(ANS - Tunis) - After spending many years in Tunisia, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians are in a position to say that their presence in the country has been constructive. Their experience in Tunisia has opened for them doors to a world that is different in culture and faith with its own way of feeling and living. This has transformed the mission of the sisters and constitutes a great opportunity.

By Elene Boissiere Mabille

According to Fr Michel Prignot who has been in Tunisia for a long time, "Every day we are witnessing an evolution of spirit and heart. We see the people acquiring a new dimension, developing the values ​​of freedom, critical sense and personality. We have much to learn and at the same time, much to share."

This is also the experience of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in their two works. One is a primary school attended by 630 students in Menzel Bourguiba, in the heart of Tunisia, in a rural setting in which Islam tends to radicalization. The other is a hostel in La Marsa, a suburb of Tunis, which caters for eighteen young Christian students from sub-Saharan Africa. 

At Menzel, all staff and teachers are Tunisians. Only the director and the bursar are Sisters. Together with the other Sisters in the community, they provide a Salesian educative presence in the school. The Preventive System is greatly appreciated, especially because it puts the emphasis on dialogue and rejects the use of violence. It also allows for sharing with the teachers, closeness to the families and a friendly welcome for the children.

On the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco, the Sisters invited Fr Jean-Marie Petitclerc SDB for a course in Salesian pedagogy. One hundred teachers gathered for two days, first at Menzel and then in the Salesian School in Manouba. Fr Petitclerc spoke with the teachers and they told him of the difficulties and fears they experience in the work of education. They were enthusiastic about the responses they received and they greatly appreciated the Salesian pedagogy.

The Sisters do not speak to the students of their faith, but are carriers of the values ​​they believe in. This is testified by their friendliness and service. And even if for some Tunisians the centre at Menzel is known as "the school of the foreigners", the vast majority of parents appreciate the sisters. 

At the end of the school year, together with the teachers, the Sisters organize cultural or recreational outings. Many past pupils continue to come to the school for sports in the evening or simply to greet the Sisters. Today there is also a scout group at Menzel. thanks to the dream and the commitment of one of the Sisters.

Published 20/1/2016