Context
In Algeria, the Church is a significant minority (0.3%), made up of foreign missionaries, other foreigners who, for example, work in embassies, or in the oil and gas sector, or have private businesses, and a small group of Christians from the country.
Nevertheless, there is another category, that of sub-Saharan students who come to study at Algerian universities with scholarships offered by the government: they come from Uganda, Central Africa, Ghana, Benin, Zimbabwe… Most of them are Muslims, but there are Christians who arrive without suspecting that there is a church here and discover it with joy.
Sub-Saharan students find a Muslim world here where religion holds a prominent place, and they are questioned about their faith. Their university classmates are Muslim, they say so, they pray visibly, they fast, they question them… and so they ask themselves: what about me? What kind of Christian am I? How do I live my faith here?
They are not necessarily Catholic, but we can pray together all the same, in a spontaneous and fraternal ecumenism.
Description
A small group arrived in Mascara this year, mostly from South Sudan, with a few Kenyans, a few young people from Burundi and Tanzania… We have begun meeting. We would like to listen to them and accompany them. We would like to offer a space for common prayer, sharing, and moments of relaxation. We would like to offer French courses, because ours are almost entirely English speaking. We would like to offer moments of formation. For example, days of prayer and formation designed for everyone, or during the summer holidays, participation in work, prayer, and formation camps. We would like to organize outings to get to know the country, to participate in celebrations and festivals in places where student communities are larger than in Mascara and where they can find compatriots.
Students can contribute a little to the initiatives, but they usually do not have any money! The scholarship they receive pays for their studies, accommodations, and meals.
That is why we would like to start a small project for them in order to organize some opportunities to meet together that will help them on their human and faith journey.
Heartfelt thanks if you can help us!
Community of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate at Mascara
Preventive
1000 euro for the year 2025
English 
