ATLANTA – Christians across the world celebrate World Communion Sunday (Oct. 6 this year) by taking part in the Lord’s Supper and commemorating the ways different traditions and cultures celebrate this Christian sacrament. Yet, how many also understand the significance of the World Communion Sunday offering that United Methodist churches take on that Sunday?

Even some of the scholars who receive World Communion Scholarships have not necessarily connected the two, like Garikai Malunga, from Zimbabwe, who has been studying since 2022 as a World Communion Scholar at Africa University. He knew he was recommended by his pastor and that Global Ministries granted the funds…but where did they come from?

“You mean, this World Communion that we celebrate, even in Zimbabwe United Methodist churches, and in the U.S. and Europe and other places around the world…churches take an offering and that is how my scholarship is provided, by so many people who do not even know me?” Malunga said when he realized the connection.

He paused for a moment. “I now know the importance of giving! This money was donated in the church and being used to help the people, the less privileged ones. This is very good. At AU, many students come here through UMC scholarships.”

It is very good indeed, and a long-held tradition among Methodists to ensure access to education, no matter who people are, where they come from or how little they have in material means.

“I come from very humble circumstances.”

Malunga is not only a doctoral student at Africa University in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, he is also a lecturer in the university’s Medical and Laboratory Sciences degree, and a clinical scientist, as well as head of the Department of Biomedical and Laboratory Services. At 49 years old, he may not be the typical scholar, but he has a deep appreciation for receiving a scholarship at this time in his life.

Malunga is studying for a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Africa University. His research combines both public health and biomedical science. He is investigating two indigenous herbs traditionally used by people experiencing malaria symptoms. He is interviewing people who have used this remedy to understand the effectiveness and side effects and of the herbs. He will then conduct laboratory tests on actual malaria parasites to evaluate toxicity and efficacy of the herbs. 

Although he earned a diploma in medical laboratory sciences, a B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Mathematics, a graduate certificate in education and a M.Sc. in Clinical Biochemistry, if he were to remain in his teaching position at Africa University, he would need a Ph.D. As a widower with four children, he had no way to pay the extra expense for his studies. Though he has remarried recently, he lost his first wife in a bus accident unexpectedly.

“I come from very humble circumstances,” Malunga explained. “My parents divorced when I was seven. When I was young, my head was a little big for my small body. My father took my two older brothers with him, but when it came to me, he said to my mother: ‘Take this child, he is yours. With this big head, where will he go? Take him – I don’t want him.’”

Malunga continued: “My mother said, ‘I will neglect my son.’ That’s what she told him. And she took care of me, a single mother working on the commercial farms of Makonde District in Mashonaland West province in Zimbabwe. Just imagine, working in fields, saving every cent so I could go to school.”

After Malunga finished primary grades in the farm school, his mother sent him to stay in town with his uncle, and she continued to pay his secondary school fees. He was, it turns out, a very capable and passionate student.

“This scholarship is crucial to my life.”

Malunga laughed as he pointed out: “It seems like maybe my brain in my big head was also big, meaning, God has equipped me with some intelligence.” Now, as he looks back, he is astounded at how far he has come and considers himself very lucky that God guided him through lean times and busy times, good times and sad times, providing the scholarships he needed through the government and the church, and all beginning, of course, with the meager earnings of his mother.

In fact, across his extended family, Garikai Malunga is the only one, in his generation or previous generations, who has graduated from high school. And now, the extended family looks to him for support and provision of one necessity or another. On his shoulders, in addition to his children and a step daughter, is also the care of his mother, now living in a rural area, his brothers, who need seed or fertilizer to start the growing season, and the needs of other extended family members.

Yet, without a Ph.D., Malunga knew he would lose his position at the university, and that would jeopardize the foundation of his family. In addition, he really likes his job. “I don’t know how to thank Global Ministries,” he said. He mentioned also that he is grateful that he will continue to have the funds to give to his church, King David UMC in Mutare. “This assistance from Global Ministries, I tell you it is something that really taught me a lesson…that you need to help others.”

Giving, of course, is not just financial, but also in service. Malunga’s clinical biochemistry degree means he is qualified to do hands-on work, such as testing patient samples to determine diagnosis, which is what he does once a week at Old Mutare Hospital Laboratory…free of charge. “This is my community service, which I can offer back, because I know this United Methodist hospital cannot afford to employ clinical scientists. They really need this specialized service.”

Who would have thought that someone placing an offering in a World Communion Sunday envelope in Georgia, or Oregon, or maybe Stuttgart, Germany, would motivate someone in Zimbabwe to provide a vital service to a hospital as a volunteer, half a world away. This is the nature of the unseen faith connection in The United Methodist Church.

For World Communion Scholarship inquiries

The World Communion Sunday offering provides scholarships and leadership development opportunities for international students and U.S. racial-ethnic students who are pursuing advanced degrees. Gifts not only make an impact in the lives of individual students, but also the religious, social and civic communities in which they lead and serve. These funds are administered by Global Ministries in collaboration with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

As Global Ministries and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) continue their work of greater alignment, scholarship inquires for both agencies should be directed to the GBHEM Scholarship Office at +1-615-340-7344 or scholars@umcmission.org.

Give to the World Communion special offering at your local church, or connect here to give online and mark World Communion Sunday.