2022. Learn from Bakhita’s Audacity
What is your 2022 wish? If there’s any Audacity in Hoping as Barack Obama once said, then Bakhita is the perfect example! Let her story inspire you this 2022!
2021 has come to an end. What are your regrets? What are the moments of joy you want to remember this 2022? and the sorrows you want to forget? What are the hopes you have for 2022? As for me, I remember the Christmas concert our choir, the Saint Bakhita choir organised exactly two weeks ago, on the theme: “Saved by Hope”.
Before delving into this musical voyage in fa la la, la la la la, in ding dongs of a time signature in he he ho I will love to pleasure you with Bakhita’s story. In the third and last part of my piece, I have penned down our 2022 wish, giving a few hints on what is cooking at World like Home.
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We are in Darfur around 1869. Bakhita is born to a respected and prosperous father. She is surrounded by a loving family of three brothers and three sisters: “I lived a very happy and carefree life, without knowing what suffering was”, she wrote in her autobiography.
At roughly 8 years old, her ‘happy and carefree’ life will be brought to an abrupt end. She was seized by Arab slave traders, who had abducted her elder sister two years earlier. This marked the beginning of her nightmare of servitude. She will be sold and resold several times. A trauma so great she forgot her original name. She was then named Bakhīta (بخيتة) by her masters, meaning ‘lucky’ or ‘fortunate’ in Arabic.
And lucky she was. The young Bakhita will never lose hope. Even in trauma and suffering, she kept on the hope, hoping that she was meant for something bigger. She was later on sold to the Italian vice-consul Callisto Legnani in Khartoum. The consul will bring Bakhita along with him to Italy. In Italy, Bakhita wanted to become a canossian sister. The consul opposed, claiming she was his property.
Even to become a religious sister, she had to fight. As a black woman, she was rejected by many. People challenged the worthiness of her skin colour. But thanks to her faith, determination and courage, she claimed this right in court and won.
She died aged 78, February 8th 1947. Canonised by John Paul II in the year 2000. Her story shows how Love transforms lives in extraordinary ways. In his encyclical Spe Salvi, (Saved in Hope), Benedict XVI presents her as a model of Hope for today’s troubled world.
She knew how to spread love. Devoted to the suffering, to children and the weak, she showed an unparalleled temperament. Throughout her life, she had to demonstrate courage to survive. Despite all the suffering she endured, she never stopped proclaiming forgiveness and love to those around her. She never despaired: “Even in the depths of discouragement and sadness, when I was a slave, I never despaired, because I felt a mysterious strength within me that sustained me. I did not die, because the Good Lord had destined me for “better things”.
For “better things” this 2022, we need Bakhita’s audacity. We need her audacity to Hope for the better. Her audacity to forgive those who treated her with cruelty, her audacity to believe she is destined for better things despite being reduced to servitude, her audacity to hope in the face of despair, her bravery in being the candle in the midst of darkness, her boldness to be a source of Hope even as a slave. Yes, this 2022 we need Bakhita’s audacity to believe, believe that it’s possible despite ALL the odds.
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During the Christmas concert in her honour to support Secours Catholique, we interpreted a total of 14 songs, divided into two parts.
4:20 PM. Dressed in black and white with an African touch, the choir danced its way to the stage taking the audience en voyage to Cameroon, as they praised the gods with MIPOK DJIZO, “Rejoice for the Lord’’. The choir reminded the audience that Christmas marks the birth of Hope, with “Il est né le Divin Enfant”, as the crowd was clapping in amazement and content, the choristers poked humility in “Regardez l’humilité de Dieu”. Joy comes to the World through humility. The choir fast away as the old year passes into fa la la la la, la la la la… Hailing the new year with its own fa la la, la la la, la la la, la la la.
As the choir invited the angels with “Les Anges dans nos campagnes”, the need for us to be faithful to each other was made evident in “Peuple fidèle”. Salve Regina, Sister Act was majestically executed telling the audience to hail the Queen, mother of faith, the perfect example of faithfulness.
4:43 PM. A 15 minutes interlude for the choristers to refresh their throats with Cristaline Elena tiled the way for a dialogue about the life of Bakhita staged by Nelly, Lucile, Rose and Kevin. With simplicity, humour and depth, the Quadro succeeded à merveille, in telling the story of Bakhita to the astonishment and blissfulness of the public, who gave them a round of applause for a job well done.
5:00 PM. The second part of the performance will open with an angelic voice from the wilderness rendered with a charming smile from Eva Joyce, as she interpreted “Minuit Chrétien”. Posing in a perfect 4/4 time signature from Jean-Louis, she tells the people to stand up for Hope. Using a pair of claves, François d’Assise improvised a mind-blowing tag tag tag tag tag. As the audience was still contemplating the meaning of Christian midnight, the choristers told them this is the night of God :
“Every night contains its weight of anguish
When the dark covers us with its roof
This night holds back the passing moment
To have time to be happy”
Before the audience was able to give another round of applause, the Sopranos reminded them that Christmas is here as the Tenors and the Altis ding dong to bring good cheers with the Peter de la Cruz transcription of “Carols of the Bells”, Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Choir. As if to nudge the audience about Bakhita’s origin, the universality of her Hope, the choir he ha he he ha …he he ho the audience to the Fulani people with “MANTENG ALLAH” as transcribed by Ulrich Monthe.
As the concert came close to the end, the sopranos led by Eva Dedé opened with “C’est Noël tous les jours” posing on a 4/4 tempo from the notes of Serge-Eric and Jean-Louis. Castigating the somnolent that Christmas is every day when we put a smile on somebody’s face. Soprano Eva Dedé like a rooster crowing in the morning, with a voice that pierces the darkness, magnanimously ushered in “Psaume de la création’’ in a 6/8 time signature. Come and see how the trios of tenor and bass struggled to catch up with her in a semi-perfect harmonious O — — — — h O — -h marathon.
5:25 PM. The bass duo opened the last performance in E a djambiè, urging the tenor trio to yéléle, yéléle a iyo which triggered the alto trio to iyo o , eh yélé. The soprano trio wouldn’t be left out for any reason so maestro Irene commanded them to join the game with E djambiè, djambi nguena midja, mevina djambiè na mio oh oh.
The audience was overwhelmingly satisfied. They complained of the length, too short, demanding more musical voyage to Bakhita’s homeland. More than 90% of the audience gave a 5/5 for the performance! A job well done I must say!
5:30 PM. A time to appreciate and thank those that participated in making this year’s edition of the concert a success. I will then make way for open creativity in potpourri.
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12 months since Smiling in Hardships was published. In this passionate 288 page opus, I took delight in connecting Bakhita’s story to the everyday friction we have at World like Home, striving to create a better world for us all. We have made her audacity our own, the audacity to believe in “better things”.
Our World like Home community is already among the first 5 organic sites when it comes to information to study in France. We reached an all-time high in November 2021 with 20 000 clicks on Google Search. We still face many challenges, but 2022 looks promising as we put on the armour of Bakhita with newfound determination.
Our wish this new year is that more people in the community are going to participate, especially in answering questions. In that light, a special appreciation to Nano and Saidou for spending their precious time answering questions from students. It’s only together that we can build a robust and vibrant community for students by students. Let’s hope more and more people participate this 2022.
Meanwhile, my team has been working relentlessly to bring our dream of a world like Home closer to reality. God willing we are going to launch a big product this 2022, as we chart the way for a better world. We want to make studying in France as easy as leaving from Le Mans to Paris in a TGV. Above ALL, we want you to be able to feel at home wherever you find yourself. It takes audacity to say it’s possible given the challenges.
I don’t know what your 2022 new year’s wish is, but I want to encourage you to have the audacity of Bakhita in whatever you do. Enjoy our performance on YouTube. Don’t hesitate to share and comment.
Happy new year dear friend, may 2022 bring you the joy, courage and determination of Bakhita!
Efuet Atem
CEO Founder,
World like Home.
Author Smiling in Hardships
