Annual Report of the Mission Awareness Committee (MAC) of the Religious Superiors' Association of Tanzania (RSAT) – June, 2000 to June, 2001 I. Follow-Up to the Suggestions of RSAT 1. Ongoing Mission Education of MAC members and members of the congregations and societies in RSAT. a. Mission Awareness Seminar at the Don Bosco College of Philosophy and Youth Studies in Moshi, Tanzania from Monday, 13 November to Wednesday, 15 November, 2000 (three full days). The presenters were Mr. John Mbonde, Father Paul Uria and Father Joseph Healey. The participants were 22 Salesians of Don Bosco seminarians studying philosophy and five staff members. b. Mission Awareness Seminar at the Spiritan Missionary Seminary in Njiro, Arusha, Tanzania from Friday afternoon, 17 November to Saturday, 18 November 2000 (one and a half days). The presenters were Mr. John Mbonde and Father Joseph Healey. There were 122 participants from eight congregations and societies: Assumptionists, Canossian Sisters, Missionaries of Africa, Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA), Pallotines, Passionists, Spiritans and St. Paul the Apostle. The topics at the two seminars included: * "African Oral Literature as a Rich Source of African Philosophy and Theology" * "An African Narrative Theology Based on Proverbs, Sayings, Stories and Songs" * "Basic Distinctions Between Charism, Mission, Local Church, Inculturation and Ministry in Eastern Africa" * "Case Study of Moshi Diocese in the Jubilee Year 2000" * "Impact of the Mass Media on Evangelization" * "Mission in the Jubilee Year 2000 and the First Part of the 21st Century" * "Sayings of East African Urban Youth" * "World Mission Congresses and Celebrations in Rome in October, 2000" The small group discussions focused on the following topic: "If the locally born members of the Local Churches in Africa have the main responsibility for inculturation (that is, they are the main subjects or agents of inculturation), what is the role of the religious congregations and societies especially related to their charisms?" It was decided that these two seminars would be repeated on a three-year cycle basis. 2. Follow-up to the National Mission Congress that took place at Kurasini Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 28 September to 3 October, 1998. At the request of the Secretary of RSAT, MAC members have been involved in the following ways: a. At the request of the Pastoral Department of TEC MAC chose two members from each of the five zones (Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Tabora and Songea) to assist in the coordination of the proposed Zonal Seminars on Mission. MAC members are ready to be both presenters and participants in these seminars b. A committee of three MAC members under the coordination of Mr. John Mbonde was set up to assist in preparing a booklet to be used in the implementation of these seminars. Working with the Pastoral Department of TEC this Swahili booklet (called in English Handbook for Zonal Seminars on Mission) has gone through several drafts. It includes important themes related to mission and evangelisation, a methodology based on the “observe, judge and act” reflection process and specific resources (books, booklets, videos, audiocassette tapes and other audiovisual material) on mission. 3. Outreach of MAC throughout Tanzania: a. After consultation with Archbishop Anthony Mayala and others, MAC – Mwanza (a Mission Awareness Committee Working Group in the Mwanza Zone) has been officially started. Five people attended the first meeting on 28 April with three other people interested. The coordinator is Sister Rita Ishengoma, STH. The committee has begun by educating people about mission awareness and their responsibilities starting with practical ways on how to reach four parishes in Mwanza Archdiocese: Nyakahoja, Bugando, Nyakato and Kirumba.  The committee will meet on 11 August to prepare for World Mission Sunday (21 October, 2001) especially using Radio SAUT. b. Our 23-27 April, 2001 meeting of MAC took place in Morogoro. We had 34 participants including seven from Morogoro. It was an excellent opportunity to visit the Local Church in the Morogoro area. A one-day field trip that included a tour of the Studios of Radio Ukweli, a visit to the Salvatorian Institute and various Houses of Formation of religious congregations and a meeting (with songs and speeches) with children of the Pontifical Society of Holy Childhood in St Mary’s Parish, Modeko was very valuable. While the travel costs are high, the opportunity to extend MAC to the whole of Tanzania makes it worthwhile. II. New Developments, Activities and Challenges 1. At our April, 2001 meeting of MAC Father Leo Bagenda, I.M.C. of the Consolata Missionaries was chosen as the new Chairperson. This will give the Coordinator more time to focus on the projects of MAC. New members have joined MAC from the Franciscan Conventuals, Salesians of Don Bosco and Salvatorian Fathers and Brothers. 2. Father Joseph Healey, M.M. represented MAC and RSAT at the World Mission Congress that took place in Rome from 18-22 October, 2000. A member of MAC, Sister Ligaya Paderon, FDCC, represented the RWSAT. This year 2001 has been devoted to follow-up and implementation. The overall theme of our monthly Swahili radio programme "Sisi Sote Ni Wamisionari" (Swahili for "We Are All Missionaries") on Radio Tumaini is: “Let us live and implement the resolutions of the Congresses of the Jubilee Year 2000 in order to make permanent the missionary spirit.” MAC members including priests from the Capuchins, Consolata, Maryknoll, Missionaries of Africa and Salvatorians and a sister from the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa participated in a panel discussion on "Mission in the Year 2001" produced by Video Tumaini and broadcast in the "Amani Kwenu'" series on Coastal Television Network (CTN) on Epiphany Sunday, 7 January, 2001. 3. MAC members use e-mail and the Internet more and more to share ideas and information and to promote mission awareness. For example, we download and distribute church documents on mission in both electronic and paper formats. When Father Alfons Ndekimo, the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Tanzania, translated Pope John Paul II's 2000 Message for World Mission Sunday into Swahili we scanned the text into a computer and sent it around the world by e-mail and posted it on several Internet websites. 4. With the rapid growth of Catholic FM Radio Stations in Tanzania the Tanzania Episcopal Conference has encouraged the exchange of radio programmes. So far MAC has sent audiocassette tape copies of its monthly Swahili radio programme "Sisi Sote Ni Wamisionari," originally broadcast on Radio Tumaini, to the following stations: Radio Chemchemi (Sumbawanga), Radio Faraja (Shinyanga), Radio Kwizera (Ngara), Radio Maria (Songea), Radio SAUT (Nyegezi), Radio Ukweli (Morogoro) and Radio Zanzibar in Tanzania; Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), Nation Radio FM and Radio Baraka in Kenya; and Vatican Radio in Rome. Audiocassette tape copies of the programmes are also being used in small listener groups (such as convents of African Sisters). 5. Through e-mail, regular mail and personal visits MAC has developed close collaboration with people and groups involved in mission awareness in Kenya including Rev. Eugene Ferrari, I.M.C., the National Director of PMS, the Mission Promotion Team of the Comboni Missionaries, Lwanga Communications of Mombasa Archdiocese, the Social Communications Department and Documentation Service of AMECEA and New People and The Seed Magazines. III. Finances 1. Means of self-reliance are: a. The seminary (or whoever is the sponsoring group) that invites us pays transportation and room and board for the MAC-coordinated Mission Awareness Seminars, for example, the seminars in Moshi and Arusha in November, 2000. The total contribution from the two seminars including a stipend for the MAC activities and projects was 121,275/=. b. Profits from the sale of books and booklets on mission. NOTE: This provides very little revenue, for example 22,000/= Tanzanian Shillings so far in 2000-2001. c. A stipend from a talk on mission was 40,500/=. d. A stipend for an article in the Sunday Observer was 10,000/=. 2. The General Fund of RSAT pays the room and board for participants at meetings of MAC. The Maryknoll Society of Priests and Brothers contributed $1,000 for the work of the Coordinator of MAC in 2001 and has agreed to contribute $1,000 in the year 2002. 3. We are very grateful for the following contributions from RSAT Members and individuals to help finance the activities and projects of MAC in 2001: Consolata Missionaries (Priests and Brothers) 300,000/= Consolata Missionaries (Sisters) 100,000/= Father Marien van den Eijnden, M.Afr. 30,000/= Maryknoll Society 324,000/= MSOLA 100,000/= Anonymous Gift 100,000/= ____________ TOTAL: 954,000/= Tanzanian Shillings 4. Expenses: a. Local travel in the Dar es Salaam area and to and from Morogoro. b. Books and booklets on mission. c. Audiocassette tapes, videocassette tapes, posters and other audio-visual material. d. Running expenses especially photocopying, stationary and postage. e. New special projects include: i. 300,000/=: Books, booklets and tapes on mission for MAC members and mission awareness seminar participants. ii. 120,000/=: Contribution toward four special mission-related videos on "Amani Kwenu" (in cooperation with Video Tumaini). 5. Plans for the rest of 2000 and 2001: We count on the generosity of RSAT members to make financial contributions for the ongoing and new activities and projects of MAC especially in the 2001 and 2002 Calendar Years. Rev. Joseph G. Healey, M.M. -- Coordinator Mission Awareness Committee (MAC) – Kamati ya Kuhamasisha Roho ya Umisionari RSAT P.O. 5124 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 22 June, 2001 4