Father Robert Luvakubandi of Musoma, Tanzania, is surrounded by children who attend St. Paul Pre and Primary School.
By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
A professor posed a question to Father Robert Luvakubandi of Tanzania, Africa during his studies for a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Administration from Notre Dame University in Indiana. “What impact are you bringing back to Africa by finishing your degree?”
That question inspired Father Luvakubandi, who is committed to educating the hearts as well as minds of children in his country. He wrote a successful grant proposal — with the blessing of his bishop and funded by a German nonprofit — to build two classrooms and to establish what would become St. Paul Pre and Primary School in Musoma, Tanzania.
The community clamored for more classes. With their support and fundraising efforts in the U.S., the Catholic school Father Luvakubandi started with 92 students in 2016 has grown exponentially to 1,093 students today.
“Our main goal is to serve 1,200 students from kindergarten to (seventh grade) by 2026,” he told a gathering Aug. 18 at the home of Dan Ebener, a professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport and director of Parish Planning for the Davenport Diocese. The Tanzanian school also operates a farm to provide nutritious food for the children.
Secular schools in his country focus on educating the mind, said Father Luvakubandi, who earned his MBA from Notre Dame in 2016. “We can educate our kids, both mind and heart … to understand that God must be first in everything,” the priest said. St. Paul Pre and Primary School celebrates Mass every Monday. “A lot of parents and teachers really love that.”
“Every African parent knows that a quality education for their children is the best way to lift the family out of poverty,” he stated in a letter of introduction shared ahead of the gathering at Ebener’s home. “They also know that good citizenship and future professional success for their children starts at an early age. St. Paul Pre and Primary School offers families and children the proper education and personal formation to give students the best chance to continue their education and be successful in their years ahead.”
Prior to his presentation in Ebener’s Davenport home, Father Luvakubandi made a mission appeal during Masses at Divine Mercy Parish in Burlington/West Burlington. The Tanzanian school has grown to 20 classrooms, which meets the student body’s needs this year, but two additional classrooms are necessary to “introduce computer studies to our students,” the priest said. “They need to be connected. They need to be educated.” His community contributes to the best of its ability but lacks the financial means to support the capital investment in infrastructure, he added.
His mission appeal was one of around 15 made this year in the Davenport Diocese, which receives about 150 such requests from dioceses and religious orders around the world, said Deacon Kent Ferris, diocesan director of Social Action and Catholic Charities. He explained the Davenport Diocese’s mission appeals process to the Ebener gathering and said the diocese’s relatively small size prevented it from inviting more people to share their stories with diocesan parishes.
Deacon Ferris emphasized the value of the mission appeal. He said it benefits not only the mission of its presenter, “but it is incredibly powerful for the parishioners to see the global nature of the Church and to imagine ways that they may be able to serve.”
During a Q&A after Father Luvakuvandi’s presentation, the priest affirmed the importance of educating girls. The student body is proportionately balanced female and male but the school makes transfer requests from girls’ families a priority. “In the African sense, we say that if you educate a woman, you have educated a whole society,” the priest said. The culture has a long tradition of excluding girls from education.
Patrick O’Leary, who taught international business and management at St. Ambrose University, shared with the gathering his experience this past May visiting Father Luvakubandi and St. Paul Pre and Primary School.
The professor, who has known Father Luvakubandi about seven years, said he spent time with the students, teachers and community, among other visits with the priest. “It probably was the most spiritual experience I’ve had in quite a while,” said O’Leary, who returned home desiring to gain support for the school and its computer initiative.
Supporting missions worldwide
The Mission Cooperative Plan (MCP) of the Diocese of Davenport promotes awareness of missions worldwide in parishes throughout the diocese. The diocese assigns each selected mission organization to a parish or group of parishes with whom the organizations can share their needs and appeal for funds. The funds are pooled together and divided equally among the mission organizations.
Each year, the Social Action office sifts through 150-200 mission applications and sends a list of 10-15 proposed recipients to the bishop’s office for final approval. The diocese aims to include groups from all around the world, taking into consideration emerging regional and global needs. Groups with representatives in the upper Midwest receive special consideration, said Deacon Kent Ferris, diocesan director of Social Action and Catholic Charities. The Social Action office tries to include groups from countries that on a more regular basis have ties to the Davenport Diocese, he added. Groups applying to the Missionary Cooperative Plan must be in good standing serving in foreign countries or in a U.S. diocese designated as missionary by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
A majority of this year’s 12 recipients have already made presentations. Donors who have not contributed through their parish or who wish to donate additional funds may do so through Nov. 1. Checks may be mailed to:
Diocese of Davenport
Mission Coop Plan
Attn: Finance Department
780 West Central Park Ave.
Davenport, IA 52801
For more information about this year’s mission organizations, go to https://davenportdiocese.org/missions-selected.
