‘It’s a calling’ – Mullingar girl raises funds to help poor in Tanzania
A young girl from Mullingar has been raising funds to provide accommodation and food to poor people living in the village of Mto Wa Mbu in Tanzania.
Olivia Rossi is a 20-year-old nursing student who will be joining a team of 20 locals heading to the East African country this summer.
The mission is organised by local non-profit organisation Tanzanian Heavenly Homes, which Olivia said she was introduced to while in her Junior Cert year of secondary school.
“I remember seeing John McCauley (the charity's founder) in Dunnes Stores when I was with my cousin and we spoke to him about it at the time,” she said.
“From then I knew it was something wanted to do, something I needed to do – it was a calling.
“It stuck with me and last year I knew a few of the girls that went so I spoke to them about it.
"They had amazing things to say, that it changed their lives - it in stone that I really did want to do something like this.”
Ms Rossi said she is looking forward to the experience.
“I feel like I can actually help make a difference and hopefully I can do that by going out there and interacting with these people,” she said.
“I’ve always been a people person and I love talking with people and helping them actively – I feel like this is a calling for me to do that.”
Ms Rossi said Tanzanian Heavenly Homes is about providing shelter and essentials to those who desperately need it.
“When I’m over there I’ll be helping people to provide food with all the other volunteers," she said.
“We will also be providing beds and other essentials like water, clothes, and shoes.
“There is a building that John and the volunteers have already built there that provides shelter for 14 elderly men and recently more land has come up for sale behind it.
“The hope is we can purchase that land and build a home for women because in their culture men and women don’t share accommodation – that’s just their culture and we adapt according to their beliefs.”
Ms Rossi and her friend Chloe Scally, who plans to head to Tanzania on next year’s trip, were in AIB in Mullingar today raising money for the cause.
“People have been very kind to us here,” she said.
"They have been generous and have stopped to ask us questions about it - thanks to everyone who has helped out."
Some 63 million people live in Tanzania where 70% of the population currently live on less than $2 per day.
Information on how to get involved with Tanzanian Heavenly Homes or how to make a donation can be found here.