by Sr. Margaret Anne Meyer MMM                      USA             09.07.2025         

It was with boundless joy that I met Sr. Kay Lawlor when I landed in Tanzania, and she kindly gave me such a warm welcome that all the trauma of the trip was soon forgotten. The next day was March 1st, 1978, and we had a big celebration for the two postulants, Protegia Peter Slaa and Lydia Kijuu. We had ice cream, and I thanked God for them and the grace to start a new mission after 22 years on my date of entrance to MMM, March 1st, 1956.

After a few days, we travelled to Makiungu. I never saw so many cattails in my life. All the fields were covered by them. I soon learned that this was the local food and that it was called millet. The area was a semi desert place with little rainfall. Millet thrived here and was rich in protein. It was not necessary to eat beans with it. God is incredibly wise in directing what food the people should eat according to the local reality.

The Community welcomed me with open arms. They were happy that someone had come to relieve Sr. Doctor Genevieve Van Waesberghe to return to Drogheda to write the Constitutions. Sr. Genevieve was a great help in showing me the routine of the hospital work. The hospital had one hundred beds and was situated twenty miles from the Regional Government Hospital in Singida. A bus full of patients used to travel out daily for an outpatients visit. Thank God we had good medical assistants who could see and prescribe for the vast majority of the patients and save the more difficult ones for the doctor to see. At that time there was only one doctor doing the general medical work. Sister Doctor Salus Linde specialized in tuberculosis and Leprosy. I learned a lot about these diseases from her. In Uganda we were not allowed to treat these conditions but had to send them to specialist centres. I remember seeing one man who had no fingers able to dress himself and say the rosary on an exceptionally large wooden rosary which was almost as big as himself.

It was a bit difficult for me to live with my previous novice mistress, who was now the Hospital Administrator. I thought she would be judging me all the time. It was my custom not to keep things in but to tell someone, so I prayed for guidance in how to do this. Sr. Margaret O’Conor was so gracious in this matter. She said those days are over and you have come a long way. Let’s get on with it. I was very relieved and was incredibly grateful to her and we became good friends.