Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Evaluation and Monitoring Committee has already been established and in the coming weeks groundwork for its implementation will begin.
Fogo: Evaluation and Monitoring Committee established for the Luzia Nunes tourist and religious village project
The information was provided to Inforpress by the councilor responsible for the tourism sector of the city of São Filipe, Lia Barbosa, adding that several meetings were held and next week, some points will possibly be identified for the creation of a cooperative to transform the resulting wax of the burning of candles at the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora do Socorro.
“It is a cooperative that transforms wax and produces souvenirs linked to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Socorro”, said the councilor, indicating that in this particular process, in addition to funding from the International Organization of Francophonie, the city council must rely on the experience of the Portuguese municipality and Ourém, twinned with São Filipe.
This municipality made itself available to support São Filipe in training in the field of wax and in the technical design of the candle burning part and wax reuse system, remembering that the municipality of Ourém has some experience as it is located in its territory. the Sanctuary of Fátima where the wax is reused to make candles which are then sold.
At the moment, the city council, through the evaluation and monitoring committee, is in the process of identifying five houses in the town of Luzia Nunes that will be rehabilitated to welcome tourists, said the councilor.
The rehabilitation of the pilgrimage path, from the São Filipe aerodrome to the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora do Socorro, is part of the project and a first technical visit has already been carried out where seven stops were identified that represent the seven last words of Jesus Christ on the Cross to pay for it and rest for pilgrims, as well as to meditate on the word of Jesus Christ and then continue the walk until reaching the sanctuary.
The seven stops will be built in areas with some shade and, according to the councilor, will have benches and chairs to ensure comfort for pilgrims who wish to rest, refresh or meditate with the word of Jesus Christ as the path between São Filipe airfield to the Sanctuary has a considerable distance and some people who make the journey are elderly.
“We are working on these project actions and within two weeks we will start with the design of the signs that will be placed along the way, but also the welcome sign to the tourist village of Luzia Nunes, the village that houses the Sanctuary of Our Lady do Socorro”, said Lia Barbosa.
The project is financed by the International Organization of Francophonie and the municipality of São Filipe, was the only one among the Cape Verdean municipalities that competed for this financing that was selected and contemplated, which, according to the councilor, “is a reason for great satisfaction” taking into account that it is a religious tourism project.
The amount made available is not enough to materialize the project as a whole and, therefore, the city council is mobilizing other institutions and resources, but Lia Barbosa said that the council will start implementing the project with the amount made available while mobilizing other financing.
One of the institutions that the chamber intends to involve in the project is the Tourism Social Sustainability Fund, namely to try to mobilize financing for the pilgrimage route and for the construction of a kiosk near the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora do Socorro to sell products and souvenirs religious people linked to the sanctuary.
The town of Luzia Nunes, the closest to the sanctuary, is a mandatory stop for the faithful who travel by car, but also on foot, hence the city council’s commitment to transforming it into a religious tourist village.
The Evaluation and Monitoring Committee, created to work on the issue of the tourist village of Luzia Nunes, includes the Capuchins who manage the sanctuary, but also the council team and community representatives.
The project to transform the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Socorro, located south of the city of São Filipe, just over ten kilometers away, into a true sanctuary falls within the domain of religious tourism that the municipality of São Filipe intends to develop in partnership with the Catholic Church.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
