Samti, Sr. Theresia

Samti, Sr. Theresia

One of the first Medical Missionaries of Mary from Tanzania, Sister Theresia was born in Dareda in 1937. She received her early education there and trained as a teacher before joining MMM in Ireland in 1959. After profession she trained in general nursing and midwifery in Drogheda, Ireland.

In 1968 she was assigned to Tanzania. She worked in Makiungu Hospital for nine years, first as a staff nurse for three years and later as matron. She was directress of vocations before completing training to guide women in their early years in MMM. After two years as novice directress in Tanzania, Sister Theresia did further training in religious studies in the USA. She worked in Kitovu Hospital, Uganda for a year before serving for a further five years as vocations and postulant directress in Arusha, Tanzania. MMM opened an international novitiate in Nairobi, Kenya, and she was assistant novice directress for four years.

In 1999 she was on another mission, this time in Ethiopia, where she spent four years as a nurse-midwife. Sister Theresia spent nine years in MMM leadership at both local and congregational levels.

After two years back in the novitiate in Kenya, Sister Theresia returned to Tanzania in 2011. She died in Ngaramtoni on 12 November 2014, after a long illness.

Sister Theresia was a woman of many talents, with a wide experience of MMM life. She was noted for her wisdom, compassion for others, and commitment to mission. Even in the last days of her illness she expressed interest and concern for the work and future of MMM.



USA