Missions

Our Work

We are missionaries with Pioneers of Australia and have been seconded to work with the Reach Tanzania ‘Wholistic Ministries Team’ to empower leaders to reduce maternal mortality and transform their communities.

Women in Africa have an average of 1 in 16 chance of dying as a result of pregnancy, compared to 1 in 1800 in the developed world.

Many women throughout Africa are oppressed, impoverished, and suffering under a heavy burden of responsibility and neglect. In Tanzania, every day 35 mothers and 120 newborn die, and 700 more women suffer ongoing complications from giving birth. As there are many contributing factors to why the women in Tanzania are suffering and dying, there are many areas that need to be addressed to have a positive impact on their lives. Due to this, we as a team, will be taking a multi-dimensional, wholistic approach to community development. One that empowers them to transform their communities rather than relying on relief or living with this unacceptable situation.

We are going to respond to the plight of the women by developing, empowering, and releasing leaders to transform the lives of women and their communities. The team will use two main tools to do this, called Community Health Education (CHE) and Women’s Cycle of Life (WCL).

The Reach Tanzania team, by using these tools, will be partnering with existing organisations and ministries to meet these needs. We don't want to start a competing ministry but would rather further equip or assist current ministries in empowering and supporting women and communities in a wholistic manner. They are joining hands to work together to make a difference.

Our work is multi-dimensional in that it will address the educational needs in both the communities as well as the healthcare system. It focuses on building a bridge between the women in the communities who are suffering and dying and the clinics and hospitals which are currently not meeting their needs. Women are empowered by gaining understanding and choices in preventative health, while health professionals are empowered through learning up-to-date practices and how they can reach their communities.

The team is currently planning to:

  • Work in colleges to help mentor and train the health professionals who will be placed in clinics in the remote villages.
  • Be consultants and train rural midwives and health professionals in a specialized birthing centre that will be starting up in Arusha.
  • Join with Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF) to train Pastors and their wives in WCL.
  • To teach CHE/WCL in a Bible College.
  • To teach WCL in “Shining a Light” a women’s empowerment center.

Community Health Evangelism

CHE is a tool which helps communities to recognize and then work together to meet their own needs in a holistic manner. It addresses all aspects of health including the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and environmental. It focuses on disease prevention and facilitates community projects.

Woman's Cycle of Life

WCL is an arm of CHE that focuses on women, creating a method to reach out to women in community. Through the use of role-plays, storytelling, and trainings, WCL teaches women truths about their bodies and lives that then brings them both health and renewed hope to their situation.

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Rick & Fiona Jara
(Rick 15/11, Fiona 25/4)

About Us

Rick and Fiona met at the Bible College of Victoria in 1998 after Fiona had returned from working as a single missionary for 2 years in Niger, and Rick finished working in IT support at a Melbourne Tafe to see where God was calling him. They then married in September 2000.

Rick and Fiona have a desire to see people come to Christ through their work of empowering women and by reduce the maternal and infant mortality rates within Africa. They would like to use their IT and midwifery skills as a bridge for connecting with people and opening opportunities for providing and encouraging discipleship.

Rick has a background in computers (qualified computer programmer) and IT support. He has enjoyed gaining experiences working in Colleges and organisations, and starting up his own IT Support business (for home-users) whilst in Australia before using his IT skills to help communities in Africa. Whilst in Nigerla, Rick was training teachers in basic computers in a Boys Secondary School in Gindiri, providing IT advice and support to other schools, hospitals, and other organisations. He then assisted the local church by helping them set up a computer maintenance business, and an internet café, and trained another church in video editing and recording. Rick was also kept busy with helping missionaries with their IT needs, and his wife with designing a booklet and preparing PowerPoint presentations. All of these experiences should help him in our next term of ministry in Tanzania, where he is also looking forward to how he can use his skills to support the church and disciple men.

Fiona is a nurse and midwife with a wide variety of nursing experiences in both Australia and overseas. They range from working as a factory nurse, to nursing on a variety of wards in both public and private hospitals, to surveying communities and doing community development work, teaching at a midwifery school, speaking at conferences and workshops, to setting up birthing centers. Many of her experiences have taken her out of her comfort zone but have managed to stretch and develop her for greater ministries and a passion to help empower women. In her past she has used her love for sport (in particular basketball and table-tennis) to connect with people in community, build relationships and creating opportunities to minister. She is looking forward to see how God will use her to impact communities in Tanzania, East Africa.

Their whole family are looking forward to returning to Tanzania where they have made friends, have joined a vineyard church, the girls have schools to attend, and are excited about the work ahead of them.

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Tiana (25/04/03)

Tiana loves to sing and design. Tiana has a real create flair and a heart for God.

Emily (20/12/04)

Emily loves animals and has a natural way with them.

Janae (10/04/10)

Janae is a very confident, outgoing girl.

Talisa (07/12/12)

Talisa enjoys attending Mainly Music in Warrnambool.

Out team

The Jara family have been working as missionaries with Pioneers of Australia for many years now and we have only recently joined the Wholistic Ministries Team of Reach Tanzania. This is an NGO that stems from a missionary organization in USA called Reach Global.

The Wholistic Ministries Team is a new and growing team, currently made up of 3 families. Our team leaders, Tony and Holly Freitas, and David and Mary Ann Taylor are from USA and our family (the Jaras) are from Victoria, Australia. There are a few more people considering joining our team.

The Freitas family

The Taylor family

Our Extended team – is everyone who makes the work possible. This ranges from prayer partners, financial supporters, to the people in Pioneers of Australia who are our missionary sending organization.

Pioneers is an interdenominational organisation (which means we are not exclusively associated with any one church denomination) with many sending bases in different countries, including USA, UK, NZ, and Australia. There goal is to work in teams to reach the unreached.

Past Missionary work

  • 2015...

  • Tanzania, West Africa

    As missionaries with Pioneers of Australia, we do voluntary work. Which means we need to raise the funds to live and work in Tanzania. We are excited by the opportunity to be able to work in Tanzania and transform the lives of many women in East Africa, but we can’t do it alone.

    We are in Australia right now, and are looking for people to financially pledge monthly support.


  • 2014-2015

  • Tanzania, East Africa

    The Jara family joined the Wholistic Ministries Team with Reach Tanzania. They spent 6 months meeting the Reach Tanzania teams and seeing how our team could address the needs of the women in Tanzania. Rick and Fiona then sought partnerships (organisations already working with women such as ‘schools of nursing’) that our team could work alongside with.

    Photo caption

  • 2013-2014

  • Ghana, West Africa

    The Jara family joined a team in Ghana to work with the CHE (Community Health Evangelism) Internship training centre. Fiona also supported Women’s Cycle of Life for countries in West Africa.

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  • 2007-2012

  • Nigeria, West Africa

    The Jara family worked in Nigeria as missionaries with Pioneers of Australia. Rick taught computers at a Boys Secondary School for the first 2 years and then for the following years set up and ran a computer workshop for the church in Jos. Fiona worked with strategies for reducing maternal and infant mortality rates. This led to surveying and supporting clinics and hospitals, teaching at a School of Midwifery, setting up birthing centres, and community development programs.

    Photo caption

  • 2002

  • West Africa Survey Trip

    Rick and Fiona went on a 3 month survey trip where they explored the needs and ministries in Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon. It was during this time that God confirmed His calling on them as a couple to work in West Africa.

    Jos, Nigeria

  • 1996-1998

  • Niger, West Africa

    Fiona worked as a single missionary with SIM in Niger. She went as a nurse working in their Galmi hospital. The first year Fiona’s focus was on being ‘in charge’ of the surgical ward, and the second year she focused on training the local nurses to take over the work.

    Fiona at the Gamli Hospital