September 1, 2011
by Christina Leslie | Correspondent
Maryjane Gallo has long instructed her seventh-grade social studies classes in Holy Cross School, Rumson, about the importance of social injustice and global accountability. This October, the grammar school educator will finally “walk the talk” by assuming the role of English teacher at a Jesuit-run boarding school in Mwanza, Tanzania.
Gallo had inspired her students to financially sponsor volunteers abroad through the Catholic Medical Mission Board, a New York-based Catholic charity focused on global healthcare, over the past two school years.
The children selected Amanda Aiello, a nurse stationed in Kenya, and physical therapist Amber Walker, now working in Peru, as recipients for their fundraising efforts and corresponded with them via blog and telephone.
The CMMB volunteers’ dedication and hard work in the distant countries touched a long-buried desire in Gallo, though the 54-year-old Little Silver resident rarely left the continental United States. “I was never a big traveler,” Gallo said, citing trips to Ireland and Rome as her only overseas excursions. But a momentous decision made decades earlier caused her to contact the CMMB and offer her services this fall. Gallo recalled,
“When I was young, I joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to Kingston, Jamaica. The man I was dating at the time said he would not wait for me to return, so I turned down the assignment. I’ve regretted it ever since.”
“Now is the perfect time for such an adventure; now it’s time to embrace it.”
Gallo’s network of family and friends are supportive of her Tanzanian mission; husband Guy and three grown children Meghan, Charlie and Brian recognize her need to serve others a continent away. “I put this on the back burner for so many years,” Gallo stated. “Now is the perfect time for such an adventure; now it’s time to embrace it.”
Gallo’s upcoming 35-hour journey to Mwanza, located in eastern Africa on the shores of Lake Victoria, will take her from JFK Airport in New York through London, Amsterdam, Cairo and Nairobi before she reaches Tanzania’s commercial capital of Dar es Salaam.
“Then comes a puddle jumper [flight] to Mwanza,” Gallo laughed. “The travel should be pretty wild; I’ll have my rosaries out for that last leg!” Mwanza, a city of about 437,000 inhabitants, has an average per capita income of $21 US monthly and an employment rate of 50 percent; most residents work in the fishing, timber, and animal husbandry fields.
Life expectancy for the average Mwanzaan man and woman is just 55 and 56 years respectively and approximately 70 percent of the city’s people live in unplanned squatter settlements with no electricity and undeveloped roads.
Gallo’s departure date is projected to be October 11 with her return slated for March; though the usual CMMB assignment is a full year, the organization is accommodating the shorter assignment.
At press time, Gallo was uncertain where she will live while in Mwanza; options include being placed with a host family or residing in the Jesuit convent at the school.
To prepare, the educator has spoken with former volunteers stationed in the area, including Richard Galentino, director of CMMB Medical Volunteer Program, and is conducting extensive Internet research.
“Each day I pray I will get more knowledge,” Gallo, a self-professed planner admitted. “The CMMB keeps telling me, ‘There is a saying in Swahili that says ‘Relax, relax, relax and go slow’ or something…”
The Monmouth county native must keep local customs in mind while in the African nation. “I’m a Jersey shore girl and a runner, used to running around in shorts and t-shirts,” Gallo observed. “I can’t do that there.”
Following the CMMB group’s retreat at Stella Maris Center in Elberon, Holy Cross will hold a Mass of Sending Forth and reception on Sept. 15 where Gallo can wish her former students farewell as she embarks on her mission.
