Students give weekly to sister school in Ethiopia.
Theology students at Montini Catholic enjoyed a special visit by
Brother Moses Abunya, who was there to speak about Montini Catholic's "twinning" school, St. Joseph School in Nazaret, in Ethiopia. Moses Abunya is a Religious Brother who is a member of the worldwide Catholic order of De La Salle Christian Brothers.
With a desire to make Montini's twinning school an element of Bronco students' everyday culture, Theology Teacher, Mr. Denis Block, invited Brother Moses to visit to inform and inspire his students to become better stewards of Christ. Throughout the year, on Thursdays, Montini focuses collections on the Catholic church's traditional practice of almsgiving - which is giving to those in need. Money earned through these Thursday collections goes to Montini's sister school.
Twinning is an initiative of the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) that encourages Districts that are financially able to aid those most in need. In the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN), middle and secondary schools in the United States and Toronto are twinned with 15 ministries in four countries in the Lwanga District of Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, Eritrea and Ethiopia. While the RELAN schools help support the Lwanga ministries financially, the students also build relationships as brothers and sisters in the Lasallian family to share challenges, accomplishments, stories and experiences. (Source: https://lasallian.info/what-we-do/twinning/)
The program began in 1995 in response to a call from the Institute to financially assist economically poor Districts and new Districts that were forming. A goal was to help these Districts achieve financial self-sufficiency in the long term.
The high cost of education in Africa presents a major challenge for most students who are financially poor and even without families in some cases. Therefore, the ministries subsidize much of the cost. Ministries use twinning donations for tuition assistance, maintenance and expansion of school facilities, the purchase of books and class materials, improved sanitation and other essential school expenses.
Montini Catholic's twinning school is located in the poorest country in the world. Brother Moses is proud to be an advocate for the St. Joseph students. The school has an average class size of 55 students per class, and although crowded, the students are strong and hard-working according to Brother Moses.
"Supporting the poor is a very important part of who we are at Montini," says Block, who encourages students to live life in service as a leader of Montini's Lasallian Youth Club. "As a Lasallian school, I think it is very important for our kids to have gratitude for their own blessings - while realizing that there are students throughout the world who are not as financially blessed."
St. Joseph Catholic School is located in Adama/Nazareth in central Ethiopia, about 100 kilometers (approximately 62 miles) southeast of the capital city of Addis Ababa. Bishop Urban Parson founded the school in 1958 and handed it over to the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady who ran it from 1961-1978. The Consolata Fathers administered the school from 1979-1983 until the Christian Brothers took leadership in 1984 and full ownership in 2014. St. Joseph has established this mission for the school: “Embedded in its vision, St. Joseph Primary and Secondary Catholic School, prepares students to be responsible, creative, competitive and capable citizens.” It operates with the core values of faith, service and community.
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