A huge ‘Asante sana’ (thank you very much) to everyone who helped set up, prepare, serve, clean up, attend, donate, and bid at our annual Tanzania Dinner and Silent Auction held on November 8th! This is our annual dinner to raise funds to support our companionship with Bomalang’ombe and Vikongwa parishes in the Iringa Diocese of Tanzania. So far, we’ve raised just over $15,000, which will help us maintain our current level of secondary school (high school) scholarships for Bomalang’ombe and slightly increase scholarships for Vikongwa.
We received a batch of thank you letters from some of our sponsored students. These are available on the table in the entry way. Please feel free to take one home and pray for the student!
In Tanzania, the Lutheran Church is growing rapidly. There are currently 129 parishes in the Iringa Diocese, of which 85 have a partner in the St. Paul Area Synod. In 2027, the Iringa Diocese is adding 10 more new parishes. Education and equity are vitally important, so the St. Paul Area Synod has set up funds to provide scholarships for students in unpartnered parishes, diocese-wide postsecondary scholarships, and an infrastructure initiative to complete necessary buildings at the schools owned by the Diocese.
Over and above the scholarships for Bomalang’ombe and Vikongwa, some of the funds we raise will let us continue to modestly support the funds for scholarships at unpartnered parishes, postsecondary scholarships, and school infrastructure projects to finish a science lab at Bomalang’ombe Secondary School.
If you would still like to contribute, you can mark ‘Tanzania’ on your envelope or check, or give online.
