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    Community living in the Catholic Higher Education Institution as key component of the formation of agents of social transformation.
    (Paulines, 2013) Churu, Beatrice W.
    Social transformation is a necessary part of the Church’s mission to help bring about the reign of God in the world. Catholic Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) take their inspiration and guidance from the Gospel of Christ, and have an obligation to help the Church to better understand and attend to the need for transformation in the social settings in which they are active. Such institutions may approach the task in multiple ways, key among which is the formation of the agents of the said social transformation. Social transformation is here understood as a process by which a critical mass within a community commits itself to constantly discerning, agreeing and renewing the living of their values. Such commitment is not static, nor is it a destination that can be reached once and for all. It is, rather, a way of engaging the processes of history though which the community lives. Social transformation raises questions touching on universal principles of human dignity and eco-justice, but needs to be applied locally. It is not enough to subscribe to general principles. We need to be committed to an ongoing effort to understand and live these with due regard to the social and cultural realities of the particular situation in which we find ourselves. Resilient and focused leaders are needed. A Catholic HIE, such as Tangaza University College, aims to contribute to the formation of such leaders, the agents of the hoped-for social transformation. This paper underscores that the mission of formation of the agents of social transformation is primarily a communitarian one. A conscious and cultivated community approach is necessary as a component of the overall formation of graduates who will participate actively, with an evangelical spirit, in communities that, with their contributions, will become increasingly open to transformation. This paper focuses on the community in the HEI as a locus of preparation of the agents of social transformation in future ministerial settings. In brief, it posits that the Catholic HEI itself needs to be a community open to social transformation in order to succeed in its mission. While this paper takes Tangaza University College as its example of a HEI, it is hoped that the reflections it poses are applicable to many African Catholic and indeed Christian HEIs. The paper uses the terms “Catholic” and “Christian” interchangeably. Tangaza University College is committed to preparing agents of social transformation in line with the Gospel. As stated in the mission statement of the College, it is anticipated that these agents will minister in various social and ecclesial settings since the College “reaches out into the world”. For a person to be an effective agent of social transformation, ongoing personal transformation is essential. In tandem with social transformation, personal transformation is the genuine and continuous openness of an individual to choices that lead him/her to be more open to the fullness of life. Such fullness of life includes, but is not limited to, personal development and service to society. It is presumed that the career of the student in the College is organized to facilitate openness to such personal transformation. To this, the quality of community life lived in the college inevitably makes an impact, whether positive or negative. It is therefore imperative that the community life of the College be the subject of reflection and action in the self- assessment and self-improvement plans of the College. On this occasion of the Silver Jubilee, it is an opportunity to look back on various ways in which the College community has grown, at the numbers of students, and at faculties and programs in the College. It is also an opportunity to assess the inner life and culture of the College insofar as this can be done. A look at the community life lived in the college and its impact on members of the College, can be fruitful in positioning curricular choices in the future. To contextualize our subject, we can begin with a look at some of the cultural, historical and socio-economic background, and at the opportunities and impacts of these on community living in Africa and in HEIs there.