Addis Ababa, 23 October, 2020 / 9:17 pm (ACI Africa).
The apostolate of the members of the Religious Institute of Comboni Missionary Sisters among the indigenous in Ethiopia has been highlighted in a report, which Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International published Friday, October 23.
The Sisters whose evangelization mission involves “preparing catechumens for the reception of Baptism and a number of engaged couples for Catholic marriage” have reached out to members of two indigenous communities in Northwest Ethiopia, Gumuz and Agaw, the leadership of ACN has reported.
“Most of the people here still follow traditional pagan African religions and their lives are overshadowed by all kinds of superstitions,” the leadership of the Catholic pastoral aid organization says in the report, referring to the members of the Gumuz and the Agaw communities who inhabit the Benishangul-Gumuz region of the Horn of Africa country.
The Comboni Sisters in Ethiopia carry out their mission among the Gumuz, a people who “believe that the blood of a woman in childbirth will bring a curse upon them,” the leadership of ACN indicates.
An expectant woman from the Gumuz community, including young girls with no experience in childbirth, “must leave her village, go to an isolated spot, and bring her child into the world alone and without help,” CAN officials report and add in reference to women who seclude themselves to give birth, “Many die as a result.”
