On January 27, 2018, the Provincial Custody of St. Maximilian M. KOLBE in Tanzania celebrated the tenth anniversary of the “St. Maximilian Education Center”.
The celebration began at the parish church in Segerea (Dar es Salaam) with a Mass presided over by the Most Reverend, Marek SOLCZYŃSKI, Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Mauretania and Apostolic Nuncio to Tanzania. He was accompanied by the Most Reverend Jerzy MAZUR, S.V.D., Bishop of Ełk, Poland, and Delegate of the Polish Episcopate for Missions; Friar Tadeusz ŚWIĄTKOWSKI, the Assistant General for the African Federation of Conventual Franciscans (AFCOF); and Friar Wiesław CHABROS, the Provincial Econom for the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw).
In addition, there were numerous friars and other missionaries, religious and lay people from various dioceses in Tanzania attending. Also present was Mr. Krzysztof BUZALSKI, the Polish Ambassador to Tanzania.
The church was filled to capacity with children and young people from the Center, along with their teachers and parents. After Mass, the entire assembly moved in a procession (an hour’s walk) to the Center’s campus. The Center is comprised of a seven-year primary school, a four-year secondary school and a three-year technical school. The entire event was filmed and scrupulously documented by emissaries from TVP Polonia [Poland’s public television broadcasting corporation].
The Center’s motto is: “Education That Adds Value”, which means that the Center’s purpose is to educate the whole person: spiritually, intellectually, socially and morally. The Center’s teachers understand the importance of having a curriculum that embraces the needs, abilities and interests of the students. In short, the main purpose of the St. Maximilian Education Center is to raise the standard of living of the Tanzanian population by providing children and young people with a good, serious education.
Over the last ten years, the local population has developed the highest regard for the Center and considers it among the best educational centers in the city. Members from every tribe and religion in the area agree.
The construction of the Center began in 2008, with financial help from St. Anthony’s Charities. Later, various other benefactors contributed to the gradual development of the Center, including Poland’s Ministry of Education, which provided a great deal of help through the Polish Embassy in Tanzania. Currently, the Center’s primary, secondary and technical schools boast a combined enrollment of nearly 1600 students.
Friar Tadeusz ŚWIĄTKOWSKI, Assistant General for the AFCOF