The Episcopal Diocese
of Atlanta
Partners
Summer 2006
A newsletter highlighting the ongoing relationship of the dioceses of Atlanta and Central Tanganyika
Editorial Staff: Kathleen Budden, Martin McCann and Sandra McCann
This newsletter is an outgrowth of a roundtable discussion held in Dodoma, Tanzania, on July 5, 2005. This discussion included Bishop Neil Alexander and Bishop Mdimi Mhogolo of Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT), along with many of his priests, teachers, and medical personnel. One of the products of the meeting was to establish liaisons between the Atlanta diocese and DCT. The areas of connection selected to be established were education, medicine, and theological education. The subject of this letter is to introduce these three areas in such a way as to make them real to the Diocese of Atlanta and to spark interest in forming connections with the Diocese of Central Tanganyika.
To begin with, DCT is organized somewhat differently than we are accustomed to in the U.S. The diocese owns and operates six primary and secondary schools, two hospitals, one medical clinic and two theological schools. There are also other businesses such as a drug store, print shop and internet café, to name a few. This is not meant to overshadow the main work of the diocese, which is to preach to gospel in 198 parishes serving 500,000 Anglicans. The diocese has a comprehensive website to be found at www.dct-tz.com, and you are invited to look there to round out the brief synopsis presented here.
Education
Kelly Alexander, daughter of Neil and Lynn Alexander, is currently teaching here at Mvumi Secondary School, some 40 kilometers from Dodoma. This is boarding school that serves Tanzanian students from all over the country, offering them education that prepares them for further study and careers in business, geography, economics, or physics.
Representing education in DCT is Kathleen Budden, diocesan education secretary. She is a native of Australia with nearly 12 years experience in DCT schools. The future of developing countries lies in the education of the young, and Kathleen is involved in upgrading the level of teaching and learning in all of the primary, secondary, and theological institutions. As a way of introduction she would like to take you on a brief tour of these facilities.
All of our schools, except Buigiri School for the Blind, are English medium schools. First, Canon Andrea Mwaka School International, in the heart of Dodoma, is an international school offering both primary and secondary levels to students, so that they might do university in other countries of the world. The students are from all over the world including Tanzania, America, India, Canada, United Kingdom, Holland, Madagascar and Germany. They are continually looking for teachers, and some of the subjects in need are listed on the web site.
Kathleen Budden, education secretary, Diocese of Central Tanganyika
Jubilee High School in Dodoma is a secondary school serving students in the Dodoma area. It is a day school that prepares students for careers using English, Swahili, chemistry, biology, geography, or history as their base.
Bishop Stanway Primary School near Msalato Theological College serves students from Dodoma as well as the northern outlying villages of Vyeula and Makutapora. Holy Trinity Primary School, in one of the eastern suburbs of Dodoma, serves students from the town.
Buigiri School for the Blind, 30 kilometers east of Dodoma is the outgrowth of 1950 mission work. It enrolls 59 blind, 11 severely impaired, and 15 sighted students. Its vision is to equip students to take their place in society, whether that be returning to home villages or pursuing further studies. All of our schools are registered with the Tanzanian government and (apart from Canon Andrea Mwaka School) all of the students sit for national examinations.
The liaisons for medicine and theological Education are Martin and Sandra McCann.
Medicine
The medical side of the diocese consists of Mvumi Mission Hospital, Mackay House Health Clinic, and Hombolo Hospital. Mvumi Hospital is an active 220-bed rural hospital serving a peasant population. There are associated schools training clinical officers, nurses, and laboratory technicians. It treats a wide variety of illnesses, including malaria, anemia, diarrhea, difficult births and cataracts.
Mackay House Health Clinic is in the diocesan headquarters in Dodoma and serves as a walk-in clinic patients. At this facility Dr. Martin McCann, a pathologist, is seeking to build up a histopathology laboratory to serve the central region of Tanzania. He is doing fine-needle aspirations as well a biopsy material.
Hombolo Hospital was a former leprosy hospital some 70 kilometers from Dodoma. Since leprosy treatment was moved to clinic sites in 1995, the hospital has faced a declining patient base and seeks to rebuild services. The Diocese of Atlanta has generously funded a container of medical supplies for these institutions. It has arrived in Dar-es-Salaam and is awaiting clearance through customs. This contribution will help the bottom line of all these health care facilities.
Theological education
Theological education is offered at two facilities. Msalato Theological College is a self-contained campus 10 kilometers north of Dodoma on which all full-time staff live with their families. The college offers two three-year courses in English, one leading to a diploma in applied theology and the other to a bachelor’s degree in theology (BTh.) Msalato is the only Tanzanian institution within the Anglican Church to offer a first degree (equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in religion in the US.) The first degree class will graduate in 2008. Two new classrooms have been built for these students with a generous contribution from friends in the Diocese of Atlanta, and our first fund-raising event for the final two will be held this fall.
All students studying in English must successfully complete a five-month English and study skills course administered by the faculty of the Dodoma Language Institute. For Swahili speakers who are not yet proficient in English, the college offers a diploma in Christian ministry that requires two years of study. In January of 2006 Msalato Theological College was awarded the honor of being designated the theology campus for the new St. John's Anglican University in Dodoma. The first class will begin in 2007. In addition, the college also offers a one year secretarial course taught in English.
Thanks to St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ga., and several friends in the Diocese of Atlanta, the college has wireless internet access on campus along with several computer areas which are shared by the staff and students of the three tracts. Msalato also boasts a fine library, having recently received over 1,200 volumes of books from the Diocese of Atlanta. The guest home for visiting faculty provided by the Diocese of Atlanta will be finished in September.
At the site of the guest house being built at Msalato, thanks to donations from clergy of the Diocese of Atlanta, are (from left) Dr. Martin McCann, Bishop Mdimi Mhogolo, the Rev. Dr. Paul Elliot, Rev. Dr. Sandra McCann, and the principal of Msalato, the Rev. Dr. Dickson Chilongoni.
The Bishop Madinda Christian Formation Center at Matambulu was begun in 2002 in a previous World Vision Conference Center in the village of Matumbulu, 25 kilometers south of Dodoma. The purpose of this center is to train the laity for ministry, including catechists, evangelists and leaders of mothers union and youth. Successful completion of this two-year Swahili course is necessary before entering the Swahili diploma in ministry course at Msalato Theological College.
