Pommern Village Choir

In June-July 2007, seventeen adults and youth from the Plymouth Church UCC in Framingham spent two weeks in Tanzania. This mission trip was an extension of work begun in Tanzania by Bob Ahearn, a longtime member of our church in conjunction with Global Volunteers and the Iringa Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania.

While visiting a small, remote village called Pommern, the folks from Plymouth Church were embraced by the residents and made to feel a real part of this community. This 2007 mission trip was a moving and life changing experience for the congregants who traveled to Tanzania. It also marked the beginning of a journey for the entire Plymouth Church family, expanding our understanding of what it means to be Christian “neighbors.”

One of the distinctive strengths of Pommern is the rich choral music which it produces. The secondary school in the village routinely wins regional choir competitions. With this in mind, the Plymouth Church Africa Mission Group formulated a challenge to deepen the relationships begun last summer. On October 10, 2008 we welcomed a choir from the village of Pommern. The choir, hosted by families of Plymouth Church, spent a little over four weeks visiting and performing 32 concerts in a variety of churches, schools and community organizations in Eastern Massachusetts. For a complete schedule of their venues, click here.

The Pommern Village Choir produced an audio CD which is available for purchase. Proceeds from the Songs for Fresh Water tour will be used to bring life giving water to Pommern and surrounding communities. Additionally a DVD is available of the choir perfoming at the Framingham Civic League during their Eastern Massachusetts tour. For more informaiton or to purchase the DVD click here. To learn more about the Plymouth-Pommern relationship and the water project, view the video and look below for more information.

[please hover your mouse over the video to see the video controls and hit PLAY]

Kilolo Water Project

Pommern is a remote village in the Kilolo District of Iringa. In this district access to clean, water is severely limited. Some villages have no access to safe water or are more than three miles from any water source. During the time the Plymouth Group was in Pommern we worked to fund repairs for a pump and to install and repair broken pipes that provide river water to several areas of the village. While this system provides a modicum of water the quality of this river water is not good.

Bob Ahearn, who lead the Plymouth Mission Trip in 2007, has long been aware of this problem. Bob and Ron Reed, Bob’s long friend and colleague have worked in Tanzania for more than 10 years. Over the past year Ron has begun to drill wells in the region to meet this long standing problem. Working with a local NGO, the Iringa Development for Youth and Disabled Children, Ron has recruited technicians and trained groups of young people to work in teams using multiple drilling rigs. To date several successful wells have been dug throughout the region. Yet the need for more wells is great. Forty out of the eighty villages in the district are in need of wells.

While drilling wells is one of the most efficient and economical ways to secure clean water, the costs still place a strain on the local economy. A completed well costs approximately $2,200. Individuals or organizations who wish to finance a local well can make a huge difference in the quality of life in a community. If you or your organization would like to sponsor a well or provide resources to support the village of Pommern in other ways please send your check to the address below. Please make your check out to Plymouth Church UCC and in the memo line write "Pommern Village Fund". Proceeds from Pommern Village Choir tour will be used to support the drilling of wells and provision of fresh water throughout their region. Pommern has no wells at this time. But with your help they will.

We hope you will enjoy these ambassadors who bring you…. Songs for Fresh Water...

To purchase audio CDs of the Fresh Water Tour click here. For a DVD of their concert performance click here

To learn more about how to support this project or learn more about the choir contact:

The Reverend Peter Cook
Senior Minister
The Plymouth Church in Framingham, United Church of Christ
87 Edgell Road
Framingham, Massachusetts 01701
508-875-1364 Ext. 103
pcook.plymouth@gmail.com

To learn more about Plymouth Church UCC in Framingham click here.