Working in Africa

Working in Africa

For over 150 years, SMA missionaries have traveled to Africa to work among the most abandoned. In collaboration with the local population, the missionaries—priests and lay people—strive to create a better world. SMA missionaries continue to work for church and society, for justice and peace, for education and healthcare. New missionaries are still sent out every year.

New forms of missionary commitment
The Formation Center of the Society for African Missions (SMA) is developing new forms of missionary engagement, in which both priests and lay people—both men and women—have their own place. People will always want to commit themselves to justice and peace, but much is changing in Dutch culture and in the circumstances of various African countries. Key questions in this regard are:

• Where do people feel called to commit themselves to Africa?
• What is needed for the disadvantaged in the various African countries where the SMA is represented?
• How does missionary commitment relate to the ecclesiastical embedding of the Catholic Church in Africa?

Gospel
Our goal is to instill in people a missionary awareness rooted in the Gospel. We aim to build a network of people, both in Africa and the Netherlands, committed to Africa and Africans. We are committed to supporting people in their struggle for better living conditions. We do this from a perspective of dialogue, with knowledge of and respect for the uniqueness of cultures.

We find inspiration for this in the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth, who bore witness with his life to the love revealed in encountering others, the poor, the vulnerable. This love turns the world upside down and reveals what is truly important in life. We live according to his example and are continually inspired by him in his remembrance, which we celebrate every Sunday.

Two-way traffic
Our mission is shaped by:

• Motivated young people, after a preparatory period, are sent out as missionaries to Ghana, Liberia, or elsewhere in Africa. This work takes place in small-scale projects based on solidarity with the disadvantaged.
• To use the experiences gained in Africa to work towards a more just society in the Netherlands and to commit to missionary awareness.
  

The Training Center
The SMA training center has been located in Amsterdam Zuidoost since the summer of 2010, where the West African Pastoral Care also made a fresh start. If you're interested in the work of a lay missionary, you can always schedule an introductory meeting. We'll also provide more information about how the mission is organized, the length of the process, and the required competencies.

Profile:
We are looking for people who can recognize themselves in the following profile:

• You are committed to helping fellow human beings and are actively socially involved
• You are preferably between 25 and 50 years old
• You have completed a study/training and some work experience
• You are healthy enough to function in difficult circumstances
• A Christian background is desirable in connection with local circumstances.

More information
If you are interested in the possibilities of becoming a lay missionary, please take a look at the brochures available for download below.

SMA Training Center
Download flyer

Practical stories
Read about the lives and work of the missionaries currently sent by the SMA to Africa via the "sent" button or follow their activities on their own blogs. There is also an international website for SMA lay missionaries.

More information about registration, inquiries and selection:

SMA Training Center
Liesbeth Glas
Millingenhof 158
1106 KK Amsterdam
mobile: 06-4229 2088
e-mail: send mail