Huruma’s Celebration of Gratitude
Bertha Haas – Portland Chapter
Thank you! Thank you to all Maryknoll. You have been such faithful supporters of Huruma, a school for children with disabilities in Mwanza Region, Tanzania.
On August 4, 2004, Huruma welcomed ten students and seven staff in the classroom space of Holy Family Catholic Church in Pasiansi, who had welcomed us with open arms. I wanted to say “opened its doors”, but there were no doors. We opened in a lean-to, roofed space with only two walls adjoining the church.
Parents of these 10 students had been meeting to plan for several months for their children’s education. One parent, Mama Agostino, suggested the name Huruma, Swahili for “compassion.” Each of these 10 students is indelibly etched in my heart, but I will introduce only Andrea, a very bright—in both mind and spirit—10-year-old with hydrocephalus. In the year preceding Aug 2004, he had already undergone surgeries on both feet but still required a wheelchair. Whether at home or at school, Andrea took charge of welcoming visitors.
MK Lay Missioner Anna Johnson with special children in Tanzania
By January 2005, we had reached our capacity of 20 students on campus, plus providing weekly physical therapy and language development services for 10 or more preschool-aged children in their homes.
During these years, we welcomed students with age and ability appropriate educational and recreational opportunities, both individual and group. Generous dedication to the health and well-being of students with disabilities and their families became the firm foundation that is still the hallmark of Huruma today. The students’ joy and their families’ gratitude still reverberate. Through field trips, daily exercise for students of all abilities, Special Olympics, family celebrations, music, and sports, they grew in friendships, self-esteem, and life skills. Health services included wheelchairs, epilepsy medications, annual physicals. With more students, we added a cook, who is still with Huruma today, to prepare and serve a daily snack of uji.
December of 2007 found all Huruma preparing the new building for occupancy by cleaning, painting, hauling manure to fertilize the flowers, sewing curtains for the windows, etc. In addition to increasing our capacity to 40 students, Huruma’s move to the current Nyasaka campus brought many changes. Three government teachers of the deaf joined the staff. Many of the staff had earned certificates as Montessori teachers.
With continued generous donations from many of you, Huruma introduced a life skills program including carpentry, gardening, and tailoring. In the 12 years since I returned to the United States, Huruma has steadily progressed under Tanzanian staffing with the assistance of five more Maryknoll Lay Missioners, and volunteers from Germany and Switzerland. Huruma is a leader in advocating for the rights of children with disabilities, for inclusion in regular classrooms, for neighborhood schools. Thank you for walking step by step with Huruma. Without the support of Maryknoll, Huruma could not have flourished.
My heart overflows with gratitude!
Over the years, Maryknoll Affiliates have organized and supported annual Huruma fund-raisers, Affiliates have visited Huruma, and now Maryknoll Lay Missioner Anna Johnson is providing medical services to Huruma.
This article first appeared in the September/October 2024 issue of Not So Far Afield.