African Sisters of St Mary (CMM)
Support Group
News 2025
Tanzania 2025
The grateful thanks for all the support you give to the Sisters was shown not only on my arrival by being handed bunches of flowers and singing but in so many other ways during my recent visit. Their cheerfulness which is based on their deep love of our Lord was so refreshing and infectious.
This year I only visited the Sisters Motherhouse in Masasi spending almost five weeks with them experiencing their life of prayer and hard work. The younger Sisters were out most of the day harvesting cashew nuts. Once the fruit falls from the trees they are picked up and gathered into separate piles where the Sisters then sit under the large trees in the shade taking the small nut from the bottom of the fleshy fruit. This is a very labour intensive job taking many hours which then results in the nuts being sent to the cashew nut factories where they are processed for export. The remaining fleshy fruit is discarded and given to the pigs to fatten them for sale as meat at Christmas.
Due to climate change the Sisters are having to cope with receiving very little rain. Because of the heat (+ 30C and humidity ca 80%) the water in the fish ponds evaporates leaving insufficient water for the fish to live, so they must be caught and sold. However few people come to buy the fish at a realistic price and then the feeding costs are not covered. There is no refrigeration available so a financial loss results.
The Sisters do however keep beehives which brought in 80 litres of honey. Also on the land in the SW Highlands the avocado trees, planted some years ago, brought in good fruit which can now be sold locally, which is a blessing as transport is always a problem.
In order to survive the Sisters are being forced to change from agriculture. They are, as Tanzanians, very traditional in their way of life so it is difficult for them to make the necessary changes needed.
For years the Sisters have run Nursery Schools using the Montessori teaching method very successfully. Several Sisters have trained in this. This is the obvious area to expand into. At two of their Houses they have started building Primary Schools. This project must be completed as soon as possible so that those children in Nursery School now will have the next stage of their education ready for them as they progress. This of course involves additional finance presenting its own problems, particularly because the Government will close the Nursery Schools if the Primary Schools have not been built.
Their Primary Schools in Newala came first again in the region of 48 schools and the one in Njombe in the SW Highlands came second in that region . Thanks to your support we have been able to have helped three Sisters to acquire their teaching qualifications and are now supporting one Sister on a pharmacy course. This is another new government requirement for their health station.
The biggest problem however is WATER in some of their Houses. Their supply is mainly from Rainwater harvesting and that means water tanks and guttering which has to be replaced from time to time. Again something we are glad to help with thanks to your support.
The country of Tanzania has not itself progressed well this past year but the Sisters are in good spirits and are praying fervently for a better world.
May God bless them all in following His will.
Dirk Juttner
