Courtesy of Gregg Prince - Director of Radio Ministry, Gregg Prince, gets a shot to prevent Yellow Fever as he prepares to join Father Ron Sajdak on a mission trip to Uganda.
A group from Buffalo will travel to Uganda in May as part of a mission trip to the Diocese of Maska. Among the group of five participating in the trip will be Father Ronald Sajdak, pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish in Buffalo, and Gregg Prince, director of Radio Ministries.
A major part of their itinerary will be the dedication of the Kitovu Medicine Depot, a project funded by the Reaching Out 2 Africa ministry founded by Father Sajdak.
“It’s a center for which the Diocese of Masaka will be able to buy medicines in bulk and store it in this building, and then redistribute those medicines to the 29 clinics and two hospitals within the Catholic health care system of the Diocese of Masaka,” Father Sajdak said.
Prince will be traveling with the group, taking photos and recording audio and video which he will post on his blog and on the Western New York Catholic website over the course of the two-week trip.
“I really believe in the ministry of this Office of Communications and I have a deep-rooted faith in our Catholic Church, and a love for our Church and the work that people do, not only throughout our diocese, but throughout the world,” Prince said. “So for me, on so many levels, this is just a fantastic opportunity to be part of something like this on the other side of the world.”
The roots of Reaching Out 2 Africa can be found in the justice ministry at St. Bernadette Parish in Orchard Park in the late 1990s, in which Father Sajdak participated.
The mission is much the same now as it was then. The ministry is dedicated to providing outreach to Africa, helping African clergy and assisting African refugees in the Buffalo area.
“In a sense, being people of faith, we watch the door open in front of us and, based on our resources, we do what we can, when we can,” said Father Sajdak.
Since ROTA was founded, Father Sajdak has been to Africa many times and the ministry has funded several projects in Africa, including a cistern well outside a vocational trade school, a girls’ dormitory and a medical clinic.
“It’s very enriching for me personally, but also I hope it’s enriching for the many people from the Diocese of Buffalo who’ve contributed to make these things happen,” Father Sajdak said.
Having a communications professional on the trip will allow the group to better document everything during their visit to the East African country, which will begin May 14. One of Prince’s projects during the trip will be a live streaming of the dedication of the medical depot on the diocesan ustream.tv account.
“I just think it’s a great story and we’re at a time when the technology and the various media are available to cover this story in a way we never would have been able to do previously,” Prince said.
In addition to the dedication, the group will visit a number of other locations, including hospitals and clinics, the Masaka diocesan seminary, the source of the Nile River, the equator line and the Butende Technical Institute.
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