NOVEMBER 2007

Inishowen Children Helping African Families

Primary and secondary school children across Inishowen are part of an exciting project making a real difference to the lives of people in a small African town. Through the children in Crossfire charity, students and their teachers have been responsible for bringing fresh food, medicines and healthcare to Moshi, a busy town set on the edge of Africa plains where they start to climb towards Mount Kilimanjaro. Now, they are even helping to build the towns first ever secondary school.

Those involved in the project are asking the people of Inishowen to help them in this worthy endeavour, and have a great night, by coming along to a charity Big Night at McGuinness's Ceili House, Cooley, Moville this Thursday at 8.30pm. Tickets are €10 each to include the best traditional entertainment as well as a cuppa and homebaking. All proceeds benefit the project in Tanzania.

Fr. Willie Maningi, who is based in Tanzania but is visiting Inishowen schools and parishes this week to talk about the project, explained what a difference our local children are making to the daily lives of people thousands of miles away. "During the eight years that I have been involved, there have been extraordinary changes to our town. The money raised here has allowed us to open a clinic with an officer and two sisters. We can buy and dispense vital medicines, especially for malaria, diarrhoea and coughs, which are the most prevalent problems. It is important for us to be able to give these medicines free to those who need them, as we have many orphans and very poor families who could not otherwise obtain them.

"One aspect of the project that has made an enormous difference is the building of a pump, so that families can irrigate their fields. Before this, there was no way of bringing water from the river up to the fields. So they could not be used to grow food. Children had to spend much of their time helping their families find food. Now, not only do families grow their own food such as maize, sunflowers, beans and fresh vegetables. After harvesting enough food for their own needs, they can sell the surplus. This single pump has made such a change to the lives of around 500 people. Another benefit of the pump is that it has shown people here the benefits of technology and learning. That one simple machine can bring about so much change makes people even more eager to acquire knowledge and skills. There is a great thirst for knowledge here. People see it as a way through the poverty. When children get the chance to study, they really take it seriously."

The latest project is students at Moville Community College and primary schools in Muff and Moville are helping to raise funds to build a new secondary school. Work has already started on the building, which will provide education and board for 520 boys and girls. The efforts are being coordinated by Bernie Ryan, Carl King, Rose Kelly, Breedge and Aine Faulkner and Belinda Glackin, who have all travelled to Tanzania to help with the project first hand. "Many teachers from Inishowen have come to Tanzania to teach in our primary schools. They also help to raise funds. We hope that someday soon, we'll be to send to our teachers here too and continue to develop the cultural part of our exchange, as well as the aid aspect. There are so many similarities between our area and Inishowen. There is so much potential in Moshi. All we lack is the infrastructure and the skills.

To book tickets for the Big Night phone McGuinness's on 074 9382900 or Children in Crossfire 02871 269898.

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