Kerry tractor to the rescue in east Africa — thanks to our small ads
On behalf of a Mallow, Co Cork, charity, he was requesting the donation of a tractor for a parish in the diocese of Mahenge in Tanzania, where people had only hoes to cultivate the earth by hand.
There was no immediate response to his classified ad, and the Mahenge Diocese Educational Trust went on as usual with its mission to raise funds for various projects.
Six months later, Michael O’Connell was doing some chores in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, when a newspaper fell out of a box.
It was the Irish Examiner Farming section of July 14, 2005, and on page 10, he read the advertisement placed in it by Donald Nunan — whose wife Doreen is a native of the same south Kerry parish.
He dialled the Mallow telephone number given in the ad, spoke with Mr Nunan, and asked him: “Did you get the tractor?”
The answer was no, but Michael O’Connell told the surprised and delighted Mallow man: “I have one for you.”
Michael was restoring a Massey Ferguson 135 (a model which was manufactured from 1965 to 1979).
The tractor was fully restored and shipped in a container to Mahenge and the parish of Fr John Malliosi, where it is still being used to work the lands in the limestone plateau.
It is also used to pull a trailer that brings in the harvest in this predominantly agricultural region, and as a means of transport for the local people.
Michael O’Connell’s enthusiasm for the project, however, was not confined to donating the tractor. He also organised a fundraising night in Cahersiveen.
As a result, he was able to contribute tools, implements and typewriters to go with the tractor in the container, along with goods donated from Mallow.
He also presented money he had left over to the Mahenge Diocese Educational Trust.
It covered 40% of the cost of another project — a community centre for women and youths.
Fr Malliosi, who was in Mallow recently, travelled to Cahersiveen to thank John for his gesture, and the local people for their support.
He said the people of his parish were very grateful for the tractor, which was helping to improve the harvest, and serving many other purposes.
Michael, who later attended a reception for Fr John in Mallow, said he was delighted the restored tractor was making a difference in Mahenge diocese, which was established in 1964.
Agriculture in Tanzania is dominated by smallholder farms of between 0.9 hectares and 3.0 hectares. About 70% of the crop area is cultivated by hand, 20% by ox plough, and 10% by tractor.
Maize, rice and beans are the primary crops. There is a dry season from June to October. Water is generally scarce.
The links between Fr Malliosi and Mallow, which is at the heart of one of Ireland’s most intensive and productive agricultural regions, began when he was an arts student at UCC. He took economics as one of his subjects.
Donald Nunan was a lecturer in the economics department at that time, and the priest from Tanzania took some classes from him.
“He was a very enthusiastic student, and did very well in his examinations. He then studied at an American university for two years, before being called back home by his bishop, the late Patrick Iteka, who was also a student of economics at UCC in a previous period.
“Fr John came back to visit me in 1999. As a result, a few of us in Mallow formed a small charity, the Mahenge Diocese Educational Trust Ltd, to raise funds for charitable projects in the diocese and in Fr John’s own parish.
“Our first project was the completion of a partly built youth centre for the diocese. Irish Aid, the Government agency that helps projects in the developing world, gave us a grant of about €55,000. This project was completed about 2004,” he said.
Fr John, who also visited Mallow in 2005, was supplied with a 4x4 type vehicle, thanks to the Trust’s donors, including Irish Aid.
The vehicle is being used as an ambulance, because the priest’s parish is far from a hospital, and patients had sometimes died while being transported by car or lorry.
His next project is the completion of a kindergarten school, again supported by donations to the Mallow Trust, which also awards six scholarships a year so that children in Fr John’s parish can receive secondary education.
Each year, the charity holds a flag day in Mallow during the first week in September, which has enjoyed great support. Other fundraising events are also held.
Mayor of Mallow Cllr Willie O’Regan welcomed Fr John to the town and praised the work of the local fund raisers.
Mr Nunan thanked all donors and supporters, various local bodies, business people, priests and nuns of the parish and volunteer collectors, especially Majorie Melichar.
And, of course, there was a special thanks to Michael O’Connell, for the donation of the Massey Ferguson 135, which is helping rural people in a country far away.
Such gestures on their own might seem small in a global context, but they are vitally important in tackling poverty, hunger and illness in a deprived part of the world.
As a Swahili proverb in Tanzania says: “If you don’t fill up a crack on the wall, in time you will end up building a new house.”
* The contact for any donations to the Mahenge Diocese Educational Trust Ltd is Donald Nunan, Lisieux, Cork Road, Mallow, Co Cork (022-21652).
