Igumbilo Lutheran Girls' Secondary School

After our return from Tanzania (January, 2013), I completed a history of the Igumbilo Lutheran Girls’ Secondary School (ILGSS) in Tanzania.  The title of the photo journal is From Camp to Campus 2004 – 2013.  It was a work from the heart –a joy-to follow the history from an email in January, 2001 to Bp Miller from Bp Mgeyekwa describing a plan from the Southern Diocese to start a Girls Secondary School in the area around Chimala District to increase opportunities for women in rural areas and to reduce gender imbalance of educated people along with other aims.

In May of 2004, Mike and I traveled to the Southern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania to meet our counterparts.  The Western Iowa Synod and the Southern Diocese are companion synods.  While there we traveled around the Diocese learning about their institutions, their history and their dreams.  At that time a rice plantation was being offered for sale and the Southern Diocese very much wanted to buy it and start the Igumbilo Lutheran Girls’ Secondary School.

2004

 

  Western Iowa Synod Women’s Organization heard about the need and set about to raise the money for purchase.  In the Southern Diocese they worked hard to get the school started, rehabbing the buildings and planning for the future of the school.  And since then we (WIS and the Southern Diocese) have walked Hatua Kwa Hatua (step by step) at ILGSS and in other areas of lives together.

2006

The first term Igumbilo Lutheran Girls’ Secondary School opened in 2006 with 83 students and this January (2013) has 374 enrolled.  In the four years of graduation they have graduated 285 students with an overall completion rate of 70%.

Starting Year	Form 1	Form 11	Form 111	Form IV	Completion Rate
2006	83	76	84	58	58/83 70%
2007	90	73	74	64	64/90 71%
2008	117	100	90	88	88/117 75%
2009	117	80	95	75	75/117 64%

 In the same time Igumbilo Lutheran Girls’ Secondary School has

~moved from one dorm to four dorms and from one classroom to 8 classrooms and a lab.

~endured a fire, and irregular water and electricity.

~expanded from 60 acres to 460 acres

~dreamed of a future with a library, assembly hall/chapel, dining hall and

~received and used textbooks and microscopes from WIS that improved their state examination       scores

 

 For all of its accomplishments for me it is the people I’ve met, known, and loved…the students, the staff, the teachers and their generosity and kindness.  Each time I arrived at the drive to ILGSS the sign causes tightness in my throat and my heart swells. 

 

 After staying a day or two it feels so comfortable to join the rhythm of the day: the bell, porridge, devotions, class, lunch, class, activities (choir, sports, and debate), daily cleaning, supper, study, and the girls singing at closing worship.  I’ve enjoyed the mountains standing at one end of the campus and the trail to the well at the other end of the campus.  I’ve enjoyed hiking around the nearly 460  acres of the school and also going into the town of Chimala to experience the colorful market.  Ah Igumbilo.