Letter from Kondoa 2006

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Note: Please do NOT respond to any requests for money purporting to come from the church in Tanzania. These messages don’t come from the church; they come from crooks. Donations to Beth’s work can be made via Rochester Diocese or via the Curate.

The Culture of Kondoa Diocese Some Facts: - Kondoa is a district in central Tanzania of an area of 13,210sqkm - The district has a population of 429,824, the town a population of 20,000. - The majority of the population (73%) are Muslim, with an additional 5% being Christian and the others following Traditional Religions - There are many tribes coexisting peacefully in Kondoa. These include the Warangi, Wagogo, Wazigua, Wafyomi, Wanguu, Masai, Barbaig, Wasandawe and Waburungi
						Language The Lingua Franca of the area is Kiswahili, though the vast majority of the population speak their tribal language as their first language, using Kiswahili for shopping, learning, or communicating with anyone from another tribe. There are many people, particularly in the villages, who don’t speak Kiswahili. English is spoken by very few people- only those who’ve completed secondary school, and only well by those who’ve been to university. Government primary schools are Kiswahili medium, with Secondary schools being English medium. The wide use of Kiswahili Kiswahili being the Swahili translation of the word Swahili) has been given as a reason for the peace that exists between tribes- it has had a unifying effect. It is useful to know a spattering of the main tribal languages, particularly Kirangi, as it can lower prices charged in the market!
Weather There are 5 seasons. January to February is fairly hot and dry, March to April fairly hot and wet, May through to August is cool and dry, September to October is hot and dry, November to December being hot and wet. It is generally a lot cooler in the mornings and at night, and during this time it is very windy- even during the hot season it can be cold enough to need a jacket in the morning and a blanket at night. The afternoon gets very hot, and takes a long time to become cool again.
Landscape The area is very undeveloped, and so there are few houses, and those that do exist blend into the background; being made of mud bricks. There are no paved roads in the entire district. The ground is basically sand with dry grass. There are small thin trees which are covered in thorns, and then the huge Baobab trees which stand strong in places that other trees can’t survive in. The majority of the Diocese is rolling hills, with some parts being savannah. There are many varieties of colourful birds, loads of insects, snakes, monkeys and some larger animals, such as elephant and other wild animals- mainly spotted in the vast sparsely-populated areas between villages. Hunting has reduced their habitat as hunters set fire to large areas to clear it to be able to see better.
					Farming The population’s activities revolve around the farming year. Virtually everyone has a farm somewhere- even the local government officers have farms in the village they come from. The town is deserted in December for the planting of crops and then again in July for the harvesting- schools close for these months so the children can help out. Between December and June there is usually a shortage of food, unless the harvest was particularly plentiful; prices rise and the poorest are badly hit. The outlying villages are worse hit due to the costs of transporting any food they need to supplement what they managed to grow themselves.
Food The staple crop is maize, which is then made into ugali (flour and water made into a stiff blob) or uji (flour, sugar and water made into porridge). Chinese leaves or spinach cut finely with tomato and red onion is the staple vegetable dish. A tomato based sauce is served with everything. Peanuts and cashew nuts are common as are bananas and sweet potatoes. Meat available includes chicken, beef and goat, and various other animals/birds people get their hands on, though is very expensive and so rarely eaten. Eggs are also very expensive, and so even if a family keeps hens, the eggs are usually sold. Food is cooked in metal pots over a charcoal or wood fire. Food in Kondoa is a lot cheaper than in Dodoma, Arusha, Zanzibar, etc. This is probably due to the fact that most of the population are farmers or have farms and so more food is produced, and also most people are subsistence farmers and so don’t have to buy as much- so demand is lower. Also the population is poor, with very little cash, and so people won’t pay high prices.
Jobs Over 95% of the population are subsistence farmers. Other jobs include shop work, running the busses or minibuses, guard, cleaner, house-help, maid, teacher, doctor/nurse, secretarial e.g. working for the Government or aid organisations. Many of the people who work for such organisations are usually based in Dodoma and visit Kondoa for implementation meetings and research.
Water The entire town’s water supply is provided by a natural hot spring. Some houses have water supply through a tap, so some of the water from the spring is filtered and pumped round to houses. Most people, however, take buckets to either the spring outlet or the channels that wind their way around the town that the excess water goes into, and fill the buckets and either carry it on their heads, on a lorry or on a cart. Most evenings and nights there is no water available through the taps as the water tanks run out, and frequently there is no water for a couple of days, or longer, if repairs are being done, or the Water Board has not paid it’s electricity bills! A few of the villages have natural springs as well (noticeable by the sudden appearance of greenery, or wells installed by Aid Agencies. However most people go to streams or rivers to collect their water. Most of the rivers have dried out, even during the rainy seasons, however the people have found that if the dig deep enough into a river bed and wait, water will appear. Water supplies, even in large villages, can be 10km away- and of course getting water is a woman’s job!
						Communication There is one post office, in the town centre and 2 other sub-post ofifices, for the entire district; so for some people the nearest post office is 100km away. The way the Diocese gets letters around is by dalladalla (minibuses piled high with people and goods) - a letter is given to the driver who will then ensure that the letter is dropped off in the village en-route. This method is surprisingly reliable! Some villages have a PoBox in the town so a person from the village, if coming into town, can take the key and get the mail for the entire village. People don’t tend to have telephone lines in their houses, but they do have mobiles. Service in the town and major villages is good, but in the smaller villages is non-existent. In villages, where people don’t have electricity, there is usually a shop with a generator where you can take your phone to be charged. The Diocese has four radios in the deaneries, and one at head office. This is for communication with the Area Deans. The radios in the villages are bike-powered- one way to keep your vicars fit! Each Dean has a set time for communication each day.
Electricity Supply The town was connected to the National Supply in 1999. Within the town many houses have an electricity supply, and it seems that Tenesco is very lax about cutting houses off due to non-payment of bills. Within most of the villages however there is no access to the national grid. Usually one person, either the Village Chairman or Head Teacher, will have access to a generator. Lighting is provided by kerosene lamps. Recently the Government has started a ‘power-sharing’ policy, whereby a place is without power for 12 hours every other day, though this hasn’t affected Kondoa yet. There are very frequent power cuts, however, throughout the day.
Dress Men tend to dress very conservatively- trousers and shirt, though no tie, with smart shoes. There are a few tribes who wear there traditional dress, even in town, such as the Masai. For working on the farm, or for special occasions, however, people will wear there traditional dress. For men this generally involves a sheet of cloth wrapped round their chests with a belt and a pair of shorts underneath. Women, except those who work in offices, tend to wear traditional dress all the time. This involves wearing 2 kangas, one for the top half, either wrapped round like a towel, or wrapped over the shoulders (or head for a Muslim), and the second wrapped round the waist like a sarong. Clothing is very colourful, and it doesn’t matter if the colours completely clash! Otherwise they wear kitenge, which is a tyoe of cloth which is then taken to a tailor to be made into an outfit. Trousers are very rarely worn in town, and never in a village. Jewellery worn includes necklaces, bracelets (number depending on age and/or status), and anklets. Some tribes also wear head dresses, especially for special occasions. Holes in ears are very common, as are man-made gaps between teeth (which teeth depends on the tribe).
Rights of Passage Birth, Coming of Age, Marriage and Death are the main Rights of Passage for the tribes in Kondoa. (Though some tribes have very complicated age structures, leading to many ceremonies during a person’s life.) According to some people I have spoken to, the birth of a daughter is a time for mourning! Some girls are even left to die, but there are still 1% more women than men in the District as a whole. Due to a high infant mortality rate ceremonies aren’t generally done at this time- other than a naming ceremony if the family is religious. The family also celebrate if the mother is still alive after the birth- many women still die during child birth. Coming-of-age ceremonies are, though, very important. Often held between the age of 8 and 14. After this ceremony the child is allowed to marry, or given in marriage. The coming of age ceremony for a girl is younger than that for a boy. These ceremonies often involve circumcision, and an initiation stunt- such as killing a wild animal, as well as the usual singing and dancing. FGM is still heavily practiced in Kondoa despite heavy lobbying in other districts. A group will be initiated together. After this they will then be able to do certain jobs and wear certain clothes that they weren’t allowed before. Marriage is very important, and often polygamous. The marriages are usually arranged or determined by the man and the woman’s family- the woman has little say in the matter. The husband is usually a lot older than the woman- especially if she is not the first wife (some men are old enough to be their wife’s grandfather), and there are no restrictions on how old a person has to be before marriage; sometimes a girl is married before she reaches puberty. A dowry has to be arranged, that the husband pays to the bride’s family; often cows and goats, though increasingly cash. The younger a woman the higher the dowry. The dowry can cause a problem for many women as it means that no matter what happens she can’t return to her parents- or the dowry will be demanded to be returned- even if she is suffering from domestic abuse, which is depressingly common here.
				Once the dowry is agreed the engagement is announced. The typical pre-wedding parties involve a ‘kitchen party’ (strictly women only- singing, dancing, speeches, graphic descriptions of conception and child birth, and eating), a send-off (a party marking the woman leaving her home village to go to live in her husband’s- speeches, singing, dancing and eating all compered by a cheesy MC) and the marriage (in the husband’s village- usually a religious ceremony; either Christian or Muslim- with singing, dancing and eating for about 5 days in villages- very expensive!). Funerals tend to be a loud affair, with much weeping and wailing followed by a huge party. The body is always transported back to the home village, and the whole village is involved in the funeral- which can last a long time, and the period of mourning even longer. Often, if a man has died, the widow is then given to a brother of his.
Social Structures There are very strict social structures, mainly based on age, which helps keep things running smoothly in a country that, although it has a law and police officers, is pretty much a free-for-all (there is very little crime here- that which does exist is generally domestic, which the police don’t touch with a barge pole!) Generally the oldest man in the village has the most status, and he is followed, in order of age, by the other men above the age of maturity. The men are then followed, usually, by the women, from oldest to youngest, and then the children at the bottom. Depending on the age of a person you greet them differently. Having said that, an old person is as likely to get a seat on a bus as the next person if they haven’t booked it in advance.
Religion As mentioned previously, the main religion is Islam, with the second being Traditional Religion, and Christianity making up only 5% of the population. Most of the celebrations that occur throughout the year are religious celebrations (the other 3 being political). People define themselves by their tribe and their religion, though relationships between Christians and Muslims are generally very good: Christians go out of their way to be considerate during Ramadan, and everyone celebrates all festivals together. Muslim women, when out of the house, keep themselves covered up, and an increasing number are wearing the burkas. However, in the villages, the practicality of wearing traditional clothes for farming and housework often overrides the religious element, and they just keep their hair covered. Having said that women tend to group together, and the men group together further away if the women aren’t fully covered for practical reasons.
	Transport There are no paved roads in the whole of Kondoa Diocese and so the roads are mud tracks, of varying states of repair, and absolutely horrendous during heavy rains, becoming frequently impassable. There is a selection of transport methods you can chose from: cars, 4x4s, pick-up trucks, busses, dalla-dalla, donkey, bike, or foot. Very few people own cars or 4x4s (the only people who own cars are taxi drivers and they only do town rides- you need a 4x4 to drive out of town) so for travelling long distances between villages the usual method of choice is dalla-dalla (minibuses packed full of people and goods; on the roof as well!) or pick-up truck (if a driver of a pick-up truck is going the way you want you can clamber on top of the load- for a fee). For travelling to Dodoma or Arusha you go by bus (travelling at an average 35km/hr) that is also packed with people and stops at every village along the way. If a person owns a bike, it is not unusual for them to travel huge distances on it- staying over night in villages along the way (having a network of people you can call on throughout the District is a huge advantage- because also busses frequently break down and it can be many hours before they set off again). Donkeys and bikes are used for carrying loads, especially water and grain, whilst the people walk on foot. Foot is the method of choice/ necessity for women- collecting water, carrying veg to the market or walking to the farm. Or they can hitch a lift on the back of their husband’s bike- if he’ll let her!
A Woman’s work is never done… Collecting water, farming, raising children, cooking, cleaning, arranging events, running a business, husbands running off to other cities… all in a day’s work for a woman! Kondoan communities are run by women; they do all the work in the home to keep their family going, and making sure that all their needs are provided for. Due to the farming season, many people only work for 4 months a year, so for the rest of the year women are breaking their backs keeping the family going whilst men sit around (and this is not a feminist exaggeration) playing Bao (a board game- will bring one back with me to teach you) all day, or drinking pombe (local beer), and usually both!
Bye Bye Beth Article Bethany Lewis from St Paul’s Church is going to Tanzania to work with Bishop Yohana of Kondoa as Diocesan Education Advisor. Allowing for Tanzania’s famous time-keeping (!) Beth should leave on 25^th May. Kondoa is a very poor area of Tanzania (the 16^th poorest country in the world), frequently suffering from drought or hit by torrential downpours that flood the crops. Beth has an 18 month project teaching in a primary school, training teachers, assisting in developing new teaching methods and looking into the viability of setting up a secondary school and adult education and vocational training centres. The Church currently runs the primary school. Most parents are unable to afford even state primary education, and fewer still can afford the state run secondary school or the travel to get to it.
			Bethany has been teaching in special units in Folkestone for the past two years, following college in London where she studied Development Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and Canterbury where she gained her teaching qualification. Beth came back to the Parish for the weekend when Bishop Yohana was visiting St Peter’s and staying with Graham & Marilyn and a few weeks later to do a Swahili service in Bredhurst School. And then some e-mails flew around the globe and the Bishop invited her to join him in Kondoa. Beth’s work is being sponsored by some members of the Parish but other contributions to the education work in Kondoa are welcome. We suggest these are given via the Diocesan Link so as to gain the benefit of Gift Aid relief. Please speak to your Church Treasurer for details of how to do this.
June 2006 Using the Internet costs £45/hour here in Kondoa.  This means I haven't been able to access my hotmail account since arriving so apologies to those expecting a reply.  I am very quickly losing my ginger hair - yellow is the new orange- fortunately there are no blonde girl jokes here!  I was really silly at the weekend- it was a nice day so I thought I'd spend the morning cleaning the patio and washing my clothes at the standpipe.  Within an hour I was as red as a lobster- really not good in a culture where people slap you on the back and punch your arm frequently during conversations- ouch!!! The views from my house are spectacular- savanna surrounded by hills and mountains in bright colours, the earth in the villages is terracotta or bright red and so that is the colour of the mud-brick houses.  I've found that taking a shortcut through the almost-dried-out river is a good way to meet people (everyone congregates there to wash their clothes- and it was a route I found after getting lost on the way to church - getting lost is the only way to really get to know a town!) but it's not good for cleanliness. If you know what type of spider is bright orange/blue, please tell me. And is it more or less of a danger than the spider that jumps? There are a family of Germans who live near me, the only other white people for 100 miles, but they're leaving in two weeks (they've been living here for 9 years to learn the Rangi language and translate the bible into it) so I'll be the only white person left!
Most people assume I have a husband and children in England (it is quite common here for husband and wife to live apart).  Given my age and the fact I've finished education for over a year, I am expected to be married and reproducing by now, so I'm very out-of-step with the culture. Fortunately the Bishop is my guardian whilst here in Kondoa, and any man who wishes to make advances towards a woman has to first ask the guardian- I don't think many men would be willing to ask permission from the Bishop so I'm safe!  My housemate moved in yesterday. She was going to live in the outbuilding (yes, I have an out-building!) but I'm getting quite lonely in that house on my own so I asked her to live with me.  We get on really well speaking broken English-Swahili (me teaching her English, her teaching me Swahili) and she's just under a month younger than me. My Swahili has improved dramatically and I can now understand pretty much everything said, and I'm able to respond (though avoiding the words I don't know can lead to needing to use 5 sentences instead of 1- but people are very patient!)  Also I think the Tanzanians are like the French- the more Swahili I use the more English they use! Work is coming along just fine- I've met Government officials and they are very supportive, but as there's so many things to do working out the priorities are a nightmare.  But I've thrown myself into the work which seems to have surprised the Bishop- for example he told me he'd been thinking about setting up an Internet Cafe for the past year- using a satellite link.  Within an hour I'd put together a business plan and grant bid to send out to development agencies- not the speed things are generally done in Tanzania but he seemed genuinely grateful.  But I'll have to be careful not to tread on anyone's toes. Hope you are all well, Beth. X
			July 2006 Hope all are well, I had suspected malaria Thursday-Saturday!  That was fun!  I had fever, headache, muscle aches, so I assumed it was the flu- everyone else was trying to get me to go to hospital, but I couldn't be bothered!  Anyway, I'm absolutely fine now, so either it wasn't malaria or doxycycline actually works.  I'll pop into the clinic in Dodoma when I next go so that I can get my blood tested for it, and then get rid of the parasites if I need to.  (Don't worry- I really am fine!) I'm going for my Tanzanian Driving License once I've had a few lessons so I should have it by Christmas (it just involves going to the police station in Dodoma and driving around- sounds easy enough!)
I've realised how arrogant we English speakers are- in all the Guide Books it comments that Tananians say "I say" at inappropriate times.  That is true, but I was looking up a word in a dictionary and by it was the word "aisee", pronounced "I say" which is an exclamation of surprise...  and it has been used for years, before English speakers turned up, so we can't claim credit for that! I managed to cook a cake a last week, but it was disgusting (there's nowhere that sells butter or marge in the entire town so I had to use blue band- never again!). Don't think anything else is happening- there are a few British people coming over the next few months so I'll be able to practice my English, and act as host.  The harvest is happening at the moment so that's good to see- everyone in the fields, perhaps I should harvest my maize now- though they don't look like they would have yielded anything.  It's also freezing- but by October it will be well over 30c all the time so I shouldn't complain.  It was a national holiday on Friday (Saba Saba, 7/7- Peasants' day) and the next is on 8/8 (nane nane- farmers day), they indicate the middle and end of the harvest season. Work is trundling along with not much happening, but it means I have more time for visiting people which is good.  Hope England is well, and that the disappointment from the World Cup isn't too much for everyone to bear! Bethx
August 2006 Hi people Can you believe it's been over 2 months since I came out here?  Every week seems to go so quickly!  I'm going to Dodoma tomorrow- by myself- so we'll see whether my Swahili abilities managed to get me the right seat on the bus! I've been rather busy the past week making preparations for the visitors from Rocester Diocese who came on Thursday (exactly 2 months since I arrived in Kondoa so we had a little celebration involving soda and card games- I know how to enjoy life!)  I was officially asked to be their helpers whilst they were here- which involved accompanying them on all the trips and translating for them (and making sure they didn't get fleeced in the shops!)
They have completely ruined any chance of me getting married out here as Chris, who is a vicar, did a sermon on instructions for husbands and wives (started off with the whole submission thing- made the men happy- then got onto the whole love thing- women became very happy and many of the men looked rather offended) so now the men here know how I want to be treated (and also Chris and Damon cooked me and Fareda a meal on Saturday evening- completely against all customs!)   But I have to say I was rather impressed with myself.  I had to buy curtains, and I went by myself, so I had to buy the correct amount of material, go to a tailor, explain how I wanted them made, discuss prices, then go and buy the wire and hooks- all in Swahili!  And they actually turned out as I wanted them!  Though the material did have Mickey and Minnie Mouse on them- it was that or bright orange and pink flowers- I think I chose wisely! Another group are coming out at the end of next week, the day after my Birthday, so I've put in a request for them to bring out milky jelly babies and cheese&onion crisps!  I'm trying to arrange a traditional English Birthday party to introduce everyone here to English customs (though I may do a children's style party rather than a drunken brawl) so I'll be making myself a cake and arranging party games! The Bishop and I have now finalised my dowry so it's TSh10million (about 4500), 10 goats and 10 cows.  Either he's very good with sarcasm and was sarcastic himself, or he actually believed me when I suggested 1million- which he said was too low!  But he has also informed me that for the next 2 years if I get engaged the dowry is to be given to the Church- so I'm preparing for the introductions! I've managed to go to yet another wedding party- this one was only for women though, and I am only an aquaintance so I didn't have to get up and dance in front of anyone by myself- only as a group- slightly less humiliating!  I've found a kanga (African cloth used as a wrap or skirt) with the jules rimmet(?) and footballs on it so I've got to get me one of those- it looks great!  Will be a definite must for wearing during the 2010 World Cup which will be held on African soil (3 pounds here for 2, but I bet they will sell for tenner each in England- perhaps I should bulk-buy now). I've now visited many schools and am working at setting up links with schools in England (the visitors from Rochester brought details of schools that want to be linked so I'm going to arrange those).  I'm also developing an English class, because currently the nearest one is in Dodoma and so costs loads and takes people away from their jobs for a month, so I'll make it an evening class and hold it in the seminar hall at the bible college.  Currently it will be for the members and workers of the church, then I hope to broaden the scope when I'm more confident in my Swahili. The main issue I have in terms of projects is that in Kondoa you can see loads of abandoned and half-finished buildings and projects that have been set up by Aid organisations, but when the organisations left the projects were left or became unsustainable without continous funding- I don't want my legacy here to be an empty abandoned building!  So sustainability will be my key word! I think that's about it.  Thankyou for the stuff you sent over- greatly appreciated!  Speak soon! Bethx
	September 2006 Hello from Dodoma. I arrived in Dodoma 1 o'clock this morning then spent a few hours in a bus station and now managed to go to a guest house (the type that accept payment by the hour- very bemused to see a white person) to have a shower and now am waiting to get a lift to Dodoma so am in an Internet Cafe. Well I've had an interesting couple of weeks- I've been to Mwanza (edge of Lake Victoria, North West Tanzania) for my friend's wedding. We left Kondoa on the 24th expecting the wedding to be on the 26th only for the groom not to turn up- ouch!
The bride was devastated and didn't leave the room for 2 days- pretending she had Malaria. Under this culture in those circumstances the bride has to stay until the groom can be persuaded to marry her! Everyone else left her on the Sunday to return but me and her grandmother offered to stay so I've spent a week staying in a small village an hour's drive from Mwanza which has no water, electricity, or any other comforts. Oh, and the majority only spoke the tribal language- Kisukuma (very difficult- I only learnt the basic greetings which I still can't pronounce properly). The scary thing is I got quite into it- sleeping 2-3 to a single-person mattress so 5 or 6 in the room each night. Getting up, sorting out the children, washing clothes then having breakfast, going to the shops then cooking lunch, then resting (it was HOT there) then eating lunch, then visiting people, then having evening meal then washing (an experience- the water was from Lake Victoria without any cleaning, and there was no bathroom so it was a case of waiting until dark and washing outside- in a group of course- everything is done in groups!) then sleeping. I was adopted by a couple of the children so I taught them English and Maths under a tree outside the house I was staying in (still haven't worked out why they didn't go to school- though probably because their parents didn't want them to go). The groom eventually turned up on Tuesday- says that he couldn't leave work before then (he works in Dar es Salaam) and his mother and aunt (there were no men around- some have died- AIDS is pretty rampant in that area- I was told that people just aren't scared of it there) decided they had better give my friend a proper village wedding- so we had singing and dancing every night- it was fantastic! The wedding was pretty good too- full 3 hour long Catholic ceremony with a seven hour party afterwards- though it was kind of spoilt a bit by the heatstroke I got pretty badly by the evening. Then we left Sunday afternoon, and got a bus on Monday which kept breaking down and so arrived in Dodoma seven hours late. Still not sure if I preferred the journey there though- 25 hours in the back of a small pick up truck with 9 other people and 13 people's luggage- oh yes, I have now experienced Africa. Only got 5 mins left so better go- can't believe I've been here over 3 months- it does not feel like a month since I wrote my 2 month update! Hope you're all well, Bethx
October 2006 Hi all, 4 month update!  The days are going scarily fast- I can’t keep up with myself!  So my 3 month update was written in Dodoma on my way back from a wedding in Mwanza. So what’s happened since then?  We had a visitor from the Diocese of Rochester, a Richard Worssam. This was good fun as I got to go travelling round the villages again which I always enjoy. We went to one church with very few members, in a very Islamic area, but I learnt Sindau dancing (a bit like the Maasai jumping- great fun I’ll have to practice and then show you all).
The next day we went to a church with well over 400 members where I learnt the importance of drumming. I think I rather pleased the old women as I’ve got very into curtseying but at different heights depending on the age of the person you’re greeting (basically, bobbing if the person’s slightly older, practically crouching on the floor for an incredibly elderly person)- It made them laugh that I follow that custom! I also decided to practice my Swahili on them, so my introducing myself went on a bit- I commented on the church having been decorated, the dancing, the singing, the drumming, the clothes, the children, anything I knew how to talk about. Well, I got a huge cheer at the end, and even got a marriage proposal from someone who must be old enough to be my great-grandfather (the way I dealt with it caused much amusement to all who worked out what was going on- I first of all told him I was too young to marry, then I told him that he couldn’t afford me anyway- fortunately the way I said it didn’t sound arrogant). Well they’ve invited me back so I can’t have broken too many rules!  The next day we went to Kidoka, a cute little village. But the Bishop didn’t come with us, which meant I was the only person who could speak something resembling the languages of English and Swahili, and they had a full church service planned, where the visitor had to do the sermon! So I had to translate everything for the visitor, plus when he introduced himself I translated that to Swahili, then he did the sermon- so I had to translate the entire sermon into Swahili! I don’t think I did too badly- they understood what was being said (I asked a couple of questions at the end and they answered correctly) but I think my grammar left a lot to be desired, and I took a couple of sentences to explain one word as I didn’t know the direct translation, but they seemed to appreciate me trying!  Now when I go to the villages, as soon as I start speaking Swahili they call me ‘mama’- to which I protest and say but because I’m not married I’m still ‘dada’ (sister) but they say that as I dress like a Tanzanian and follow their customs they want to call me mama, so I’ve decided to take that as a compliment! The church service was so cool- so many tribes are in that one church, and they each did singing and dancing- so maasai, burungi, gogo, and a couple of others I can’t pronounce! What was so good is that as each tribe was doing their bit the rest of the church got really involved and loved joining in. My next plan, before the next lot of visitors arrive next week, is to learn a greeting in every language in the Diocese (so only about 40, plus the nomadic tribal languages which no one knows as they only settle in a village for one night and then they’re off).  My motorbike has now arrived in Kondoa (only 3.5 months- not bad for Tanzania!) so I can now travel round the villages on my own once I get my semi-legal driving license (well, I don’t see how it can be legal if all it entails is a rather wealthy man in the town going to Dodoma with 2 photos of me and a photocopy of my passport and residence permit! I’ve decided the less I ask the better. But I still plan to get an official licence for driving a pick-up).  I’ve now written a guide to Kondoa for visitors coming to meet the Bishop, explaining customs, a few phrases in Swahili, what to do, and how not to offend people. I’ve written this after observing the groups that have already come out which has brought home to me how different the culture is here. For example in England it’s polite to wait until everyone’s got their food before eating, but here they will wait until you start eating before even getting their food, so it’s rude not to start early- as they’ll be getting hungry waiting for you! Also you have to sit where you’re told to, and speak when you’re told to, as there are many customs that have to be followed, etc. The bit where it gets difficult is that I’m not supposed to sit in close proximity to a man for a long journey- so it means I have to sit in the front, but I’m female and not a guest anymore, so often I sit right at the back with the benches that involves clambering over, but then that’s against the rules because I’m not a Tanzanian- all very difficult- what is one to do? It is going into testing procedure next week when a group from Bath come- I’m going to give them a copy and see if it helps, and what changes need to be made, etc. So it’s ready for the anticipated influx of visitors next year.  I’m hoping to go travelling in the middle of October, after the group leave. A girl who moved to Mpwapwa (a district south East of here) to spend a year working in a hospital last month has got in contact and she has two weeks off at the end of October so we thought it would be good to go together. Her parents are going to be with her the week before, so I’ve arranged to meet her just before her parents leave so she doesn’t get too down about it- and it just so happens that they’ll be in Zanzibar, so I may just have to go to one of the most beautiful places on Earth, all in the name of helping someone out (aren’t I self-sacrificial?). So we’ll be doing Zanzibar, Arusha (white capital of Tanzania), and Morogoro, and in the middle, Kondoa (I’d previously agreed to someone staying at mine for a couple of days so I’d better be there to see her) so I’ll be doing the rock paintings again, and perhaps persuade the guide to take us to the non-touristy ones further out.  We’ve just had a seminar at the Diocese about Muslim-Christian relations. This is very timely as last week I heard that a Jihad had been declared against foreign missionaries in Kondoa district (Kondoa is an Islamic stronghold within a predominantly Christian in-land, and the majority tribe, the Waraangi are probably about 98% Muslim). The issue they have is that Christianity has begun spreading, whereas before it was mainly through immigration from other areas, and they blame foreigners for this. They are particularly concerned about the effects of an organisation called Compassion, a Christian organisation that works with churches setting up schools, because they ‘adopt’ children, one child from each family, pay for their education, give the family food, mozzie nets, school uniform, etc. and the deal is the child goes to one of their partner schools. Any partner school has to teach about Christianity (in mainstream schools the children are taught either Islam or Christianity, separately, and depending on their faith). This group of Muslims, who wrote a letter to the president to declare ‘jihad’ (though they haven’t said that violent jihad is admissible) complained about this, saying that Muslims are converting. Personally I’m not worried about it as I got on well with the people in the District, both Christian and Muslim, but I know a couple of people who live in other Districts but come to Kondoa to work on projects in the villages are worried. I’ll be having a meeting in Arusha with Compassion’s Director soon so I’ll be able to find out their official response is.  Work is becoming very much like proper work, with inter-personal relations between staff to sort out, designing contracts so that people actually know what they’re supposed to be doing, and where their responsibilities lie, and trying to work out where I actually fit within the hierarchy and how much influence I actually have. The Bishop, having read my rather wordy contract for teachers, has now asked me to look at the general Diocese contract to offer suggestions on how it can be improved (the problem for me being it’s written in Swahili- and formal written Swahili is incredibly different to the spoken Swahili I’ve had to learn- the word order is completely different, and they add in all sort of words for no apparent reason, but I suppose in my job it’s a part of the language I’m going to have to know). I also had my first Education Committee meeting, where the teacher’s contract was approved; even by a couple of top bods from the local government- don’t I move in high circles!  The government’s decided that it would be a great idea to have 12 hour power cuts five days a week throughout the entire country. Strangely, Kondoa town hasn’t been so badly affected- on Saturdays there is no power, but on the other days we have very frequent cuts but not for a whole twelve hours, and my computer is very good at saving my work if it cuts out, and the power cuts give me an excuse to socialise (practicing my Swahili I call it- women gossiping is probably what you’ll call it!). I think that Kondoa’s not too bad because the electricity for the entire town is from one main place, and they can’t switch it off for long periods because the government has agreed that certain essential services will still have power, so if they cut it off, that’s the hospital, and all government buildings without power. But I know Dodoma’s badly affected.  Well I think I’ve waffled long enough (you have to forgive me- it has been a month since I last wrote) and got you updated on life, the universe and everything.  Hope you are all doing well. Thank you to all those who have written letters- they are so much appreciated and will be replied to! Lots of love, Bethx
		November 2006 I've spent the entirety of the past month in Kondoa- so no travel stories, but things have been happening here. The rain which I wrote about in my last e-mail came to a halt, then last Wednesday it came back-with a vengeance!  Every night it chucks it down.  The dusty ground is now thick mud.  The river is actually flowing- though with mud rather than water.  Me being me thought that under the small amount of flowing mud the river bed will be as solid as it usually is, so I took my usual route along the river bed.  Only, I found out that actually the river bed becomes sinking sand, so I was knee deep in sand and mud- and I lost a shoe!
But a lovely young man saw me in my predicament and helped me across- showing me the areas where there are rocks close to the surface to walk on, and retrieved my shoe!  I think it took a lot for him not to laugh- but he managed, and was very respectful!  As was everyone at work, when I walked in dripping with mud.  But then my flatmate (who was late getting up hence me being alone) saw me, and I explained what happened- and she burst out laughing and, roughly translated, said that white people can be really stupid at times!  So I now go the long way round. The rainy season has introduced me to all kinds of insects, spiders, and snakes.  Every night the walls outside are covered in flying-beetley things, and huge grass hoppers, and any room which has a light on is also covered in them.  Huge beige-coloured spider-like hairy scurrying things (and I'm not exaggerating about the size- if you have arachnophobia do not come to Tanzania during the rainy season!) and also slower moving proper black spidery things run around the floors- and walls if they can be bothered.  And also scorpions- which I'd only ever seen outside before- are now setting up home!  Mosquitoes are the least of my worries now- and in fact their population has dwindled, probably because they've been eaten!  But I use my mosquito net, simply to keep the other creatures out!  And snakes are now coming out to play in the garden- though I've seen none in the house- though the centipedes are large enough they may as well be snakes!  Every morning the floor outside is covered in dead beetley things- lovely stuff! Well once I get used to living in a zoo I'll be as pleased as everyone else- the farming work has now started, with crops being planted and fields prepared (the lovely smell of manure!) and now you greet people with 'how's the farming', or if they're from outside Kondoa, 'have the rains started over there?' I've decided to go against my bodyclock and force myself up early every Saturday morning to help a group of women cook lunch for 230 children at the church (paid for by a children's charity).  The women are all mothers of the children, and get a free meal, and to take home the leftovers (which the charity organiser always arranges to be quite a large amount).  On the first day I went a couple of weeks ago they wouldn't let me do anything- I was made to sit, drink tea, and watch, and then eat whilst they cleared up!  So on Saturday I went back and immediately started working.  When a woman protested, I explained I wanted to learn how to cook for a large number of people- so she let me join in.  This involved four trips to the spring to fetch buckets of water- I can now carry 20 litres of water on my head!  Though admittedly the spring is only 100 metres from the cooking area.  We then cleaned 50kg of rice (going through it bit by bit to get all the grit out), boiled beans, and prepared spinach with onions.  When cutting the onions I think I cut my fingers more successfully, and moving huge vats from charcoal fires with just bits of cardboard to keep out the heat caused a couple of blisters, but the most problems came with using wire wool to wash everything.  But this was all made up for when dishing out the food to all the kids- plates piled high, and they came back for seconds.  And gossiping with all the women whilst cooking is great fun- and to think the men here think all women respect and look up to them! This Saturday there's a World Aids Day service for the children, and they've all been given new clothes to wear for it (I was rather impressed with the charity for this- instead of giving the clothes, they gave the money so it was all spent in Kondoa- paying for the material and the tailors).  This means that the food will be extra special- meat and sodas!  It's depressing how little AIDS is acknowledged- so many children in all the schools are being brought up by their grandparents and say their parents died of malaria!  The official figure seems rather low given what I've been seeing- and even people in the hierarchy of the church don't like it mentioned!  I am now an honorary member of the Mother's Union!  Let me defend myself!  The secretary of the MU was saying that they had no money and so she wanted to start a business that all the women can get involved in- but that tailoring is what everyone does and there's too much competition.  She asked if I had any skills that I could teach that they could make a business from.  I said I could bake cakes.  So Saturday evening I baked 3 cakes and we sold them after the service on Sunday- making 18,000 Tsh (7.50), about 6 pounds profit!  So they asked if I could use that money to get ingredients to teach them how to make them.  I then suggested that I could also teach bread making (the bread sold here is inedible).  I'm trying to plant an idea of setting up a bakery- but the idea has to come from the women themselves, so joining them would be a good way, I thought.  Plus, in terms of development, women get things done- men just procrastinate!  So I've decided to concentrate on women and their ideas. On Tuesday I went to a village- by myself for the first time- and by public transport.  There are no guesthouses there, so I stayed with a teacher who seems to be the surrogate mother to every other teacher there.  The chairman of the school came to my office to invite me- bringing a letter of invitation from the village.  The poor dear explained that they had also given him 'a gift of fruit' to give to me, but that it had gone rotten before he got to see me!  The way things are done here are great, but it does make me laugh!  As I left I was given two pawpaw, and a bag of beans was sent to me in the evening that they put on another bus!  I had a great time, playing games with the children and walking round the village with the vicar (he found this very difficult as his wife was visiting a dying relative- and so it was just him and me which is very improper, and quite a few people made comments about him getting a second wife!).  The evening I spent with a group of young women teachers who were great fun- we went to the local 'pub' for sodas, discussed men and possible marriage proposals, and the differences in British and Tanzanian cultures.  I learnt so much from them- and they had many good ideas about development, and what's holding Kondoa back, and so I've already arranged to to go back and spend a weekend with them in the new year. Well there'll be no 7 month update- but I should be seeing many of you.  The women on the Saturday morning have said they want to take photos of me cooking and collecting water (on the basis that if their daughter was in England they would want to see pictures of her doing typical British things- so stacking the dishwasher, loading the washing machine, and taking a meal-for-one out of the freezer and into the microwave then!) so you can see them when I return.  Take care, hope you're all well! Bethx

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