Christmas 2004 : Tanzania
One evening when I was in The Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMMs) Convent in Kabanga, Tanzania sitting around after dinner, Sr. Corona O'Brien from Tullamore, Co. Offaly told me of a Missionary Group called The Flying Doctors who visited the hospital every two months to do necessary operations. She told me how they landed their light aircraft on a strip just five miles away. Sister Corona O'Brien and Moshi taking the day old chicks from their boxes and introducing them to their new home.
 The Flying Doctors are based in Nairobi, Kenya and Kabanga is so distant and so inaccessible that flying is the best option for the doctors. Sister Corona told me a fascinating story of how two doctors would fly in on a Monday, do all their patient assessments on a Tuesday, start operating at dawn on a Wednesday and work through Wednesday and Thursday, often late into the night and return to Nairobi on Friday after their long week.
Amazing though that story is, the story of the MMMs in Kabanga is even more remarkable…
In 1951 two Irish Sisters and one English Sister arrived in Kabanga on the back of a truck. They had travelled for three days via Kigoma, a town about 80km to the south, as local authorities had informed them that health care in the Kabanga region was very poor and mortality was high amongst the population. The road from Kigoma to Kabanga was not tarred in 1951 so it was a long and uncomfortable journey. That long road is still not tarred today. Kabanga is a hard place to get to.
When the 3 nuns arrived in 1951 their only accommodation was two meagre rooms. On the first night of their arrival a group of local people brought in a man who was very ill with Malaria. One of the nuns had to surrender her bed to this man, their first patient.
Since then the Medical Missionaries of Mary have worked tirelessly in the region looking after the health of the local population while also building a 160-bed hospital. Today the nuns also operate an 80 student nursing and midwifery college.
The Irish Sisters involved there today are Sister Corona O'Brien and Sister Catherine Carey. Working with them is an American Sister Dr. Marion Scena and a Nigerian Sister Zita Ekeocha. The nursing and midwifery school is under the management of Mr. Geoffrey Malembeka. The school has 7 teachers.Moshi - Poultry Manager, Peter - Driver, Catherine Blake - Pilot, Geoffrey Malembeka - Manager of the Nursing and Midwifery School, Sister Corona O'Brien and Bridge O'Brien receiving the chicks at the remote air strip.
For Some time now the Sisters have been very anxious to improve the diet of the students at the nursing school. The students at the nursing school get meat once per week and otherwise live on maize and beans. During the course of the last year Sr. Corona decided that she would try to establish a laying hen farm so that there could be a regular supply of eggs and occasionally, chicken meat. She had been getting support from Gorta over the years and once again they agreed to help.
Sister Corona's sister in law in Ireland, Breege O'Brien, is a poultry instructress. She agreed to advise them on designing the chicken housing. She also agreed to go to Kabanga to receive the first shipment of chickens whenever they would arrive and ensure that they are well looked after in the initial period. A member of staff from the hospital, Moshi, was seconded to the school to look after the chickens. Moshi was sent off to Dar es Salaam to complete a poultry-keeping course in another convent.
So far so good, but, where are the hens?
In remote places like Kabanga it can be very difficult to get many things. Getting good laying hens is impossible. While baking in her kitchen one afternoon in the rolling farmland of Co. Offaly, Breege suddenly thought "There is some crowd here in Ireland who send livestock to the Developing World. I wonder if they could help?"
After a few phone calls the Bóthar office was e-mailing our man in Arusha, Tanzania about sourcing the type of hen that would be suitable for the climate and circumstances in Kabanga. It was established that the right type of hen could not be found in Tanzania and after continuing the search a supplier was found in Kenya.
 Now the problem was - how to get the day old chicks from Nairobi, Kenya to Kabanga, a distance of thousands of miles and much of that having no roads. The best age to transport poultry is when they are day olds. Chicks do not need to eat or drink for 24 hours after hatching and they do not get stressed easily. Adult hens can suffer from stress easier. In order to get the chicks to their destination quickly they would have to go by air. But, the only air route was through Dar es Salaam and any delays could cause problems. It would be too risky. Back to the drawing board…
What about the Flying Doctors? The measurements of the chick boxes were obtained and Sr. Corona contacted the Flying Doctors to ask would they fly in our latest airlift of livestock. – They were happy to oblige, free of charge.
The first batch of 250 chicks arrived on August 6th 2004. Corona and her sister in law, Breege were there to receive them. So far they are doing famously. Happy Christmas
The Bó Vine Cristmas 2004
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