Greetings from India

Dear Friends of Fransalians,

Greetings and prayerful good wishes to each one of you. It is with great joy and gratitude that I write to you today. The year 2024 is a jubilee year for our Chad-Cameroon Mission. It was in the year 1999 that the first Team of Fransalian Missionaries from India arrived in Chad. One year later the Mission was extended to the neighboring country of Cameroon. Five years later our association was registered at Moembris in Germany under the name “ Freundeskreis der Missionare des hl. Franz von Sales /Fransalianer e.V”. The association was established mainly to mobilize support for our Missions in Chad and Cameroon.

I thank God for the opportunity given to me to be part of the pioneering team for a period of 8 years from 2000 to 2008. The beginnings were very hard and challenging. Learning new languages and integrating with the local culture in the midst of severe health hazards like malaria and typhoid has always been a herculean task for the new arrivals from India. Lack of basic infrastructure was another big hurdle. The early Missionaries had to wait for seven years to have a proper house of their own. They had to travel long distances on very bad roads in the harsh landscape of Chad and Cameroon. Trusting in God’s providence the missionaries worked hard to develop the mission step by step. The Mission lost two young priests by accidents. Some others had to leave the Mission due to serious health issues.

The Chad-Cameroon Mission is now well established with a steady growth in personnel as well as in the number of parishes and educational institutions. The Mission now consists of 20 priests, 42 students in priestly formation, 5 novices and several candidates. Most of them are Africans hailing from our own missions in Chad and Cameroon. The Fransalians have built up 7 large parishes besides establishing 4 educational institutions and 2 children’s homes. There are 2 formation houses for candidates to priesthood in Cameroon. A Novitiate House is under construction.

We thank God for his providential care to have made this Mission what it is today. We thank all our friends and benefactors and more especially the members of our Verein in Germany for their constant support by way of prayers and financial help. I wish and pray that the Chad-Cameroon Mission will grow from strength to strength in the years to come. May this jubilee year bring renewed blessings to the people of Chad and Cameroon. I congratulate our missionaries and their collaborators in Chad and Cameroon for the great work they are doing to bring the message of love and compassion to the poorest of the poor.

Cordially
Pater Thomas Cherukat, MSFS

Greetings from Chad-Cameroon

My dear Confreres and friends of the Fransalians,

Cordial greetings and good wishes from the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales working in the Chad-Cameroon Mission. I am very happy to inform you that the year 2024-2025 is the Silver Jubilee year of our Mission in Chad and Cameroon. In this year of grace we thank God for all his blessings on our work in the past 25 years. We thank all our friends, benefactors and collaborators for helping us throughout the past 25 years. We also remember with gratitude all our pioneer missionaries who have given their best to build up this Mission. The pioneers planted, their successors watered and God gave the increase....

God has blessed our Mission. This is a Mission pioneered by missionaries from India. Considering the tremendous growth in the number of personnel and mission centers with educational institutions in recent years, the Congregation has raised this Mission to the status of a Delegation. Today the Fransalian Delegation in Chad and Cameroon is a rapidly growing Mission. Missionaries from India along with a growing number of indigenous priests work side by side.

We thank God for the gift of many indigenous vocations we receive every year. We need outside support to meet the huge cost of formation. Apart from the 7 large parishes and 5 schools, the Delegation has established 2 Boys Homes in Chad. As a jubilee souvenir we have planned to establish a Boys Home at Ngaoundere in North Cameroon. We have planned several projects to bring education to the poor in the coming years.

Through the “sponsor a Child Program” we have been able to reach out to 200 poor children both boys and girls. Promotion of the girl child is a priority for all our educational projects. More than half the number of beneficiaries in all our schools are girls. Unfortunately due to some practical difficulties we have not been able to provide Girls’ Homes. We are waiting for some women religious congregation to take up this challenging task.

Providing safe and clean drinking water to the remote villages has been another priority for us. We have been able to complete more than 20 open wells in villages where clean drinking water was not available. We hope to continue this project if we find more donors.

In the past 25 years of our presence as a Missionary Congregation in Chad and Cameroon we have been able to accomplish much. It has been a very challenging as well as deeply rewarding experience for all of us. As the Delegation continues to grow, the cost of maintaining it is also a huge challenge. We are ever grateful to our friends and benefactors for their steady support. In this jubilee year we seek your support to realize some of our dream projects such as the extension of the school at Gaki in Chad and opening a new Boys’ Home at Ngaoundere. We assure our prayers for you. May the Lord bless you and all your near and dear ones.

Yours cordially
Pater Manoj Arackal, MSFS

Greetings from India

My dear Confreres and Friends of the Fransalians, 

I wish to greet each one of you with a grateful heart for your love and concern for our work in the missions. Your constant support and prayers give us the strength and courage to continue with our work in spite of the many difficulties that we face. Lighten up the lives of the poor and the disadvantaged is our Mission and Vision. It is our endeavour to provide service to the most needy people with a number of effective responses to poverty, disease, injustice and other threats to human wellbeing. Our Vision of Integral Human Development is a positive understanding of human person, covering all aspects of life: social, educational, economic, political, cultural, personal and spiritual.

It is very gratifying that for the past 17 years our Verein in Germany  has been able to mobilize and disburse a substantial sum of money each year in favour of the poorest of the poor through the many ongoing projects and programs in our missions. All this was possible because of the good will and generosity of so many people. However with the ever increasing number of appeals for help it has been difficult for us to respond to all of them mainly due to lack of sufficient funds.

We are therefore launching immediately a fundraising program in India beginning with our own Fransalian communities and educational institutions. We would like to enlist many more donors for our developmental works in Africa and in India. With the support of more donors we would like to reach out to those sections of society who live in extreme poverty. We have identified two such vulnerable groups namely those who have no shelter and those who have no means of accessing medical help in emergency cases. We are therefore committed to mobilise and create two separate funds for the homeless and for those in need of urgent medical assistance. With your help we hope to help more people in great need. We would like to reach out to many more people who are vulnerable and continue to remain on the peripheries of society. We need your help to find more donors and sponsors. We are therefore making an earnest appeal to all our friends to introduce our programs and projects to prospective donors and sponsors. 

My last visit to Europe was in 2019. Due to the Covid crisis and for some health issues of my own I was not able to plan another visit yet. God willing I hope to make it in the near future. I wish you all good health and best wishes for all your near and dear ones. God bless. 

Yours cordially,
P. Thomas Cherukat, MSFS 

Greetings from Chad-Cameroon

My dear Confreres, Friends and Benefactors, 

Greetings and good wishes to each one of you from the Fransalian Mission of Chad and Cameroon  which is now entering into the silver jubilee year. It was in November 1999 that the first three Fransalians from India had arrived in Chad to open a new mission. We gratefully remember the heroic works of the pioneers and the several batches of missionaries who had followed them. The missionary zeal and commitment of so many young priests and the generous support they received from friends and benefactors from many parts of the world have helped this mission to grow very rapidly. Today there are 20 Fransalian priests working in this Mission . There are over 70 seminarians undergoing different stages of their priestly formation. Most of these students are from the Mission itself which is a healthy sign of the steady growth of the mission to its full maturity rooted in the local culture. The Mission has 7 parishes, 5 schools, 2 formation houses and several mission stations where many development works are being undertaken.

Nearly 2.000 students are formed in our schools. Our school at Gaki, Doba in Chad achieved 100% result in the public exam. It was for the first time that the students of SFS educational complex at Gaki presented its students for the public exams. Our School at Doba Town in Chad   was placed one among the best 10 schools in the whole of Chad. The school in Ngaoundere too had  very good results in the public exams. We thank all our friends and benefactors who have made their contributions towards building up these educational institutions. Two boys’ homes run by the Fransalians in Chad are highly sought after. We have 39 children at Bero and 79 at  Gaki. We are finding it difficult to run these institutions due to lack of sufficient finance.  We look forward to your continued support for this noble cause.

In this Jubilee year, we had the joy of welcoming our new Provincial Superior from India, Fr. Thomas Kalariparampil who made his first official visitation to Chad-Cameroon from 17 June to 2 July 2023. It was an occasion of thanksgiving and a comprehensive review and evaluation of the Mission and planning for the future. We thank our Provincial for his love and concern for this far away mission in Africa.

A tragic loss of life

With much grief I would like to inform you that our Mission has suffered a tragic loss of life.  One of our young priests from Chad, Pater Abba MTOUDJIEL, MSFS  died of a road accident on 15 April 2023. He was only 33 years old. Ordained priest on 28 January 2023 his priestly life was abruptly brought to an end within a short span of 76 days. He was the second Fransalian priest from Chad. The untimely death of a promising young priest is indeed a rude shock for all of us.  He was known to all of us as a friendly, jovial, talented and hardworking person. We cannot fathom the ways of God. We humbly submit ourselves to God’s Will. May his soul rest in peace.

Thanking you all for your prayers and support. 

Yours cordially,
Fr. Manoj Arackal, MSFS

Gretings from Indien

My dear Confreres and Friends of Fransalians, 

Once again it is Christmas time. The dawn of a New Year is at our doorstep. It is indeed a joyful season. At the same time we are living in very difficult times. The whole world is going through a prolonged period of fear, anxiety and uncertainty. The untold suffferings caused by the Pandemic Covid1 19 continue to play havoc in the lives of millions of people across the world. The war in Ukraine has brought the world face to face with enormous humanitarian and economic crisis. On a daily basis we see millions of migrants and refugees fleeing their homes seeking livelihood and safe shelter in distant lands. In this context Christmas assumes special significance for a world in constant turmoil. Jesus was born in a manger in extreme poverty. The Holy Family had to flee to Egypt as migrants and refugees seeking protection and livelihood in a strange land. The fact that Jesus, the Son of God took upon himself the human flesh and blood, suffered and died on the cross and rose from the dead is a sure sign for us to experience the joy and peace of Christmas. This is all the more true at a time when millions of people in different parts of the world are shattered by poverty, diseases, wars and conflicts. The birth of Jesus in extreme poverty and misery inspires us to lead a life of hope in the ultimate victory of life over death. Let me wish each one of you the joy and peace of Christmas. May this Christmas help us to embrace the New Year with much hope and confidence in the providence of God. A very Happy New Year to all of you. 

We the Fransalians are ever grateful to each one of you for your continued support and encouragement for our work in the Missions. We do appreciate your generous donations especially at a time when rising prices and unemployment are real cause of worry and concern for many of you. Thank you very much for your timely financial support for our projects. 

I am happy to inform you that all our projects in Chad-Cameroon and in India are being pursued with much passion and commitment by our misssionaries and lay leaders in all our missions. Our main project has always been the education of the poor children in our missions. The program of sponsor a child in need is reaching out to more than 700 poor children. Every year there are more requests for help. We need more sponsors to meet the increasing demands. “Medical Aid to the Poor”, “Help the Homeless”, “Covid Care Livelihood Support” are projects we continue with limited resources. Providing drinking water facilities in Chad is yet another project for which we need much more resources. We count on your continued support and thank you whole-heartedly for what you are for us and for our people in the Missions. May God bless each one of you. 

With warm regards, 

Yours cordially
Fr. Dr. Thomas Cherukat, MSFS

Greetings from Chad-Cameroon

My dear confreres, friends and well wishers, greetings from Fransalians in Chad – Cameroon Mission. First of all, I would like to wish each and every one of you a very happy and Christ- filled Christmas. Christmas is a feast of great joy and hope for the world torn apart by war and divisions. Christmas is also a family festival. The birth of Christ brought joy not only to the Holy Family of Nazareth but also to the whole of humanity. 

Fransalian Mission of Chad-Cameroon has completed 23 years of its existence. We gratefully realize that we were the humble instruments of the Almighty to carry out His mission in these Sub-Saharan countries. We are now 83 members in the Fransalian Family of Chad Cameroon Mission: 21 priests, 13 students in theology, 5 students in praktikum, 20 studentss in philosophy, 4 novices, 5 pre novices and 15 candidates. This impressive numerical growth is a clear sign of God’s blessings on this Mission. Fr. Peter Mermeir our Founder said “ God does not ask miracles from us, they are not within our power. He wants only activity of good will”. We can say with legitimate pride that the deep faith, determination and commitment of so many confreres and lay leaders have worked miracles for the people of Chad and Cameroon through the Fransalians in this part of Africa. We thank all our benefactors, friends and well wishers for their support, encouragement and care. Wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a grace- filled New year 2023. 

BERO MISSION

Bero Mission with a large cluster of villages around is situated in the south-eastern part of Chad in the diocese of Doba. It is the southern part of the Sahara Desert where the temperature is above 45°C in summer. Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world with a high rate of infant mortality and a low rate of literacy. The official languages of the country are French and Arabic. The United Nations' Human Development Index ranks Chad as one of the poorest countries in the world with 80% of the population living below the poverty line. Most of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock raising for its livelihood. 

Béro Mission consists of 6 sectors and 40 villages. The farthest village is 45 kilometers away from the Catholic Mission Center. The people of this area belong to a tribe called Ngambady and the local Language is called Ngambay. Most of the villagers are farmers and herdsmen. The people are generally poor due to unscientific way of cultivation, lack of rainfall and poor health condition. 

The population of Bero faces serious lack of infrastructure. Only 58% of residents have access to potable water and only 12% to basic sanitation. Bero is situated in the immediate vicinity of the vast Oil Fields owned by the American Company, Esso. But the 40 villages surrounding the Oil Fields have no access to electricity. We the Fransalians are making all efforts to provide clean and safe drinking water to the local population. With the financial help received from friends and benefactors we have been able to dig more than 30 wells. 

Not even 15% of our mission are literate. In 2009 the Fransalians started the SFS school in Bero.This school is a beacon of hope for the local people. Due to poor financial situation, many families are not able to send their children to school. Many children are malnourished. 

To address this issue free midday meal is provided to the children. Along with the school, the Fransalians are running a Boys’ Home 40 boys as inmates. Most of these boys are from poor families. Every year we receive more than fifty applications but we are able to admit only a few due to lack of infrastructure and finance. In the year 2023 we envisage to construct a study hall for the Boys’ Home in Bero. It will cost around $18 000. We count on the support of our friends and benefactors to realize this project

NGAOUNDERE MISSION

The Saint François de Sales School at Ngaoundere in North Cameroon opened its doors on September 05, 2022 for the new school year. The school has made a name over the past years through the good academic results. The school obtained 100 percent success in the CEP and in the 6th grade entrance examination to high schools and colleges. The number of new admissions are on the increase every year. The school is also being transformed into a bilingual school teaching in French and in English. A PU college is now under construction.

Last year we have been able to carry out the construction of a compound wall for the Kindergarten to guarantee the safety of children. There are yet a number of urgent needs to be met for this rapidly growing school. We will need at least 2 classrooms for Kindergarten. We need to build a water tower to allow students to have access to drinking water and for cleaning the classrooms.We need to create a play area for kindergarten.We need to equip and furnish our computer room and library. We turn to you, our dear friends, once again requesting financial help to meet all these needs for the education of our children. 

I have given you some news in detail only from our two missions of Bero and Ngaoundere. I am very happy to inform you that all our other 7 missions/ institutions/ projects are going on well thanks to your prayers and support. I hope to report more in detail on some of them in my next letter to you. 

Thanking you all, 
Fr. Manoj Arackal, MSFS 

Greetings from India

Dear friends of the Fransalians,

Christmas is essentially a celebration of love, peace and joy. It is a celebration of the Love of God for the entire humanity and for the whole of creation. The birth of Jesus Christ as the Incarnate Son of God has brought us the GOOD NEWS that God cares for all of us. As children of God all of us are destined to experience the joy of being loved by God and by each other. The celebration of Christmas highlights this love-relationship with God and with one another. As we are in the season of Advent preparing for the great feast of Christmas we have an opportunity to renew our lives and to re-commit ourselves for peace and harmony in the world.
Millions of people in many parts of the world continue to suffer from hunger and poverty mainly due to the unjust distribution of wealth and opportunities. The poor are condemned to a life-long deprivation mainly due to the frequent outbreaks of wars and conflicts followed by mass migration and displacements.
The Message from the helpless baby born into a manger in Bethlehem challenges all of us to come out of our own comfort zones and reach out to those who suffer deprivation, exploitation and oppression. Let this Christmas and the New Year be a new beginning for all of us with a solemn resolve to reach out to the poorest of the poor by sharing our time and resources with the needy until it really hurts. I wish each one of you a Very Happy Christmas and a Bright New Year.
I am very grateful to all of you for your regular support and encouragement for our work among the the poor in Africa and in India. Our Mission in Chad and Cameroon is a shining example of God’s providential care for those who are at the side of the poor. The Mission has grown very rapidly in recent years and now in its full bloom promising a great future for thousands of people who may be lifted out of extreme poverty and illiteracy. I am in constant contact with our Mission in Chad and Cameroon through our project office of Vikasjyothi in Mysore. The “Projekt Schuelerpatenschaft” is the main activity of Vikasjyothi right now. More than 50 new sponsors have been found this year. A total of 650 children are being helped. Many more are on the waiting list. In India a large number of children and women from the marginalised sections of society are being helped through our educational and social development activities. A number of new projects in view of empowering the rural women have been initiated recently. May I therefore appeal to all of you to support these projects by finding new sponsors or donors so that we can reach out to many more deserving children and women. May the compassionate and merciful love of Jesus fill your hearts with joy and peace.

Yours cordially
P. Thomas Cherukat, MSFS

Greetings from Chad–Cameroon

My dear Friends and Benefactors,

Greetings of peace and joy to each one of you from the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales in Chad and Cameroon. We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a grace-filled and joyful New Year. In the words of Pope Francis: “ We accompany and follow Jesus as we know that He accompanies us and carries us on his shoulders. This is our joy, this is our hope that we must bring to this world of ours”. May this Christmas be an occasion for us to share our joy and hope especially with the suffering humanity.
The year 2019 has been an year of blessings for our mission in Chad and Cameroon. We have been able to successfully complete the extension of our school at Ngaoundere in North Cameroon. The construction of the SFS Boys’ Home at Doba is nearing completion. The pastoral and developmental activities in all our 8 mission centres are progressing well. We have a good number of seminarians in both our Formation Houses at Ngoya and Ngaoundere. They are the hope for the future of this ever growing mission.
Our Mission in Buea in the Anglophone province of South-West Cameroon has been going through very hard times due to the prolonged political unrest in the region. More than 3000 people have lost their lives in the raging civil war. Over half a million people are displaced. More than a million people are in need of humanitarian aid. Our confreres and the people in Buea live constantly under fear and anxiety. We hope and pray that peace and harmony will soon return to this war-torn region.
My sincere thanks to each one of you for your constant support and encouragement for our work in this remote region. We are grateful to you for your prayers and friendship and for your financial support . We do pray for you and for your intentions. May the good Lord bless you and all your concerns.

Yours cordially,
P. Manoj Arackal, MSFS

THE ONGOING PROJECTS IN CHAD AND CAMEROON

Education

Education is a priority in all our missions. Illiteracy and ignorance are the two major obstacles for development especially in Chad and in North Cameroon. Hence we are running five schools in these regions. The SFS School at Ngaoundere and the SFS School at Doba are the two ongoing projects for which we need further financial support. At present there are 352 children attending the school at Ngaoundere. This year we have been able to construct 7 more class rooms to the existing building. The newly started school at Doba is now equipped with a Kindergarten and a primary school. At present there 156 children in this school. We appeal to your generosity for further financial assistance towards this important project.
Most of the children in the far-flung villages are not able to attend a school due to lack of roads and transport. We have therefore started two hostels or boys’ homes where children from the villages are given facilities to attend our schools. Over 70 children from the economically backward families are given the facility of board and lodge at our Boys’ Homes in Chad namely in Bero and in Doba. The Mission is also helping a large number of girl children with a scholarship for their education.
The ‘’ Sponsor a Child Program” initiated by Agape a few years ago is currently helping over 150 children in Chad and Cameroon besides helping many more in other parts of Africa and in India. At present this program is catering to over 650 children from our missions in Africa and India. We request your continued help and support for this project.

Drinking Water

Acute scarcity of clean and safe drinking water is a major health issue in all our missions. The diseases such as malaria, typhoid and cholera are quite rampant in the region. It has been therefore a major concern in all our missions to facilitate access to clean drinking water to the villages. In Chad we have been able to provide the people with a number of open wells with clean and safe water at a depth of 35 to 40 metres. These wells are provided with a protective wall and safety net around them besides a hand-pump. A large number of the village population is now having easy access to clean water and there is a noticeable decrease in the number of infant mortalities in these villages. An open well in a village in Chad will cost a little over Euro 500 only. In recent months we have been able to dig two such open wells in two villages in Bero namely Missimadji and Sindalolo. We thank our good benefactors who generously contribute towards these projects. In North Cameroon we cannot go for open wells. We need to have bore holes which cost around Euro 4000/- So far we have been able to provide over 22 wells in Chad and North Cameroon where hundreds of people are benefiting from this project. With more support from our friends and benefactors we hope to extend this project to many more villages.

A Project for the Empowerment of Rural Women in India

The newly started garment-making unit at Karehalli in the outskirts of the megacity Bangalore is a project aimed at job creation for the rural women. In recent years, the agricultural sector in India has been going through a deep crisis leading many farmers to despair to the extent that the suicide rate among farmers is alarmingly high. A cluster of villages around Karehalli near Bangalore has been chosen for this new project. Most of the 1278 households in these villages belong to the category of “below poverty line”. It is the womenfolk in these villages who suffer most due to illiteracy and unemployment and the prolonged agrarian distress. The project envisages to provide employment opportunities for the rural women in the area. More than fifty women have undergone training in the first phase and they are already employed and production of garments chiefly the school uniforms have started. Training of new batches of women and production of garments will continue simultaneously. During the period of training the women are given a stipend besides a matching amount of remuneration until they are able to earn a decent salary. The project is highly appreciated by the people in the area. We are now looking for some financial support to provide the trainees a modest stipend at least for the initial one year. Your contribution towards this worthy cause will be much appreciated.