Right in the rural of Kilosa you find the famous Gaspar Bertoni Secondary School, known as Msolwa Secondary School. The school is situated right in the small Msolwa village, of one the first homes of the Stigmatines in Tanzania.
Established in 1994 Gaspar Bertoni Secondary school was built by the first Stigmatines missionaries in Tanzania, putting in practice one of the aspects of the charism of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmagmate of Our Lord Jesus Christ, known as the Stigmatines; the integral formation of the youth and the laity, as wished by St Gaspar Bertoni their founder.
Throughout the years St Gaspar Bertoni Secondary School has constantly promoted quality education and human formation for the youth of Tanzania, both rich and poor alike, and it has produced outstanding quality of young people, excelling in different fields, in and outside of Tanzania.
Being located in one of the disadvantaged areas of Tanzania, Msolwa Seconday School has become a channel of development and employment to the people of Msolwa and the surrounding areas.
Since its establishment the Stigmatines have made sure that they also promote provisions for helping the disadvantaged youth of Msolwa to access quality education and human formation. Special funds have been organized to help them pay for their fees in the school.
Through a special fund many children from Msolwa were able to lay a quality foundation for their future. One of the students who benefited from a quality education through this special fund for students was Hebert Daudi Chunga, who later after completing his high school studies in Msolwa Secondary School, was attracted to join the Stigmatines. He joined the Stimgatines in 2010.
After many years of the presence of the Stigmatines in Msolwa Hebert Chunga, who is now a deacon in the Congregation of the Stigmatines, is the first youth from Msolwa, who has also studied at St Gapar Bertoni Secondary school, to join the Stigmatine congregation and completed his priesthood studies under the same congregation.
During May 2019, by then Bro Herbert Chunga, completed his studies towards priesthood at St John Vianney National Seminary in Pretoria, and on the 11th May 2019 he did his final profession in the Stimgatines.
Now Deacon Chunga was ordained to Deaconate by His Grace Archbishop Dabula Anton Mpako, the new bishop of the Archdiocese of Pretoria. He was ordained on the 5th July 2019 at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Pretoria, one of the parishes built by the Stimgatines.
After his ordination, Deacon Chunga said he is very grateful of the journey he has achieved as a Stigmatine and being the first Stigmatine from Msolwa after so many years of the presence of the congregation in the area. “When I joined the Stigmatine as a young person from Msolwa village nobody believed I would make it to the end because those who joined before me failed to reach the end”, he said.
Deacon Chunga further said he has witnessed the outstanding contribution of the Stigmatines in transforming the poor village of Msolwa and today the village is one of the most known because of the work of the Stigmatines. “Many people from the village are working for the Stigmatines and out of that they are able to provide a better life for their families and provide quality education for their children”, reiterated Deacon Chunga.
As a transitory deacon towards priesthood Deacon Chunga has been assigned to work in the Ten Morgen and Winterveldt Stigmatine pastoral areas, in the North Western Deanery of the Archdiocese of Pretoria in South Africa. He will be residing in the Community of Jangwane during his tenure as a transitory deacon. He is expected to be ordained to priesthood when he has completed his transitory period as a deacon.
By Fr Paul Tatu CSS
