Looking Ahead Together

Last evening something happened that had no precedence since I started to develop the vision of Divine Mercy in Kiabakari. The establishment of a development board of Kiabakari. For twenty odd years my friends, benefactors and myself along with the parochial community in Kiabakari have been pushing the cart of progress and fulfilling of the vison of Kiabakari - only by ourselves. Yesterday it has changed. On the advise and the invitation of Dr Patrick Mgoya, we met at Southern Sun hotel in Dar es Salaam, some ten men, all born and raised in Kiabakari and its vicinity, to sit together and look ahead as a team discussing the development of Kiabakari, not only of the parish. I left the meeting with a very positive feelings and high hopes for the breakthrough in thinking and acting towards genuine development of the place, brought by people who have Kiabakari written in their blood. Although the immediate concern was to set in motion the preparations to the next year ordination of our seminarian Augustino Mapambano from Kiabakari (God willing, of course) and the ways to compensate one family living in an allocated (years back by government) plot for the future expansion of our health center, the perspective was much broader, with my immediate concern for the improvement of water supply for Kiabakari inhabitants which has been particularly bad for the last few years. We talked and set up a procedures for the next steps, and when I am back in Dar from my trip to Europe in May, we will meet again for more detailed to-do list. I was very impressed with positive reactions of the participants who admitted that a thing like this has never happened before and that they were grateful for this opportunity to come together as people of Kiabakari living in diaspora to make a difference in Kiabakari. I would like to ask for your kind prayers, so that this initiative bears long-term fruit for the benefit of all.