The Social Department of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg, coordinated by Fr. Dimitrie Ursache, has funded the digging of a well in the village of Makombe, located in the mountainous Iringa region of central Tanzania.
Nun Irina Savu, assigned to the Orthodox Mission Center in Kidamali, Tanzania, visited Makombe in mid-March and shared her impressions of life in this African region.
“The road to get there is extremely difficult, full of rocks and boulders. We had to cross a river twice. In one spot, they had laid some cement, but on the other side, the driver had to walk through knee-deep water first to check whether we could cross or not,” reported the nun.
She described the village as having many children and being “unimaginably poor.” During their visit, the guests offered non-perishable food in memory of a departed Christian.
“We’re in the rainy season, but there’s no rain. That village doesn’t even have a shop—nothing at all. The poor people survive only on what they grow in the fields. When the children saw a biscuit or a candy—my Lord, how their eyes lit up! I saw the well: I even tasted the water right in front of them, just with my hand—and I saw that the water is good,” she added.
The well, which reaches a depth of about 120 meters, is critical in supplying clean water during the long dry season, which lasts for eight months. Previously, locals had to dig in the riverbed just to get a bowl of water, often resulting in typhoid fever or viral intestinal infections.
The total cost of the well in Makombe, covered entirely by the Social Department of the Archdiocese of Germany, amounted to €7,000.
The Orthodox Parish of St. Parthenius is active in Makombe, under the spiritual care of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
Photo: Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany
