Congolese social media sites “born in the United States”

During the fall semester, Fr. Floribert Bulo Dhelo, SCJ, provincial secretary of the DR Congo Province, was one of several Congolese Dehonians enrolled in the ECS program at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. However, he came to the United States not only with hopes of expanding his English vocabulary, but also for help in sharing news of his province with the wider congregation.
 
“I must thank the US Province from the bottom of my heart,” said Fr. Floribert. “It has been my dream for a long time that is realized today.”
 
With a little help from the Communications Office, he set up a new Facebook page for his province and soon began filling it with timely news about celebrations, new ministries, prayer notices and reflections, the commemoration of Dehonian martyrs in Congo, and heartbreaking information about attacks on the province’s orphanage. “I do this with the help of my confreres,” said Fr. Floribert. “If there is something to share, they send it to me with some photos so that I can share it on Facebook.”
 
Soon after the Facebook page was created, Fr. Floribert created the Congolese Province’s YouTube channel. “My ‘maestro’ or trainer for the YouTube Channel is Frater Paul (Phong) Hoang, SCJ,” said Fr. Floribert. Frater Paul is a member of the province video team, currently doing his pastoral year of ministry in South Dakota. Back in Wisconsin, “Frater Truc Tran, SCJ, showed me how to film and edit a video. With this help I can say that our Facebook page and YouTube channel were born in the United States.
 
“The first video for the YouTube site was on November 26,” he continued.  “This was a good day for our province to remind the world about the 28 SCJs who were martyred in DR Congo in 1964. This is a significant moment, and a way for us to ask for the congregation to remember and pray for the province. The second video is about one of our colleges in Kisangani, ‘Sacred Heart.’ In this video, Fr. Olivier Bolombo, SCJ, the prefect, spoke about the history of the school, its formation and its challenges.”
 
Click here to visit the Facebook page of the Congolese Province, and click here to go to its YouTube channel.