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| learning to be a mother... |
Yesterday, I passed the day with two of my former classmates, Fr. Adriano and Monsignor Pinto Guedes, and I had the opportunity to see the new Home for the Aged, built by Fr. Adriano’s Parish. It is a nice place, with all the facilities that make the life in old age easier. It was opened on Thursday and it is already full. The demand for such homes is on the increase and they seem to be the solution for a growing problem. Most of the families cannot cope with the demands and are not able to provide the special care needed by people who are in their seventies or eighties. However, many remain more or less abandoned by their relatives, who seldom visit them. The Bemba proverb says: Kolwe akota, asabilwa na bana (when the monkey gets old is provided for by the children). We may say that, at least in Europe, the proverb doesn’t apply anymore. And the problem is worsening.
The European population is getting old, and there are not enough young people working and producing to provide the social care enjoyed by the previous generation. In Zambia, one can see plenty of children and youths. They are the future of the country. The countries of Europe are not investing in the future. The future of a nation is in her people. And when there are no people, others will come in and take the place for themselves. Being afraid of life and of sharing it, so that they can have enough time and wealth for themselves, they are moving along a path that will take them to destruction. Imiti ikula e mpanga (the growing trees are the forest) – we are told by the traditional Bemba wisdom. There will be no forest, without young trees. No future, without children. They are a gift of life and love.
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