After much preparation we have finally begun realising the dream of our predecessor, the beloved friar Vjeko Ćurić. Last Saturday, amid festivities, we blessed and placed the corner stone for the High School where, hopefully, the children of hundreds of our parishioners will start their education in the near future – an education that we hope will ensure the livelihood for their families. And that is the guiding light in our missionary work – helping people to clear their own paths in life. Friar Vjeko is probably watching us somewhere from above, smiling and stroking his moustache in satisfaction. And he should be! We so are proud of him; his work and ideas that were far ahead of the time he lived in.

It was not without reason that so many people gathered on the special occasion which we used to celebrate friar Vjeko’s name-day, although two days too early. My dear friend, Salesian don Sebastijan Marković, was among the seven priests who co-celebrated the holy mass lead by the Bishop of Kabgayi, Emerald Mbonyintege. Among the gathered I must also mention the great ambassador of our “little Croatia” here in Rwanda, Tomislav Obradović.

Tomislav is the coach of the National football team and many local clubs are competing to hire him as their coach. He jokes a lot, and everybody loves him.  Our “little Croatia” also includes the football coach, Branko Tucak and basketball coach Većeslav Kavedžija.  As well, we had young volunteers from Croatia, Silvija Duksi and Ivančica Borić from Varaždin and Joško Žarković from Kaštela who also attended the celebration. But I shall write more about them and the work they have done at a later date.  For now I just wanted to mention that we Croats are present and thriving here in Rwanda. There are only a few of us, but we’re here!

Anyway, celebrations such as our blessing and placing of the corner stone cannot happen without the traditional dance Intore, which was at one time only performed by the chosen warriors for the Rwandan king. Today only the Church maintains the tradition of this historic and cultural dance so characteristic of Rwanda. Just as Intore is performed only by the chosen, we hope that our school will graduate the best of students in a few years. – students who will spread the glory of the village of Kivumu where they come from throughout Rwanda and even Africa. And of whom we will be very proud!

At the end of the celebration, the Bishop handed out 72 diplomas to students who graduated from our vocational school last year. Afterwards, we had a banquet held out of doors in the school yard. The children were the happiest, because many of them tasted meat after a long, long time and some, even for the first time in their lives!

Translated by: Bitno.hr
Edited by: Valerie K. Ken