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It is good to be here

 

On 6th of June when our flight AI 127 from Mumbai via Nairobi landed in Dar Es Salaam International Airport it was nothing unusual. However for four of its passengers (we the four regents who came from India) it was something unforgettable, because for the first time we were coming to the Continent of Africa and the first time in our “promised land” - the fulfilment of a long cherished dream, an end to the unrealistic anxieties and apprehensions.

Frt. Jomet Kollapally MSFS

 

We were overjoyed and mesmerized by the sight of our mission land. The people were strange, the tongue was strange, the customs were strange- everything was strange. The first time when we heard Karibuni Sana (Welcome)  it was completely a strange tongue and signified nothing, but as the days passed we began to realize the warmth of Tanzanian hospitality is compressed in these two words of Kiswahili.

 

We were astonished by the simplicity of the people of Tanzania and their trust in the bond of human relationship even in spite of the vestiges of the psychological trauma that the colonial past inflicted on them. The colonial period was brutal for Africa, and the legacy of its devastating past continues to trouble its people. It influenced all aspects of African society and culture. The warmth and vibrancy of the Tanzanian culture that overlook cultural, racial, lingual and national differences and feelings is something beyond admiration. Seeing the cultural and historical heritage of Tanzania I was reminded of the fact that it had begun almost four million years ago when our primitive ancestors first left the forest and walked upright onto the plains (the Homo habalis- Handy man, who had the physical attributes and intelligence to make tools and as such is possible to be the direct ancestor of modern man).

 

This part of the world has much to teach us and to remind us of the gift of life. The life is natural and close to nature and everything has a place in life and every one is part of the society. I was surprised to see the nature untainted by the human touch. When I visited the Mikumi National park I felt I could almost see the fingerprints of the creator.

 

Now after three months of my living in Tanzania I feel very happy and my decision to come to Africa was not a wrong choice. I am content, even in the face of challenges and difficulties and it reminds me of these words “men and women are not limited by their colour, sex or race but by their attitudes”. Beyond the cultural and lingual differences, I feel at home and who knows it is not a home coming, because the Homo habalis are said to have migrated from East Africa to the rest of the world.

 

         

Frt. Jomet Koallapally  MSFS after having  completed his Bachelor Degree in Philosophy and in Arts,  in Bangalore in India has volunteered himself to come to East Africa to continue his formation and further studies. At present he is doing his regency in St. Francis de Sales Junior Seminary in Kihonda,  Morogoro, Tanzania.

 

 

 

 

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Back to OUT OF AFRICA | Vol. 2 (2005-2006)

 

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Updated on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 14:05:30

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