Photograph by Keith Mindham.
Communities in Suffolk and Tanzania are sharing knowledge to help improve lives in their areas, after the Bishop of Kagera visited the county.
The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich has forged a link with the Diocese of Kagera in Tanzania for 30 years since 1994, and after a visit from a group from Suffolk to Kagera earlier this year, the visit has now been reciprocated with Suffolk hosting the delegation.
The Rt Revd Darlington Bendankeha, Bishop of Kagera, and his wife Penina, were accompanied by Thomas Shavu, Coordinator of the Church and Community Mobilization Process, for the visit from June 22 to July 1.
Bishop Darlington and Penina visited a top-up shop in Felixstowe on June 27 to learn how a church community initiative can benefit those struggling to pay for food and daily necessities.
Their visits also include West Suffolk Hospital, Ringsfield Primary School in Beccles, St Margaret’s Primary School in Ipswich, Ipswich School, an after school club in Grundisburgh, various farms and churches.
Chris and Anji Dawkins, Kagera Link Coordinators in Suffolk, said: ‘‘The link is rooted in friendship and underpinned by prayer. Visits both to and from Kagera cement those relationships and open all our eyes to a world beyond our everyday life. Experiencing each other’s environments helps us all put our own challenges into perspective. Both dioceses are rural, though unlike Suffolk, Kagera is very hilly. 70% of the population are subsistence farmers living off their land for food to eat.’’
The Rt Revd Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, visited Kagera last year and he was delighted to welcome this month’s delegation.
‘‘They have been visiting projects which will help them in the work they’re already doing in Kagera to raise their people to ‘life in its fullness’, both spiritually and practically. They have been seeing what can be adapted and used in their context to improve lives in Kagera. These visits are always mutual – we learn as much from their reflections on our life here as they do from the visits they make. Our Lent appeals for Kagera to our churches in Suffolk have enabled the Church and Community Mobilization Process in Kagera to teach new farming methods, supply seeds and tree saplings and train villagers to build rainwater tanks with local materials."
“Money from previous appeals has also helped Kagera Diocese to buy motorbikes for priests to cut their travel time between communities in Kagera,” said Bishop Martin.
In Kagera many households do not have running water or electricity, most roads are dirt tracks and the average life expectancy is nearly 15 years less than in the UK. Infant mortality is over ten times the rate in the UK.
Bishop Darlington said: “For us in Kagera, this partnership has been a blessing between our two dioceses for over 30 years. On this trip to Suffolk we are learning many things about opportunities that the church and community here have to help all citizens within the county. This is a real mission of the church to reach all aspects of human life by encouraging people to work for the development of the entire community.”
The Bishop of Dunwich, the Rt Rev Dr Mike Harrison visited Kagera in Tanzania with a group of clergy from Suffolk earlier this year, and the visit is now being reciprocated.