LIEVENSMISSIE, RANCHI, INDIA

After the successful Live-in and cultural exchange journey to Belgium of 12 Adibasis students of St Xavier’s School Dorunda in June-July 2010, it was the turn of 22 Flemish students of the Klein Seminarie, Roeselare, to come to ChotaNagpur and enjoy our hospitality and culture from 10th to 21th July 2010. Studying in the same school where Fr Lievens had studied from 1870 to 1876 their journey was a pilgrimage “in the footsteps of Fr Lievens”. This year was the third such occasion.

The students, under the enthusiastic guidance of a Lievens’ Work-Team of teachers, had thoroughly prepared themselves for this adventure during one year. Careful selection from among the many candidates, info evenings, teambuilding, seeking sponsors and also collecting funds for the educational projects which the school is supporting every year: Outreach St Xavier’s Dorunda, Kishor Nagar, Lievens’ Academy Lohardaga, St Stanislas School Lohardaga, Ursuline School Tongo.

And yet how can one prepare for such a ‘boundary-stretching’ experience. The ‘cultural schock’ was inevitable. “Especially the arrival in Kolkata is still so fresh in my memory. We drove through the city at night. Yet, the sights and the smells and the heat! It was overwhelming!” wrote Cedric from Belgium after his return. That is why from the beginning personal reflection and group sharing integration and faithful diary writing was a must.

The journey is anything but touristic, though obviously these aspects are also there. The Live In aspect becomes more and more a part of their experience. On two occasions students and teachers stayed (two by two) with a family from afternoon to next day morning: once in Ranchi city in a more middle class family, and once in a real village in Tongo area. These made a deep impression on the students. “It was a veil of unknown reality that slowly was lifted: how people in India live” writes Margaux. “We ate with our hands, slept on a low cot. The ten-year old girl I will never forget! She talked with me for one hour. In what language? Of the heart I suppose because we did communicate. Just before falling asleep I felt two small hands giving me a big hug” said Charlotte. It was all so overwhelming and beautiful. The unbelievable hospitality, “We felt like gods, honestly” wrote Jozefien. “The different culture and customs. The inclusive attitude! Is it typically Eastern, or Indian, or tribal? We can learn so much from them” wrote Tine.

The visit to the five educational ‘projects’ for which they had collected some funds was another eye-opener. “They are no more ‘projects’. They now are real faces: of boys who were on the margins of society and now have a home in Kishor Nagar; of grown up women sitting together on the mat with a slate in hand to learn elementary reading and writing in Outreach, Debidih; boys and girls sitting in the benches in Tongo and Lohardga and lapping up knowledge to be ready for a competitive world. More than the material which we brought for them and our financial sponsoring every year, is the closeness and mutuality which our visit brought.” “Mutual respect and solidarity got a deeper and more concrete meaning to us” was a heartfelt impression shared in group on the last day. Their visit to Radha Rani, the clinic and home for leprosy patients, was truly ‘boundary-stretching” for them. First the explanatory talk, no it was a witness, by MC Sister Sebastiana who explained to us about leprosy, and then being with the patients … shaking hands! “I obviously had mixed feelings being confronted directly with something we only had heard of as something terrible out there”, writes Cedric who in October will start his studies of Medicine in Louvain, “yet I see myself returning after my studies.”

All were unanimous that it was an unforgettable experience. This is not an idle word because, when a few months earlier I, Aurel Brys sj, who iam the local organisator and guide for the group met the students who had come two years ago, the sharing of how their Live In journey had affected their lives and outlook confirmed the depth of their experience. Besides the cultural exchange and coming to know each other and opening their outlook, this inner impact is one of the main fruits of such and exchange Live-in Journey.

The students and teachers and the direction of Klein Seminary, Roeselare, requested me through this way to convey their heartfelt thanks to all the people whom they met, with whom they stayed at home, who welcomed them and with whom they shared, who took so much trouble to make them comfortable, and so many other small and big ways. “Knowing each other a little better, we have come closer and we hold you in our heart. Jai Jesu.”