Sister Estelle Koffi, Daughter of Jesus and head of the Mother of Mercy Centre in Brobo, Côte d’Ivoire, shares with us how children living with a disability celebrated Christmas.

 

As is customary in Brobo, the Christmas celebration is always special for our friends at Mother of Mercy. God descends into our human frailties, sharing his joy with the most destitute, rejected by our society. He challenges us once again about the way we look at our neighbour and the marginalised.

 

 

Welcoming this Good News

This is why Christmas is an unmissable event for children, especially the children of Mother of Mercy. The celebration began with a mini-vigil to discover the birth of Christ and how we welcome this Good News that comes from God. This vigil ended with lively singing and dancing around the tree!

 

 

An Akan Father Christmas

The next day, the children, tireless, again performed songs and dances, to welcome the arrival of Father Christmas.

 

 

This year, surprise! Santa came as the Akan king, dressed in his traditional outfit. The Akans are the majority ethnic group in the region of Côte d’Ivoire where Brobo is located. This Father Christmas, the Akan king, symbolised the culture. He showed a king who comes to meet his little friends in their modest and sometimes difficult living conditions. He came to give them a little joy through his gifts.

 

Joy on their faces

 

Jesus, “Our great king, Emmanuel, king without a palace, king without an army”, draws us into his humility and gives us the opportunity to love the smallest, most wounded of our brothers and sisters and to read the joy on their faces.

 

 

 

Sr Estelle Koffi dj

Brobo, Ivory Coast