HISTORIA YA PAROKIA

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PARISH HISTORY a). Parish Location Amboni Parish is in the City of Tanga. It is located in the sub location of Amboni in the northern part of City of Tanga. It is about seven kilometers from downtown Tanga. The parish has been established along the highway which connects the City of Tanga and the northern Tanzania/Kenya boarder on the way to the City of Mombasa. b). Amboni Suburb and its people Amboni suburban has developed from the sisal plantation camp which was established since the colonial times. Later in the 1970s Amboni was more populated because of the plastic factory which operated in the area. Many people came to work in this area and thus increased the population and thus the number of Catholics. Though there are many people in Amboni from other regions of Tanzania who came to work in the sisal plantation and in the plastic industry, the native people of this area are of the Digo tribe who engage themselves in small-scale agriculture as well as small-scale fishing in Indian Ocean. Most of the indigenous people are of Moslem faith. c). The Origin of the Parish Amboni Parish originated from an outstation of St. Anthony Cathedral Parish. The management of the Amboni sisal plantation built an original church in one of its camps for the use of its employees of the Catholic faith. As the population increased in later years, the original church could not accommodate the increasing number. The increasing of the population in this area and mostly of the Catholics challenged the St. Anthony Cathedral Parish to find ways of having a bigger place of worship in this area. d). Later Development By the end of 1970s and beginning of 1980s, Rev. Fr. Gerard Smith (R.I.P) who was the priest in-charge of St. Anthony Cathedral Parish requested a piece of land to build the church from the Amboni Sisal management. The management honored this request and it provided the parish with the piece of land. Having obtained this piece of land, Fr. Smith (R.I.P) with the help of the local catechist Mr. Shitundu and the faithful of the area, began to build the bigger church building and then the catechist house and the parish hall. When the construction of this complex was over, Bishop Maurus Komba (R.I.P) came to bless it and St. Joseph Mukasa was chosen to the patron. The history of Amboni outstation will never forget the great work of evangelization which catechist Shitundu did in this area. e). Transitioning to a Parish Amboni continued to be the outstation of St. Anthony Cathedral Parish until the end of the first decade of the 21st Century when Bishop Anthony Banzi(R.I.P) elevated it to its quasi-parish status. At that time, he sent Rev. Fr. Francis Gembe (R.I.P) to be its resident priest. Later on July 5, 2011 Bishop Banzi (R.I.P) made Amboni a parish of its own and named Rev. Fr. Odillo Shedafa to be its first priest in-charge. f). Challenges Along with many projects to improve this parish, priest Odillo Shedafa started the process of building a priest's house while he was living in a small room inside the building of the parish hall in which there is one room for the priest to live. After he left, priest Roman Shekumkai took his place as parish priest, but even he did not continue with the idea of building a priest's house. Father Anthony Mtunguja has taken the position of parish priest and has tried to change the house that was used by catechist at the beginning to make it a house of priests with offices and other services in it. The house has several rooms where priests can live and even receive guests. g). Native Priests Amboni Parish has not yet gotten a native priest up to this moment.

a). Mahali Ilipo Parokia
Parokia ya Amboni imo ndani ya jiji la Tanga katika kitongoji cha Amboni ambacho kipo upande wa kaskazini wa jiji hili. Kuna umbali wa kilometa kumi hivi tokea katikati ya jiji hadi kuifikia parokia hii. Parokia imejengwa kandokando ya barabara kuu inayounganisha jiji la Tanga na mpaka wa Tanzania na Kenya kuelekea jiji la Mombasa.

b). Asili ya Amboni
Kitongoji cha Amboni kwa asili yake ilikuwa ni kambi ya shamba la mkonge na baadaye kitongoji hicho kilipanuka sana wakati kiwanda cha plastiki kilipojengwa hapo kitongojini katika miaka ya awali mwa 1970. Hivi wenyeji wa kitongoji hiki wengi wao walikuwa ni waajiriwa katika shamba hili la mkonge na katika kiwanda hiki cha plastiki. Sehemu kubwa ya waajiriwa hawa ilikuwa ni watu kutoka mikoa ya bara. Wenyeji asilia wa Amboni na vitongoji vya mwambao wa Tanga ni wa kabila la ki-Digo ambao wamekuwa wakijishughulisha na ukulima mdogomdogo na biashara za mazao ya baharini. Wengi wa wenyeji wa maeneo haya wamekuwa ni wa-Islamu wenye historia ndefu ya u-Isilamu na mila za Mashariki ya kati.

c). Asili ya Parokia
Kwa asili Parokia ya Amboni imekuwa toka katika ngazi ya kigango cha parokia ya Mtakatifu Antoni Kathedra iliyopo kitongoji cha Chumbageni jijini Tanga. Kanisa la awali la kigango cha Amboni lilikuwa ni jengo dogo ndani ya kambi ya mkonge ya Amboni ambalo lilijengwa na utawala wa shamba hilo kwa kuwahudumia waajiriwa wake waweze kupata sehemu ya kuabudu. Kujengwa kwa kiwanda cha maplastiki cha Amboni katika miaka ya kati mwa 1970, kuliongeza idadi ya watu na hata wa-Katoliki katika maeneo ya Amboni na hivi kulifanya jengo la kanisa kuwa dogo. Ongezeko hili la watu na la wa-Katoliki katika nchi ya Amboni lilitoa changamoto kubwa kwa uongozi wa Parokia ya Mtakatifu Antoni Tanga wa kutafuta mbinu za kuweza kutoa huduma bora za kichungaji kwa waumini wa maeneo haya.

d). Maendeleo ya Baadaye
Mheshimiwa padre Gerard Smith (R.I.P) aliyekuwa paroko wa Parokia ya Mtakatifu Antoni kwa wakati huo aliona hitajiko hilo. Hivi katika miaka ya mwishoni mwa 1970 na mwanzoni mwa 1980, padre Smith (R.I.P) alijitahidi kuomba kiwanja cha ujenzi wa kanisa jipya kutoka kwenye uongozi wa shamba la mkonge la Amboni. Ombi hilo lilikubaliwa na katika kipindi hicho na mara moja ujenzi wa kanisa la Amboni ulianza. Pamoja na ujenzi huu wa jengo la kanisa, padre Smith (R.I.P) alijenga nyumba ya katekista mkazi na pia alijenga ukumbi mkubwa wa mikutano na shughuli mbalimbali za kichungaji hapo kigangoni. Ujenzi huu ulikamilika haraka na hivi waumini wa kigango cha Amboni kuanza kusalia katika kanisa jipya. Kanisa jipya lilibarikiwa na mhashamu baba askofu Maurus Komba (R.I.P) aliyeliweka kanisa hilo chini ya ulinzi wa Mtakatifu Yosefu Mukasa. Historia ya kigango cha Amboni haitamsahau katekista mkazi wa kigango hiki mwalimu Shitundu ambaye alifanya kazi kubwa ya kupanda Injili katika maeneo haya.

e). Safari ya Kuwa Parokia
Amboni iliendelea kuwa ni kigango cha Parokia ya Mtakatifu Antoni Tanga hadi miaka ya mwisho ya 2000 wakati Mhashamu baba askofu Anthony Banzi (R.I.P) alipokitangaza kigango hicho kuwa parokia tarajiwa. Katika tamko hilo, baba askofu alimtuma mheshimiwa padre Francis Gembe (R.I.P) kuwa padre mkazi wa parokia hii tarajiwa. Katika kipindi hiki idadi ya waumini wa parokia tarajiwa iliongezeka sana na hapo Julai 5, 2011 baba askofu aliipa parokia tarajiwa ya Amboni kuwa parokia kamili inayojitegemea na akamteua mheshimiwapadre Odillo Shedafa kuwa paroko wa kwanza wa parokia hii mpya.

f). Changamoto la Parokia
Pamoja na miradi mingi ya kuiboresha parokia hii, padre Odillo Shedafa alianza mchakato wa kujenga nyumba ya mapadre wakati huo yeye akiishi katika chumba kidogo ndani ya jengo la ukumbi wa parokia ambamo kuna chumba kimoja cha kuishi padre. Baada ya yeye kuondoka padre Roman Shekumkai alishika nafasi yake kama Paroko, lakini hata yeye akuendelea na wazo la ujenzi wa nyumba ya padre. Padre Anthony Mtunguja ameshika nafasi ya paroko na amejitahidi kubadilisha nyumba ilikuwa inatumiwa na katekista mwanzoni kuifanya iwe nyumba ya mapadre ikiwa na ofisi na huduma nyingine ndani yake. Nyumba ina vyumba kadhaa vya kuweza kuishi mapadre na hata kupokea mgeni.