C.PP.S. Mission Projects - Kamloops

Founded in 1815

C.PP.S. Mission Projects, in both Canada and Tanzania, are guided by the spirituality of the Society of the Precious Blood. This religious community of Priests and Brothers was founded in Italy by St. Gaspar del Buffalo in 1815.

In the spirit of St. Gaspar,

For God it is necessary to do much, quickly and well,

…… much, because He deserves a lot

…… quickly, because our life is short

…… well, because that is the only way to serve God

C.PP.S. Mission Projects constantly work towards development through the Missions. Education, in all phases of life, seems to be a major solution to the problems in the developing countries. The foundation of their success is built upon the commitment of many people who have joined hands “To Help People Help Themselves“.

Over Forty Years in Tanzania

In 1967, at the invitation of the local bishop, Missionaries of the Precious Blood travelled from Italy to Manyoni, in the central part of Tanzania to establish small mission stations. 

The work of the missions was not just spiritual. The local people lacked access to clean water for drinking and cooking, as well as primary and secondary education opportunities and health care. Financial support was needed from Europe and North America. 

In 1973, under the direction of Brother Anthony Canterucci, a Mission Office was set up in Toronto to raise awareness and funds for development projects in Tanzania. From the very beginning the vision was to encourage young people to get involved and ‘help others help themselves.’     

In 1975, Catholic High School students in Ontario began raising funds to help purchase much needed equipment for the missions.  The first fund raising event was held in London, Ontario during the Easter Weekend of 1975.  Students from all across the province participated in a 40 hour Starve-a-thon that raised over $12,000 to purchase a tractor for the mission in Manyoni.  

After reflecting on the success in raising awareness and funds for a small community in a remote part of Tanzania, one of the parents put forward the idea of actually sending some students to see first hand, what life is like in Tanzania and how the church is involved. 

The First Group of Students

In 1976, seventeen of these students made the trip to Tanzania.  Working side by side with the Missionaries and the Tanzanian people, the students helped to construct one of the first windmills in the mission field, in the village of Doroto, 15 kilometres from Manyoni.

The windmill enabled people to have access to fresh, clean water right in their village, rather than having to walk many kilometres to a dirty pool of ground water.   In addition to the windmill, the students also helped build a primary school in the village of Mikiwa.     

CPPS Mission Projects

As a result of the experience of development work, CPPS Mission Projects was born. Energized by witnessing the determination of the people of Tanzania to survive and enjoy life to the fullest, this first group of students returned home to undertake fundraising campaigns to help support the building of more schools and windmills in the central region of Tanzania. 

In subsequent years, other groups of students have travelled to Tanzania to assist in development projects of CPPS Missions.  Well over 200 students and teachers have gained first hand experience working and living in Tanzania over the last two decades, forming friendships with each other and the people of Tanzania. 

It is this unique friendship, and the deep understanding of the struggles, obstacles and future hopes of the Tanzanian people that is the foundation of their experience. This tradition continues to this day with the young people assisting with the many projects and goals we are striving to achieve for those in need. 

Expanding West

Frank and Kelly Tries, two of the early volunteers who met in Tanzania and later were married back home in Ontario, are responsible for bringing this initiative to the west. After moving to Kamloops a decade ago, they shared their Tanzanian experiences with local teachers and youth, and the first western Canadian volunteer group was born.

In 2003, the first Kamloops group travelled to Tanzania, and in 2005 the second group erected the first windmill in the village of Iyumbu, some 20 km outside of Dodoma. A second windmill was erected by volunteers from Toronto in 2006, and a medical clinic was constructed by the third Kamloops group, and the first Airdrie, Alberta group in the summer of 2007. In the summer of 2009 a group of young people from Kamloops and Airdrie were joined by an adult group, also from Kamloops and Airdrie - the first all-adult group to travel.

The Water Project

Some of those early student travellers returned to Tanzania for a couple of years at a time to work with the Mission Projects. Through the dedication of these lay volunteers, a team of Tanzanians was established and trained in the drilling and constructing of windmills and hand pumps.  

Thus it was that the Water Project was born. Originally based in Manyoni, the Water Project is now headquartered in Miyuji, in the northern part of the city of Dodoma.

Supported by four wells on site, the Water Project Compound is the lush, tropical and largely self-sufficient headquarters for all operations, under the direction of Fr. Tim Coday, who’s been in Tanzania for almost 30 years as a brother, parish priest and now head of Water Project operations. Extensive gardens and towering trees provide fresh fruits and vegetables, coffee beans, and livestock provides eggs and meat. Solar energy provides hot water, and by recycling everything, biofuel is produced to cook.

Facilities include the main building where visitors and volunteers live during their time in service, the compound also encompasses storage and brick making facilities, a maintenance yard for building and repairing equipment, a new manufacturing facility for windmill parts that was complete in 2009, and the business office that oversees a staff of almost 80 Tanzanians, including the staff of the new St. Gaspar School now opened within the compound.

From Water comes Education and Health

From the beginning, CPPS has been providing access to fresh, clean drinking water to remote villages. Wells are drilled and windmills erected, using the power of nature to provide a free source of energy to pump the water to the surface. In addition to windmills, hand pumps and electric pumps have been installed in some villages. 

Since 1976, upwards of 600 wells have been drilled in Central Tanzania by CPPS Water Project teams. The Water Project team is completely self-sufficient with drilling rigs and support equipment, and each water project actively involves people from the local areas in the maintenance and operations of the windmills or pumps.

Every single day, it is estimated that over 1 million people in central Tanzania have access to water from the wells and water systems provided by The Water Project.

CPPS Mission Projects is also now involved in education and healthcare. Work in Education includes the recently opened St Gaspar Primary School, within the Water Project compound in Myuji, Dodoma, as well as a girls’ residential school and a trades training facility at the mission in Manyoni

The new St. Gaspar school, once each grade is added, will accommodate close to 1,000 students. Designed by a local Tanzanian architect, it incorporates the warm climate by having external hallways. Each grade level is set in its own building. In addition there is the Main Office Block, a Kindergarten Building, kitchen and washroom facilities, and a residence for the Sisters who teach and administrate the school. Future plans include a full high school on property immediately adjacent to the Water Project Compound. 

Health care initiatives include St. Gaspar Hospital in Itigi, providing almost 400 beds and serving a network of small clinics; a maternity clinic in Chibumagwa; a home for the aged in Manyoni; support for the ‘Village of Hope’, an HIV/AIDS orphanage and treatment centre in Dodoma; and most recently the building of a clinic in the village of Iyumbu, near Dodoma.