Pics: Stanley Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, Nov 23: On the occasion of the 5th year anniversary of Africa Mission of Mangaluru diocese, Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, bishop of Mangaluru on Thursday November 23 released a souvenir book entitled 'Mangalore-Africa Mission' in a simple ceremony held at the Bishop’s House.

Addressing the gathering, bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza said, "Five years ago, we sowed a seed in Tanzania. Now it has become a plant. Our mission will continue till its bears fruits. There is a lot of poverty and illiteracy. But our priests and religious sisters accepted this mission as a challenge. They are putting in all their efforts to educate people over there. If we overcome illiteracy, then people can automatically drive poverty away.

"I am thankful to the missionaries working in Same for their dedication and commitment. I know the difficulties faced by them. But it is God’s call. Priests readily accept work in any condition facing many issues. Now our team has completed five years of work. Lots of positive things have taken place in the life of the people of Same due to our mission. There are still a lot more things pending which we will continue to do," he added.

Fr Alwyn D’Souza, missionary in-charge of Kifaru, Tanzania said, "We have been quite successful in our mission in Africa. When we first set our foot in Same, we felt everything was new and different. Slowly, we got adjusted to the lifestyle of the villages of Same. We have now successfully built a strong community there.

"Majority of the people over there are very poor and also lack education. So as the first step of our mission, we started to educate them. We constructed a higher secondary school for them. More than 300 students study in this school now. Then we extended our work to health and social service. We started educating people about health, cleanliness etc. We constructed small houses for the poorest people. Looking at the service we rendered, locals came close to us and started showing their gratitude. Now they also help us in our mission work," he added.

Fr Onil D’Souza and M P Noronha, priests, religious sisters, and lay leaders were present.