Our Partners In Tanzania

In 2002, CV began a partnership with a rural Lutheran congregation in the village of Mlowa located in the Iringa diocese in the south central region of Tanzania. The partnership is called Bega kwa Bega (meaning shoulder to shoulder) and we are one of more than sixty congregations of the St. Paul Area Synod which have made this cross cultural connection.

Ambassadors from CV have traveled to Mlowa to connect six times 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2016.
What has CV done in Mlowa?

Provide building materials and resources to help buildchurches and homes for evangelists
Provide ongoing education for church leaders
Purchase bikes and a motorcycle to enable Mlowa church leaders to reach all of their members in remote preaching points
Purchase sewing machines to enable Mlowa to start a sewing school in enable members to learn a trade and provide income to their families
Sponsor more than 20 Tanzanian students annually to attend Secondary School (the USA equivalent of middle school and high school). A year of education costs $360 and, sadly enough the average income of a Tanzanian is $350.
Funded a three-year Agricultural Project (developed by the University of Minnesota and Tumaini University) to research and improve crop production in the Mlowa district.

Christus Victor has also welcomed visitors from Tanzania.

Bega Kwa Bega is the phrase used to describe the companion synod relationship with the Iringa Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). In English, the phrase means ‘shoulder to shoulder’, describing the way in which we accompany one another in a spirit of mutuality, inclusivity, and vulnerability.

At its heart Bega Kwa Bega is a joint ministry between communities of faith in the ELCA and ELCT, whose purpose is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to extend Christian hospitality, and to strengthen relationships with one another through the shared practices of prayer, presence, and projects.

Through the work of this partnership and the leading of God’s Holy Spirit, we envision a deeper faith and fuller life, accompanying one another as participants in God’s ongoing mission in both America and Tanzania.

SUNFLOWER PRESS COLLABERATION PROJECT WITH MLOWA PARISH

In 2022 Christus Victor joined the Mlowa parish in raising funds to  purchase a Sunflower Press.  The Mlowa parish put together a business plan to purchase land to grow sunflowers and to purchase a press to produce sunflower oil. The sale of the oil will provide income to the parish and to the village of Mlowa.  With the generous support of Christus Victor members we raised the funds to purchase the press.

Throughout 2022, the Mlowa parish members built the building to house the press and in April 2023 the press was purchased and delivered to Mlowa.

Watch this video to see the project come to life!

If you have any questions about Tanzania or our connection with Mlowa, please email the CV office or call them at 952-454-6927. Asante Sana. Thank you.