A Short History:
A Vocation to discalced Carmel is a call to live a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ. It is a call towards union with God through Prayer, which results to openness to the Church and to the humanity. Through prayer life, one shares with the Church and the humanity the Joy and hope, sorrow and anguish. These aspects are experienced in the community life whichIt may look strange but true that the mission of the Carmelite friars from the Karnataka Goa Province in Africa is almost coterminous with the foundation of the Province itself. Perhaps this was a worthy tribute to St. Teresa who sent a batch of missionaries to Africa in her lifetime. The nuns, too, felt they should not lag behind. Since it was a first overseas foundation venture it was agreed to garner the participation of as many Carmels as possible in the SW regional association. The letter of the bishop of Musoma, located on Lake Victoria in Tanzania received a positive response from the Indian Carmel for the 2000 jubilee year of salvation. Mother Gemma who was the association president along with Mother Teresa Margaret and Mother Rosemira embarked on a fact-finding mission to explore the land and enter into a deeper dialogue with the bishop. The visit was fruitful and optimism dawned for a foundation with Sr. Rosmira as leader of the group. Eight Sisters volunteered and on the suggestion of the then Superior General a live-in experience period was agreed upon and the volunteers gathered in Hassan Carmel to live as a quasi-autonomous community. However, Sr. Rosmira had to back out due to serious illness, and Sr.Agnes of Mary from Pune Carmel stepped in to fill the breach.
After taking sufficient time to be acclimatized to the culture, language, food habits and the marauding illnesses, the pioneers unanimously decided to build the first Cloistered Carmel on the soil of Tanzania at Bunda in the vicinity of Serengeti national park known as the cradle of humanity in 2001. But soon the Pune community recalled Mother Agnes as her services were indispensable. Mother Margaret was elected in her place and the reduced group courageously went ahead against all odds.
The Bishop received the land from the government for a parish church precisely for this Carmel. The community settled down in an abandoned parish house nearby with very limited facilities.