Solidarity arrives… on a seahorse

An act of solidarity can often travel a long, windy road, full of surprises. Sometimes, it can even disappear into an abyss and reemerge a thousand kilometres away.

Six thousand kilometres separate Italy from Tanzania; one of the poorest countries in Africa, despite its valuable natural resources, which have been marred by civil wars and disease (AIDS and malaria above all); things that seem very far away to those who are used to comfortable living, and don't look beyond their daily lives.

Those who practice diving, however, are usually travellers by choice, and are used to getting to the "bottom" of things; diving into the reality that surrounds them, and even making decisions that can save a life: their own, and also that of others.

It's with this spirit of solidarity and community that DAN Europe has decided to join an initiative helping the African children, those who are innocently destined to fall victim to mechanisms much bigger than themselves. The only way out at the moment is through the good sense and generosity of those who refuse to accept the state of things as they are.

Through our partner Ossidabile, which many DAN members already know and appreciate for the necklaces available in our Shop, we have come to know the situation of the mission of Morogoro, situated in the heart of the Tanzanian savannah, and active since 1995 thanks to the operation of the Collegine Sisters Holy Family.

The actions of these women go well beyond promoting literacy and evangelical missions. They keep the missionary motto in mind, which says, "You cannot speak of God to an empty stomach." With courage and altruism they push on where no one else dares to go; among poor huts of mud and straw, lacking water and electricity, in search of abandoned children: orphans of parents who have died of AIDS, children of teen mothers – sick, or driven into conditions of exploitation and prostitution. The Sisters bring them to the mission, the only possible refuge, and try (with their poor resources) to protect them from servitude and mistreatment, feed them and cure them, and to give them some guidance; basically, to give them back their childhood.

Of course all this has a cost, non only a human one, but an economic one. It is here that solidarity comes into play… with the cooperation of benefactors who have hope. For how important the mission is to the local population, it does not actually receive any finances from the Catholic church, nor from the Tanzanian government. Instead, chance (or a higher power, for who believes) has made this real, through a contact with an Italian volunteer, that moved by the abnegation of the nuns and by the smiles of the children, has chosen to support the hearts of its friends.

Among them, Ossidabile, who has taken part in a project aimed to finance the purchase of a tool necessary for the survival of the small, yet great, community of Morogoro… a new tractor. The old one is broken and without it, as the Sisters have recounted, it has become impossible to cultivate the land, to transport useful materials to the mission, and to see to the needs of 500 small children.

By means of its online shop, DAN Europe has immediately taken up and launched Ossidabile's invitation. Then going a step further, DAN is donating all proceeds from sales of DAN Shop's seahorse pendant (the symbol of solidarity and kinship) to the mission of Morogoro, and, for those who do not wish to purchase this jewelry item, it is possible to make a direct donation.

To learn more

Write to the sisters
 Purchase the seahorse pendant in DAN Shop
 Make a direct donation to the mission
 Read our press release