Last month, the Church provided 74,000 fruit tree seedlings — including avocado, mango, lemon, orange and guava — for planting at schools, hospitals and homes of families in need at seven locations across the Dodoma region of central Tanzania.
The region is an arid one, and the trees will also be used to beautify town squares and provide shade.
It is just the first portion of what will be 130,000 fruit tree seedlings that the Church will donate in the districts of Arusha — at the foot of Africa’s tallest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro — and Dar es Salaam, the country’s largest business and population center, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
Dar es Salaam Tanzania District President Juventinus M. Rubona represented the Church at the donation event in Dodoma on Nov. 16.
He thanked the Tanzanian government for allowing freedom of worship and reiterated the Church’s ongoing humanitarian support in the areas of health, education, food security and water supply.
“We do these things as a gesture of love to our fellow man. As followers of Jesus Christ, we do those things that He did while He was here on earth of caring for the needy and poor,” he said.
Dodoma commissioner Rosemary Senyamule expressed her sincere appreciation. “Our partnership with the Church will boost lives in terms of food, the environment and economic conditions,” she said.
Government officials said the fruit trees will benefit children by improving their nutrition, which will lead to increased school attendance. The trees will also improve families’ economic conditions and beautify neighborhoods.
The Church is working in collaboration with Dodoma government officials and the charitable organization Foundation for the Educational and Environmental Advancement of Tanzanians to manage the distribution, planting and care of the fruit trees.
