Greetings from SEKUCo
The Reverend Anneth Munga, Provost of SEKUCO, North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, who has been in this area for a week, was introduced by Susan Purch who said that, since 2006, $400,000 has been raised from individuals and congregations. Curriculum has been written, books found and purchased and prayers said. Everyone who donated, read about it, was involved in any way, was invited to stand. This included the majority of those in attendance.
Pastor Munga began by thanking the group. She said that she had visited the Assembly five years ago as a representative of the church in Tanzania with a greeting and a question that asked if we were willing to support building a university to make a difference and transform lives, especially those of people with disabilities. She said “you said ‘yes’ and you continue to do so.” I am here to tell you that through hearts, minds, hands and feet and all that we are, God has done it.
Reverend Munga said that she had decided that the best way to tell about was to use her eight minutes to show a presentation so that you will get a glimpse of what God has done and is continuing to do.
The first campus of Sebastian Kolowa University College (SEKUCO) was opened on October 28 2007 to “acquire knowledge and serve with compassion”. Campus B opened in 2008 since we needed more space.
SEKUCO has three faculties:
The Faculty of Education focuses on special needs. This is a 3 year program and the first class will graduate in 2010. In 2008, Faculty of Law, which is also a three year program, opened. In October 2009, the Faculty of Science opened.
The vision of SEKUCO is to be a leading African institution of higher learning…that fully recognizes and actively professes the human value and dignity of all society members, including people with disabilities, and whereby everyone is able to learn and live in harmony with God, fellow human beings and all creation.
Reverend Munga’s PowerPoint presentation showed pictures of Sozi who cannot walk, Chambo who is deaf and cannot speak, and Maimuna who is mentally disabled and has behavior disorders. She spoke of Rashidi, a mentally disabled young man who was sexually molested during his childhood, has “lost his face” because wherever he shows up he becomes an object of ridicule since he cannot control his abdominal muscles.
“Therefore when we say ‘including people with disabilities’, we intend to…
run programs which focus on producing graduates who will work directly for and with people who have special needs in the areas of education and mental health and mainstream, in all programs, issues about the needs, rights and abilities of people who have physical, sensory and/or behavioral barriers.”
She said “Our first question is ‘what can and should I do for and with people who have disabilities?’ In the area of law – in what ways can the national and international laws be applied to people like Rashidi who cannot defend themselves. In the area of eco-tourism, can opportunities be created so that income-challenged people and their families won’t be doomed to poverty? For instance, Maimuna’s mother can hardly leave her daughter. What alternative modes of communication will help Chambo who cannot hear or speak express himself? In a landscape where wheelchairs cannot navigate, how will Sozi achieve mobility once his mother can no longer carry him?
Our first enrollment was 135 students, our second was 301 and our third was 412 , this is a total of 848 students. Most of our students are not disabled but they learn how to work with those who do have disabilities. Some of our students have disabilities – 14 are visually impaired while two are deaf and two have mobility challenges.
At SEKUCO, we encourage and support one another. It is our vision to build a society that fully recognizes and actively professes the human value and dignity of all society members, including people such as Sozi, Chambo, Maimuna and Rashidi, so that they may be able to live in harmony with God, fellow human beings and all creation.
Because the best reward we can get is to be witnesses of positive changes in the lives of the Sozis and Rashidis and Maimunas and Chambos of our communities
Whereby harmony replaces disruption; joy replaces grief; and hope replaces despair.
Thank you, people of SEPA for supporting SEKUCO. I am now going to sing a song fromTanzania which says that God is love, He loves people, God loves me, listen to my joy, He loves me.”