Iringa Diocese St. Paul Area Synod Partnership
The St. Paul Area Synod is in partnership with the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania. At the Synod Assembly this year, we learned there are now 66 congregations from this area partnered with a congregation in Tanzania. That partnership involves keeping the congregation in prayer, providing a yearly financial commitment for building up the ministry at their partner congregation, and hopefully, making a life-changing visit to our brothers and sisters in Africa. Many people from the St. Paul Area Synod have been fortunate enough to make this trip. Eyes and hearts are opened.
Pommern Community Partnership
Since the fall of 2003, Gethsemane has been partnered with the Pommern Lutheran Community in Tanzania. It was our great joy to send eleven members to Tanzania in the spring of 2007. The experiences were transforming for our lives and a blessing to both the people of Pommern and Gethsemane. We no longer imagine how our support is helping, but have walked among the people and heard their thankfulness and saw the results. And they have showered us with the love of one Christian to another. We were deeply touched at their kind, very generous ways.
Congregation led by Pastor Himidi Sagga
The congregation at Pommern is over 100 years in ministry. It was founded by German immigrants.
Pastor Sagga came to Pommern as a District pastor early in 2007. He is a faithful, dedicated pastor to the Pommern community. In his reports, he stressed how we can help this community to learn to become a more self-sufficient, independent community. Through the generosity of Gethsemane’s members, we were able to provide Pastor Sagga a motor bike for his extensive traveling to Pommern’s eleven preaching points and other ministry duties.
Preaching Points
There are currently eleven preaching points, but additional preaching points are under development. These are like our mission starts in rural areas and small villages surrounding the village of Pommern. Each preaching point is led by an evangelist under the supervision of Pastor Sagga. The Spirit is very present in these wonderful communities. The following is a list of most of the preaching points:
- Corntho (Ihungulu)
- Ifiga
- Kihesa Mgagao
- Magereza
- Masege
- Mbeya
- Msenglea
- Ukumbi (there is also a school, with a Gethsemane scholarship student, at this location)
- Winome
Pommern Dispensary (Medical Clinic) led by Dr. Godlove
This dispensary is not a separate business or government facility, but rather it is a part of the Pommern parish. The Pommern Dispensary receives medicine, supplies, and medical assistance for serious cases from the Ilula Lutheran Hospital, which is about 40 miles away. Dr. Godlove and his staff of four are on call 24/7 and see approximately 60 people per day. Payment is required up front. When a patient must stay for an extended period of time, the family is responsible for bringing and preparing meals for the ill patient. A separate building is provided to house the patient's family and to provide a cooking room. Malaria is the number one disease being treated. Many babies are delivered each month, and routine newborn care is provided.
Pommern Secondary School led by Headmaster Wilbert Magelanga
Pommern Secondary School is the largest private school in Tanzania. The excellence of this school is well known in Tanzania. There are currently around 900 students enrolled.
The school covers the equivalent to U.S. grades 6 through 12. The six grade levels have two separate graduations: Form 1 to Form 4, followed by a graduation, and Form 5 to Form 6, followed by a final graduation.
Even though the school is church-sponsored by the Pommern parish, they are accredited by the national government. Passing the annual standardized national examinations are mandatory to move to the next Form level. The exams are given at all schools in Tanzania at the same time on the same day, and are timed (three hours, for example). The exams are strictly administered. It takes many months for the students to learn their examination results, and this sometimes causes a delay in starting their education at the next form level.
Scholarships
Gethsemane began supporting the students of Pommern with scholarships in 2004. Six students were sponsored that year, and twelve the following year in 2005. By 2006 that number had grown to 30, and in 2007, the number reached 32. Thanks be to God! The $300 scholarship covers most of the cost for room, board and tuition for the year, but the scholarship student is also required to pay some amount to ensure that they and their family also share the responsibility for their education. Most students would be unable to attend the school without scholarship help, because $300 is the average annual family income for a family in Tanzania. It was a great joy to meet some of our students in our visit to the school.
The scholarship students that Gethsemane supports attend Pommern Secondary School, Bomalang'ombe Secondary School, or Ukumbi School.
Textbooks
When we visited, we found that most classrooms had only two textbooks for the whole class. Books are selected by the teachers and school administration to match their specific curriculum and to ensure that students are well versed in the topics that are that are tested in the national exams. Most textbooks are in English, but are printed locally in Tanzania. There is a new government requirement that each student have a textbook of their own for each class. This has been alarming for those in the school administration, because of the huge additional costs involved. Recently, Gethsemane has made a generous contribution to assist with the purchase of textbooks. Much more financial assistance is needed for textbooks.