MILAMBO: EDUCATION AND LIBERATION

 

 

Adeladius Makwega – Office of the President,
Department of Archives and Records.

 

Early on September 22, 2026, Mwanakwetu came across a file that took him back almost half a century.

It was the file of the Tabora Regional Education Officer from 1977. To someone else, it might have looked like an ordinary, age-worn file. But to Mwanakwetu, it was a doorway into history.

 

He opened it.

He began to read.

Inside, he found the story of Milambo Secondary School, a school with a long and important history in Tanzania’s education journey, formerly known as St. Mary’s School.

 

The year was 1977, and Milambo was celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking fifty years since it was established on September 16, 1927.

 

Mwanakwetu continued going through the documents. Then he came across an invitation that had been sent to the Tabora Regional Education Officer, inviting him to attend the celebrations marking the school’s 50th anniversary.

But there was something else in the invitation.

 

The Education Officer was also asked to make a contribution of at least 20 shillings to help make the celebrations possible.

Mwanakwetu paused.

He wondered:

“What was 20 shillings worth in 1977? And what did Milambo’s 50th-anniversary celebrations actually look like?”

 

Before he could find an answer, his eyes fell on something else.

Invitation Card No. 99.

The card had been received and filed in 1977. Today, almost 49 years later, it remains part of the historical record.

Mwanakwetu looked at it for a while.

 

If that invitation card could speak, perhaps it would say:

 

“I was there when Milambo celebrated 50 years. And now I have lived long enough to witness its journey toward 100.”

That was when Mwanakwetu truly understood the significance of what he was holding in his hands.

 

In 1977, Milambo had reached 50 years.

In 2027, it will reach 100.

An entire century!

One hundred years is not just a number.

It is the story of teachers who walked through its classrooms.

It is the story of thousands of students who passed through its gates.

 

It is the story of parents who entrusted their children to the school.

It is the story of dreams born within those classrooms.

It is the story of lives transformed through education.

It is part of the history of Tabora and, in a broader sense, part of the history of education in Tanzania.

And now, all eyes turn to one important date:

SEPTEMBER 16, 2027

On that day, Milambo Secondary School will officially mark 100 years since its establishment in 1927.

 

Mwanakwetu asked himself once again:

“If this invitation card from 1977 has survived all these years, how many other Milambo memories are still waiting somewhere to be discovered?”

Perhaps they are hidden in old files.

Perhaps in old photographs.

Perhaps in letters.

Perhaps in the memories of former teachers and students.

Or perhaps they live in the minds of elders who can still tell the story of the Milambo they once knew.

That is why Mwanakwetu says:

Let history not be forgotten.

Let us remember where we came from so that we can understand where we are going.

From St. Mary’s School in 1927, through Milambo’s 50th anniversary in 1977, the journey now approaches another remarkable milestone:

MILAMBO SECONDARY SCHOOL — 100 YEARS

September 16, 2027.

Mwanakwetu closed the file.

But history was not closed.

Because a file may be closed...

but memories continue to live.

And the journey of Milambo toward its centenary has now begun to be written anew.

Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember:

MILAMBO IS EDUCATION AND LIBERATION.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

Email: makwadeladius@gmail.com
Phone: 0717649257