Working on the Missions in faraway places can be a bit lonely.
The parish priest of our Twin—parish is from Poland and the money our parish send to Bugisi is shared between him and Sister Anne.
If anyone would like to write to him his name and address is:
Fr Janusz Pociask
Bugisi Mission
Box 47, Shinyanga,
Tanzania,
East Africa
Bugisi parish is in north central Tanzania on the east coast of Africa.
The Parish consists of 35/40 villages with a population of c.50,000 spread over about 50 sq. miles.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in Africa. Life expectancy is low and 58% of the population live on less than $1 per day.
The Bugisi Mission Project is run by the order of Our Lady of the Apostles and the parish is administered by the priests of the SMA order. The sisters devote most of their efforts and funds to education, which they believe will eventually break the cycle of poverty.
Over the past 10 years the parishioners and the people of Bray have contributed almost €170,000.
The people of Bugisi are most grateful
This “Across the Continents” parish relationship got on the road in 2001 and the name “Bugisi Mission Project” came from Fr Finbarr , who was so helpful when it was being set up. Fr. John McMahon, the P.P. at the time, was equally helpful and supportive and we have received nothing but encouragement and kindness from Fr. Larry. Since 2001.
Our accounts show that we have sent €146,601.47 to Bugisi, a sum that reflects the remarkable generosity of this parish and beyond.
This money has been used primarily to develop second level educational facilities and to sponsor students, both boys and girls to receive an education they would not otherwise have been able to afford, and once they are chosen, they continue to be supported until they have completed their studies.
It is used to help in the building up and development of the Church, which includes helping the 28 other churches spread widely throughout the villages of this vast parish, and also, the training of the catechists who reside in them.
Of course, in time of drought, money is diverted to feed the hungry and there are always the poor and unfortunate to be helped.
We know that the people of Bugisi deeply appreciate the hand of Christian friendship and support that we reach out to them from Our Lady Queen of Peace and we know that they constantly pray for our welfare and happiness.
Sr.Anne
The funds we have sent to our twin-parish have helped Sr. Kathleen, a colleague of Sr. Anne and a nurse to organise an impressive project. 6 doctors from the city of Mwanza are to do surgical eye operations on over 800 people in their clinic in Bugisi. They will cure cataracts and other minor eye problems for people living throughout the parish.
The eye camp in Bugisi went very well, although one girl had to have an eye removed. However those who had cataract operations were all successfully treated and many are seeing for the first time in years. The harvest this year has been poor in some areas but others have done better. The world economy affects people here too and those who had crops to sell, especially rice, received decent prices.
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Our Bugisi Mission Project has now become a registered charity – No CHY1705. This will now appear on all communications and on this web-site. PAYE taxpayers who are considering donating to a registered charity should be aware that the charity can claim a refund of tax paid by the donor. The donation must be a minimum of €250 in the year – there is no maximum.
EXAMPLE: a PAYE taxpayer in the 20% tax band earns €625 and pays €125 tax on it. They then donate say €500 to our Bugisi Mission Project – the charity can then claim repayment of €125. If the donor is in the 42% tax band the repayment to the charity would be €362. Businesses can , of course, claim such donations as a trading expense.
A fortunate outcome of our Jubilee Year Book concerns our Twin Parish.
The daughter of a couple who come to our Church was home for Christmas from Tanzania and read the article on Bugisi. She is a doctor working in cancer institute in Dar es Salam where they specialise in treating a cancer called Burkitt’s Lymphoma which is especially prevalent in children because of amlaria. It is curable if treated early but unfortunately for many children it is fatal because they don’t get treatment in time. She asked us to let Sister Anne know about their programme, which is free, and also they will reimburse transport expenses.
Hopefully, this will make a difference to some children in Bugisi.
Sometime before Christmas the committee undertook for the Bugisi Parish area, which is entirely rural, to make an appeal for aid from Gorta. This would involve the setting up of a type of small “model farm” on land owned by the parish. We have been informed that this project has been approved subject to certain matters being clarified.
QUEEN OF PEACE TWIN-PARISH, BUGISI, TANZANIA, AFRICA
The first meeting of the committee to foster friendship and support to our twin-parish met in May, 2001. It meets normally every month in the Villa Pacis and meetings last only one hour; any parishioner who wishes to attend is more than welcome.
Our main efforts, so far, have been to try and raise funds. This has been done through “bag-packing” in supermarkets, selling Christmas cards, church-door collections at Christmas and Easter, a coffee-evening in the house of a parishioner and a coffee-morning and cake sale in the Villa, also we have received a number of donations.
We normally have two “notice-boards”, one on each side of the church, with news from and about our twin parish.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. It’s about 11 times the size of Ireland, with a population of 32 million. Bugisi is in a remote, semi-desert, area. The parish is about 50 miles square with 40 villages with no proper roads, only tracks. The local people are the Sukuma, whose language is swahili. Their source of livlihood is farming, which is often subject to drought.
Our link person with the committee is Sister Anne McCormack, OLA (Our Lady of the Apostles Order). She uses the funds we send for the good of all the people of the area. She has the permission and approval of the Bishop and the Parish Priest.
The funds are used mainly in the following ways;
- The improvement of the medical facilities in their health-clinic.
- Sponsoring girls to receive a secondary education; provision of boarding facilities for girls from remote villages (who have no choice but to board)
- Providing bore-holes for water in outlying villages.
“I can’t tell you though what it means to know that there is someone thinking of us…..”
Excerpt from a letter sent by Sister Anne
Contact: John Guy
Phone: +353-1-286 89 50