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22 Bicycles for a Parish in Tanzania Success Story “We wish you all the best and may God always bless you!” writes Father Abdon J. Mkope.
The Parish of the holy Archangel Saint Michael in Ruaha was founded in 1929. Almost all of the 35,000 people within the parish are Catholics. The great majority of the people here are small-scale farmers, while many also eke out a living as local traders. There is a real lack of basic infrastructure here: water is in short supply and medical provision is minimal. The Catholic Church has established a bush clinic/hospital here, and also a kindergarten, both of which are run mainly by Catholic religious Sisters. The parish has 11 outstations, some of them up to 15 miles away, in addition to 37 smaller communities, so it was tough for Father Mkope and his lay catechists to reach his parishioners. But with your help, Father Mkope and his catechists are now mobile! Father Mkope, appealed to ACN for help to buy 22 bicycles, and thanks to your generosity, his plea was heard, and ACN was able to give him $2,200 to equip his catechists with the bicycles they needed. Now they can much more easily reach the faithful in the various scattered communities, praying with them, instructing them and preparing them for the reception of the sacraments. Father Mkope has since written to ACN to thank all our
benefactors for their generosity: “Thank you for your help! Now we are certain
that our catechesis can be more effectively delivered and that those preparing
for Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation can be properly ministered
to, even in the outstations, since we can more easily reach them and so carry
out our pastoral work more effectively.” Code: 154-01-29 Aid to the Church in Need commits to invest your funds where they will have the greatest impact for the Church that we serve. Funds donated to Aid to the Church in Need’s projects will be used towards the greatest need in our programs to help keep the Faith alive.
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Keeping the Faith Alive
