2,000 trained through local generosity

Some 2,000 young people have been trained in a craft in Tanzania thanks to the help given to Brownstown-born priest Dan Noud by people from Kilcullen and from other parts of mid-Kildare.



And, according to one of his former pupils, Miontini Aco, being able to get a trade school education in Fr Dan's parish means that almost all the students get jobs within six months of graduating.

Speaking at a fundraising event organised by the Bridge Club in Kilcullen, Miontini thanked all those who have helped Fr Dan's mission over the years.

"You're doing what you have always done, provided much needed funds for the work," he said. "Because of what you have done, instead of young people relying on their families to support them, they are able to give help back to their families."

Although primary education in Tanzania is available to virtually all children, Miontini noted that only five percent get further to second level. "And of those, only about two percent get into university," he added. "So it is difficult for most to have an education that will give them good jobs."

He also reminded those present that with the effects of climate change it is becoming increasingly difficult for those living in rural areas to make a living from the land, as harvests are repeatedly failing.

"So as well as helping to educate the young people, the money raised here also goes towards buying food to feed families threatened with starvation."

Speaking about Fr Dan himself, Miontini commented that In a way, Dan himself has become a victim of his work. "He has had ill-health, lost a finger in an accident, had to have an operation last year on a toe that was troublesome ... and he has suffered from malaria for many years," he reported. "In fact Dan is still under 70, but he looks even older sometimes.

"But the problems he faces still represent a challenge to him, and why he does it is still sometimes a mystery to us. Perhaps it is in part due to the fact that he has lived in Tanzania longer than he lived in Ireland, so he is more Tanzanian than he is Irish, in a sense. I thank you all on behalf of Dan and on behalf of the people whom he has helped all the years."

The Bridge Club event raised a considerable sum both from those taking part and from external donations.

A raffle was also held in conjunction with the event, with prizes provided by a wide range of individuals and firms in Kilcullen and other parts of mid-Kildare.

On behalf of TOIL, which the group of helpers for Fr Dan's needs call themselves, Paddy Costigan (pictured below with Emma O'Loughlin and Mointini) thanked everybody who had helped in any way.



Brian Byrne.