OUR MISSION
Called to be Christ’s visible light in our world.
In our Parish Prayer, we ask God to “make us a community united in faith, mission and service” and we call upon the Holy Spirit to help us “make Christ present to the world.”
As the Body of Christ, we are called to make the Lord’s light visible in our world. By God’s grace and through our efforts, we have become light for St. Joseph the Worker, the poorest parish in the Diocese of Same in Tanzania.
Rev. Elipenda Mboya
Fr. Elipenda has been pastor of St. Joseph the Worker since January 2022. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 7, 2021 and assigned thereafter to St. Joseph the Worker.
Fr. Elipendinda was born the fifth of seven children. He grew up in Gonja Kighare village which is located in the highlands-eastern part of the Diocese of Same. He received his degree in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary-Kipalapala.
Scholarships Funded
December 2023
$32,106 was wired for 73 students and $2,408 for 8 Adult Vocational Students. This is our eighth year giving scholarships to the students of St. Joseph the Worker. Many thanks again to the Sisters of the Holy Family for their generous donation of $30,000 in December 2022 which is being used for the 2024 school year. Also, much gratitude to our monthly donors from our amazing Holy Spirit parishioners! We love you!
Additionally, we have three private donors, one of whom is sponsoring a university student to become a medical doctor. The other generous donor gave a one-time donation towards a student’s entire elementary and high school education. The third donor is sponsoring a student to attend the Tanzania Institute of Accountancy.
Many thanks to all Holy Spirit parishioners in the pews who have made it possible to live out our parish prayer “… make us community united in faith, mission and service.” Thank you for sponsoring this mission!
Evangelization through Education
Your support of our parish mission allows us to continue our commitment to aid our sister parish. Through your donations, the young people of St. Joseph the Worker continue to grow in faith.
OUR EFFORTS
Supporting
educational scholarships
Funds raised annually by our parish help cover private school tuition and boarding costs for students.
It is a big commitment the families to send their children to one of the twelve schools near Mount Kilimanjaro, a two-hour drive from home. Although, St. Rita’s Pre/Primary School is 2 km from St. Joseph the Worker. The children appreciate being in boarding school because it gives them more time to study.
To make a donation, visit our Parish Office and ask for a Sister Parish envelope.
You may also make an online gift – click on the button below. Once you’ve created an account, choose “Sister Parish” to apply your donation towards our fundraising efforts.
Palm Sunday 2023
Divine Mercy Sunday 2023
May 2023
Children’s Choir
Meet Jackline Josaphat Yuta
Jackline’s education – from elementary through high school – is being sponsored by one generous donor! Jackline was the selected recipient through a lottery held at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in September 2021.
This is Emanuel Kazeni
Emanuel Kazeni is enrolled at Bugando University to become a Medical Doctor, M.D. His entire medical school tuition is being paid for by a generous parishioner who wanted to honor her own mother’s memory by sponsoring a student entering the medical profession.
Meet
Rozi David Alfons
Rozi David Alfons is being sponsored by a private donor to attend the Tanzania Institute of Accountancy in DSM about 500 km from Ndungu Parish. She is studying the Procurement of Logistic Management. She aspires to become a Procurement Officer.
2024 Vocational Students
Adult Students
learning a trade
for a better future
1. Gladness Peter: Second semester, Arusha Utalii College of Tourism Hotel Management
2. Juliana Damian: Year 2, Arusha Utalii College of Tourism Hotel Management
3. Abdala Juma Msami: Year 1, Rinho VTC for Mechanical Engineering
4. Andrea Mhamed: Year 1, Moshi RVTSC for Mechanical Engineering
5. Anita Ndewario Mbise: Year 1, Tanzania Public Service College (Singida) for Records Archive and Information Management
6. Anna Shehiza: Year 1, Moshi Institute for Hotel Management
7. Celina Sanga: Year 1, Tanzania Training Center for International Health (Morogoro) Nursing
8. Joseph Emil: Year 1, Moshi Institute for Mechanical Engineering
New Roof Project 2023
This project was completed Fall 2023.
Electrical Installation
Our Adult Vocational students who attended the Tanga Veta Electrical Installation Vocational School helped fix up our Sister Parish church. Samwel Daud was helping with the electrical in the roof and William Julius was working on the wall.
History
St. Joseph the Worker is in Ndungu, Tanzania,
which is part of the Diocese of Same (sa-me), Tanzania. In 2014, Fr. Mat Vellankal
reached out to his friend Fr. Alwyn D’Sousa who created a missionary school in
the Diocese of Same, Tanzania. They spoke about Holy Spirit adopting a Sister
Parish so Fr. Mat then contacted Bishop Rogath Kimaryo of the Diocese of Same to ask if
Holy Spirit could receive a sister parish. Bishop Rogath gave us St. Joseph the
Worker, the poorest parish in the Diocese. A great relationship with Fr. Samwel
Mvati of St. Joseph the Worker was formed. In 2016, a group from Holy Spirit
took a mission trip to visit St. Joseph and there have been other parishioners
who have visited as well while they were in Africa.
We have been able to maintain our relationship with St. Joseph the Worker because our pastoral staff has continued its support of this mission. We are grateful as well to our parishioners who have been so lovingly generous and have shared of their God-given blessings.
Our first donation in 2014
from Holy Spirit to St. Joseph was used for two purposes by Fr. Sam for his
parishioners. 1. To build a Piggery for
the “Youth of the Parish”, and 2. Establish a Woman’s Co-Op. The “Youth” are
considered from age 14-34 and they are responsible for raising 2 pigs. One is
for St. Joseph and the other is for their own family. Each woman who is part of
the Woman’s Co-op contributes money monthly to the Co-Op. The women meet for fellowship, advice,
support and they are allowed to borrow money from the Co-Op for their family
needs and then pay back their loan with interest.
Our second donation happened in Spring 2016 when
Holy Spirit raffled off a “Vehicle” to raise money for a “Vehicle” for Fr. Samwel
to use to service his Parishioners. A vehicle allows him to minister to
parishioners up to 20 miles away.
Our third donation evolved while visiting the Parish in 2016. A commitment was made to them that we would support their children going to nearby private schools for the duration of their Primary and Secondary education.
1. 2016-2017 School Year: Holy Spirit donated money for 71 students who needed either partial or full scholarships based on the needs of the family determined by Fr. Sam. All monies were raised and this goal was fulfilled. Total money needed was $27,551.
2. 2017-2018 School Year: 73 students were given either partial or full scholarships because of the generosity of Holy Spirit Parishioners. We gave $28,650 in which over half was collected by parishioners attending the October 2017 Exultate Deo concert featuring The Philippine Saringhimg Singers.
3. 2018-2019 School Year: In December 2018, the children of St. Joseph the Worker began the 2018-19 school year. And because of the generosity of our parishioners, 73 students attended various private schools. Holy Spirit wired $29,950 to the Diocese of Same, which was then given directly to the schools. Seven students received 100% scholarships; 37 were granted 75% scholarships; and 31 students were awarded 50% scholarships.
4. 2019-2020 School Year: During Fr. Sam’s visit in November 2019, he was able to raise all the funds needed to provide scholarships for 73 students for the 2019-2020 school year. The weekend of November 16-17, Fr. Sam addressed our congregation and spoke about the needs of St. Joseph the Worker. And you responded with tremendous generosity – we collected $29,872!
5. 2020-2021 School Year: We Did It! Because of the generous monthly donations to our Sister Parish account, Holy Spirit wired $28,800 to the Diocese of Same to be given directly to the schools where 68 children will be attending for the 2020-2021 school year in Tanzania. Thank you all for your continued support!
6. 2021-2022
$29,649.50 was wired to the Diocese of Same for 73 students attending private schools in Tanzania for the 2022 school year. This cost is up 2.79% from last year’s total of $28,800. We also wired $3173 for eight adult vocational students.
7. 2022-2023
$32,502 was wired to the Diocese of Same for 73 students attending various private schools in Tanzania for the 2023 school year. In addition, $3,173 was wired for 8 adults to attend vocational schools. You can see the adults students below. The cost of vocational schools is between $300-$500/year and are typically one or two year programs.
Fr. Sam Mvati – Update
Fr. Samweli Mvati, the first pastor we began our Sister Parish relationship with has been studying in Salzburg, Austria. He is working towards a PhD in Psychology and Theological Youth Ministry, at the University of Salzburg, also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg. Please keep Fr. Sam in your prayers!
Best to you Fr. Sam…. study hard!
Make a Donation
To make a donation, please stop by the Parish Office and ask for a Sister Parish envelope.
You may also make an online gift – click on the button below. Once you’ve created an account, choose “Sister Parish” to apply your donation towards our fundraising efforts.