Tanzania

Dear friends – the news of famine in Tanzania is not good and according to Switzerland-based non-governmental organisation ACT Alliance “Nine regions of Tanzania, namely Arusha, Manyara, Kilimanjaro, Shinyanga, Dodoma, Iringa, Mwanza, Mara and Tabora, are caught up in chronic and transitory food insecurity due to poor or no harvests,” Seth writes …..

“I am at Dodoma this time,trying to go in the villages to see and evaluate the famine effect to the poorest and disable communities,and trying to rescue just few of them,because so many people are becoming very weak,sick and dying.”

We are looking at sending a truck load of maize to the village – and we need your help – if 1000 people gave £4 each we would be able to send roughly 100 sacks of maize to Mnase village. We so appreciate your help – Asante sana.

Seth writes from Tanzania – ” The food Problem is covering the whole Dodoma Villages and town,Central Region and More other parts of the Country,No rain this time and the food prices especially maize still shooting higher,last time as I shared to you 1 sack of maize was 100,000.TSH from 40,000 TSH,But now is 130,000 SHS, the situation is very bad.”

You can help by buying their music –

During our recent visit we met a man who now lived in the city but had grown up in the Wagogo village. He invited us to his home to meet his family to say thank you for our partnership with Mnase community.  As a child he had grown up walking 10 km a day to collect water. During droughts this well would draw so many people that he would find it hard to get near the water. So he and a group 0f 20 young children decided to go late at night in order to miss the crowds, going as a group prevented attacks by hyenas. Some nights though, in the darkness, they would slip and the yokes carrying the calabash gourdes full of water would fall and break. On these nights they would go home crying to inform their parents that there would be no water that day. With the well now in the community, his families (who still live in the village) lives have been transformed.

The water pump is still going strong in the village and the water supply is excellent. The amazing news is now 20, 000 people from the village and 3 surrounding villages are collecting water from this pump.

So here it is – THANKS to all who bought the Sing to the Well CD – we now have a finished medical dispensary. The first medical unit in this village. The interesting part of the story is that the government has now been kicked into action and they have almost completed a clinic which will be adjacent to this new dispensary. Unfortunately governmental red tape has stopped the opening of our facility until later in June. The government have promised that they will supply a doctor, nurse and supplies.

What’s the biggest change in your life time?” was the question we asked the oldest man in the village. “Female circumcision” he replied whilst other men around laughed. An interesting statement from someone who has lived through so many other changes in his community – this practise has completely died out amongst the Wagogo people due to teaching and a governmental campaign throughout Tanzania. His answer may have been due to the season we were in – we had arrived during male circumcision time (a real celebration were the drummers played all night – every night) and many of the young boys were seen coming back early in the morning on the backs of bicycles from the special place. The old man then left to go and play an African game that requires good memory skills – not bad for 100!