carmelite Sisters. They run a highly productive farm here. Kriste Mambo buys a lot of their food from the Sisters. From there we went to visit an elderly couple in Fr. Louis’ parish. These old people had a problem which was unusual for Zimbabwe where old people tend to be well looked after by their families. Their son was abandoning them and returning to Mozambique; he was selling the land and their hut, thus leaving them no place to live. We met in their hut and sat down around the fire in the centre with the smoke swirling about and listening to the protracted Shona conversation.

Generally each family had three or four huts  - one to live in – one for the parents and one each for the boys and girls. There could be twenty or thirty families in each village and the villages seem to be camouflaged as the round huts have thatched roofs and bricks made from the red laterite soils. Fr. Louis eventually managed to find a home for the old couple.

Our next stop was another village in the bush where the people were building a small church. The structure was very simple – thatched roof and locally made bricks. The women were doing most of the hard work – digging the soil to make the bricks. However, whenever we turned on our video camera the men jumped into action and dismissed the women from the work area! As we were leaving one of the women gave each of us a piece of dried corn. What a generous gift from people who have so little.

Next we saw Diana’s Vow rock painting. These are ancient rock paintings whose origins are unknown. Diana’s Vow is a major national site and landmark in the country. Then on to the town of Rusape itself.

Rusape is a small town of about 9,000 people which serves the prime tobacco growing region. It marks the beginning of the scenic country of the Eastern Highland. There is also a Carmelite Parish in Rusape.

June 17
Today we set out for Regina Coeli Mission in Nyamaropa. The drive is spectacular, passing as it does through the Nyanga National Park and the tourist area of Troutbeck. There is a parish church school and hospital and we were met by Fr. Jack McGrath and two sisters form the hospital. In 1991 a terrible tragedy occurred when a bus carrying pupils from the school returning from a sports fixture crashed on one of the many bends in the mountains. Ninety pupils and five teachers were killed. We stopped at the spot and said a silent prayer for our fellow Carmelite pupils and teachers.

The morning of our visit there was a regional football final in the school so the Campus and playing fields were full of people and activity. This very high participation by all in sport was a feature of all the schools we visited.

On our return we stopped at Troutbeck in an area called Little Connemara to visit World View, a place outstanding beauty where the mountains of Mozambique and South Africa can be seen.

June 18
Today, the feast of Corpus Christi was our last day in Kriste Mambo. We started the day with Mass at 8.00a.m. where we were given a great send off by the pupils. The girls were particularly sad to bid farewell to Feargal and Bernard who had acquired a sort of cult status during their stay. Mass was followed by a Corpus Christi procession around the Campus. It was still strange to us that local people wore sweaters and woolly caps despite, in our eyes at least, the brilliant sunshine.

After the procession we went to visit Triashill Mission. We arrived in the middle of their Corpus Christi procession and despite the risk of procession overload we really enjoyed the joyous carnival atmosphere and the rhythm of their music. One kept thinking that these people would call a ‘crash team’ from Vincent’s Hospital and check for vital signs if ever they went to Mass in Ireland.

Our host at Triashill was Fr. Fred Lally and he has easily the best view from any Carmelite Community room in the world – stretching over the Eastern Highlands. Triashill is the oldest Mission in Zimbabwe, founded in 1896 and taken over by the Irish Carmelites in 1946. Bishop Donal Lamont, Fr. Anselm Corbett and Fr. Luke Flynn must surely feel very proud of their mark. There is a cemetery at Triashill where Carmelites in Zimbabwe are buried. It was very moving to note the burial place of names associated with Terenure over the years- Fr. M. Hipwell and Fr. T. Power.

Later on Sunday we bade farewell to all at Kriste Mambo and set out for Harare. On our arrival we had a meeting with the Kriste Mambo Parent’s Association. It was wonderful to remark how interesting they were in the Parents’ Association in Terenure and how similar they were.

June 19
The smoke the thunders – Victoria Falls. Our flight to the Falls left early in the morning. We were joined by Fr. Paul Graham who had recently arrived in Zimbabwe to do supply work. The Falls are truly spectacular. It is a pity that the word ‘awesome’ has been debased in recent years as this is the only word that best sums up the majesty of the Falls. We followed our walk around the Falls by a cruise on the Zambezi River. If there is a way to ‘do lunch’ it has got to be on a cruise on the Zambezi looking out for rhinoceros, crocodiles, snakes and impala.

We arrived back in Harare late in the evening and sat down to a great feast laid on by Fr. S. Coughlan to celebrate the end of a really great adventure.

June 20
Our last day in Zimbabwe. Power shopping at its best. The city is a great shopping opportunity with many good stores. Harare also has the Carmelite Student House and it was there we visited for lunch and met Fr. Jim Doyle and Fr. Jim Kinahan. There are about ten students there who were on holiday at the time. It is a testament to the optimism and vitality of the Church in Zimbabwe that the Carmelites are just putting the finishing touches to a large extension and refurbishment of the Student House.

On our final drive to the airport Feargal discovered he had one stamp and one postcard left. Who would he send it to?  Why not to President Robinson was the consensus. He did- explaining briefly why we were in Zimbabwe and he got a reply from the President some weeks later offering best wished on the twinning project. With such as endorsement one looks forward to the development of the relationship between Kriste Mambo and Terenure College. We can certainly look back on this trip as a great adventure with wonderful memories and many, many new friends and we are indebted to the College for making it possible.

Mr. B. McCauley.