KATIBUNGA BENEDICTINE MONASTERY INTRODUCTION KATIBUNGA MONASTERY IS A RELIGIOUS

KATIBUNGA BENEDICTINE MONASTERY INTRODUCTION KATIBUNGA MONASTERY IS A RELIGIOUS




Katibunga Benedictine Monastery

Katibunga Benedictine Monastery.



Introduction:

Katibunga Monastery is a religious Benedictine Missionary community, the offshoot of the African Benedictines of Hanga – Tanzania which was founded in 1987. It is situated 85Km from Mpika town in Zambia.

Apart from engagement in its motto “Prayer and work,” the community has been very aware with the underprivileged people around the monastery.

Social services:

  1. The monastery has built the new Church for both, the parishioners and the monks.

  2. It has renovated and extended the classrooms of Katibunga Basic School.

  3. It has built 2 teachers houses, and the process of building other teachers houses is still going on slowly according to the funds from the benefactors.

  4. It maintains the road which goes to Mpika town 25Km to the tarmac road, at the end of rain season each year.

  5. It provides transport to the people to Mpika town once per week by minibus.

  6. It has a water mill machine, which helps the people of Katibunga and other villages near Katibunga to grind their maize and millet as their staple food.

Agriculture:

The community is totally dedicated in agriculture for itself as well as for the people in that remote area:

  1. Forest: It has planted about 1 hector of soft wood trees.

  2. Orchard:

    • It has planted a very big area of banana trees in which the community has started enjoying the fruits and the surplus is sold.

    • It has just started preparing another position of land for planting oranges, lemons and tangerine.


  1. Garden: The community has a garden in which it grows different kinds of vegetables, such as cabbage, onions, carrots, tomatoes etc.

  2. Fish pond: It has three fish ponds.

  3. Animal husbandry: It keeps cattle, sheep and goats.

  4. Poultry: It keeps also the local bridge of chickens which now more than 300 chickens

The manure of the above animals (no5 & 6) is being applied to the orchard and garden, to increase the soil fertility.

By dealing with agricultural activities, the community has started changing the people. Most of the people have started imitating dealing with agriculture: they keep poultry in small scale, goats and sheep, they grow maize in large quantity and millet, sunflower and beans. Some of the people sell their agricultural products. Katibunga Monastery is looked upon as a centre of agriculture learning. The community teach the people by involving itself totally in agriculture.

Katibunga village being in a very remote area of Mpika town, some of the basic needs are urgently needed, so as to improve the life of the people eg.

  1. Health Centre.

  2. Hydro –electric power for the following:

    • Health centre.

    • Katibunga Basic School.

    • Teachers houses.

    • Individual houses.

    • The monastery.


I admit with the English saying: “Rome was not built in a day.” Katibunga of yesterday is different of that of today, also will be different of that of tomorrow, provided that the people themselves are willing to improve their life by regular material and financial assistance of the helping Organisations.

Prepared by Fr. Willibrord Nzota (Superior of Katibunga Monastery).






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