Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa is the pride of Africa and all black people in the world. As the first African cardinal in 1960, before most of the African Countries became independent, he became the symbol of black pride and capacity not only within the Catholic Church but world wide irrespective of ones faith. Though he lived a simple humble life he had great ideals and managerial skills to achieve his goals. One of his great ideals was to uplift the black man from misery through education.

In 1952 when he was made bishop and given the very poor part of lower Kagera with only penniless African priests, the first directive he gave his priests was to mobilise people to open schools even if done in mud cottages. To give an example, he personally supervised the building of one school near his residence, which came to be known as 'the bishop's school'. In a period of 8 years he reinforced the 7 primary schools that he found there and built 28 new ones, besides two middle schools one for boys and one for girls and two vocational schools. He also built Rutabo preparatory seminary. This was the beginning of a life long mission dedicated to the promotion of education.

When he was promoted to Bukoba diocese and created cardinal in 1960, he expanded his efforts. Besides building many more primary schools he enlarged St. Thomas More Ihungo secondary school and built the monumental 'Rugambwa Girls High School' in 1964. The same year he built the beautiful Ntungamo Major Seminary to train future priests. He also formed the Catholic Professionals (he had helped educate most of them in foreign schools) into a social guild to prepare them as leaders in different fields.

When he moved to Dar es Salaam in 1969 in spite of his increased pastoral responsibility he still had the promotion of education in his mind. He built Visiga junior seminary and founded the diocesan congregation of the Little Sisters of St. Francis to get well-educated personnel in the archdiocese. He lobbied for and helped build Segerea Major Seminary hoping to have the seminary professors and students engage with scholars at the University of Dar es Salaam and thus influencing the national elite for the good. He built the Don Bosco Youth Center after inviting the Indian Salesian Fathers specialised in the apostolate of the youth to facilitate the education of the youth who are in the different schools. He opened the Cathedral bookshop with the Pauline Sisters who are professional in book publications and distribution. In his last days, though retired, he gave the weight of his prestige to the foundation of St. Augustine University of Tanzania, the Catholic higher institute of education.

As bishop besides sending people to study in the local education institutions he procured scholarships outside the country to 25 priests, 26 religious women, 20 lay women and 31 laymen. His last unfulfilled dream was to build a model girls' high school in Dar es Salaam.

Rugambwa believed that education is the key to liberate the African from poverty and misery. He strongly believed that it is through education that man can build the city of God here on earth and help man to go to Heaven. The memory of this remarkable son of Africa, the first African prince of the church is among others remembered as a father and lover of education for the Africans.