Tanzania

In Tanzania, FELM works together with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). Due to the high rate of poverty, the Church in Tanzania is involved in humanitarian development.

FELM staff in Tanzania are engaged in:

• Ministry and Outreach
• Education
• Diaconia and health care
• Child sponsorship

Capacity Building, Ministry and Congregational work

The Lutheran Church in Tanzania aims to be financially independent. Operationally the Church is independent but faces constraints due to lack of funds. There is a need for more pastors and evangelists and existing funds do not stretch to cover all salaries of those employed by the Church or extend to the equitable provision of training and education among staff.

FELM funds the theological training of the Makumira University College (MUCO) and Iringa College of the Tumaini University. Makumira trains pastors for the Church and supports the development of Theological discourse and research in Tanzania. FELM seconds two full time staff to the College, provides scholarships for students and supports the training of the staff of the Lake Victoria and the Southern Diocese.

The focus of the work in Tanzania has in recent years shifted from Southern Tanzania to the North where together with the Diocese of Lake Victoria, FELM staff work as missionaries among the Sukuma tribe. Support is also provided for work among women and children.

Community Services

In Tanzania 65% of all children start primary school but only 6% continue to secondary school. Schools are few and far between and many cannot afford the fees. To increase the number of educational facilities, the Church in Tanzania has established private schools and many congregations have set up their own nursery schools.

The Church in Moshi operates:

• A Montessori training center for nursery school teachers
• A number of nursing schools
• A teacher training centre
• A vocational training centre

Two schools for the hard of hearing and the blind give the opportunity for the disabled to complete their basic education or vocational training.

Most of the beneficiaries of the sponsorship programme are nursery school aged children. These nursery schools are located in the North of the country in Mwanza and Moshi. The programme has also supported babies and orphans until the age of three. The school aged children sponsored are enrolled at the Church operated Kidugala school.

Health Care and HIV/AIDS

Forty percent of all health care activities in Tanzania rely on the support of the Church. Of this 13% falls on the responsibility of the Lutheran Church which operates over twenty hospitals, over two hundred basic health units and clinics and several medical training facilities.

Tanzania is faced with many health care challenges, the greatest of which is HIV/AIDS. There are an estimated 1,3 million HIV infected people in the country. The annual mortality rate due to AIDS is 140,000 individuals, most of who are young adults and make up the prime labour force. There are hundreds of thousands of AIDS orphans.

FELM supports hospitals in Itete and Ilembula, the development of health care services in Mwanza Province in the Diocese of Lake Victoria. FELM also participates in the efforts of the Church to develop sustainable health care service provision. This includes training of health care staff, developing health care management capacities and a system of health insurance.