ANGAZA WOMEN CENTRE (ELCT Northern Diocese)

 Angaza Women Centre is a Training Centre owned by ELCT (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania) Northern Diocese. The construction of the Centre started in August 1994 and was completed in 1999. It was officially opened and inaugurated on 23rd January 2000.

OVERALL AIM AND CONCEPT

For a number of years there had been a plan to establish a women centre, which would serve not only the Northern Diocese but also other branches of the ELCT and the community in general. The plan was to have a place to hold seminars and at the same time offer appropriate courses for women, especially those from grassroot communities. The centre runs courses, seminars and retreats in order to:

• teach women skills to enable them to address problems in their daily lives.

• provide education to widen their horizons concerning issues affecting their lives in society

• cater for spiritual growth

• provide training activities to both men and women to bridge the gaps between them in their families and communities and to minimize gender exploitation

• to generate income from projects and fees in order to subsidize costs.

Another important aspect of the centre will be to enhance women’s participation in Church and Society by dealing with social issues which have negative effects on humanity, such as AIDS, drug abuse, environmental destruction, moral decline and human rights.

Subjects offered at the centre are: Dairy Care, Agriculture (small scale farming), pig keeping, poultry farming, gardening (especially vegetables) and home economics including nutrition and food preparation. Moreover, other subjects such as Small Income Generating Projects, keeping of other small animals, and childcare will be offered from time to time as required.