Monday 16 Feb was a good day for BUILD. It saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Africa International University (AIU). The memorandum not only provides course accreditation for BUILD, but signifies a wider partnership in a joint mission of theological education at the grassroots.
BUILD has agreements with the National Council of Higher Education in Uganda and a major university in Kenya for academic recognition, but it is exciting to be partnering with AIU in a more holistic way, enabled by our shared values. To illustrate this, the MOU’s preamble includes this statement, that the parties:
“Value their shared vision to grow godly, transformational Christian leaders across the continent of Africa; Recognise the important role that both organisations play in education and capacity building; Acknowledge that both organisations have similar missions of teaching, training and curriculum design and development; Appreciate the necessity of both organisations sharing resources in order to enhance their work; Are conscious of the changing needs, contexts and constraints affecting capacity building and the need to be mindful of these changes.”
Taking a step back, we first spoke about BUILD with AIU’s current Vice Chancellor, Dr Nelson Makanda, in 2023, when he was General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya. Our discussion focussed on the acute need for the training of local church leaders at the grassroots at scale across the African continent, and our shared concern to respond to that call.
With Dr Makanda taking up his new role as Vice Chancellor at AIU, and in discussion with the university and its School of Theology, it has been exciting to develop an MOU with them. The initial focus is on the delivery of training through a block-release course based at Carlile College, Nairobi, which has a rich history of training in mission and evangelism and is an existing implementation partner of BUILD. But there are features of the MOU and the signing ceremony that have greater promise still.
First, the signing was done from the BUILD side by the new, local and interdenominational entity, BUILD Training Initiative, Kenya (and by its Executive Director, Rev Canon Benjamin Kibara, witnessed by Dr Paul Mwangi, the Chairperson). The recent formation of the entity has enabled this direct MOU with AIU (with Dr Nelson Makanda signing on the AIU side, witnessed by Prof Mumo Kisau, the Dean of NEGST (Nairobi Graduate School of Theology) at AIU).
Second, while it was a legally robust document it was relatively short and straightforward in nature in comparison with other MOUs of this sort. And there was a joint willingness to be simple, flexible and practical for the sake of mission, which included keeping costs relatively low and streamlined.
Third, there is a desire from AIU and NEGST to engage faculty members and post-grads with BUILD too, in order to create potential future faculty and growth.
Fourth, and linked to that, AIU is pan-African in scope so there is the very real possibility of accrediting programmes elsewhere for BUILD, including in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Tanzania and potentially beyond.
Finally, and as a part of a shared desire to reach out to leaders at the grassroots, AIU has an approach to Recognising Prior Learning (RPL), which is particularly significant when many of the leaders have lacked access to formal education and the opportunities many people take for granted. BUILD has been evolving in a similar direction through the design of a basic, one-year certificate course to begin to train trainers, as an entry point for a diploma programme. AIU’s RPL programme enhances this further with the recognition of learners’ informal and experiential learning.
No wonder there was a shared excitement in the room, and a sense of the possibilities that might develop in the years ahead.
