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A Time, to…

        … Hand Over

On Sunday 30th September Bishop Simon Chiwanga retires after 16 years as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Mpwapwa.  In that time the fledgling Diocese has been firmly established and has taken on its own character.

and … Take on the new Mantle

In his place Bishop Jacob Chimeledya will be installed as the new Diocesan Bishop, taking on the challenges of both reaching out and reaching beyond all that achieved so far

        … Clear away

Having last year had to demolish the old St. Luke’s Church built by the first inland congregation in East Africa sometime in the late 1880’s (and seen here as it was in 1902 when TBR Westgate photographed it), its remains have now been cleared away to allow nature to reclaim the land and thereafter become available for extending the graveyard that used to surround it.

and… Build up again

The stone reclaimed from the old church will be reused in the construction of a new Chapel which will serve St. Luke’s Health Centre.  This is being constructed on the other side of the compound from where the old church was, in order to allow it to be nearby the main entrance but outside of its gates so that it becomes available without hindrance to all who wish to take time out there.  This will ensure that all (irrespective of their religion, creed or background) who come for help with health matters can do so freely, but in the full knowledge that this is a central mission of the Christian Church to care, serve and love all alike, just as God first loved us, whilst we were yet far off.  The funding for this having come from two of the Parishes in the link Diocese of Rochester, it will be most appropriate that the foundation stone will be laid by the Archdeacon of Tonbridge, the Ven. Clive Mansell.

        … Consolidate

With the completion of the Anæsthetic Suite the main compound of St. Luke’s Health Centre now looks the part, so that people are no longer put off by it appearing to be a building site.  A covered walkway connecting the main building to the Waiting Ward has been put up and the main gates erected, so that patients and staff alike can feel secure at night.

and … Expand

To complement the 12-bed Waiting Ward for mothers-to-be a laundry is nearing completion to the rear of the Maternity Wing and a cookhouse and store are being erected just outside of the main entrance.

St. Luke’s Health Centre

St Luke’s continues to be much in demand – so much so that we have had to institute a system of numbering to reduce the battles outside Rachel’s door between patients wishing to be seen quickly so that they can catch their busses home again.  This is especially so since the recent good harvest, which means that people have a little money in hand to sort out more chronic health problems.  We continue to see a variety of patients – Agnes, the blind diabetic lady, whose life has been saved by starting Insulin – she has now rented a house near the Clinic so she can come up for daily insulin injections.  Or Petro who had an above knee amputation 8 years ago after a bone tumour, and has now developed cirrhosis of the liver after drinking away his sorrows.  Or Maria, who is convinced the latest herbal remedy from Dar es Salaam will cure her HIV, and comes up once in a while for advice and repeat testing.  All these desperately need the advice and help which is available at St Luke’s – both optimal physical treatment, but also spiritual and emotional care and counselling. (Names Changed!)

HIV Home Based Care

HIV is gradually creeping in as an accepted diagnosis, now that sadly the number of patients who have been confirmed as having the virus is increasing by leaps and bounds.  The TUNAJALI project is well placed to offer advice, financial help with travel to testing and treatment centres, mosquito nets, water purification ideas, and home based care from village volunteers.  The new team are gradually getting their systems sorted out for coping with the large numbers of volunteers and patients, and putting in place good financial control systems.   As with all projects, there are delays in finance, and pressure to meet impossible numerical targets set by people in offices in Washington, but we are grateful for their help, and trying to the best of our ability to manage things wisely and well.  Our new Project Manager starts in September after he finishes college – there is a temporary manager in place at the moment, but it will be good to have someone on the team who is computer literate to help them with reports etc.

Anæsthetic Suite

We are awaiting equipment to come into stock in Dar es Salaam to be able to finish equipping the new theatre; the Government Hospital staff seem quite keen to come and use it for some surgery, which will provide a good mix of their skills and our equipment!  The Government ran out of sutures recently, all elective surgery grinding to a halt for a few weeks – we have the advantage of flexibility so that supply can be fairly closely matched to demand.

The Tarling Tribe

Esther is now in her final year of Middle School and is busy preparing for her Common Entrance Exam.  The summer was spent interviewing Bishop Simon and generally discovering what makes the Anglican Church different; plus preparing for a Design & Technology Scholarship.  She also learned she had passed her Grade 2 Clarinet, but has decided to take time out from her musical studies.  Christopher on the other hand has taken up the trumpet and seems to be quite enjoying it – albeit not forsaking his love of sport, especially cricket which he will continue on with over the Michaelmas Term in Dean Close’s new indoor nets

Meanwhile, Tim has turned 6 and very much enjoys going up to St Luke’s with his Dad to see the building work.  He has just finished Year 1 Home Schooling and is a keen student, being excellent at two of the R’s – the writing perhaps needs a bit more practice!  He has discovered Paddington and Milly Molly Mandy, and enjoys having stories read to him.

Visitors

We have continued to be blessed with several visitors over the summer months: both old friends and new ones, plus a number of medical students and other visitors.  Each bring their blessings, and we are thankful for them all. 

 as ever for your prayers love and financial support, which enable our (and therefore your) partnership in the Gospel in Mpwapwa.

Pointers for Prayer

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