Education for social change in Tanzania

Background information

Just ten years after the Herrnhut Mission came to East Africa, the training of local theologians began at the Rungwe mission station in 1901. Most of the provinces of the Moravian Church in Tanzania now 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 theological doctoral studies are now also possible. The theological seminary of Teofilo Kisanji University offers an academic, ecumenically open and globally networked education. The courses are also attended by students from Kenya, Malawi and Zambia.

Project goals

• Graduates find answers to challenges facing society as a whole (HIV, poverty, violence, inequality).
• Graduates learn skills that they can use for the holistic development of the country. Students gain access to a high-quality theological education.
• Students are sensitized to the importance of interreligious relations, especially between Christians and Muslims.

Target groups

• 6 scholarship holders at the Faculty of Theology at TEKU
• Approx. 200 multipliers (church leaders, pastors)

Activities

The following activities are planned for 2024:

• 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

At the end of 2022, Mission 21 was able to award scholarships to six women for a bachelor's degree in theology, who have been studying with great enthusiasm and success ever since. With this degree, they are prepared for further leadership roles in the church. They studied for one semester with Pia Moser-Gfeller, a theologian from Bern, who was sent to Mbeya as a guest lecturer for one semester each in 2022/2023 and 2024.

TEKU lecturers and external experts provided in-service training for pastors and leaders on the topics of interfaith relations, ecumenism, inclusion and gender equality. These helped to ensure that people with leadership responsibilities in the church and society were able to speak out on important social issues.