Club Secretary, Mary Dooley, was one of a a group of volunteers who travelled to Tanzania in 2007, where they spent two weeks working with the local community in Esso, on the outskirts of Arusha. All volunteers raised funds for the trip and this money has gone towards funding the brand new Pallotti Sports Centre, which was officially opened by the Irish Ambassador to Tanzania, Ms. Anne Barrington, on the 9th of October. The building was blessed by Archbishop Josephat Lebula and the occasion was one of great celebration and joy, both for the local community and the Irish volunteers present. This sports hall is a source of great pride in the local community and it should also be a source of pride for all those in Ireland who funded the project through their contributions to the fund-raising efforts of the volunteers.
During their time there, the group of volunteers facilitated
a variety of courses in the community. The students were from various
denominations and tribes and the courses were very much a two-way process
with tutors learning as much, if not more, than they were teaching.
The music group were led by well known personalities Ronan Collins and
Paddy Cole and their group of students proved to have some naturally talented
musicians among them. A selection of donated instruments were brought
out by the group and have been left there for these new musicians to build
on their talents. In the beautiful setting of a banana grove, the
drama group mentors included musician Eleanor Shanley and Galway journalist
Judy Murphy. The group of students came up with a rough outline
of a story, which was then scripted by their mentors and translated back
into Swahili for a very entertaining production.
Sharing their knowledge about jam making and preserves was the function of another group, under the expert guidance of Veronica Molloy, Crossogue Preserves. With an abundance of fruit at their disposal, this group set up a small co-op and there are very real hopes that “Pallotti Preserves” will generate very welcome income for this industrious group of women.
The IT group set up a temporary computer laboratory in the Church, using computers donated by Waterford Institute of Technology. Over 120 people had applied to take part in the IT course, with 20 participants being chosen. Such was the eagerness of the students that it was difficult to get them to take their lunch breaks!
The sports group worked with over a thousand children during the week. Much of the work of the sports group centred on using sport to educate children about HIV. With approximately one in three carrying the virus, it is possibly the biggest challenge facing the community and hopefully educating the very young will eventually pay dividends. Many children have been left without one or both parents and it was a very common sight to see very young children with even younger siblings strapped to their backs all day.
The next phase of the project, which commenced during the volunteers’ visit, is the building of a resource centre, which will provide a permanent home for the computers. The first phase of this building is due for completion in January. Fundraising also continues to complete the equipping of the sports hall.
Mary was one of the IT group on the trip and would like to express sincere thanks to all who supported the fundraising drive over the summer and facilitated such a memorable experience. Special thanks to Ballyskenagh GAA and Bobby Barry for the BBQ, which raised in excess of €2,000; to Mary, Melissa, Pauline and Laia who worked very hard to ensure that the target of €5,500 was reached in good time (the target was in fact exceeded); to all businesses, family, relations, neighbours, friends and work colleagues whose generosity was very much appreciated.
Sometimes it can be relatively easy to make donations to good causes without giving any real thought to the difference that donation can make, but standing in the magnificent sports hall, under the Irish and Tanzanian flags, was a proud moment and brought it very firmly home that we can indeed make a difference.
