Brother Toni Piasini is an Italian Comboni Missionary who arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. During his first years, he worked in the Diocese of Isiro-Nyangara; but during the last 22 years he continued his missionary work in the Diocese of Bondo, in the north of the country, on the border with the Central African Republic.
What are the problems facing the Diocese of Bondo and what have you done to alleviate the suffering of the population?
Located between the rivers Uelé in the DRC and Mbomu in CAR, the Diocese of Bondo is very isolated. There are several problems, including communication. For twenty-two years, together with public works officials and local authorities, we have been thinking about ways and means of helping the region to break out of its isolation. With the help of the population, through development projects, local authorities and the Church, we have begun to change bridges built with logs and replace them with concrete works. In short, in our Diocese we have two hundred small and large rivers.
Why such an initiative?
Following the isolation of the Diocese, we considered it useful to start by building bridges of good quality to facilitate the movement of people and their goods, because with bridges made with logs, every year we have to renew them, with a lot of pain... That is why we have built about fifty bridges on small rivers with the participation of the population, in the supply of stones and sands.
And now are you going to continue to build bridges?
Every year and even during the war we experienced in this part of northern DRC, we have continued to build bridges and even this year, with our program approved by the council, we have also planned to build three bridges.
What types of bridges are you building?
We build bridges according to the Roman model, because it is very simple. With the materials we have on site, including stones, sand and wood for the structure. We only import cement. They are very strong bridges that can support the weight of a battle tank. For example, the one thrown on the 150-metre long Were River, which opens up the eastern and western parts of the Diocese. This bridge took us three years to build thanks to the support of a Norwegian benefactor who worked for sixty years in this part of Congo. It was inaugurated in 2006.
As a missionary of Italian origin, is your integration with the local population easy?
I spend the night at the site with the workers. For the management of the work everything goes well. This life with the workers is for me a beautiful experience, because we also go hunting together to look for food and eat together. During the construction period, on Sundays I participate in mass with the workers at the site in an atmosphere of friendliness and perfect harmony.
Are Comboni Missionaries well appreciated in the Diocese of Bondo?
The Comboni Missionaries are well appreciated by the local population. Because she says thanks to you we have bridges today that have opened up our country.
What are the problems facing the Diocese of Bondo and what have you done to alleviate the suffering of the population?Located between the rivers Uelé in the DRC and Mbomu in CAR, the Diocese of Bondo is very isolated. There are several problems, including communication. For twenty-two years, together with public works officials and local authorities, we have been thinking about ways and means of helping the region to break out of its isolation. With the help of the population, through development projects, local authorities and the Church, we have begun to change bridges built with logs and replace them with concrete works. In short, in our Diocese we have two hundred small and large rivers.
Why such an initiative?
Following the isolation of the Diocese, we considered it useful to start by building bridges of good quality to facilitate the movement of people and their goods, because with bridges made with logs, every year we have to renew them, with a lot of pain... That is why we have built about fifty bridges on small rivers with the participation of the population, in the supply of stones and sands.
And now are you going to continue to build bridges?
Every year and even during the war we experienced in this part of northern DRC, we have continued to build bridges and even this year, with our program approved by the council, we have also planned to build three bridges.
What types of bridges are you building?
We build bridges according to the Roman model, because it is very simple. With the materials we have on site, including stones, sand and wood for the structure. We only import cement. They are very strong bridges that can support the weight of a battle tank. For example, the one thrown on the 150-metre long Were River, which opens up the eastern and western parts of the Diocese. This bridge took us three years to build thanks to the support of a Norwegian benefactor who worked for sixty years in this part of Congo. It was inaugurated in 2006.
As a missionary of Italian origin, is your integration with the local population easy?
I spend the night at the site with the workers. For the management of the work everything goes well. This life with the workers is for me a beautiful experience, because we also go hunting together to look for food and eat together. During the construction period, on Sundays I participate in mass with the workers at the site in an atmosphere of friendliness and perfect harmony.
Are Comboni Missionaries well appreciated in the Diocese of Bondo?
The Comboni Missionaries are well appreciated by the local population. Because she says thanks to you we have bridges today that have opened up our country.
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