A Vehicle for a Seminary in Tanzania
Monday, March 25, 2013

Project Code: 154-02-29

It is night time, and once again someone is knocking on the door of Saint Anthony's Seminary in Ntungamo. A woman has gone into labor, and there are complications. It is a matter of life and death. The woman urgently needs to be taken to hospital, and there is just a single vehicle in the area, the car belonging to the seminary. Once again, the staff and seminarians can only pray that everything will go well again this time and that the car will not break down on the way. The Landcruiser is already 19 years old, and given the appalling road conditions, it is a wonder that it is still in service

In a country like Tanzania, a vehicle is not only used for the needs of the seminary, such as bulk buying of necessary goods for the seminary or transporting materials. Instead, the seminary vehicle often doubles as an ambulance, for it is the only means of transporting the sick to the nearest town, about 4 miles away, which has a hospital. This is a seminary that does not exist for itself alone, like an isolated island, but also helps the local population, who live in extreme poverty. If the priests, the Sisters and the students at the seminary were not there to help them, then nobody would.

But by now this ancient vehicle, which has often saved lives, is guzzling a great deal of gas, and gas is becoming more expensive in Africa. Additionally, the vehicle is getting increasingly unreliable and potentially unsafe. What might happen if it were to fail in some remote area while transporting a patient in a life-and-death situation is something that no one likes to consider.

The rector of the seminary, Vitus Mrosso, wrote to ACN saying: "We urgently need a new vehicle that does not cause us problems and puts us in a position to continue helping the widows, orphans, expectant mothers and the poor from the surrounding villages, something we have been doing ever since the seminary was established. We hope that our humble request will find a space on your desk and in your hearts."

The seminary itself was established in 1964. Currently there are 84 seminarians from 24 different dioceses studying here for the priesthood. There are 10 priests and eight religious Sisters working in the seminary, which is on the shores of Lake Victoria in the Diocese of Bukoba, in northern Tanzania.

We are hoping that the rector's request will inspire a sympathetic response in the hearts of our benefactors, and in this confidence we have already promised $9,000 for a sturdy all-terrain vehicle. Will you give to help this seminary purchase a vehicle and serve the people in Tanzania?

This project is an example of our work. Your donation will be attributed either to this or to another similar project that accords with the pastoral needs that ACN witnesses.