In the whole matter of teaching children, it is important for Animators to realize that the activity they are doing requires sacrifice in order to obtain merit from God Almighty. Children are a group that in teaching requires creativity, wisdom and even humbling themselves to be like a child so that they can understand the one who is teaching them. In fact, the animator should be careful to choose a good way to teach children and to attract them so that they do not get tired of listening to her/him. For this reason, this section describes various methods that can be used by caregivers to teach children.

1. Questions and Answers

 This method is very good because it excites children in finding answers. The animator should prepare his teaching topic and compose various questions for which he knows that through these questions, the children will have understood what he intended if he knows or has already taught it, he wants to know whether they understood or not. When this method is used, the caregiver must be aware of the answers to the questions he asks the children, so that after the children answer, he has the ability to correct where he sees that the children did not give adequate answers. The Animator should never discourage the child when he answers even if he is wrong by telling him he does not know but praise him for trying to answer and then ask other children the same question, and later explain the full answer to the question he asked before continuing with another question.

Something to consider is that the caregiver should not ask the same children questions every time but change them so that all children can participate in the discussion. When he does the opposite, other children will not feel that they are also part of the class but will only be listeners who will not even want to understand the session further.

In addition, this question and answer method can be used in two ways, namely the caregiver formulates questions and asks the children, or the children formulate questions and ask the caregiver.

1. Direct explanation

In this method, the animator is the main speaker. Therefore, he should first prepare his session well and then ensure that the children are sitting in a good and calm state before starting to teach them. Also, he should ensure that the environment where the children are sitting does not have too much noise that will cause them to scatter their thoughts. For example, the caregiver should avoid places where cars pass by every hour, people, attractive objects such as food and other things that can distract the children’s attention while the session is in progress. The caregiver should use a cheerful voice accompanied by the use of various gestures and actions (body parts) that will enable the children to listen to him carefully without falling asleep or getting bored.

In addition, when this method is used, caregivers should choose topics that they think the children do not know much and teach them those. In this method too, the caregiver should prepare a short session because if he prepares a long one, the children will not follow him and will eventually leave him talking to himself. After finishing his explanation, he must ask the children, even if only a few, to explain what they have understood so that he can repeat where he feels he did not understand well.

1. Teaching through Role-Playing

This method is also very good because when used, children understand quickly because they use various words, gestures and actions that make them remember more easily. When a caregiver uses role-playing in teaching, he or she should first determine what he or she wants to teach the children and then design a role-playing game that will fit the subject he or she intends to teach. After designing the role-playing game, he or she should ask the children who they would like to play in the role-playing game. For example, if a caregiver wants to teach children about the Importance of Education, he or she can plan a role-playing game that includes parents, a student who is interested in education, teachers, and a child who does not like to read so that when the role-playing game is performed, it can bring about the intended goal of the children to see the importance of education and, on the other hand, to see the consequences of not liking to read. There are many examples of role-playing games that can be used in teaching children.

The main thing that the animator should consider is to ask the children what they have understood in the role-playing game to understand whether his or her goals have been achieved in the sense that the children understood what he or she intended to understand. With this method, all children can understand, even those with limited understanding. This method can be used before or after a topic is taught, to increase knowledge on the topic. The caregiver can also prepare role-plays to go through the tapes that have already been played, the children do not have to just act them out all the time. The important thing is to get the intended message.

1. Discussion (Groups)

This method requires the animator to first organize their children into groups of no more than four children per group. In organizing these groups, it is necessary to mix children of different ages and more, considering the criterion of understanding. For example, there are children who understand quickly, others are in the middle and others understand slowly. It is a good thing for the caregiver to mix all the children in each group so that they can teach each other because if he arranges children with little understanding in one group, it will be difficult to achieve the exercise.

Since the children are still young, the animator should give something to discuss that he has already taught and so he just wants them to remind each other. The main goal of using this method is to build children’s ability to learn on their own and also to be able to reach each child where he is because it is not easy for all children to understand when the caregiver is teaching if he has a large number of children. In addition, it is good for children to visit each other from one group to another to listen to what their peers are discussing but under the supervision of the animator, so that they do not start games instead of learning.

1. Learning through Pictures

It is good for the Animator to also use the picture method because children really like looking at pictures and giving them interpretations or meanings carried by those pictures. Therefore, the caregiver should use pictures that can explain the idea he is teaching in order to build the ability of the children to grasp what he is teaching. For example, if he is explaining the topic about the suffering of Jesus, it is good for him to have a picture of Jesus in suffering or the cross of Jesus in front of him so that the children can see the reality of what they are being taught. Likewise, if he is teaching children about mass clothing, he should have that clothing so that the children can relate to the caregiver’s explanation.

It should be noted that, a picture of an object can be shown at the beginning before the caregiver explains what he is teaching, so that the children have a chance to look at it and finally ask them what they saw and understood. After getting feedback, the caregiver should say what he is teaching them that day based on the answers he received from the children. On the other hand, the caregiver can first teach the children and at the end show them a picture that carries the theme of the episode and finally ask them if they understand what the picture is about. This method gives the child a higher understanding because he will be able to relate what he was taught to what he saw in the picture.

1. Using the Holy Scriptures during Teaching

It is very good for the Animator when teaching, to use the holy scriptures as a way to increase knowledge or attention in the children’s minds. For example, if he is teaching about giving acts of mercy, he should find a part of the holy scriptures that shows how Jesus also gave acts of mercy by healing the sick (Mt 8-12), feeding the people (Mt 15:32, 16:10) or any part in the holy scriptures that describes acts of mercy. By doing so, he will make the children see the importance of them giving acts of mercy because even Jesus did that. Therefore, caregivers should strive to use the holy scriptures when teaching children and not just talk about things that have no reference in the Bible.

1. Teaching through Stories

Children love to listen to various stories and even be given the opportunity to tell them themselves. So, caregivers can also use this method to teach children so that they can better understand the subject they intended to teach. As in drama, the caregiver can teach something and then at the end tell the children to tell a story related to that subject, or the story can be told at the beginning and then the caregiver can relate it to what he has prepared to teach. It is clear that when a child receives teachings from the caregiver and then combines it with a story that carries an idea like the one taught, the child will not forget it even for a day.

Examples of stories that a animator can teach children are various stories from the Bible, which have the role of providing a certain teaching to children. However, since the child of the Holy Childhood should also be taught about worldly knowledge in order to cope with his environment, it is also good for the caregiver to guide the children in telling other common stories to teach morals. The goal is to create a child so that he can build a spiritual and physical personality while successfully managing his environment.

1. Using Songs in Teaching

It is obvious that children love to sing and have the ability to understand what they are singing about. animator can sometimes use songs in their teaching to make what they are teaching easier to understand. For example, they can find a song that they know that if they start it at the beginning of the lesson, the children can help them understand what they want to teach. On the other hand, they can sing it after the lesson to reinforce their knowledge of the lesson. However, a song can be sung at any time with the aim of encouraging children not to fall asleep or not to get better with the teacher’s teachings because young children cannot listen to one thing without getting excited.

1. Trips

This is also a good technique that when used helps the child to get the reality of what he has already been taught. For example, when the teacher teaches children about giving acts of kindness, he should plan a visit to go and visit one group of people for example: orphans, the elderly or the sick. This will help children to recognize what they were told in class about the problems of life in these groups mentioned because they will be seeing the reality of their lives.

1. Actions

Animators should often use actions in what they teach. The reason why the caregiver should direct the child to actions is that these will create a sense of awareness in the child of what he should do, so that later he can do it too. For example, if he is teaching children about praying or asking for forgiveness, he should teach the children how they should do it with actions of great humility and let them do the same. These actions are such as; holding hands and saying words of apology for example; “please forgive me” and “I’m sorry” in a state of humility and not just saying it to himself without any sign of having a heart of repentance. Or if the caregiver is teaching children about praying the sign of the cross, he should, after showing them how the sign of the cross is made, tell them to do the same, again until they understand. By using practical methods for children, the caregiver can easily understand the level of understanding of their children.

In addition to the methods described above, the caregiver can also use rhymes, proverbs and poems to be successful in children’s classes. However, it should be noted that these teaching methods discussed are not meant to be used all together and for every lesson prepared to be taught. These are aimed at giving the caregiver a wide field of choice in his teaching, so that he can effectively achieve what he is teaching the children.

Prepared by: Sr Anagladness Mrumah, National Holy Childhood Secretary

What a joy that the Holy Childhood Society has been showing its fruits in the church. It will be remembered that, through the various morals and spiritual teachings that the children of the Holy Childhood have been receiving, the church has witnessed the fruits of priests and religious in these times.

Among the priests that the office has been able to identify in the majority are Fr. Patrick Bwakila, Parish Priest of Yombo Parish – Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, Fr Paul Michael Mamboleo (Currently a Teacher at the Visiga Seminary, Fr Ladislaus Milagiro of the Diocese of Kigoma, Fr. Andrea Kilatunga of Tanga Diocese and Fr. Dominiki Albert Paul Izungo Mlacha from the Passionist Fathers of this year 2025, born in the Diocese of Same.

It is our hope that if parents recognize the value and importance of The Holy Childhood Society, the church in Tanzania will be able to produce various vocations of people with strength in carrying out their ecclesiastical duties.

The Tanzanian Church has witnessed again this year a large number of children baptized on April 21, 2025. It is clear that through this great achievement of the increase in believers in the church, it is what enables the gospel of Christ to spread everywhere.

In a special way, the office of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which is truly dedicated to looking after the development of faith in children, thanks God for finding child believers who, if they grow up in the foundations of the Holy Childhood Society, the church can grow in its breadth.

Prepared by: PMS National Office

178 children of the Ngulu and Kilomeni parish, on April 5 2025, during the Lenten season, made a pilgrimage. This pilgrimage aimed to commemorate this holy period of remembering the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. The pilgrimage journey began at the stations of the cross which are located on a high mountain that starts from a place called Kisekibaha towards Kilomeni. After completing this journey, there was a holy mass in the Kilomeni parish which is also the pilgrimage center of the diocese.

In addition, the children, along with 4 priests and 12 nuns, also managed to visit other prayer centers found in Kilomeni parish such as the church of worship, the Grotto of the Virgin Mary and the Cross.

by: Fr Alphonce Ndaghine, Diocesan PMS Director

Today the Church of Tanzania joined the world church in celebrating the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. On this day, hundreds of religious women and men were able to gather together in their dioceses and celebrate the Holy Mass, a celebration in which the nuns had the opportunity to renew their covenants with God, as they had promised earlier.

In fact, this feast has been a deeply reflective one as the celebrants of the mass, who were bishops, were able to touch on matters that are very fundamental in the life of the nuns. For example, in the archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, Auxiliary Bishop Henry Mchamungu, reminded the nuns of several things that the nuns should consider. Among these things he emphasized are: a nun to ensure that he/she becomes a person of prayer and contemplation, living a community life, living a life of penance, living the charisms of the congregation, living a life of dedication, following the rules and regulations of the place where they are given to do a mission and doing a mission for the benefit of the church.

Since in the archdiocese of Dar es Salaam they have the custom of congratulating nuns who in the relevant year are celebrating their jubilees of religious life, on this day, 12 religious women were congratulated; two golden jubilees (Sr Edmunda & Sr Theonestina) and 10 Silver jubilees (Srs Jadwiga, Anagladness Mrumah, Idda John, Elionora Danghalo, Mariel Kazibure, Florence Pontian, Alistidia Faustine, Veronika Mikoma & Ritha Mary).

The Church in Tanzania is proud to have many religious men and women who, with their various charisms, have been able to carry out different missions in the church and thus be able to manifest Christ to his people. Furthermore, we pray that the Lord of the harvest will continue to bring workers into his field.

Prepared by: PMS National Office

The National PMS Office thank God for having the opportunity to participate in the Diocesan Holy Childhood Congress which started on January 31-01, 2025. As is the case with other diocesans, on behalf of the National PMS Office, Sr Anagladness Mrumah who is the secretary of Holy Childhood at the national level, admits to be very happy with this first Congress of Holy Childhood diocesan level, which has been successful with high efficiency.

In addition, in this Congress, the office had the opportunity to give a seminar to two groups, namely: a group of children whose number was 902 and a group of children’s animators who were 74. The topic given to children was about Pontifical Mission Societies and in a very special way on of the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Holy Childhood. The topic for animators was about the important things that they should follow in their parenting work.

Therefore, in a general assessment, this first congress which has been held under the leadership of Fr Gosbert Mlambia, has built a very solid foundation for future congresses in this diocese and thus make missionary work grow rapidly in this diocese.

Prepared by: National PMS Office

Kongamano la utoto Mtakatifu lilifanyika Katika Parokia ya Mt. Francisco wa Assis Mwanjelwa huku tukitumia majengo ya Chuo Kikuu (CUoM) Kwa malazi na vipindi kwa watoto wetu. Kaulimbiu ya Kongamano letu ni “ULINZI WA MTOTO NI JUKUMU LANGU NA LAKO’

Idadi ya washiriki ilikuwa kama ifuatavyo; Watoto wa Kipapa 2908, Mapadre 5, Watawa 15, Walezi 241 na Askofu 1

Tulianza Kongamano kwa Misa Takatifu iliyoongozwa na Mhasham Askofu Msaidizi Godfrey mwasekaga mnamo tarehe 28.12.2024 asubuhi kisha ikafuata rariba ya vipindi mbalimbali. Mada zilizofundishwa ni pamoja na;

1. Ulinzi wa Mtoto (Mapadre, Watawa, RPC na wadau waalikwa)
2. Mtoto na sala (Mapadre na Watawa walioandaliwa)
3. Ekaristi Takatifu chemichemi ya Maadili mema kwa watoto. (Mapadre)

Sambamba na mada hizo zilizotolewa, kulikuwa na burudani mbalimbali kwa watoto kama vile ngoma, vichekesho, maigizo, muziki, ngonjela na nyimbo.

Zawadi mbalimbali zilitolewa kwa waliofanya vizuri ili kuamsha ari ya kujiandaa vizuri wakati wa Kongamano.

Kwa upande wa Liturjia, watoto walihudumu vizuri na kwa zamu. Walishiriki vema katika Uimbaji wakati wa Misa, wengine walihudumu altareni na wengine walitumikia kwa nafasi mbalimbali wakati wa Misa. Siku ya kilele kulikuwa na maandamano yaliyoongozwa na Mhasham Askofu Msaidizi Godfrey Mwasekaga kuanzia Kanisa la kiaskofu Jimboni hadi Mwanjelwa. Tuliandamana vizuri bila kupata changamoto yeyote na kisha tukahitimisha kwa Misa Takatifu. Kwa ujumla vitu vyote vilifanyika vizuri bila kupata changamoto kubwa kwa watoto wetu.

Tunashukuru kwa miongozo mbali mbali tunayoipata kutoka Ofisi ya Taifa. Mungu awabariki.

Imeandaliwa na: Fr. Exavery Maingu Mafwimbo

Mkurugenzi PMS Jimbo Kuu la Mbeya

In a special way, the National PMS Office thank God for having the opportunity to participate in the Diocesan Holy Childhood Congress which started on January 31-01, 2025. As is the case with other diocesans, on behalf of the National PMS Office, Sr Anagladness Mrumah who is the secretary of Holy Childhood at the national level, admits to be very happy with this first Congress of Holy Childhood diocesan level, which has been successful with high efficiency.

In addition, in this Congress, the office had the opportunity to give a seminar to two groups, namely: a group of children whose number was 902 and a group of children’s animators who were 74. The topic given to children was about Pontifical Mission Societies and in a very special way on of the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Holy Childhood. The topic for animators was about the important things that they should follow in their parenting work.

Therefore, in a general assessment, this first congress which has been held under the leadership of Fr Gosbert Mlambia, has built a very solid foundation for future congresses in this diocese and thus make missionary work grow rapidly in this diocese.

Prepared by: PMS National Office

Mwaka huu kongamano la utoto mtakatifu katika jimbo la Ifakara, limefanyika katika parokia ya mtakatifu Francis Xavery Kisawasawa kuanzia tarehe 26-28 Disemba 2024. Kongamano hili lilikuwa na jumla ya washiriki watoto wapatao 591. Kauli mbiu ya kongamano hili ilikuwa ni Mtoto ni Malezi. Aidha, mada mbalimbali ziliwasilishwa na watu wafuatao: Uelewa juu ya Biblia Takatifu na Maadili Mema na Pd. Boniface Mwanja, Sakramenti za Kanisa na Ekaristi takatifu Pd. Edson Lyabonga.

Kongamano hili pia lilinogeshwa na maandamano ya kimisionari ambayo yalifanyika siku ya tarehe 28 na kupokelewa na baba Askofu Salitarus Libena, na baadaye misa takatifu ya Watoto Mashahidi.

Tunamshukuru sdana Mungu aliyeyawezesha haya yakaweza kufanyika kwa kadiri ya mpango wake.

Imeandaliwa na: Pd. Michael Mhina, Mkurugenzi wa Mashirika ya Kipapa, Jimbo

Watoto wa jimbo katoliki la Lindi wameweza kushiriki kongamano lao hapo Disemba  mwaka huu 2024, katika parokia ya Kilwa Masoko. Kongamano hili lilianza mnamo tarehe 26 – 28 Disemba (sikukuu ya watoto mashahidi). Washiriki watoto katika kongamano hili walikuwa jumla yao 410 kutoka katika kila parokia.

Katika kongamano hili watoto walifundishwa mada mbalimbali kama ifuatavyo: Jografia ya Biblia na Pd. Paul Chembe, Mkurugenzi wa Mashirika ya Kipapa Jimbo, Haki na wajibu wa mtoto na Pd. Fridolin Makwinya, Liturujia Ibada ya Misa Takatifu na Sr. Tereza Awino na mada juu ya Malezi ya Watoto iliwasilishwa na Mariam Mlacha.

Aidha katika kilele cha kongamano hilo, kulikuwa na maandamano ya watoto yaliyokuwa na lengo la kusambaza mbegu ya uinjilishaji, kwanza kwa watoto wengine ambao bado hawajamfahamu Mungu bado lakini pia kwa watu wote. Ni katika maamdamano haya, kwa bahati nzuri baba Askofu Wolfgang Pisa OFM Cap wa jimbo la Lindi na Rais wa Baraza la Maaskofu Katoliki Tanzania, aliweza kufanya maandamano pamoja na watoto na kwa namna ya pekee kuongoza misa katika kilele cha kongamano hilo.  Hakika, katika kongamano hili ni dhahiri kabisa kuwa watoto walisia mbegu ya uinjilishaji, kwao binafsi na kwa wengine waliokuwa nje ya kundi hili.

Imeandaliwa na: Pd. Paul Chembe, Mkurugenzi wa Mashirika ya Kipapa-Jimbo