“I sold my house in Vienna and built a clinic.”
I sat there, mouth open. Here was a small fair-haired woman, dressed in a baggy beige sweater and a wildly floral skirt who was suddenly a giant in my eyes.
“Who will believe you unless you prove it by your actions?” she asked, her intensely blue eyes sparkling with adventure. I was immediately drawn to this beautiful woman, who, as I was to find out, had given her heart to Africa.
We were sitting in the centre of Momela village, in the shade of an enormous fig tree, eating a lunch of fried chicken and stewed red cabbage. Our safari guide, Emmanuel, had brought us here to meet Dr. Christine Wallner.
“After retiring as a doctor in Vienna, Austria, I wanted to do something meaningful with my life,” Wallner continued in her soft Tyrolean accent.
“First, I looked for opportunities in India but returned home empty handed. Then I came to Tanzania and stayed at a lodge near here. Charles Urio, a safari guide and villager, told me about the need for a dispensing clinic. It would serve six thousand very poor and needy Maasai and Meru tribes who populate the highlands between Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro.”
Today, Momella has not only a clinic, but a hospital, maternity house, dental unit and a school. For the first time, there is now a resident surgeon at Afrika Amini Amana, a non-profit association created by Wallner. Charles, who is Emmanuel's brother, is one of the founding members.
“When you believe, things happen,” Wallner announces. “I tell my Austrian friends that if they’ve had a successful operation, why not give a donation as a way of saying thanks.” Brilliant!
Asked if it’s difficult, this brave woman says, “When I’ve nowhere to go for help I ask the Christ Child to help me and he does."
“Will you return to Austria one day?” I ask.
“I’ll never go back. The love I’ve given these people is something that nobody can take away. I want to be buried here,” is Wallner's quick reply.
Now 73, Wallner looks with pride at what 10 years have accomplished for the people of Momella. She’s been adopted into the Urio family, which includes Charles, Emmanuel and her daughter, Cornelia, also a physician, now works at the hospital.
“Africa Amini Alama” would not exist except for the passion and love that drove Christina to leave her life of quiet comfort to live in a Momella mud hut. Her dreams have come true -- a community saved from sickness and desperation.
I ask myself, “What have I given?”
Mirjam Rand is an Innisfail-area writer and photographer who has travelled extensively. She will be presenting a slide show on the Tanzanian safari at the Innisfail Library/Learning Centre on March 27 at 1:30 p.m.
