A group of 26 Mission Fund volunteers, under the spiritual direction of Fr Marcellino Micallef, left Malta yesterday on a five-week missionary experience in Tanzania to help in a project being carried out at Makiungu hospital.

The project consists of the building of a block to accommodate the medical and paramedical staff who offer their services at this hospital, run by Sr Maria Borda.

Sr Borda graduated in medicine at Dublin University, where she continued her studies in child and maternity care and in tropical diseases. In 1984, she served as a missionary in Tanzania at the Kabanagu hospital and later at Makiungu.

After spending four years in Malta where she specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Malta, she continued her missionary work at Makiungu hospital, where she is still serving. The hospital serves a population of about 400,000 inhabitants.

Mission Fund carried out other projects at this hospital. In 2010, another block was built to accommodate professional staff. This was necessary, as the hospital is in a semi-desert area and the long distances do not permit the staff to return home after work.

The following year, an extension to the maternity ward was built to alleviate the inconvenience for pregnant women who had to share beds between two or three patients due to lack of space. In fact, there are about 1,200 deliveries annually.

Other projects carried out with the help of Mission Fund volunteers include the building of schools and a biogas plant in Kenya, a centre for the homeless and for people with special needs, a fish farm in Guatemala, a dormitory for students attending a college in India and the building of a school in Tanzania. A number of boreholes and community wells were also drilled in Kenya and South Sudan.

Those wishing to help in this year’s project can send their donation to one of these accounts: HSBC 044 102 184 001; BOV 400 170 189 51; and APS 200 00 661 29-5.