Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College

Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College is situated 4 kilometres north of Moshi Municipality on the slopes of the snowcapped Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. In the early 1960’s the government of the then Tanganyika called upon the Christian Churches in the country to establish a referral and teaching hospital for the Northern Zone. Under the leadership of the Lutheran Church, Anglican and Moravian Churches in Tanganyika established the Good Samaritan Foundation (GSF) which planned and raised money from both local and overseas partners to build and equip the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) for service, teaching and research. The KCMC was opened in March 1971 after completion of the hospital buildings and was immediately taken over by the Tanzania Government. It was, however, handed back to the GSF in August 1992. The changes in Government policy to liberalize the economy and provision of social services rekindled the desire for higher education within the circles of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). In 1993 the Executive Council of the ELCT decided to establish a Lutheran university, “Tumaini University,” comprising, among others, The Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College.