Project No. 45/2025
Renovation of the Bathrooms
at the St. Joseph Postulancy House
(Lufwanyama, Zambia)
The Conventual Franciscan Province of the Franciscan Protomartyrs in Zambia has proposed Formational and Health Project No. 45/2025, entitled “St. Joseph Postulancy House – Project for the Renovation of the Bathrooms,” which calls for the renovation and expansion of the sanitary facilities at the St. Joseph Postulancy House for the benefit of the friars in formation. The postulancy house is found in the Lufwanyama District of Zambia’s Copperbelt Province.
The St. Joseph Postulancy House is located within the larger St. Joseph Mission, a spiritual and agricultural center which includes a friary, a parish church with thirty-six outstation chapels, a retreat house for spiritual renewal, as well as various productive activities such as pig and poultry farming, horticulture, and fish ponds. The Lufwanyama District is approximately 130 km. [81 mi.] west of Ndola, the capital of the Copperbelt Province, and approximately 455 km. [283 mi.] from Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.
The Postulancy House currently houses twenty-one postulants, twelve in their first year and nine in their second year. They come from various African countries, including Malawi and Angola. At present, the facility has only three toilets and three showers, which are now obsolete, deteriorated, and insufficient for the growing number of men in formation. This situation creates difficulty in the management of daily life, compromises adequate hygiene standards, and negatively affects the quality of community life.
Although the postulancy house is engaged in internal income-generating activities, such as horticulture and animal husbandry, it depends mainly on a modest monthly subsidy that does not allow for significant structural interventions. To meet this urgent need, the project plans to renovate and expand the existing facilities, increasing the number of toilets and showers to six each, and upgrading the spaces to meet current standards of hygiene, safety, and accessibility. This intervention will substantially improve the postulants’ living conditions, protect their health, and strengthen their formation journey.
Project Information
- Conventual Franciscan Jurisdiction: Province of the Franciscan Protomartyrs in Zambia
- Country: Zambia
- Location: Ndola
- Type of Project: Formational and Health Project
- Date of Proposal: 2025
- Direct Project Coordinator:
-
- Friar Luke Katongo CHILAMBWE
- Email: ofmconvzm@gmail.com
- Total Project Cost: €19,625.95
- Local contributions (from the local community)
- €2,000.00
- Contribution requested:
- €17,625.95
- Funding Status:
- Project funded by the Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany (€17,625.95)
Final Project Update
- Project completion: June 30, 2026.
The contribution from the Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany, received on March 19, 2026, was used in its entirety to complete the modernization and expansion of the bathrooms and showers at the St. Joseph Formation House. The project involved demolishing the existing facilities, extending the building by constructing new foundations and walls, building a new roof, installing terrazzo flooring and ceramic wall tiles, fitting new doors and windows, installing new plumbing and electrical systems, and completing all finishing work, including plastering, painting, suspended ceilings, lockers, mirrors, and fixtures.
During construction, the project experienced a delay because we underestimated the time required for some phases of the work. However, this did not affect the completion of the project, and we succeeded in achieving all the planned objectives.
The project has significantly improved the sanitary conditions at the St. Joseph Formation House, providing postulants with more modern, safe, and functional living spaces. The building now has six bathrooms and six showers, adequately meeting the needs of the growing number of postulants while ensuring better hygiene, greater comfort, and improved health protection.
The project’s direct beneficiaries are the twenty-one postulants currently living at the formation house (twelve first-year and nine second-year postulants). They come from Zambia, Malawi, and Angola. The friars of the Province, guests of the community, and future postulants will also benefit from the new facilities.
Upon completion of the project, the Province of the Franciscan Protomartyrs in Zambia expressed its sincere gratitude to the Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany, and to the Projects Office, for their generous support and collaboration. The Province emphasized that this project will provide lasting benefits for the well-being and formation of the young postulants.
At the following link, you can read a handwritten thank-you letter in English from the postulants of the St. Joseph Formation House, expressing their heartfelt gratitude to the Province of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Germany, and the Projects Office, for their generous support in making this project possible: Thank-you-letter >>>
Projects Office
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