Tondoro is a settlement in the

Kavango West Kavango West is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital and only self-governed settlement is Nkurenkuru, its governor is Sirkka Ausiku. The Region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango We ...

region of northern

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, and the administrative centre of the Tondoro Constituency. It is located south-east of

Nkurenkuru Nkurenkuru (1.093 m above sea level) is a town on the south-western banks of the Kavango River. It is the capital of the Kavango West Region of northern Namibia, located west of Rundu. It is also a former mission station of the Finnish Missio ...

, and it is inhabited primarily by the Uukwangali people. There is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mission in the village, called the St. Laurence Mission. It was founded in 1927 by Father Weilhöfer of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation wa ...

and it is staffed by them. The staff of the mission consists of five sisters of the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Tutzing Tutzing is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Starnberg (district), Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany, on the west bank of the Starnberger See. Just 40 km south-west of Munich and with good views of the Alps, the town wa ...

, and they staff a girl's hostel and a clinic. The Mission serves 35 communities spread along the

Kavango River The Okavango River (formerly spelt Okovango or Okovanggo), is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, runni ...

. They use two

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s to assist them in serving this vast number of people. The Deacons are Dc. Moses Kandjimi Murangi, and Dc. Erwin Masambo Musunga. The outstation communities are: Canchana, Desi, Ekuli, Gcarhuwa, Kahenge, Kukuwa, Kamupupu, Kaparara, Katara, Katope Island, K.M. Sekondere, Makambu, Matava, Mbambamusi, Mbome, Mburu-uru, Mpengu, Mukekete, Musese, Nambi, Namutuntu, Nepara, Ngandu,

, Nzinze, Simanya, Sitopogo, Tjara, Tuguva, Yinsu.

References

Populated places in Kavango West Catholic missions in Kavango {{Namibia-geo-stub