Visits

The Fragnoli Family visit November 2007

by Dona Fragnoli

Our adventure to Africa began several years ago when Fr. Laurenti Magesa visited our parish. During his two year stay our family had the opportunity to get to know him as a priest and as our friend. His stay here was so successful that it was decided that upon his departure, his friend from Musoma, Tanzania, Father Alexander Choka, would come and be a part of our parish for another two years. We also became very close friends with Fr. Choka.

Toward the end of Fr. Choka's stay here in Glenville, he invited everyone in our parish to try to visit him in his homeland. Slowly, the idea of our family actually making the trip began to evolve and we started making plans. At 23, our daughter was was busy with her own life and unable to make the journey. So it was decided that my husband, Kevin, and I, along with our three sons, Nick, 19, John-Michael, 15, and Anthony, 11, would make the trip together.

During the planning process, Gina Schneider approached me to ask if I would consider becoming a board member for Friends of Musoma. I quickly agreed (having no idea of what I was getting myself into!). Before our trip, during a FOM meeting, it was decided that we would have a fund raising campaign so we could bring donations with us to distribute to

the many causes FOM supports. This fund raising project was more successful than any of us had hoped.

One of the requests FOM had received from our friends in Tanzania was a building project for the Baraki Sisters Health Care Center. They put together a plan for a new malaria treatment center with a future plan of adding an operating theatre. It was decided that we would make this new building project the focus of our fund raising campaign. I put together a letter outlining our idea and sent it to everyone on our Christmas card list, as well as our friends and neighbors. We also made a presentation at each of the masses at our church. Our original goal was to raise the $10,500 needed to build the center. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of so many and were blessed to receive just over $20,000 in donations!!

It was decided that we would give the Baraki Sisters $11,000 for the building project and keep $4,000 in reserve for when the building was completed to stock and furnish it. We also decided to make several other smaller donations.

FOM supports three young orphans in the Musoma area, Tabu, Julianna and Josephine. We gave $600 to their school to provide for their care in the upcoming year.

We also gave $600.00 to the Youth Alive Club run by Sisters Mary Reese and Rosalie LaCorte. This donation will be used to give food to the orphans and their care givers who live in very difficult conditions of poverty.

A $1,000 donation was made to Father Godfrey Biseko's Servants of Love to be used for medical expenses and food expenses for the poor and sick people.

The Nyarambo Health Clinic received $1,000 to buy medicine, sheets, blankets and to make repairs to their facilities.

We also were happy to donate $700 to the Milenia Ya Tatu Primary School in Masonga. This money will be used to support the children who are orphans to buy school uniforms, books and to pay their school fees.

The remainder of the funds we collected were left in the FOM accounts for future needs.

This trip was truly life changing for each member of our family. The term poverty became completely redefined for us all. We are so much more appreciative of what we have and of what is available to us. We thank God for this opportunity.

We hope to make future visits to Musoma to see our friends and work on other projects. This was an amazing journey and Friends of Musoma will remain a primary part of our lives for years to come.