The Druffner family has been traveling to Bwambo Village, Tanzania, for nearly two decades. Many parishioners in the Diocese of Superior and Catholics throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota have supported their work in Africa. (Submitted photo)

This September, a milestone was reached at St. John the Baptist Academy in Bwambo Village, Tanzania, a school built by Partners 4 Hope Tanzania. The 501c3 organization is run by Mark and Molly Druffner, parishioners at the Church of St. Michael, Stillwater.

On Sept. 19, the school celebrated its first graduation ceremony alongside the blessing and inauguration of the cornerstone of the new Druffner Academic Complex.

Journey to Bwambo

Nearly two decades ago, the Druffner family first came to Bwambo Village with a calling to serve. Dr. Mark Druffner, a physician, began working alongside local doctors and nurses at St. Luke’s Health Center, while his wife, Molly Delaney Druffner, helped lead community development efforts in partnership with village leaders and priests.

Over the years, their family has lived and worked in the South Pare Mountains, forging lifelong friendships, raising their children among the people of Bwambo, and helping build lasting projects in healthcare, education and sustainability. What began as a single family’s missionary commitment has grown into a network of support through Partners 4 Hope Tanzania.

Before 2017, Bwambo Village had only a small government school, struggling with few desks, limited books, and scarce teachers. That same year, a tiny preschool with 10 children opened in a single room at the back of the parish church.

Thanks to the support of donors from St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lake Geneva and the Churches of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater, Minnesota, the dream of a thriving Catholic school in the South Pare Mountains began to take root.

Today, that dream has blossomed into St. John the Baptist Academy, serving nearly 300 students from kindergarten through seventh grade.

The community gathered near the new Druffner Academic Complex, named in honor of the Druffner family—founders of Partners 4 Hope Tanzania and longtime missionaries to Bwambo.

Led by Pastor Fr. Beda Kiure, his associate Fr. Josaphat Mklindi, and founding head teacher Petro Gerard Mngale, the academy has quickly become one of the top Catholic schools in the Kilimanjaro Region, offering a STEM program with robotics and coding, a computer lab, a sports complex and a new academic complex.

The academy recognized its first class of 16 graduates, all of whom will continue their studies at private secondary schools across Tanzania. Their success reflects the quality of Catholic education now available in Bwambo.

As the cornerstone of the Druffner Academic Complex was blessed by Bishop Rogath Kimaryo and pastor Fr. Beda Kiure, it became more than stone and mortar—it became a symbol of faith, perseverance, and the bright future being built for the children of Tanzania.

Since 2009, the Druffners have appealed to donors in Minnesota and Wisconsin, resulting in building a health center, three Catholic churches, a school, and a micro-loan program for women.

They also started the Educate-4-Life program that sponsors students in Tanzania to attend Catholic schools, seminaries and universities. The Druffners go to Tanzania for three to four months per year and will return to Bwambo Village in January to celebrate the inauguration of the newly built Immaculate Conception Church, also sponsored by Partners 4 Hope Tanzania.

The Druffners’ son, Fr. Julian Druffner, is a Diocese of Superior priest serving the Medford cluster of parishes.

To donate to their work and for more information, go to www.P4HT.org.