Education for social change in Tanzania

Background information

As early as ten years after the first Herrnhut missionaries came to East Africa, training of local theologians began in 1901 at the Rungwe mission station. In the meantime, most of the provinces of the Moravian Church in Tanzania have their own theological training centers where future pastors are trained and educated. The church is also the sponsor of Teofilo Kisanji University (TEKU) in the city of Mbeya, where doctoral studies in theology are now also possible.

The Teofilo Kisanji University Theological Seminary offers an academic and ecumenically open and globally networked education. The courses are also taken by students from Kenya, Malawi and Zambia.

Project goals

• Graduates find answers to challenges facing society as a whole (HIV, poverty, violence, inequality)
• Graduates contribute to the holistic development of the country
• Students gain access to a high quality theological education
• Students are sensitized to the importance of interfaith relations, especially between Christians and Muslims

Target groups

• Students at the Faculty of Theology of TEKU
• 200 multipliers (church leaders, pastors)

Activities

The following activities are planned for 2023/24:

• Promote teaching, specifically in the areas of inclusion, gender justice, peacebuilding, Christian-Muslim relations, ecumenism, and prevention of HIV and domestic violence.
• 6 scholarships for undergraduate studies for disadvantaged women.
• Promote networking and exchange with national and international theological education institutions.

Project progress

Mission 21 was able to award scholarships at the end of 2022 to six women for a bachelor's degree in theology, who have since studied with great zeal and success. This degree will prepare them for further leadership roles in the church. They were taught for one semester by Bernese theologian Pia Moser-Gfeller, who served as a guest lecturer at TEKU. A Bachalor degree will qualify them for further leadership roles in the church. They will be taught by Rev. Pia Moser-Gfeller from Bern, who has been sent to Mbeya as a guest lecturer for one semester. TEKU lecturers have conducted in-service training for pastors and leaders on the topics of interfaith relations, ecumenism, inclusion and gender justice. These contributed to the fact that persons in leadership responsibility in the church and society become capable of speaking on important social issues.