About Mwalimu Bora
Mwalimu Bora is the Teacher Formation Program at Timazi Africa. After serving for a long time as itinerary preachers in high schools, we appreciate that teachers are best placed to disciple students. They are more effective because they are there with them all the time as opposed to a preacher who comes only occasionally. It is our conviction that our best input is to support the teacher by equipping, prayer, encouragement and providing resources needed to do the work of discipleship.
Mwalimu Bora seeks to integrate this vision and training early enough while the teacher is in training.
Vision
We envision seeing committed disciples of Jesus in High Schools in Africa
Mission
Train Bachelor and Diploma of Education students to become effective Christian teachers among High School students.
The Product
Christian Teachers teaching effectively in high schools while discipling students into Christlikeness.
Our Approach
We choose the noun Formation over Training to communicate the essence of the forming the whole person as opposed to training that only concentrates on the skill. It is Educator Parker Palmer who says that, “formation is a concept from the spiritual traditions, and it involves a concern for personal wholeness. Where training asks if the person has the right knowledge and technique, formation asks after the state of the person’s soul. Where training offers the person new data and methods, formation offers the person help in discerning his or her identity and integrity.
Objectives Of Mwalimu Bora
The teacher formation process has four main objectives that is reflected in the curriculum design.
Further to personal discipleship and disciple making, the training equips the teacher to move their ministry into the classroom.
Traditionally, the influence of a Christian teacher has been in the Christian Union either as a CU Patron or an assistant. Mwalimu Bora seeks to help the Christian teacher to move that influence into the classroom by training the teacher to develop a biblical mind on the whole issue of education. How does the teacher teach Math, English, Science, and other subjects with God as the center? How do they do this in a public school? How does the teacher integrate faith as they teach, do discipline and grade students? The teacher should not only make disciples outside the classroom, but they must demonstrate their faith in their daily walk, conduct and practice to the students with no dichotomy.
God calls every believer to go to all nations and make disciples. The teacher formation program is committed to see the Gospel go to the ends of the earth. The teacher will be prepared to serve God as a teacher in the frontier as teaching is one of the careers in high demand in closed nations. Schools, especially Christian schools, are not only the future of Christ-centered education, but the future of Christian mission. Schools are a major point of contact between the Gospel and society.
Chalk Conference
Become part of Mwalimu Bora by attending Chalk Conference held every April. Chalk Conference gets its name from the everyday interaction of the teacher with the chalk. This is a five-day conference for Education students and recent education graduates whose two main objectives are:
1. To sell the vision of teaching as the one of the most strategically placed careers in fulfilling the Great Commission.
2. To connect the students with teachers who are already on the ground and engaging with students beyond the classroom for inspiration and network building.