Mupini (pronunciation: []) is a settlement and former Mission (station), mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society in Kavango East, Namibia. It is located along the Kavango River about 18 km to the northwest of

Rundu Rundu is the capital and largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River about above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted 36,9 ...

and 62 km east of Rupara.

History

In 1932 the Finns were planning to found a new mission station within the tribe of Mbundža, and Pastor Aatu Järvinen (later Järvineva) had chosen a site called Ruuga for this purpose and bought it for the Finnish Mission. Ms. Kyllikki Alava (1899–1941) was sent there, but she found out that the

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

had occupied the site and were already building the foundations for their houses. However, Järvinen had prepared himself for this eventuality, and he had agreed with a local English administrator that the Finns could instead have a place called Mupini, which was conveniently located on a small plateau some distance from the Kavango River. Thus in 1932, Kyllikki Alava became the first Finnish missionary in Mupini. In 1934 she married Albinus (Alpo) Ojonen (1898–1942), and after that they worked at Mupini together, until both fell ill and died in South West Africa.

References

Populated places in Kavango East Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission mission stations in Kavango {{Namibia-geo-stub