Executive Council

1. Official inauguration of the Bishop’s Fund for Education and Development in August 2004.
2. Continued plans for the opening of a University college of Tumaini University.

This is another major achievement which one can call “historical” not only for the church but also for the Tanzanian society at large. We are sure that the daughters and sons of the NED are proud of these developments. We are also sure that songs of praise to God will be heard when these news break through. Lets get some details of each of the decisions. 

According to previous plans the Fund was supposed to be inaugurated in 2003. This is according to the information that one collects from the diocesan website www.elct-ned.org. After opening the page you get this information under the title “what we do”. However, due to circumstances that couldn’t be avoided the event of inauguration was postponed without fixing any other particular date. It was not until the election of the new Executive Council and thereafter in its first meeting that the issue was brought for decision to the council by the preparatory committee of the fund. The Executive Council affirmed the proposal presented by the committee. This act by the Executive Council gave the committee free hand to work out the details which were presented to the Executive Committee and then to the Executive Council that met on the above mentioned date.

Date and place of Inauguration

Now, here we are! The fund is to be inaugurated on the 1st or 8th August 2004. The exact date is to be affirmed soon after receiving confirmation from the Guest of Honour. The event will take place at the Cathedral in Lushoto.

Who is the Guest of Honour?

According to the proposals by the preparatory committee which were confirmed by the Executive Council, it was clear that the NED Members wanted to have their country’s president Hon. Benjamin W. Mkapa as Guest of Honour on that very special occasion. The invitation has already been sent and we hope that after a while everything will be clear.

Other Guests

Preparations are under way to send official invitations to the NED’s friends inside and outside the country. However, we kindly ask our partners all over the world to mark in their calendars the dates mentioned above. We are sorry for the delay to inform you. However, just remember that we will be happy to have you with us on that day. Be sure that our invitation is on the way. You are all very special for us. Join us in prayers for that day.

What Events will mark the day?

Since the 5th August 2001 when the fund was officially announced by the then newly consecrated bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Munga, the congregations of the NED started a tradition of contributing to this fund by having special collection on the first Sunday of August each year. That is the reason why even the inauguration ceremony is planned for similar dates.

This is a great event for the church in the NED. We, members of the NED, hope that it will be a glorious day. Obviously, the opening service in the Cathedral will open the gate of heaven for the pouring out of God’s blessings that will make that day a real glorious one. It is our prayers that God will bless his people with peace during that occasion.

Apart from normal things during such occasions, like good food, good music, happy and smiling faces, etc, we expect also to collect money for the fund. This time we expect to collect a big amount of money. If possible we want to collect about Tshs. 50,000,000/= (50.000 US$). Don’t hesitate to bring your US dollars or Euro because everything will be counted to add to that targeted amount. MONEY! Actually that is what is needed in order to reach those young people from poor families and help them. The vision and objectives of this fund will be met only if we have money.

We thus invite our friends, all of them, to join us and support us in fulfilling this prophetic vision for our country and her people. Christians of the NED are committed to this vision and mission and believe that through it we can see a brighter future for our generations to come. If you think that you cannot join us by being physically present, then please join us by sending your contribution to us.

A word of Thanks

The Bishop, on behalf of the Executive Council and all Christians of the NED, wants to thank all the NED congregations, all NED is friends in Tanzania, Germany, Sweden and the USA who have continuously being supporting this fund through their contributions. It is by your contributions up to date that we are encouraged to continue towards this good cause. May God bless you all! 

The Executive Council had also decided upon proposals brought by a committee working on the issue. Focusing on a number of issues such as the number of universities in the country as related to the number of youths qualifying for higher education, the Executive Council decided to increase efforts in order to open a university college that will join the family of Tumaini University.

Another factor, which the Executive Council looked upon is the compass where this college can be situated. The NED has buildings and institutions which can be used for this purpose. Detailed information about this decision will appear in the diocesan webpage soon. Together with that decision, the Executive Council has requested the committee dealing with this project to work out the details and clear plans for opening this university college.

This is also a big decision taken by the Executive council. We are sure that Christians of the NED will receive the news with great joy. For many years the NED had been used as an incubator of different ELCT education projects but all those institutions were moved to other places. History shows that Makumira University College started at Lwandai in the NED, but was later moved to where it is situated now. Morogoro Lutheran Junior Seminary started at Vuga Bible Center in the NED, Mwanga School for the Deaf started at Magamba in the NED but was moved to where it is situated now. There is also a possibility that Ilboru Secondary School has its roots in the NED.

If that is the pattern of the history of the NED, then we encourage the plans to open a university college to continue. Such news is not just a comfort to the NED rather they reflect real commitment to development. As a matter of fact this is good news to the Tanga Region, which is among the regions lagging behind in educational matters. At the bottom of everything this university college will offer new opportunities to the youths of this nation. That means, more youths will have the possibility to join university. Thanks to the preparatory committee and thanks to the Executive Council.

God bless the NED

God bless Tanzania!!