The Bene-Maria Sisters in the diocese of Kigoma, in Tanzania, write to ACN to express their gratitude for our support to supply and install a solar-powered water pump for the borehole that provides their Novitiate in Kasulu with safe drinking water. The Bene-Maria Sisters are a native African congregation founded in 1958 in Burundi. Since 1968 the sisters have also been active in Tanzania. The sisters can support themselves to a small extent by their own agricultural work, but this is not enough to live on.
Sister Henriette Mavakure explains that before building up this borehole, “novices were always complaining about abdominal pain associated with diarrhoea and vomiting, the main diagnosis was worms and typhoid fever.”
On behalf of the Mother Superior of Bene-Maria in Burundi, the Representative of the Mother Superior in Tanzania, the Mistress of Novices and all residents of the Novitiate, Sister Henriette conveys “our heartfelt thanks for the wonderful gift of safe/clean water to all residents of the Formation House and people living around. There are no proper words to use, only a THANK YOU from the deepest secret of my heart.” Before this project was completed, either the novices used to boil very dirty water for drinking or the Mistress of Novices would walk 6 km every day to collect clean water.
“Dear donors and friends of Aid to the Church in Need”, concludes Sister Henriette her letter, “once again we say ‘THANK YOU VERY MUCH’. We have nothing to give you, be sure that we pray daily for you, May God grant you all kinds of blessing.”
