Making It Possible

Goodbyes are sad. Who said parting is such sweet sorrow? Sweet?!?

 

Some would say that I have lived for the past ten months around the world, far  from my family and friends. They would be wrong.

 

The truth is that I have been adopted by a whole caring community.

 

Take for instance Caroline and Michael Shedafa. They have taken me in as one of their own.

 

Two years ago when I first worked in Lushoto, I lived with Caroline and her two boys. When I returned to the United States, we stayed in close touch. Last summer they greeted me warmly and gave me a bed in which to sleep until my house was ready.

 

Caroline married Michael in December. The friendship doubled. Many of my holidays and the events that have become special memories were spent in their family.

 

Throughout life we are blessed to meet people who are kindred spirits. As I pack my suitcase, I know that the Shedafa family will be part of my life for years and years to come. I will track Godlisten and Edson’s growing years for they and their family have captured part of my heart. I will think of them often and pray for them unceasingly.

 

It is not work only that defines us but the people we meet along the way.

 

The mission completed in Tanzania this year is significant. You and I, working together, have accomplished much.

 

And…

 

I realize as I pack my bag that it is the people, my friends and new family, who have shared their lives along the way that have made it possible.

 

They have carried me through many challenges and I will carry them back to Philadelphia in my heart.

 

Amani,

Amanda

SEKUCo Makes the Grade

Last month we had a visit from the Tanzanian Commission for Universities. In mid-May, a committee of five came to SEKUCo to observe and check on our progress. What they found is a university that has grown substantially, both in academic ability and administrative skill.

 

We gave the members of TCU a tour of the university. Each department head gave a detailed description of his or her department’s strengths and weaknesses. I had the privilege of showing the committee our new equipment for students with visual impairments and teaching them how it works. 

 

Before leaving Magamba, the TCU committee gave their report on how they see our performance – we made the grade! – and suggested ways we can improve. Additional documentation will follow.

 

In the midst of meetings and administrative responsibilities it is easy to lose sight of the reasons why we are doing what we are doing. I had the opportunity to refocus recently and see first hand why we are fighting for the rights of children with disabilities.

 

In a small town about five kilometers north of SEKUCO lives a women with a child who has Down syndrome. Because of his disability, her child has been left out of school his whole life. This mother wanted, needed to change his reality and started a school for children with disabilities.

 

She turned an old two room chicken coop into a school for seven children. The children came to her with no official education in their life and now have the opportunity to attend school five days a week.

 

The school is less then perfect with three walls and chicken wire as the fourth wall. Each child has one pencil and one notebook. Though it is not much it is their first opportunity to attend school and they are proud, enjoying every moment.

 

Meetings and the work of administration will always need to be completed but it is the opportunity to assist a world-changing woman who walks the kilometers to become a better teacher that drives our work at SEKUCo.

 

Amani,

Amanda

 

PS: The work of advocacy emerges here from community; SEKUCo builds on the energy and dreams of its students. Our prayer is that the SEKUCo student experience will empower world-changing men and women to walk the kilometers that make a difference.

Expo!

Today, our school car, filled with 5 people – Honoratha, Emma, Mgonda, Kiondo and me, headed inland and North from Dar es Salaam (the Abode of Peace) and climbed back up the mountain to Magamba. We spent last week participating in Tanzania’s third annual university and college exposition.  

 

At the expo, colleges and universities from throughout East Africa gather in Dar to promote their university, recruit new students and reconnect with old friends.

 

Each University was given a booth to decorate and tables to put flyers and brochures. SEKUCo’s table was draped with orange and white. We, too, were draped in school colors and eagerly provided our visitors with multiple informational flyers, stories of the college program and invitations to come study.

 

We were able to give the individuals visiting our booth an opportunity to interact with real special education equipment. Our table had copies of text books from our library, a Braille machine and sign language demonstrations. I brought my talking computer program so that visitors could see software in action for individuals who are dyslexic.

 

Throughout the expo bus loads of students arrived. Prospective students sought out representatives of schools they might be interested in attending. Leaders from the ministries of education as well as other government officials walked through to see what East Africa is providing the future leaders of their countries.

 

For me the best part of the event was the ability to introduce prospective students to SEKUCo. I also had time to visit other booths and meet individuals gathered from the East African region who are dedicated to higher education.

 

[Since this is a personal blog, I can add that I did not work the whole week. No, there were a few hours for relaxation. Yesterday, friends, other people in mission, met at the beach for a little sun. The New Jersey shore in April isn’t Dar. I have to admit that I have turned into a big beach girl and I will be suffering when the Indian Ocean is not at my finger tips!]

 

It was a great week and SEKUCo has now attended its first EXPOSITION!

 

Amani,

Amanda

It’s all in the family….

I had the joy of having my parents with me in Tanzania for several weeks. My father was here for two weeks and my mother was here a whole month.  

We were able to safari, worship with leaders of the North-East Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, swim in the Indian Ocean and break bread together with my friends and colleagues. To be safe, while my parents were here the Diocese blessed by laying on hands and offering prayers the car that I drive. (Dad said after driving down the mountain toward Tanga that we should have prayed a little longer.) 

For the most part I was able to have my parents to myself but for a couple of days I shared them with the North-East Diocese and SEKUCo. At SEKUCo, my mother taught Early Childhood Intervention to a class of 70. In the North-East Diocese, my father taught a class of seasoned local clergy on theology, ethics and Christian social ethics. Both of their teaching experiences went well and they got positive responses about what they taught.

It has been three weeks now since my parents have left Tanzania to go back to the States and their names are still on the lips of the community. The students here on campus have not stopped talking about my mother and are eager to get her back here for another visit or for a longer period of time.  

It is a blessing to have parents visit – especially for as long as did my parents – but it strikes me as funny that even on the other side of the world I am known as Ken and Marie’s daughter.

Amani,

Amanda

History Made as First Semester Ends

First semester exams have passed and students await word that they too have passed. Dorm rooms are empty. Faculty is enjoying a brief respite before the new semester begins.

During exam week my mother was walking from the house to the administration building. As she came passed the cafeteria shouts rang out and people cheered.

The room was full of students listening to President Jakaya Kikwete speak to the Parliament and nation on TV. In 2006, a Texas based “briefcase” firm, Richmond Development Company, LLC, won a contract to provide generators and electricity during a drought. (Much of our power is hydroelectric.) A select committee investigated the contract and found, according to the committee’s chair, Dr. Harrison Mwakyembe, that the country’s bidding process was not followed. The entire process “smelt of corruption” and the firm “lacked experience, expertise and was financially incapacitated.”

You can read the entire report – if your Swahili is good – at:

http://www.parliament.go.tz/bunge/docs/Richmond%20Final.pdf

SEKUCo students were cheering. The President was not willing to ignore or hide the problem. Findings from the special committee had been received. Those who had engaged in wrong doing had been given a chance to respond. Now he was going public. Action was required.

Within hours resignations were received from the Cabinet. A new era for Tanzania, say students, began. The powerful have been held accountable for breaking the public’s trust. Democracy and the poor had a day to celebrate.

Two members of the faculty were heard talking that night. One pointed out that it was exam week and all hearts and minds should be preparing for tomorrow’s exam. The other agreed but added that history was being made in Dodoma (that’s our capital) this night.

And so it was. In the week of exams students worked hard, the cabinet fell and the President nominated a new Prime Minister – the son of a farmer. The legislature promised to follow through on the recommendations of the special committee. Shortly after the last exam the first of the new cabinet was appointed.

It was history in the making. The first semester at SEKUCo ended with the first set of exams. And, we cheered national leadership willing to hold itself accountable.

Amani,

Amanda

Getting there…

A few weeks ago, a reader of these pages wrote:

May you please construct an independent website for SEKUCO?

In particular, the writer wanted a clear picture of the academic programs offered and information for prospective students.

Since the internet knits us all together, I am not sure from where the note was written. Somewhere – anywhere – around the world.

Every time you log onto this blog, SEKUCoView, you are a click away from additional information about our programs. In addition, the forms required for application can be found and downloaded.

Please find the headline, Blogroll, to the right. Click on:

North Eastern Diocese, ELCT

Follow the links for SEKUCo. If you click today, you will see a special greeting from Dr. Anneth Munga, SEKUCo’s provost. (See: http://www.elct-ned.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2210&Itemid=42.)

To the prospective student who wrote the comment: we look forward to receiving your application. Welcome to the SEKUCo family of scholars.

Amani,

Amanda

Setting the Course

Curriculum development for Sebastian Kolowa University College’s inaugural year has engaged educational professionals from around the world. Led by the college’s core leadership, curriculum development involved participants from the United States and later other nations.

 

This method has been a learning experience for all involved. The process started in 2005 and is still considered a working document.

To understand our process, an observer needs to understand two aspects of this journey. One, each individual participant brought knowledge to each draft of the curriculum. Two, a rich dialog perfected the outcomes.

SEKUCo opened last year using a curriculum – a strong curriculum – that benefited from the expertise and critiques of all parties. The Tanzania team, led by Dr. Honoratha Mushi (pictured below), and the United States team, led by Dr. Michelle Macluckie, have worked in collaboration for over a year. These dynamic individuals have created a curriculum that draws on Western special education theories but is transformed by Tanzania and East African cultural experience and educational theory.

One interesting feature of the curriculum is that students will be expected to have the ability to teach in a school for children with special needs as well as the more typical class setting. This means that in 2010 when the first graduating class has finished the curriculum approximately 125 students will enter the general Tanzanian educational system with a strong understanding of special education.

As our staff gathered, students arrived and classes started we realized that some changes will need to be made to make the curriculum fully successful. In December, SEKUCo staff gathered for a staff development seminar. We discussed the adjustments that need to be made.

It is rare that a document such as our curriculum has such importance. There is a clear need for educational excellence no matter where our teachers go. SEKUCo has been given a unique opportunity to use a strong, collaborative method of curriculum development that benefits from Tanzanian, American and European input.

Amani,

Amanda

Christmas: A Suddenly Silent Campus

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all around the world! 

Here at SEKUCo we have just finished mid terms and the campus has emptied out. Students have gone home to their families and will return in 2008.  

I have arrived on Zanzibar. On my way from Magamba I stopped in Dar for a couple of days of work and a Christmas Eve service with the ex-patriot community. Now I get some rest and relaxation on the Indian Ocean.  

It is my first Christmas holiday in high heat and a swim suit. I can imagine that some of you are shoveling snow. So, I won’t talk about beginning a New Year swimming in the Indian Ocean.  

I am wishing you all peace and love in this wonderful Christmas season and for New Year 2008! 

Amani,

Amanda

WE HAVE OPENED!!

This has been a busy but wonderful week! Our Tanzanian community was joined by leaders from around the world including a group from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for the opening of SEKUCo.  

On Sunday, October 28^th, we woke to a rain storm in Magamba but, as the 600 people gathered for the opening ceremonies, clouds parted and the rain stayed at bay for most of the day.  

We were honored to have the past President of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, as well as the current Prime Minister, the Honorable Edward Lowassa, in our presence that day. Susan Pursch, the coordinator of SEKUCo in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, and Joanne Carlson, Assistant to the Bishop for Global Vision and Events, Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, both accompanied the lead delegation and sat with the leaders of Tanzania. I was introduced as one of the first staff and faculty at Sebastian Kolowa University College. That was a very proud moment in my life! After the ceremony all 600 of us enjoyed breaking bread together as we ate a delicious lunch. 

The following day, Monday morning at 8:00 AM, we started classes. The students are wonderful and eager to learn.  

When I finished teaching my first class I concluded with a homework assignment, thanked the students for a great class and dismissed them. To my surprise they sat there and did not move. I think they were waiting for an encore. It took me leaving the class before the students got out of their seats. Such a respect for learning! (Very different from the States!)  

The rest of the week went well with only minor schedule changes. The events of the first week confirmed my impressions: our staff is phenomenal. I could not ask for a better group of people to work with this year.  

Here is a question: Should I invite the staff over to my house soon for American Movie Night? This might be a great staff bonding night! (This is the beauty of a blog. I get to ask a question that you are invited to answer.)  

The first week ended. I was glad to have been able to share part of it with a group of friends and colleagues from America. Actually, as it turned out, I was only able to spend a couple of days with half of the group from Southeastern Pennsylvania. The other half went to meet with their partner congregations in other parts of Tanzania. The group that stayed in the Lushoto/Magamba area was creatively supportive of the work of SEKUCo. Susan Pursch even helped teach a class while faculty and staff had a meeting. 

To the whole group of friends from SEPA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) that visited, thank you for being so wonderful, so present and so kind. I hope that you have found your way home safely and that you will spread the love of our brothers and sisters in Tanzania with your home congregations. I cherish you all and want you to know Karibu Sana (you are very welcome here)! Come back any time to Tanzania!!

Amani,

Amanda

A Company Skilled at Accompanying

Community grows to mean something very different when you are living in another culture. There are very few times in life when one is as painfully aware and proud of one’s community of residence. Last weekend a yearly conference was held in Arusha for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America mission community working in Tanzania and Rwanda.  

The community drove, flew and rode buses for hours to break bread as one. It is a community dearly loved by its participants. 

Our time together was lead by Tom and Sally Roach who go above-and-beyond to make those of us in mission feel at peace in the countries that we now all call home.  

During our three days together we were joined by Rev. Rafael Malpica Padila, Executive Director of Global Missions, and Gaylord Thomas, Program Director for East Africa. Both spoke to the group about the Church’s vision of global mission, the accompaniment model of mission work and the growing partnerships enjoyed worldwide by the ELCA. Here is the news: good things are happening around the world caused by people who are called to leave their communities of comfort to join new communities in new places.   

The community that gathered in Arusha, Tanzania, last week was full of passion, knowledge, hope and pure joy – not only to be together but to be accompanying the church in Rwanda and Tanzania. I was never more proud to stand with this group for a family photo.

  

Food for the Table

Local markets are found in our towns and cities. Unlike the big box stores being built everywhere, here producer/sellers and buyers meet face to face and find a price that moves the goods.

 

It is true that there is a local grocery store. It is a chain called Shoprite, a South African firm. It caters to a clientele able to purchase local as well as international goods.

But, in the open, in a local market, you find a variety of locally produced goods – goods that arrive fresh from the countryside. Food for the table.

When Doctors Jump Through Windows

As I write this blog I am sitting at the Indian Ocean. My feet are in the water and the tide is getting closer with every word I write.  

These hours at the beach are much needed. Having an opportunity to reflect on this last week was and is essential.  

As the week ended, I was left with more questions than answers. In the questions, though, I have learned a prayer of thanksgiving.  

I thought I knew how to pray a prayer of thanksgiving. I had done so my whole life but this week…. As I think back on the week and as the waves of the Indian Ocean wash over my soul my prayer has drastically changed. 

For the past several weeks, as my house was being readied, I lived with friends at the Rainbow School. I loved my time staying with Caroline and her family. Her children are wonderful and have helped me with my Swahili.  

On Monday I was able to move into my place and begin to get settled. As I was unpacking in my new house I began to feel weaker and weaker. Knowing that I was not feeling like myself I asked to go to the doctor. The staff at SEKUCo jumped into gear and took me to the hospital. 

The response of my co-workers was heart warming. But what I was to see is enough to break a heart.  

I was taken to the district hospital, a nice building by much of the world’s standards. When you entered there was a waiting room with about fifty people sitting and lying on wooden benches. There was no electricity at that moment and it was hard to see the person next to you.  

I sat waiting for a short time, about 40 minutes, before beginning to be processed through the system. I was taken into a room, given an identification card and asked what tribe I was from. My response was simple “I have no tribe.” The man looked at me and said, “That is not true; everyone has a tribe.” With a small smile I said “Well Lutheran of course.” I was given a number and sent back to the dark room.  

Almost immediately I was called to have tests done. It was clear that I was being pulled to the front of the line because I am a Mzungu (White Person). I was given my tests and then taken to the doctor’s office. The office was not bigger than 5 feet by 10 feet with a desk, cabinet and a long wooden table. There was a window frame but no window or screen. The doctor informed me that I had malaria and he was going to give me something to take care of the infection.  

What the doctor said next was drowned out by the sounds of car horns. He thrust my prescription in my hands and threw his whole body out the window, yelling as he went. I waited in the room just in case he needed to talk to me again but when he came back he had a child with him that was so badly injured that he did not even move. He placed the boy on the wooden table and started calling out directions. In this room with nothing, no extra blood, no light, and none of the technology that is seen in the States he started his work.  

I walked back out to the waiting room and it was clear that there had been a bus accident. A bad accident. A small school bus had been hit by a larger passenger bus.  

Children were brought in first. There was blood everywhere. I saw parts of children’s bodies that I never want to see again. I sat next to a women who was bleeding from her scull. She was not crying or sad but was just sitting. Peacefully sitting. In my broken Swahili all I could say was “I will pray for you.” A little later I filled my malaria prescription and went home to rest. 

Malaria makes you so sleepy that it is hard to move. I slept most the day but was haunted by the images lingering in my mind. I know that if I ever get really sick or injured my insurance will fly me to the closest “established” hospital within 24 hours. But not the women I sat next to or the children I saw. I know that we have health care issues in America but we have more than a waiting room with wooden benches and no light. 

Now as I sit at the beach and sort through my questions of equality, of skin color, of healthcare systems and of tribal identification I am surprised – I have a new prayer of thanksgiving. A thankful prayer for the water of the ocean that baptizes my soul with the peace of God’s grace, for family around the world, for health and the ability to receive appropriate health care, for friends who called to check on me, for my community at St. John’s Lutheran Church and throughout the Synod, for those who dare to make justice against great odds — and for discovering God’s faithfulness even as life ebbs on a bench in a hospital Southeast of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

The thought of my affliction

and my homelessness is wormwood and gall!

My soul continually thinks of it

and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

God’s mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning.

Great is God’s Faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul.

“Therefore I will hope in God.” 

The Lord is good to those who wait,

To the soul that seeks.

It is good that one should wait quietly

For the salvation of the Lord. 

The above text is from Lamentations 3:19-26. As I read it, I remember and invite you to remember my neighbor on the bench at the hospital, sitting in silence, bleeding, waiting.

And, sister on the bench, prompted by this blog, may the prayers of many surround you and all who rode the buses on that day.

Amani,

Amanda 

Punda Milia

Although this blog has been quiet, life in a language school is anything but quiet. Tunasema saa. That is, we are talking all the time.

It has been a wonderful two weeks immersed in Swahili at the Training Centre for Development Cooperation in Arusha, Tanzania. There is one more week to go. It seems that my Swahili is coming polepole (slowly) but it has already been very useful. In four weeks, when the Fall semester begins, it will become even more useful.

Learning Swahili in Tanzania brings its own benefit.

Our class has gone to the market to barter for food. And, we have had the opportunity to sit with native Swahili speakers to try our hand at conversation.

We had an opportunity to go to a game reserve this week. Soft drinks were asked for while watching animals in their home setting. We ordered in Swahili and then tested our knowledge by talking about nature and the environment. You are looking at punda milia (that’s zebra to you) in the picture.

It is wonder-filled. Is there any other way to say it? We enjoyed sipping our sodas while watching the sun set over the Tanzanian landscape and punda milia prancing by our feet.

Wish you were all here!

Amani,

Amanda

From Lushoto to Arusha

The Internet was on and then off and then on again in Lushoto this week. So, there have not been any posts to this blog for the period.

This morning I took the bus from Lushoto to Arusha where I will attend Swahili language classes for the next three weeks. There is a story to tell about the day’s journey and the language program. So, watch these pages for new posts.

Until then enjoy the above picture from our neighborhood.

Amani,

Amanda

A People in Partnership

 Lushoto, Monday, September 3. The Rev. Claire S. Burkat, Bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, departed Lushoto yesterday. Joanne Carlson, Assistant to the Bishop for Global Vision and Events, joined her. They began a journey back to Philadelphia.  

Today they traveled to Arusha. There they will pause, catch their breath before boarding an aircraft for almost twenty-four hours of travel. 

When Bishop Claire and Joanne arrived they hit the ground running. Many days they visited 4 or 5 congregations and social or mission institutions. The next few hours will be their only break on the trip to Tanzania. 

Their visits were not simple “greetings” but rather the complex work of partnership. Bishop Claire, for one, was put to work preaching, baptizing and laying cornerstones. 

In the evenings when they returned to the hostel we had an opportunity to reflect on the day’s work and the delicate balance of partnership.  

In our conversations it was clear Bishop Claire found that balance. She was respectful of cultural dynamics. She wore her clerics proudly everyday and even learned the Swahili greetings that bonded her to the hearts of many. And yet, when asked to preach or take part in dialogue with congregations she did not conform to what she thought people wanted to hear but rather stayed true to the call of the gospel viewed from within her beliefs and cultural background. 

It is a challenge when serving in a different culture to not lose one’s self in the “other’s” customs, practices and theology. Rather we are asked to serve with cultural integrity. We are called to gain a deep respect for our partner but not at the cost of losing our uniqueness.  

This is a hard balance to find. (Trust me!) In partnership we are asked to find a dynamic, middle ground, a place where both sides enter into dialogue without losing their identity – either here or in the United States.  

If we as Americans come to Tanzania and try to be Tanzanians then we have not created a partnership but rather we have created an image of who we think they are. Conversely, if we enter into mission but do not practice partnership, we are ugly and unhelpful. 

Bishop Clare and Joanne Carlson did a wonderful job of creating this balance! I was proud to hear our Bishop preach half way around the world with energy and integrity. In my year of service, I hope to practice the “partnership balance” again and again. 

Amani,

Amanda

Enrollment Closes at 178!

We are making progress!  As of this week 178 students had been accepted and will start arriving in late October for the fall semester. The expectation was that we would have approximately 100 students. A strong desire for education by prospective students, however, led to a larger number of qualified applicants. We are blessed! 

Please keep the faculty and staff in your prayers. Our first faculty and staff meeting will be next Saturday. We hope to be able to finalize our teaching assignments during the meeting!

Amani,

Amanda

SEKUCo Gets Its Name

A recent email asked: why was SEKUCo named SEKUCo?

SEKUCo’s name is rich in history and its full name is linked with other education programs in Tanzania.

On the 25th of November, 2005, the Executive Council of the Evangelic Lutheran Church of Tanzania North East Diocese (ELCT NED) declared that the long planned for University College that was to be opened in the Diocese should be called…

      Tumaini University, Sebastian Kolowa University College

Tumaini University was founded by the ELCT in 1996. SEKUCo is to become a consituent part of Tumaini University and will be under the governance umbrella of the Tumaini University system.

As the University’s web site indicates, the government of Tanzania liberalized the education sector and enacted the Education (Amendment) Act No. 10 in 1995. The ELCT immediately accepted the challenge offered by the liberalization program and began building educational opportunities for all Tanzanians. 

For more information about Tumaini University and its constituent colleges please visit: http://www.elct.org/tumaini.html.

But why call the new college Sebastian Kolowa University College (SEKUCo)?

SEKUCo honors and is dedicated to ministry of The Rev. Dr. Sebastian Kolowa who was elected in 1976 as the first African bishop of the ELCT-NED. In 1976 he became Presiding Bishop of the ELCT and held his positions until his death in October 1992. Tumaini University, Sebastian Kolowa University College. Our name is already rich in tradition. It honors a humble servant of Jesus Christ who once meant and today means so much to this place.

Pictured above is Dr. Anneth Munga, Provost of SEKUCo. We recently met to talk about this year’s academic schedule. The college’s first and inaugural semester begins in October 2007! 

Amani,

Amanda

Rain

Today it rained. It rained hard. The sky went from being brilliant blue, bold and beautiful to a dull gray that covered the surrounding hill tops of the Usanbara mountain range. Yet, the colors of the ground become even more beautiful when drenched in moisture. Between the homes of Lushoto are fields of grass and wild flowers that are popping up with flowers that dance in the reds, blues, yellows and pinks of the Tanzania landscape. The dirt roads that wind up and down the mountains have soaked up the rain and turned into the color of red clay which leaves its marks on the bottom of everyone’s shoes. What a beautiful place!

 

 

Arrived

I have arrived! I am in Lushoto, Tanzania!!

Lushoto is a town that is close to the University and I will be staying here until my housing on campus is ready. I lived in Lushoto last summer. This is a home-coming!

When I arrived I was warmly welcomed as only Tanzanians can do! There is a way about this community that embraces and accepts all. All are greeted warmly — even the stranger. This community understands the phrase “we are all children of God” better than any other community.  

After my warm welcome, I have spent my time settling in. There has been time to visit with the leaders of the University. We began to work through the academic calendar. I saw my living quarters and visited with friends in the community.

I am excited about the coming year (but right now am struggling with jet lag). Please stop by this blog often. It will have updated information on SECKUCo and space for your comments and support.

Karibu

Welcome! This blog is dedicated to all the members and congregations in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod. Please stay posted on all of the developments regarding SEKUCo.  I (Amanda) will be departing for Tanzania on Sunday August the 12th and when I have the opportunity will update this Blog. Karibu!!