A Miracle Of The Jubilee Year Of Mercy

A true miracle of The Jubilee Year of Mercy. We have been trying to complete the construction and furbishment of the primary school in my mission in Kiabakari for the past ten years. And it looks like the Merciful Father heard our pleas and in the tenth year of the struggle we may be able finally, God willing, to complete the task. 

To the contrary - the eye/dental clinic project came up as an instant idea late last year during the voluntary service of Klinika Okulus and Fundacja Dzieci Afryki eye specialists in our health center in Kiabakari. This time we did not have to wait many years for the idea to become reality - the project submitted by Fundacja Kiabakari with cooperation with Iwona Filipecka and her Klinika Okulus team - along with the school one has passed the scrutiny.

I am very grateful to Merciful Father for these Jubilee gifts. This is a genuine act of Divine Mercy 'in action' impacting powerfully the education and healthcare areas of our committment in Kiabakari. 

I am very grateful to Fundacja Kiabakari with its CEO Bożena Koczur and our partners who worked professionally and in a very short timeframe to prepare these projects. 

I am very grateful to Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs for their trust in our professionalism, transparency and dedication for those in need in this part of the world. I thank them personally for their continuous support of the worthy cause which is Kiabakari and its educational and healthcare institutions. 

Out of six projects approved for Tanzania for this year, two will be implemented in Kiabakari. 

And altogether, if I am not mistaken, there will be now around ten development and voluntary projects supported so far by the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Kiabakari. 

This is an absolutely invaluable help without which we would not even dream to help the local communities on such a high quality and effective level. 

Thank you - on behalf of all in Kiabakari and the area who are recipients of the Polish Aid!

https://www.polskapomoc.gov.pl/Wyniki,konkursu,Polska,pomoc,rozwojowa,2016,2460.html

‪#‎MSZ‬ ‪#‎PolskaPomoc2016‬ ‪#‎FundacjaKiabakari‬ ‪#‎DivineMercyInAction‬‪#‎JubileeYearofMercy‬ ‪#‎gratitude‬ ‪#‎developmentprojects‬ ‪#‎primaryschool‬‪#‎eyedentalclinic‬ ‪#‎KlinikaOkulus‬ ‪#‎FundacjaDzieciAfryki‬

Eighteen Years

Look carefully at this picture below:

It was taken right after the Divine Mercy Sunday Mass in 1996. Late President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere and myself were standing at the corner of the not-finished-yet shrine of Divine Mercy (it was dedicated on July 3, 1997) and we were talking about the situation of the education in Tanzania and in Mara region area in particular. Mwalimu was very adamant about the need of providing the quality education at grassroots levels, especially in our areas. He was giving me his moral support in the realization of this dream.

I was showing Mwalimu the future development of the parish, where the planned institution were going to be located and the picture caught the moment where I was talking about the future primary school in Kiabakari. We were looking in the direction where now there is in fact the not-finished-yet building of the primary school.

I am praying to Mwalimu now, believing strongly that he is in heaven, to pray for us, so that after eighteen long years since that day where we talked about the importance of education in Kiabakari, this dream comes true this year. Please, pray with me to Mwalimu!

Anticipation

The next few weeks will be filled to the brim with anticipation of results of projects accepted by Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the development scheme of Polish Aid 2014. It will be known in the near future if any of our Foundation Kiabakari submitted projects will go through. I am not going to be a prophet of any kind. Just praying to God for His Will to be fulfilled as He himself knows how much we need them in this particular point of development of Kiabakari.

I know the amount of work that went into the preparation of the projects, how well they are founded and grounded in reality, how much the local community in our village and district at large needs them.

It is up to the special commission to decide if our reasoning finds its favorable decision.

To me, either way will not make my year much different. If we get the funding, it will be easier to me to complete those projects. If not, it will be up to me to find alternative sources of funding.

I will not reveal in extenso what kind of projects we sent for funding to the Ministry. I can only say that the primary school project which includes the finishing of the remaining three classrooms and computer room with extension multipurpose service building - is absolutely crucial to me. I have to do it this year.  My standard four students will sit for the national exam this year, as you know from my previous posts. For this I need a registration of the school.

As I struggle to get the registration of our pre- and primary school, one of the conditions for the full registration is the completion of the infrastructure and the basic school equipment. The Tanzanian government during the latest inspection estimated that our school project is 81% done (thanks to the pre-school project funded by Polish Aid 2013 and the Small Grant in 2007 which financed construction of foundations, walls, windows and doors of the present primary school). The lacking 19% is crucial.

That is why in prayerful anticipation I will wait for the verdict of the commission. This will tell me how my year will look like. Will it be relatively easy climb towards the important goal with funding from Polish Aid 2014 or it will be a difficult one with me going around the world again in hope of securing the necessary funding? Time will tell. I can only ask humbly the Lord to consider granting me the easier way...

All I ask of you, my esteemed readers, is to pray to God with me in anticipation of things to come. May His will be done.

Rain And Ground Water Harvesting, Cleaning and Storing Project - Images

And the final post for today - just a few pictures of the final stage of the completion of the rain and ground water harvesting, initial cleaning and storing in concrete and PVC tanks development project in my mission in Kiabakari, co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. These pictures were taken also in mid-December, like the previous two posts. I had no time to post them earlier - internet issues and guests prohibited to do so. Today, I am in Musoma, so the internet is gentle enough to allow to upload the pics. Mind that the latest works are not depicted here. Not all elements of the project are seen here as well. This is just to let you get a general idea of the nature of the project.

I will post final pictures along with the remaining two projects once they are in full swing. Still, what is seen here, fills my heart with pride and gratitude to God, Polish Foreign Ministry, Foundation Kiabakari and all people involved directly and indirectly in the realization of the project.

Extension Of Health Center In Kiabakari Project - Images

A few pictures of the final stage of the completion of the development project of expansion of our health center  in Kiabakari, including the construction of new wards, ICU of infants, maternity ward, gynecologist's office and so on, co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. 

These pictures were taken in mid-December, the latest works are not depicted here. Late equipment arrivals as well. A couple of new wards, not all. I will post final pictures once the new wards are open and fully operational (first, I need to stamp logos on bedsheets, hang mosquito nets, place the trash bins according to color code, prepare hospital clothes for patients - these clothes were not included in the project and to finalize the tender for running of our new hospital kitchen before I allow patients to be admitted in the new wards; and so forth). Still, what is seen here, fills my heart with pride and gratitude to God, Polish Foreign Ministry, Foundation Kiabakari and all people involved directly and indirectly in the realization of the project. 

Modern Pre-School Project in Kiabakari - Images

A few pictures of the final stage of the completion of the modern pre-school development project in my mission in Kiabakari, co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. These pictures were taken in mid-December, the latest works are not depicted here. I will post final pictures once the pre-school is open and students are in the school. Still, what is seen here, fills my heart with pride and gratitude to God, Polish Foreign Ministry, Foundation Kiabakari and all people involved directly and indirectly in the realization of the project.

A Mountain To Climb

Construction phase of our development projects over, half of seminars interconnected with projects done, three more to go. The time has come to complete paperwork - reports, statements, financial documentation etc. The sheer amount of work is immense and although all papers, documents, pro-forma invoices, invoices, legal receipts, photo documentation and so forth are professionally collected and stored securely, still - the job of turning this mountain of paper into prescribed in form and method reports - is a genuine mountain to climb. This is what I have started doing sometime ago and will continue for the next two weeks or so. Calm patience, silence and focus is what I need now. That is why I have detached myself from the noise and 'hodi hodi' environment of Kiabakari to do the job professionally and thoroughly. Wish me luck, please, and say a prayer to Holy Spirit for the success of this task. Thanks in advance!

Getaway

Time has come to get away from Kiabakari to focus on work which needs silence and seclusion. Living alone as a parish priest in Kiabakari makes for a life of never-ending saga of 'hodi hodi' (verbal announcement of someone who comes to the house in need of seeing someone, most probably me) disrupting my mental flow and rendering my work impossible.

That is why I used opportunity to escort my visitor and volunteer, Anna (flying back to Poland via Dubai today) to the airport, to use the next six days for solitary paperwork as I await the representative of Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fly in next Friday to Mwanza to begin her monitoring of our projects and participation in seminars in our health center. I look forward to her arrival as I never had any bad experiences with those people, to the contrary, so far I found that very smart, bright, creative, easy going, friendly and compassionate people are employed in our Foreign Ministry who come to visit us in Kiabakari.

I remember all such occasions and feel proud and grateful to our government that they keep in touch with us, Poles, living in working abroad, in particular in Africa. Thus making me believe that I leave permanent hallmarks of what we as individuals and as a nation have the best to offer to Africa and Tanzania in particular.

Moreover, it is totally different to hear or read about Kiabakari than to visit it personally and see with one's own eyes what Kiabakari is all about. The pictures of this year's development projects I was posting on Foundation Kiabakari or mine timelines do not do justice to the immense effort we put in its completion and the level of professionalism we were able to achieve with our primitive tools and using only local task force.

The Bishop Msonganzila of Musoma was speechless, District Commissioner as well. And I hope the lady from our Foreign Ministry will be glad and satisfied that their money were spent well in such a professional and spectacular and aesthetic manner.

I have never felt more burnt out and exhausted like now. And I have never felt more proud, happy and satisfied like now as well.

Faith and Good Deeds. This was and is our motto in Kiabakari inspired by the motto of our diocesan synod underway in Musoma Diocese.

As I say 'see you soon!' to Anna, I look forward to the next wave of visitors. Our Foundation Kiabakari logo displays an open inviting door. This is also a statement of the reality in Kiabakari. Open to everybody with no-nonsense approach to life, responsibilities, people and tasks in hand.

The Week

Last week, the Week, the time we have been waiting for and talking about for a very very long time. The last week of the Year of Faith, the last week of the current liturgical year, the week of my silver jubilee celebration in Kiabakari on coming Thursday, the week of the blessing of our three development projects, the week of the official opening of the said projects, the week of the fourth graduation in our pre-school.

The air in Kiabakari is ripe with anticipation. The church for the past two Sunday is fully packed, parishioners who grace our parochial church usually on major solemnities come to attend the Masses. People listen eagerly and attentively to announcements at the end of the Mass wanting to get the full picture of the coming celebrations.

Although I feel weariness and tiredness after many months of hard work on projects and other celebrations of the Year of Faith, adrenaline keeps me going. And the last Thursday recollection day in Bunda Carmel, filled with silence, prayer and the Holy Mass to Holy Spirit filled my heart and soul with calmness, inner joy, resolve, gratitude and spiritual power.

I enjoy phone calls, emails and messages I receive these days from well wishers and people willing to contribute towards the expenses of the celebrations. This spirit of togetherness, friendship and love is what makes these days so special.

Thank  you, Lord!

Divine Mercy Hill dressed for the upcoming celebrations

Silence Is A Way Of Communication

A couple of weeks passed since my last post. A lack of word is a word itself. A lack of post can speaks volumes. In my case it means an intense period of time for me, full of responsibilities, travels, things to do, matters to take care of, decisions, stresses, challenges and lot of work - on the upcoming jubilee, graduation, opening of projects, finalization of registration, insuring and servicing our donated motorcycles, drilling the borehole and water quality testing in government lab etc... And by saying - a lot, I mean A LOT!

White Plate White Mug

On my to-do-list for today in Dar es Salaam there was a quest for food warmers / food servers for our new kitchen in health center and in new pre-school. I went to Kariakoo to search for them. Found them here and there, but what caused my heart melt were white plastic plates and mugs I bought from the wholesale Chinese shop for the pre-school dining hall. 

As I was holding a sample plate and a mug in my hands, my mind went to the opening day of the new pre-school, November 22. On that day we will not only have the ribbon cutting ceremony at the gate, but also the short sample of 'a day in new pre-school' which means - first lesson in each age group, breakfast in new dining hall and first games in our new playgrounds. 

I felt touched by the mental picture of some one hundred happy pre-schoolers sitting at the new tables in dining hall and having their first breakfast served from the new kitchen, equipped with modern stuff. Nice nutritious breakfast served on new white plates and a mug of freshly brewed tea for our little ones... All effort that went into the planning of the project, waiting in anticipation for the announcement of the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs - if the project passed or not, then the entire construction process up till now - it was worth it. 

The picture of our pupils enjoying their first day in their new pre-school is priceless. And melts my heart. Grateful to God and so many grand people of good will - from the donors through our Foundation Kiabakari to the task force - who made this possible, who made this happen. 

No Vacation

Looks like my blog has been quiet for some time, almost one month now. Whenever I want to sit down and type a few lines, things come up and I have to dive into deep water of current challenges and responsibilities. Luckily, I have started to seen the light at the end of the dark tunnel and soon will come back to more regular posting.

Development projects are in the final stage which demands my presence daily at construction sites as the finishing works depend heavily on the esthetic taste of the project client. Registration process of our pre- and primary schools has to begin anew after mistakes done by the people responsible for preparing the report for the ministry. This takes time and resources. Hopefully, in the couple of weeks the brand new report will be submitted again in the Ministry of Education. Today we made another good step towards the completion of the report.

Visitation of the statue of Our Lady which travels around the diocese in each parish in the Year of Faith has reached us in Kiabakari on Wednesday. Tomorrow is the day to hand it over to our neighbors in Mugango Parish. It has been a time of grace and intense prayer with the pinnacle which was the diocesan pilgrimage of Catholic women of the diocese on Saturday and Sunday with night vigil. Today the statue is at Sisters' convent and after evening Mass there, I will be the last one to welcome the statue in my house chapel, where it will stay with us till tomorrow morning.

Health center equipment for the project has started to come by road transport from Dar. The last part of the shipment we expect to receive soon if not this week then the next.

The parish after the visitation is turning its attention to the next point in the celebrations of the Year of Faith. This will be my silver jubilee of priesthood on November 21, with the consecutive official opening of the completed projects - done by the District Commissioner of Butiama District with the representative of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The preparations to both events are well underway. This will be a summit of all my personal efforts of the entire year. Please. keep us all in your prayers, so we succeed!

I guess, this will be all for today. Praying for you always, dear readers of my blog. Stay blessed and happy!

Blue Monday? Nah!

A few pictures from today. Boring, depressing Monday? No way! Our surgeons continuing with surgeries in the health center, clinic day for mothers with children, development projects underway and closing slowly to its completion. A good and busy day. We do not know blue Mondays here in Kiabakari.

Pictures From Construction Sites In Kiabakari

As you know well, for a few months now, three development projects funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the scheme of Polish Aid 2013 are being realized in Kiabakari. Here are some pictures of the current state of their completion as posted by Foundation Kiabakari on their Facebook timeline (click here).

Please, continue to sponsor our projects through your kind prayers, well wishes. Keep your fingers crossed as well, humanely speaking. Our aim is to complete all three projects by the end of October, well ahead of deadline which is the end of the year. And this despite continuous problems with water in Kiabakari and drought in Tanzania. I am proud of my construction teams, supervisors and suppliers. Well done, so far.

Caring Healthy Arms

This is the title of the exhibition of pictures and artifacts prepared by my Foundation Kiabakari at ŻyWa Pracownia located in Krakow's Kazimierz district as a global education effort to spread the news and knowledge about the ongoing development project 'Upendo Unaojali' in Kiabakari. I am very pleased with a huge work done by our team under the leadership of Miss Bożena Koczur. I hope and pray and humanely I keep my fingers crossed as well for the success of the exhibition and good media coverage. If you happen to be in Krakow in this period, please come and see for yourself!

The links to the event - Facebook (click here) and Internet (click here).

Against All Odds

No rain, continuous drought, no water in village water pipelines. We are forced to fetch water from drying creek down in the valley in order to be able to push ahead with development projects. I don't remember such a bad situation as this year. Since April no rain whatsoever. I am amazed how we are able to continue with works and reach a promising stage. Against all odds. Please, pray for us and for rain. Here are some pictures from today posted by Foundation Kiabakari on their Facebook timeline (click here).

No Half Time

First six months of the year already behind us. Today marks the beginning of the second half of the year. Sadly, no half time in between as the steam roll ahead with full speed closing on the highlights of the Year of Faith in Kiabakari - ordination of our deacon Augustino Mapambano, his Thanksgiving Mass and other celebrations, events and function which are associated with these event. The development projects of Foundation Kiabakari are well underway as well and we are ready to put roofs on the new buildings. The end of this week will see the first volunteer arriving from Italy for one month voluntary experience in our pre-school. Later this year we expect a few more - Polish surgeons coming in August, then volunteers of Foundation Kiabakari. The second half of this year looks even more challenging than the first one. We need to stay focused, determined, committed, in deep prayer and trust, united in purpose and getting down to work with courage. Let us pray for each other!

Deep Ocean Diving

Back home in Kiabakari, feeling on the very first day after return as if I dived deep down into the ocean of issues and troubles forcing me immediately to switch to the full working and combat mode. Pity it did not rain since I left for Poland some six weeks ago. Everything has changed so dramatically since then. I left the place green and lush. I found it upon my return dull, dusty, gray and yellow. Trouble, big trouble with water supply for our development projects which I commenced before I left. Guys did a great job anyway and things are moving forward in a decent pace, though they admit if not the water problem, they would be much farther ahead in the construction process. Still, I am impressed! Yesterday I spent most time discussing water issue with relevant authorities. Today we started digging out all pipelines to see who has been connected to our water lines and to make sure everything is in proper order. If I cannot solve the problem with steady supply of water from village pipeline, then I will be forced to use the option of water tanker supplying water from the nearby creek. This will be very costly and I do hope we can avoid it. Let's see what happens in these few days.

Here are some pictures (click here) I took yesterday on my tour of construction site which I posted on Foundation Kiabakari Facebook profile. As always, I count very much on your kind prayers!

Houston, we've got a problem! Water!!!

Cards On The Table

Time for chats, emails, communications of all sorts has come to an end. The preparatory period of development project is more or less over. Things are now ready on the operational and organizational end. Time to lay down all cards on the table, roll up sleeves and get down to work. Although I get ready to fly to Poland at the beginning of May for my jubilee celebrations and other responsibilities, this does not mean that the work will have to wait. Quite to the contrary. My task force will get fully involved in the first stage of the construction works, so not to waste any minute while I am away. We have done everything that is humanely possible to make sure everything will go as smoothly as it can be here. I pray for God's blessings for us, and ask you all, my esteemed readers, to support us with your positive thoughts and prayers. Especially I ask you for prayers for those benefactors who pledged their support in Dar es Salaam during the fundraiser on March 9 and have not fulfilled their promises yet.  Nothing is impossible to God.

Finale

The last day of surveying the potential suppliers offers and the local market for the needs of our development projects in Kiabakari for this year. Tomorrow morning back to Kiabakari for the last ten days before I fly to Poland for my silver jubilee celebrations in my home parish and with my ordination class. As much as I look forward to this unique and joyful experience, I feel a bit apprehensive as the time remaining is very short and lots of things to do and to set properly before I go. Anyway, I will do whatever I can, and the rest I will leave up to the Lord and His Merciful Providence guidance. Fiat voluntas Tua!