The Monastery Vine is a blog by the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Norfolk. Nebraska. The purpose of this blog is to share with you various topics of interest to various Sisters.
At the end of the day, the goal is to share with you our life, who we are, what we do, and show you what the Lord is working in and through us to the world.
(While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory. If you would like to learn more about the work the sisters are doing check out www.mbsmissionaries.org.)
The Missionary Benedictine Sisters are doing amazing work
all over the world, but need partners who want to do good. The sisters in
Norfolk try to help our sisters in foreign missions to access partners and
opportunities to help with their missionary work. The sisters are working hard
to be the hands and feet of Christ all over the world.
If someone would like to donate to Sr. Rosann’s mission in
Peramiho they can send donations directly to the Immaculata Monastery with a
note specifying where they want it to go or by going online to mbsmissionaries.org and donating there.
The online donation page is completely secure and goes directly to the sisters.
If others don’t have the resources to share Sr. Rosann says,
“I really do believe all the prayers that are offered just storm heaven for us
and that is so important. I really appreciate the prayers. If people want to
connect with us in friendship and promise us their prayers and spiritual
support that means the world to me.”
(While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory. If you would like to learn more about the work the sisters are doing check out www.mbsmissionaries.org.)
The Sisters in Peramiho have a new project that they are
excited to get started on! The sisters run St. Anna’s health center in Uwemba
and do a lot of work with prenatal care and early childhood development. As of
right now, when a woman has complications in her pregnancy and labor she must
travel 40-60 minutes to another hospital for a Cesarean section. With
conditions the way they are, many women and children are dying as a result.
The government wants to create a safer environment for women
to have the operation. They are allowing smaller health centers to create safe
and clean operating rooms to have cesarean sections. The sisters are leading
the cause in the area with creating a Cesarean section department in Uwemba.
One sister will begin schooling in August to further her education to become an
Assistant Medical Officer. She then will be able to do the Cesarean sections
and other minor surgeries.
With the help of an organization in the Netherlands, the sisters
will have some funding to start this project. The Sisters’ hope is to begin
construction in one year and be fully functioning in two years.
(While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory. One of their major ministries is the Orphanages where they take care of 80 children. If you would like to learn more about the work the sisters are doing check out www.mbsmissionaries.org.)
For the sisters the cost of running the orphanages is
extremely high. With the decline of German benefactors and the rising costs of
living, the sisters’ expenses are also going up. They have been able to manage
because Sr. Fromunda had enough reserves to keep them going. The sisters depend
on the help of other people to take care of the children alongside the sisters.
The sisters have the role of covering every aspect of cost
of living for the orphans. The cost to cover room and board is $1 per child per
day. That is $80 a day for just room and board, and does not include
healthcare, education and other expenses. The costs are not like those in the
United States, but still are extremely high for the area of Tanzania.
(While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory. One of their major ministries is the Orphanages where they take care of 80 children. If you would like to learn more about the work the sisters are doing check out www.mbsmissionaries.org.)
For two young people the Benedictine Sisters are the family
they never had. Having stayed with the sisters in the orphanage from birth,
both have been blessed to find the love and care they needed. For Blessing
Benedict she was found with no connections to her family. The sisters took her
in and adopted her.When legalizing her
paperwork they asked her what she would like her last name to be. Proudly she
told them, “Benedict! I belong to the family of the Benedictine Sisters.” In
Latin Benedict means blessed.
For Marko Kapinga giving back to the sisters who gave him so
much is important. Marko and his siblings have lived at the orphanage since
birth. Their parents were lepers. Marko did exceptionally well in school and
was given the opportunity to go to Catholic University by Sr. Fromunda. He
became a teacher and is now back at the mission teaching the orphans.
Sr. Rosann says that when you see exceptional children if we
have the funds we will do the best we can to educate them. It’s for the good of
the person, but also good for the nation. These children appreciate so much and
they have opportunities they would never have otherwise.
(While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory. One of their major ministries is the Orphanages where they take care of 80 children. If you would like to learn more about the work the sisters are doing check out www.mbsmissionaries.org.)
One difficulty with the orphanage is the government takes no
responsibility with orphans. They do not even help cover the cost of education.
The costs to raise them then lands on the sisters that take them in. They must
pay for shelter, food, healthcare, clothing and education. The expenses are
constantly growing.
The sisters work with the social workers in the area to
bring the children that are in need into the orphanage.The families sometimes can’t sustain the
child because of the loss of the mother. The temperatures in Mjimwema get down
to freezing and without a special bond, like the bond between a mother and
child, the children could die. The families are encouraged to visit and bond
with the children while they are at the orphanage before they go back home.
(While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory. One of their major ministries is the Orphanages where they take care of 80 children. If you would like to learn more about the work the sisters are doing check out www.mbsmissionaries.org.)
Many years ago Sr. Fromunda started an orphanage in Peramiho
for children of lepers and HIV victims. At one time Sr. Fromunda had 130
orphans funded by German benefactors. Funds from these benefactors have begun
to decline due to the age of the benefactors.
There are now three orphanages that the sisters tend to. The
sisters have begun to decrease the number of orphans they take in, in order to
give higher quality care to those children already with them.
They have recently built a new orphanage in Mjimwema because
conditions at the original orphanage were not good. The area that the
orphanages are at has one of the highest rates of HIV in Tanzania at 22%.
On average the sisters have 20 infants at all times in St.
Anna’s Orphanage in Uwemba. Age ranges from Day one to 2-3 years old. After
three years old the children will go to the Good Shepherd Orphanage in Mjimwema.
The sisters have begun to phase out their Morogoro Orphanage which currently
has approximately 20 children who are continuing their high school or
vocational training education.
(While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory.)
The sisters in Peramiho work in many different ministries
around the area. Sr. Rosann explained some of these ministries and they include:
Care for Lepers
In the early years, care for leprosy patients was a major
concern. Because of fear of contamination, lepers were ostracized from their
villages.By 1911 the sisters had
established the leprosy village in Morogoro.Today, treatment of leprosy has changed dramatically and patients remain
with their families while treated as outpatients.However, 40-some elderly residents remain in
Morogoro, as it is the only home they have had for decades.The Sisters also assist another 40 elderly
lepers in the neighboring village of Letisha with monthly food rations.
Care for Orphans
Care for orphaned and vulnerable children began immediately
with the arrival of the early missionaries as they ransomed slave
children.Currently we have three
centers for orphaned and vulnerable children:
1. St. Anna’s Orphanage in Uwemba cares for twenty
infants.Poverty, the high prevalence of
HIV-AIDS and complications of sickness or childbirth leave the children
motherless or totally orphaned.The
sisters and staff see the children through the critical years of infancy and,
when possible, return them to their extended families.
2. Good Shepherd Orphanage in Mjimwema is newly built to
care for 48 children beginning with preschoolers.We focus on the total care and development of
each child, physical, spiritual and emotional.
3. Morogoro Orphanage currently holds approximately 20
children who are continuing their high school or vocational training
education.
Education
Education has consistently remained a top priority of the
sisters throughout the decades. Today the community continues to value this
ministry.
1. Peramiho Girls Secondary School was founded in the 1960s
as one of the first secondary schools to educate girls.Today, the boarding school serves over 300
girls in six levels and remains one of the highest-ranking schools for girls in
the nation.
2. St. Joseph Nursing School in Peramiho was founded by Sr.
Tetwigis following her arrival to Tanzania in 1949.Today our sisters continue to offer superior
education to students in two nursing programs (Level A and Level B Nursing).
3. Dressmaking Vocational Training School in Peramiho offers
young women expert training in women and children’s clothing.This three-year program lays a foundation for
these women who want to establish their careers as seamstresses.
4. St. Gabriel’s Vocational Training School in Uwemba offers
sewing, cooking and overall domestic training to young women.The three-year program focuses on area rural
women who have few options for success.
5. Electrical Vocational Training We are grateful to have a
sister involved in the electrical training school in Peramiho.
6. Good Shepherd Kindergarten in Mjimwema (Songea) is our
newest development.With confidence that
early-childhood education establishes a foundation for learning, in 2014 the
community opened the new school offering English-medium Montessori
training.When the school is fully
established, it will hold 150 children, ages 3-5.
Health Care
Quality health care remains a major challenge in Tanzania.
HIV-AIDS and malaria remain special challenges throughout Tanzania.Our sisters serve the sick primarily in two
locations.
1. St. Joseph Hospital in Peramiho is a 400+-bed facility
owned by the Missionary Benedictine Monks.Our sisters work closely with the administration to provide the best
possible care in the conditions in rural southwest Tanzania.
2. St. Anna’s Health Center in the mountainous area of
Uwemba serves the local people.The
government has recently allowed health centers to have a minor surgery in order
to save the lives of mothers and children. Our current project is to establish
a new surgery suite at St. Anna’s.
Pastoral
In all of our ministries, sharing the love and light of
Christ is our primary purpose.The
sisters are also involved in Basic Christian Communities, catechesis, youth
ministry, etc.
Protection of life at all levels is a high priority, be that
through our existing ministries or through other avenues.
(While
on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr.
Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory.
Over the next few week we will explore that work in a series of blog posts and
videos.)
For the past seven years Sr. Rosann has been missioned to
Tanzania as their Prioress. What has stood out most for her is the joy of the
people. They have a wonderful gift of celebration and a sense of family. It
gives Sr. Rosann an opportunity to do whatever she can for the people of
Tanzania.
Sr. Rosann had very little time to adjust to the new
culture, language and poverty of Tanzania. It was a very stressful time, but
she jumped in with both feet ready to take on the task. She had never been
exposed to that much poverty before and was bombarded with her sense of
responsibility and why God had sent her there.
The first year she was there Sr. Rosann tried to learn as
much as she could of the language. She can do basic language, but still needs
translators for official business and written communication. It’s not easy and
makes relating to the people much more difficult. With the help and love of the
sisters they are making it work and making great progress.
While on home leave Sr. Rosann Ocken, Prioress of Peramiho Priory, sat down with Sr. Inviolata and talked about the work of the sisters in Tanzania-Peramiho Priory. Over the next few weeks we will explore that work in a series of blog posts and videos. One of their major ministries is the Orphanages where they take care of 80 children. If you would like to learn more about the work the sisters are doing check out www.mbsmissionaries.org.
On May 15, I was overjoyed to be the guest of honor
at the “Form VI” graduation (the equivalent of a General Equivalency Diploma in
the United States) at our congregation's Peramiho Girls Secondary and High
School. The 21 young women who finished their basic education now can look
forward to a bright future.
When I arrived in Peramiho as prioress, I was aware
of the importance of education for girls. But because I had always worked in a
hospital pharmacy, I had no experience in leading a school. This school in
Peramiho was entrusted to me, and I had to meet many challenges from the first
day. I put a lot of time, energy and love into this ministry, fully aware of
the saying: “If you train a woman, you train a nation.”
It was my great joy to learn that our school ranked
21st among more than 3,000 Tanzanian schools that administered the
Form IV nationwide examinations in December 2013. The school received a special
award for this achievement from the president of Tanzania as well as from the
regional government. During the Form VI graduation ceremony, this achievement
was celebrated with gratitude for all the teachers, their efforts and their motivation.
I was so happy and grateful that I could see this day and this achievement.
My visit in Tanzania, especially in Peramiho, was a
homecoming. Besides my fellow sisters, I was able to visit again with some
friends, former students, priests and bishops. Talking Swahili had become
natural to me during my many years in Tanzania, because only by knowing a
nation's language can one fully come to know its people and culture.
I listened to the concerns of my friends and
colleagues – and I heard their repeated invitation to return to Peramiho. They
assured me that even though I can no longer work as hard as I once did, my
presence would be important to them. I am not sure about this, but I am ready
to leave my future plans to God, who has always had different plans with me.
I only can look back in gratitude for all the beauty
I saw and experienced in my short visit.Once again, I say: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his
faithful love endures forever.”
The joy of my reunion with the community in St.
Scholastica Priory was mutual. I met many new faces among the younger
generations – new postulants and novices and new temporary professed sisters.
European-born sisters were predominant during my years as prioress (1995-2007),
but now a majority of the sisters in Peramiho come from Tanzania. I also saw
that they have been joined by sisters from South Korea, Kenya and Uganda.
On Sunday, May 11, most of the sisters traveled by
hired bus to Songea to witness the blessings of MBS' newly built Good Shepherd
Orphanage, Montessori preschool and kindergarten, as well as the new Good
Shepherd Convent of the Sisters nearby. I was deeply impressed and very
grateful for what I saw. A big dream has been accomplished on the three pieces of
land purchased by the Peramiho priory in 1997 for our orphanage's new home.
I remain aware that the responsibility for children
orphaned due to the deadly impact of HIV-AIDS has been left by the Tanzanian
government to the charity of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) as well as to
the orphans' extended families. I am grateful that the Peramiho priory was able
to find generous benefactors to enable our sisters to serve these children to
best of their ability.
The new orphanage's three family houses – each of
which can house up to 16 children – offer a new home in a different style for
the orphans who were under our care in Good Shepherd Orphanage's original home
at a former “leprosy camp” in the the village of Morogoro-Peramiho.
Children in each house will live like a family under
a house mother. The houses are built strong and well and are equipped with all
that is needed, such as food, water and electricity. The kindergartners and
preschoolers will be taught on the same property, which also contains four
large classrooms ready to accept students for the English-speaking Montessori
school. Primary-school (elementary) children will be integrated into the local
primary school in the suburb of Songea, while secondary-school students will
attend the school assigned them by the government. St. Scholastica Priory,
however, plans in the future to expand the orphanage's Montessori school to
include primary grades.
(Sister Pia Portmann, Prioress of Norfolk and Swiss native, spent 27 years in the Peramiho, Tanzania Priory and recently returned to Tanzania for the dedication of the Good Shepherd Orphanage and School. A project that she helped begin as Prioress of Peramiho. These are her accounts of her visit.)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his faithful love endures forever.
– Psalm 136:1
When I
arrived in the Tanzanian capital of Dar-es-Salaam on May 5, 2014, I was excited
to be back in the country I love and in which I worked during the best years of
my monastic life – namely, the 27 years from 1980 to 2007.
The big city
has changed enormously. The road construction and the increase in the number of
cars and motorbikes make traveling in the city an adventure. When I arrived at
the airport, I was amazed that Sr. Rosann Ocken, my successor at Peramiho
Priory, and her companions were not waiting for me and Stefanie Wegner, my
traveling companion from Europe and the project director of the Patrizia
KinderHaus Foundation in Augsburg, Germany.
After
communicating with Sr. Rosann, we learned she had been driving for more than
two hours from our congregation's residence in Dar-es-Salaam to the airport,
but was caught in the traffic. Due to this problem, we had to cancel our plans
for sightseeing in Dar-es-Salaam the following day.
Sr. Rosann,
Stefanie and I, along with our driver, Georg, left at 4:30 a.m. on May 7 for
Uwemba, a town in Njombe District. We would stay overnight there with our
sisters in our congregation's mission house there.
The long
drive through this big country delighted me as it used to. Passing through
Mikumi National Park (a drive of 50 kilometers) brought me a lot of joy. It
seemed all the animals came to greet us on this morning – elephants, zebras,
giraffes and antelopes. Even a lonely Africa buffalo greeted us from a ditch.He must have been wounded.
We traveled from
sea level to the Southern Highland (elevation of 6,000 feet), which includes
Uwemba, through the long and beautiful Ruaha Valley. Once a year, the little
white, pink and purple flowers bloom and drape themselves over the bushes and
trees like a veil. I had seen this effect only once before in my many travels
to and from Dar-es-Salaam. But on this day, God’s beauty in nature provided
this magnificent view once more.
We reached
our mission in Uwemba at about 7 p.m. In this fruitful “Ubena land,” the Missionary
Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing own St. Anna’s Health Center. The sisters meet
the physical needs of the people in Uwemba and surrounding villages. They also
run an orphanage, caring for 21 children from birth through age 2. These
children have lost their mothers or even have been abandoned by them. The
sisters try to find and contact family members so they eventually can be
returned to their family or clan.
The mission
also includes a girls' vocational training center that teaches dressmaking and
cooking. I was impressed how our Tanzanian Missionary Benedictines have taken
over this important work of reaching out to the sick, poor and suffering and
educating young women to equip them to sustain themselves for a lifetime.
After visiting the sisters' ministries and remaining
with them for a short time, we left after lunch on May 8 to drive the final 4½
hours south to Peramiho. St. Scholastica Priory, founded in Peramiho in 1901,
is the oldest priory in our congregation. Through the years, our sisters there
worked in schools and hospitals and carried on pastoral and social work in as
many as 12 outstations. They also founded the first congregation of African
Benedictine sisters, known today as the Benedictine Sisters of St. Agnes,
Chipole.
