The Apostolic Nuncio (the Vatican Ambassador or the Pope’s diplomatic representative) to Ghana, Most Rev. Julien Kaboré, has paid an empathy visit to the Tarikom Refugee Camp in the Upper East region where several Burkinabé citizens, who have been forced to flee their country by violent extremist groups, are reportedly living in difficult circumstances.
According to the Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Alfred Agyenta, the displaced persons are on the brink of starvation and where they currently live— old white United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) tents— is worse than animal shelters.
The bishop made the observation when he and some other top officials of the church accompanied the Vatican ambassador to the camp on Friday, 1 August 2025.
“Whenever we have a very important visitor like the nuncio, we always want them to see what we are doing. This is the second time we are coming here. The only part of this new visit is the fact that we can see that the crises have deepened. The people are almost starving. People are arriving and, given the global context of the lack of funds and people are no longer funding, the crisis deepens.
“That is why we want to see what we can do, so that we can also talk to people to see whether they can help us, especially for feeding, which is critical now. And also the shelter; we can’t even keep our animals where these people are living. The place, whether it is during the rainy season or dry season, is inhabitable. These are concerns,” he told journalists during the visit.
In conclusion, the bishop entreated the press to highlight the plight of the forced migrants at the camp. Earlier, he told the media during the same interaction that the Catholic Church had always stood by the asylum seekers since the very beginning of their arrival at the border.
“Since the beginning, even when they were still at the border, we went together with CRS (Catholic Relief Services). That was the very first visit.
“And [ever since] they moved here and they formalised the settlement, we have been very much involved through NABOCADO (Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation) of course. One thing that we cannot run away from is the mandate to love, the commandment to love— no matter what, no matter where.”
‘Don’t be indifferent to their suffering’ — Nuncio calls on general public
There are 2, 224 displaced persons at the camp at present, with women and children in the majority, according to a Media Without Borders source.
The Vatican ambassador (who coincidentally is a Burkinabé citizen) donated some food items to the forced migrants shortly after celebrating a mass with them inside a UNHCR marquee during the visit.
“In spite of all these challenges, there are reasons to say ‘thank you’ to the government, the police here, the military and others for taking care of these people. I am here to tell them that for us, the Catholic Church, it is not optional to take care of those in need. It is a must. It is at the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ to take care of those in need.
“I have come to tell them, ‘Do not lose hope even if the situation is difficult’. There is still hope because there are people trying to take care of them. Even though there are so many bad things in the world, there will always be good people. The hope is that good will prevail. It may take time. No matter what, God will always prevail and good will always prevail,” said the nuncio.
He further asked individuals and organisations not to be “indifferent” to the suffering of the displaced persons “because they are also our brothers and sisters.”
“Remember that what happened to them, although we don’t wish for that, can also happen to anybody. So, let us get rid of indifference and let us be touched by the problems of those people, and try our best to participate, to collaborate, to contribute whatever we have to give them some relief.
“I want to thank those who are already helping. There are so many people around here. I want to thank them for what they are doing. The Government of Ghana and many other people, I thank you,” he added.
The ambassador also paid a visit to the Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Atanga Akamugri, at his office.
An ex-student of the Catholic-owned Notre Dame Seminary/Senior High School located in the region, the regional minister expressed gratitude to the Catholic Church on behalf of the region and the Government of Ghana for the contribution it had made over the years towards the development of the country.
“The Catholic Church has made a lot of impact on this nation. You have the regional minister (referring to himself) who is standing before you being a product of the Catholic Church. You have a whole Attorney-General of Ghana, Honourable Dominic Ayine, also a Notre Dame product.
“I can mention a lot of them. You have Honourable [James] Agalga, who is the Member of Parliament for Builsa [North], also a Notre Dame product. All these have come as a result of the church,” the regional minister said with pleasure and with his trademark hat.
He commended the church for establishing social centres across the region. He said the centres had continued to serve as meeting platforms where ideas and initiatives were being hatched for the development of the various communities in the region. He also applauded the church for building schools and health facilities throughout the country in support of national development.
The regional minister assured the church of government’s unbroken support whenever needed and appealed to the leaders of the church to use their well-regarded positions to help bring an end to the violent chieftaincy conflict in Bawku and restore uninterrupted peace in the curfew-imposed municipality.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
