October 2009
Dear Family and Friends
“If you don’t see me at the back of the bus, and you can’t find me nowhere…come on over to the front of the bus. I’ll be riding up there. I’ll be riding up there. I’ll be riding up there. Come on over to the front of the bus, I’ll be riding up there.”
We are in Chipole, sleeping in a small room with a bed and a bathroom surrounded by about 52 orphans. Some are very young and many in pre-school and first grade. Can you imagine 25 two and three year olds and one teacher for a whole morning. I’ve been helping in this pre-pre- school and Kitty and Judy hold babies and help in the nursery. In the afternoon we teach reading and math to the first grade. They know their sounds and are a pleasure to teach. They bring hope to Tanzania with their eagerness to learn.
Chipole is a special place. It is the home of the Benedictine Sisters (of Saint Agnes Chipole). All of them have a special task. Some are nurses, some teachers, some architects, some butchers, secretaries, seamstresses, dentists, plumbers, lab techs, or electricians. When the rains come in November they are all farmers with hoes. [the African Benedictine Sisters of St. Agnes Chipole are listed as being in Peramiho, Tanzania]
Chipole is like a medieval village. The sisters are self-sufficient buying only sugar, wheat flour, and instant coffee for visitors. Everything else is provided at Chiple. Each Saturday a pig is slaughtered by the butcher (a Benedictine Sister) and it is enough for the week. There are 125 pigs here now. A sister specializes in raising pigs. There are chickens and rabbits as well. The sisters squeeze their own cooking oil from sunflower seeds. The remains are fed to the pigs. They are creative and thrifty.
About 100 babies are born at Chipole every year from the surrounding villagers. The sisters have a clinic where patients are seen, tested, diagnosed and receive medicine if necessary, often for malaria. There is a dentist here. One dentist can design crowns and new teeth. Most patients pay a small fee for treatment. There is also a nurse who specializes in testing, diagnosing and treatment of aids patients.
There is a secondary school for girls (300) and an elementary school for girls (216) a trade school for boys and girls. There are about 300 sisters and many studying to become sisters, one priest and us. This is a small city where everyone depends on the other for the good of everyone.
Chipole is growing and full of hope. They are adding classrooms t the secondary school, building another primary school and thinking about building a guest house. Many parents want to send their children to the schools at Chipole. All the schools are boarding schools and students come here from many parts of Tanzania. For the past three years 100% of the elementary students passed the government exams. This is a great achievement for everyone.
