Visit To Ndanda

This past weekend we traveled to Ndanda, Tanzania which is home to the priory of the sisters we are working for and also the home to the abbey of the associated brothers. The prioress, Sr. Raphaela was in Mtwara for a board meeting at the school, so we rode with her back to the Ndanda to have an orientation at the priory and to see Ndanda. The abbey and the priory in Ndanda have been there for over one hundred years. The abbey was founded in 1906 and the priory two years later. The Benedictines were the original Catholic missionaries to the whole southern half of Tanzania. 

 It takes about two hours to drive to Ndanda from Mtwara. It was our first trip into the really rural areas of Tanzania. Mtwara seems to serve as a regional market town for what otherwise is a very rural part of Tanzania. The landscape going out to Ndanda was beautiful. The terrain is hilly and is a mix of forested and brush land type of foliage. Most of what seemed like it was being farmed was cashew and coconut trees as well as corn and millet. The car also frequently had to slow down for cows or goats that were crossing or just wondering in the road; there are not a lot of fences in Tanzania, and most animal are free range. We passed many small villages along the way. Most of the houses were built in the traditional way with sticks and clay and had thatched roofs. There are still many mud houses in Mtwara, but most here are made of concrete blocks and have corrugated steel roofs. 

 Ndanda is a peaceful and prayerful place. We stayed for four night in the guest house across from the convent. Sunday we went to morning prayer and mass with the sisters in their chapel and then went on a hike with Enrique and Carolina from Mission Doctors up to a spring fed swimming pond. It was a nice hike and took about an hour, so it was nice to go for a swim. Then for the next few days we had some classes given by some of the sisters and one of the brothers. We received a nice overview of Benedictine spirituality, the history of the Benedictines in Tanzania, and Tanzania culture. 

 

It was a very nice trip to Ndanda. We enjoyed seeing another part of Tanzania and spending time with the sisters and Enrique and Carolina. It was also very encouraging to see the foundation that the missionary before us have laid and know that we have a wider support group in Tanzania than just Mtwara.