Dear Mission friends,
On the occasion of this article, it is with great pleasure that we contact you again in order to inform you about the course of our Missionary activities in the Holy Diocese of Arusha and Central Tanzania. It is with great satisfaction that we inform you that recently the Ministry of Health of Tanzania has officially recognized the operation of our medical clinic, and it is now among the best operating private medical centers in Iringa.
Many times in the past we informed you about the infectious and contagious diseases that claim the lives of thousands of people every year. It is practically impossible to respond to the needs of so many people, but we try, with love and without discrimination, to treat each of our suffering brothers who reach the threshold of the St. Nicholas Clinic.
The operation of our Clinic is primarily due to your love and support. When, five years ago, we were thinking about the prospect of creating a large medical center, we were intimidated by the large monthly operating costs. And then… the phone rang once more, and a familiar voice from Thessaloniki encouraged us to proceed with this difficult undertaking, with the promise that the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity would provide every month the money for the operating expenses. And since then, your Fraternity makes sure that every month the sum of €2,000 is sent to cover its operating expenses.
Thus, my brothers, your love has left no creature of God without medicine or medical treatment. Medical needs, however, never end. The coverage range of our Clinic includes the wider area of Iringa with dozens of poor villages; as a result, the number of patients is increasing rapidly. Therefore, there is an imperative need to expand the building of the Clinic with the creation of additional medical departments, such as Radiology and Ophthalmology departments, Dentistry and others. As you understand, the estimated cost far exceeds our financial capabilities. Therefore, once again, we appeal to your philanthropic hearts so that we can carry out this work, which will upgrade the quality of the ministry of our Mission Center to our African brothers.
Secondly, we would like to inform you about a new activity, which is the Children and Youth Camp Program. In our Mission Center, during the summer months, on the occasion of the school holidays, there were camp periods for boys and girls with the participation of children from various parishes of Iringa. The common schedule, the daily sacred services and the catechetical sessions brought the young men and women of the Diocese into contact with the liturgical life and tradition of the Church. They were taught Byzantine Music so that they could sing in the Divine Liturgies and in their parish services. Through the lessons on Hagiology, they learned about the lives of great Saints of the Church as exemplary role models of life and faith, and by actively participating in the preparation and distribution of the daily food ration, they experienced in practice the value of love and giving to fellow human beings.
The camp program, held for the first time in our Diocese, is the best investment in our children and young people, who are the future and the basis for the promotion of the Mission so that the Orthodox faith can be spread from the one end of Tanzania to the other.
My dear brethren, in closing our brief communication, I would like to thank you for your support of the work of External Mission, in which everyone can help through their own contribution in any way they can.
† Agathonikos of Arusha
