Keanes in Tanzania

We have been home a month now and Dad has been spending lots of time telling his story.  His efforts coincided with a need for a new mission outreach at Sacred Heart Parish in Suffield, CT.  Father Jette spent lots of time getting to know my Dad and learning about the needs in Sumbawanga.  He went so far as to include Sumbawanga  as a special second collection at today's mass on Mission Sunday.  As we go to press with this post, Father Jette, and the incredibly generous parishoners at Sacred Heart have raised over $8,000 for Sumbawanga and the campaign is still open. If anyone wants to donate to Sacred Hearts Second Collection you can send it to Father Jette at the address or email below.  He has agreed to keep the campaign open an extra week to allow outside donations to roll in.  Sacred Heart is a 501c so Father Jette can send tax receipts if you need it and the money will go directly to Father Chomba in Sumbawanga. Sacred Heart Parish Attn: Father Jette Re:  Tanzanian S

After following our travels on Facebook and through this blog lots of people have asked how they can help.  I hesitate to do this, but the fact is, as Americans, the biggest help we can be to Father Chomba, the Stove Team, Kizungu Village, the Orphans, the girls effected by the fire at St Thersias, and all the other needs in this small corner of the world is to send them direct aid.  The needs are massive, but that should not stop any of us from trying. While we were in Sumbawanga we set up a small personal bank account so we can transfer money directly to Father Chomba.  He has access to the account and can withdraw funds at any time for any charitable mission he sees fit.  Father has assured us that if we want aid directed towards a specific need, he will pass the money on to that person or entity.  If you leave a donation without strings attached, Father will assume it is in the "General Fund".  Most of the money in the General Fund will be used to advance the Marian

We are on the last leg of our long journey home.  This photo shows our last connection, the direct flight from Dublin to Hartford.  The entire trek home started Friday morning early with a 5 hour drive over African roads from Sumbawanga to Mbeya, then a 2 hour flight to Dar, then a 12 hour layover in Dar, then a 6 hour flight, then a 6 hour layover, then a 7 hour flight to Dublin, then another 6 hour layover, followed by the final 7.5 hour flight home.  Tough to stay fresh on a 36 hour journey like that, but we are all excited to be home and to sleep in our own beds.  Thank you all for following the blog these past two weeks. Last Leg of our Epic Journey

When the Marian Stove was designed not all of the local cooking needs were understood.  As we traveled around the number one complaint about the Marian Stove was the inabality to hold the pot tightly while cooking Ugali.  Ugali is a porridge type food made from flour, usually Maize.  It is the staple food for all people in this area.  On the smaller Marian Stoves, used in the villages for families this is less of a problem; the women there have fashioned simple pot holders that they can use to hold the pot firmly while they stir the Ugali.  However, on the large institutional stoves, where Ugali is routinely prepared for hundreds of people at each meal ( for example Kaengasa Seminary, Katumba Secondary, the School for the Blind, etc..) things are a bit different.  At these locations the Ugali is so thick, and the pots so deep, the women actually use a large oar to stir it.  It takes considerable effort to keep the Ugali moving and you need high heat to get the consistency right.  In th

Without getting too technical, one of the big missions of this trip was to find a way to reduce the cost of the Marian Stove (see  Dad's website  for background on this) .  Long story short, it looks like Gabriel and his team may have found it.  The most expensive item in the stove is a material called "Tuff-Floor" which the team is importing from South Africa in large quantities.  It works well as the main ingredient for the combustion chamber, as it does not break down in high heat, but the shipping costs and import fees make it expensive.  Gabriel reached out to a local professor from the University of Tanzania who turned him on to a material mined from the mounds of expired ant-hills.  This "ant-hill sand" was used in ancient times by local residents of the Rukwa region to make high temperature blast furnaces.  Gabriel and his team decided if it was good for a blast furnace it should work in the Marian Stove as a combustion chamber.  He found a local ant-hil

On one of our last days Father took us to three different "Outstations".  Outstations are small christian outreach centers in the smaller villages.  Becasue there are so few priests and such large territory to cover, each parish establishes outstations, basically small churches with catechists to man them as opposed to full priests.  The villagers build the walls of their church and Father Chomba, with help from STM, provides the roof.  The same with the catechists house, he must build his own house and set up his family, once he has done that Father provides a roof. Outstation built and roofed in 2003 with funds from St Thomas Moore Parish Outstation built and roofed in 2007 with funds from St Thomas Moore Parish Interior of outstation church being treated with used oil on the rafters to discourage  termites Dad with catechists for this outstation and some local villagers helping with the roof truss work Dad with catechist in his home.  He had recentl

After a full week visiting Stove Sites and other development projects in and around Sumbawanga we ended our stay by celebrating a mass with Father Chomba.  He dedicated the mass to the memory of my brother Brian, my Uncle Paddy, and my Aunt Breeda.  He even wore special commemorative Vestments donated by the Maggiorie family when Brian passed away.  The whole thing was special.  Mass here lasts 2 1/2 hours but it does not feel like it as the entire ceremony is full of amazing singing and dancing in the aisles and in the pews.  Father allowed us to present some presents to the Blind School Children as part of the service and afterwards we were able to join the parish in the dedication of their new grotto to Our Lady of Grace. Women of the Parish Sewed us special wraps and shirts for Mass.  Father wearing vestments provided by Maggiores. Our Lady of Grace Grotto dedication

After Sunday Mass we took three days to ourselves to enjoy some of the natural beauty and wildlife in Tanzania.  We stayed at an amazing place called   Katavai Wildlife Camp  where we were hosted by a great team including, Tim, our camp host.   The pictures and videos really do not do Katavai justice.  If you do nothing else please come visit this place; it is amazing, absolutely untouched. View from our Cabins Arrival in Katavai Susi with a Crocodile skull.  Plenty of live ones just on the other side of the truck as well. Elephant dung keeps away Ttse Flies.  Who knew?  Susi was our designated collector. Mock Charge by an Elephant

During our visit to Kizungu Village Susi and I celebrated our anniversary.  The Chief of the village mentioned during the ceremony for the Stove Project that one of his needs was the planting of new hardwood forests as theirs are severely depleted.  As our anniversary gift to each other Susi and I returned to the village the following day with Emma and 100 Sederalla Trees.  We planted 5 (One for each member of our immediate family) and left the chief with 95 more along with a nice gift for his wife and a few shovels.  The pictures below show us planting the 5 trees near the village well.  We hope to revisit here and watch these trees grow along with our comitment to Kizungu. Susi Planting a Sederella while a few Kizungu villagers try to figure out what the heck is going on. Emma trying to get a tree planted without disturbing her onlookers I am trying to show the locals that Mizungo know how to dig holes.  They were not impressed.