How can I appreciate, despite the setbacks, the richness of the discoveries, the service done, and the life lessons my service in the Philippines offered me? Sharing this experience with you expresses my gratitude and recounts the joys and sorrows that marked my life during these months in this foreign land.
I was welcomed into a charming land with its verdant and wonderful nature that impressed me greatly. A country with a different culture and language than mine, geographically located “on the other side of the world” with a considerable time difference from the rest of the Congregation. This is, then, an account of my adventures adapting to this country that I embraced with joy and enthusiasm.
I was moved by the simplicity of life and the flair of Filipino hospitality (the great value of “Teranga,” as we call it in Senegal) and the deep faith of the people shown in the beauty of the liturgies and the remarkable processions.
Furthermore, the sense of curiosity of the Filipino people touched me deeply. I was often asked: “How old are you, my sister?” They were trying to understand the meaning of someone so young and already consecrated, who left her country to help the poor on their remote island. In short, what they were questioning was the meaning of religious life for me.
Well, the concrete response to the essence of my consecration is Christ, who manifested himself in my closeness to the people in need whom I met, especially in the reception and meal distribution service called Wheel of Hope, open to all the most vulnerable people, where I collaborated with Sr. Francesca Vitulano and our Associate Rosemela Asaldo. We attended to the needs of adults, children and young people, homeless persons, individuals with disabilities, and those in situations of extreme poverty.
Through them, I could express the charism of care we share while welcoming people in situations of homelessness and those with reduced mobility, helping with children’s schooling, and visiting low-income families. This closeness manifested differently in each activity with adults, teenagers, and children from the Caritas villages and in the residential settlements built in 2012 to accommodate the families affected by Typhoon Sendong.
All of this happened with the unfailing support of the Community, to whom I express all my gratitude for the bright days, the laughter, and the beautiful walks trying to discover this place but also for the dark moments that seemed to persist and hamper the community atmosphere. The paradox of this experience fell inevitably on me, as I had joyfully placed myself at the service of the poor. At times, I found myself confronted with my vulnerability and limitations. These constituted a blockage that left its mark but opened me to a new journey of growth and self-knowledge.
Sr. Pascaline Daba Sarr, SFP
