Duduza on Retreat

Staff Retreat at Paulpietersburg

SACBC Narrative Report & Pictures

Report compiled by the Buhle Mncube – Programme Manager at Duduza Care Centre
24th June 2015

The Duduza Care Centre staff members (19 in total of whom 12 were sponsored by SACBC) had a wonderful weekend retreat at Fels Retreat in Paulpietersburg. The weekend was graced by the presence of our retreat master Father Ambrose from Inkamana Abbey, who conducted holy mass, one on one confessions, motivational talks and healing sessions with the staff throughout the weekend. The venue was also a perfect setting for meditation as it is set in a very quiet and secluded part of town, at the foot of Dumbe Mountain. It was originally a Catholic mission which was later sold to a private farmer who then changed it into a retreat resort. The level of care and hospitality we received there was very warm, welcoming and professional, exactly the kind of environment we needed to have time for reflection, self introspection and connection with God through our journey to have an ongoing understanding and inner depth about spirituality.

The table below is the programme for the whole weekend, starting from Friday 12th June to Sunday 14th June as it highlights the activities of the retreat.

RETREAT PROGRAMME

PICTURES

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to SACBC office for funding this retreat. The weekend was a wonderful chance to re-connect with Self and also to re strengthen our faith in God. The kind of work that we do at DCC at times requires that we listen, intervene or even witness some of the difficult challenges that our communities face as we work closely with them on a daily basis. Some of the cases are really heartbreaking, especially when they involve the plight of children who have lost their parents and feel hopeless and helpless. It is human nature to end up taking all these crises into our own hearts and end up carrying these problems ourselves, so being given a chance to off load and find a platform to share our own experiences is really a great tool into our own personal spiritual journey and inner healing.

The chance some of the staff members had on one on one private sessions with Fr. Ambrose was greatly appreciated as, even we as staff members, we do experience our own internal conflicts and distress from our personal lives and families. The chance to be able to open up and receive the word of God and healing really reinstated our faith and hope to be able to deal with whatever personal issues we are facing individually. We are very grateful and we came back all refreshed, spiritually nourished and rejuvenated from a wonderful weekend with our colleagues.

Thank you SACBC office for your continued support and care, may God bless you abundantly in every aspect of your community work and within your families. We as Duduza staff and management, sithi nje: “SIYABONGA!!!”

SOME VERSES SHARED OVER THE WEEKEND RETREAT (hover mouse over text to read bible verse)