At a Glance

The Diocese of Morogoro is part of the 21 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Tanzania.  Its history goes back to 1876 when the first CMS Missionaries established their first mission station at Mpwapwa. Later in 1879 they continued to advance through Mamboya, Berega and Morogoro. By 1927 Morogoro was part of the newly inaugurated Diocese of Central Tanganyika, and on 30th Nov, 1965 Morogoro Diocese was inaugurated and the first Bishop the Rt. Rev. Gresford Chitemo was consecrated.

Location

The Anglican Diocese of Morogoro covers the whole administrative area of Morogoro Region and the Western part of  Kilindi District in Tanga Region. The region is of the coast but it is not on the coast. It is one hundred kilometers from Indian Ocean. But in fact it is very close that this ocean influences Morogoro region’s climate. It is this oceanic influence that gives the Eastern Arc Mountains their unique plant and animal life. The Nguu, Ukaguru, Uluguru and Udzungwa Mountains of Morogoro region are part of this Arc, which includes the Taveta hills in the Republic of Kenya and the Usambaras in the Tanzania. They form a crescent of ancient crystalline mountains of which they are the remains. In spite of environment degradation and distortion many unique species of fauna and flora are still to be found in the Arc especially in Udzungwa and Uluguru Mountains

The Diocesan area lies between latitudes 5’ 58” and 10’ 0” South of Equator and between longitudes 35’ 25” and 38’ 30” East of Greenwich. The total area covered is 80,339 square Kilometers and is divided into 7 administrative districts.

Physical Features

The Diocese is within the altitudes from 4 to 2000 meters above sea level. Geographically, it can be divided into three zones:

1. The lower plain land being on the altitude of 4 to 500 meters above sea level. This part is fairly heavily populated and has a hot and humid type of climate with sizable scattered woods and grassland. Sometimes this zone experiences flood. This area is fairly fertile also. Among the crops cultivated are maize, paddy, sorghum, sugarcane, bananas, citrus fruits, sisal and sunflowers.
2. The semi-arid plateau zone situated to the plains. This area rises from 501 to 1300 meters above see level. It borders with Dodoma Region to the West, and experiences almost semi-desert conditions throughout the year. Crops grown in this part include maize-shot varieties, sorghum-short varieties also, beans, sweet potatoes, cassava, groundnuts, sunflowers and millet.
3. The highlands situated in the South-Western zone of the Diocese. This includes the Ukaguru and Uluguru Mountain ranges, besides the smaller ranges of the Pogoro, Usagara and Udzungwa Mountains.

This area has a mild climate with reasonable amount of rainfall. Farmers plant hybrid maize, sorghum-tall varieties, Irish potatoes, beans, Soya beans, coffee, wheat, citrus fruits (apples, peas, peaches, plums e.t.c), sweet potatoes and cassava.

Topographic Characteristics

The topography of the Diocesan area encompasses the rain shadow area along the Kilombero, Wami and Mgeta valleys, the Mahenge plateau, the Uluguru and Ukaguru. This manifests great variations in both soil conditions and rainfall. Alluvial soil is found in Kilombero and Mgeta valleys. This soil is considered to be suitable for agriculture development, while the mountainous areas are like to have soil erosion. The area is endowed with large water systems like Kilombero, Ruvu, Rufiji, Mkondoa and Wami rivers. The quantity of water is adequate for both domestic and irrigation scheme.

The Diocesan area experiences a bimodal rainfall pattern falling between October and May with a dry spell in January and February. However, the rains vary from year to year in their timing amount, duration and intensity. Hence, successful crop farming in the region in a particular year depends on the above factors. Normally, the annual total rainfalls range between 600 mm to 1800 mm. The topographic nature of the mountains affect the South East Trade winds, which is the major rain-bearing front, forcing these winds to precipitate more on the windward side. For this reason, the Eastern Uluguru mountains receive enough rainfalls amounting up to 2,850 mm annually.

The Diocese is having areas which experience exceptional droughts (with less than 600 mm of rainfalls). These include: Gairo and Mamboya divisions in Kilosa District and Ngerengere division in Morogoro Rural District. The average annual temperatures range between 18C on top of the highlands to 30C in lowlands. The remaining Diocesan areas enjoy a pleasant climate with an average temperature of 25C. Generally, the hot season starts July to September.

Ethnic Composition

The Diocese of Morogoro hosts different ethnic groups; especially the Kaguru, Nguu, Sagara, Vidunda, Ndamba, Maasai, Kwele, Pogoro, Kami, and Kutu. According to the area census of 1996, the Diocesan area had a population of 1,718,513 people out of which 94% are living in the rural areas.

In spite of this long list of tribes who live in Morogoro, the Kaguru people who number approximately 500,000, are the majority.  The area occupied by this tribe is approximately 3,600 square miles, 160 miles inland from the Indian Ocean.

Our Partners

We are working with the following partners from outside Tanzania :

• Crosslinks,
• USPG,
• CMS (UK and Australia),
• Partners International (Australia),
• EED (Germany),
• Tear Australia,
• Heifer International,
• VDM (Germany),
• Faith in Action (UK),
• TEAM Tanzania (USA),
• Action Tanzania (UK),
• BREAD (UK),
• Africa Pastors’ Fellowship (UK).

We are working with the following partners within Tanzania :

• The Government of Tanzania
• Christian Social Services Commission
• Christian Council of Tanzania
• ACT Provincial Office