CHRS Charity has joined Father Paschal’s mission to help these children. Projects that CHRS has funded include building a new chapel, supplying electricity to the home, providing essential needs for all the children for the past two years, and providing gifts and meals at Christmas time.
Please join CHRS Charity in helping these children. They still have many needs and your donation will go a long way in helping us fund other projects for them in their village. Below is a letter from one of the priests from Songea explaining how the Unitas Charity came to be.
Unitas Charity is a Children’s Home, which is located in Songea District, Southern part of Tanzania, East Africa. It was founded by a Catholic Priest, Fr. Paschal Mbepera, C. M, from the Congregation of the Mission – Vincentians. Fr. Paschal is doing his mission as a Pastor of Saint Vincent Parish which is in the nearby Diocese, about 240 Kilometers away. The Unitas Charity is located in Sanangula village, which is about 30 Kilometers from Songea town.
Being a Priest from Vincentian Congregation, Fr. Paschal was inspired by Saint Vincent De Paul to help and take care of the children in need. He has been trying to gather together some boys and girls who have either lost one or both of their parents, or those children who are not happy and cannot find peace living with their relatives or parents. Fr. Paschal has managed to build average buildings where the children are living. In the compound there is also a small chapel that CHRS Charity helped us complete. The children now get to pray together in the chapel.
Fr. Paschal began this ministry in 2007, and since then children have been going to school from this house. He has been paying for their tuitions, buying them clothes, shoes, books, pencils, pens and many other items needed for their studies and life. Right now there are 10 children who are staying in the house. Some of the children are leaving Unitas Charity Home after they graduate from their secondary education.
There is a Matron who takes care for these children. She is a Nun from Unitas Congregation of Sisters. She volunteers to take care of the children all day long. She supervises everything for the children. The children have become her children, and she does everything to make sure they get something to eat everyday.
Around the compound they have small field where they grow maize (white corn) for food. This work is done by hands because it is expansive to find a tractor for cultivation. Sometimes they pay some people to cultivate.
Ugali (made from white corn), beans and vegetables are the main dishes. When they get money they sometimes provide rice, beef and chicken.
Money is the biggest challenge of Unitas Caritas Children Home. They are living in unfinished houses, they don’t have good water supply. If they had a well and pump, they would have enough water supply. They have still a lot of work to do to make the place their home.
