Bega Kwa Bega

The Mission of the Iringa Diocese, ELCT

The Iringa Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania is in partnership with the St. Paul Area Synod of the ELCA. The work accomplished through this partnership, called Bega Twa Bega (tr. Shoulder to Shoulder) borders on the phenomenal. My Seminary classmate Don Fultz and his wife Eunice have, for the past several years, given administrative and spiritual guidance during the 3-4 months they spend in Iringa every year. Perhaps the most important aspect of their work is the coordination between ELCA parishes in the USA and individual villages and preaching points scattered over the wide stretch of the Iringa Diocese. The Lutheran Church is growing by leaps and bounds in Tanzania (there are 95,000 Christians in Iringa Diocese and over 600 preaching points scattered around the villages) and partner congregations in the USA assist each parish with visits, funding, and prayer. Bega Twa Bega doesn’t stop there, however, and we were privileged to visit several of the mission projects supported by the partnership.

Tumaini University

Tumaini University is a growing, thriving University preparing young leadership for the future of Tanzania. Established in 1994, Tumaini today enrolls 3,000 students in a wide variety of disciplines and operating on a 6.8 million dollar budget. We sat in on a class and listened to a lecture on Traditional African Religion, and then walked the campus, which is a thing of beauty, surrounded as it is by mountains and a wonderful view of the Town of Iringa. Tumaini has been awarded the rank of University by the government for its excellent record in education. Tumaini also prepares the majority of the pastors for the ELCT.

Dept of Agriculture/Thrivent Micro Finance

Roger Bloomquist, brother of Arnold Bloomquist who founded much of the Partnership activity, is an agricultural specialist who is working with Tumaini and the Tanzanian Department of Agriculture. His primary activity is to establish demonstration plots in outlying villages where he can demonstrate improved farming principles to the village people. Things like minimum tillage, planting in straight rows, proper spacing of plants, planting only a single crop on a plot of land instead of growing pumpkins between the corn rows, the use of good quality seed and proper fertilization can more than double the harvest, giving families not only what they need to eat, but a cash crop as well.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is researching the Micro Finance possibilities in Iringa Diocese, creating what we would call Credit Unions to assist villagers in their advancement. The results are already evident.

Huruma Orphanage

Originally a German Mission, the Huruma Orphanage cares for 39 children between the ages of 5 and 18 years. Under the guidance of one very energetic “Mama” and a small staff, they are received from the streets through referral by relatives or their village pastor. Most of them have lost parents to AIDS, some have simply been abandoned. From the time they are received, they are taught animal husbandry, gardening, sewing, carpentry and other life skills to prepare them to be able to return to the community and safely establish themselves.

Ilula Hospital

Ilula hospital and its small staff of doctors and nurses provide a vital service to the area around Iringa Town. Though its facilities are not as sterile clean as in the USA, clinics, health education, dental care, the birthing of babies and infant care, fairly major surgical procedures and the treatment of diseases like Malaria and HIV are made much more available and accessible.

Image Secondary School

Begun in 2004, the Image (pron. Im-ah-g-ee) Secondary School currently houses and educates 850 students from Form 1-6 (comparable to our grades 8-12). The drop out rate following Form 4 (grade 10) is significant, but those who remain are top-notch students who will likely continue to college. Image is currently building both a new library and a new science lab. Library shelves are mostly bare (there is only one chemistry book for the whole school) and the chemistry equipment is rudimentary, but education goes on! Students were busy in the computer lab learning Excel with the assistance of a brand new laptop computer and a projector. The lab is powered by solar panels that work from about 10am until early evening. Of course, if it rains, the panel are useless. At the end of the day, all 850 students gathered outside to entertain us with singing, gymnastics and dance. Their version of the “snake dance” drew us all in for a few minutes of dancing ourselves!

Isimila Stone age site

Not related to the ELCT, but fascinating nonetheless, is the Isimila Stone Age site. Most of our group made the rather challenging climb down into a canyon river bed, and up the other side to reach the archeological site where stone tools have been found which date back to 400,000 years BC!! The area is beautiful (it reminded Joyce of Bryce Canyon) with many sandstone pillars. David made it down into the canyon, but decided that “discretion is the better part of valor” and turned back along with another of our group. Without guard-rails and other safety considerations, my questionable equilibrium made the decision a no-brainer.