Life at Msalato

December 14, 2007 by Stephen Day.

12/14/2007 3:56 PM

I am uploading a lot of pictures and they can be viewed at http://stephencday.com/Tanzania_First_Six_Weeks/index.html They might not be up yet, but they will be soon. The first 50 or so have been up on a different page for some time, but there are plenty of new ones.

I am really enjoying my time in Africa. It is definitely rainy season. The past week or so it has rained every day for at least a couple of hours. The drive into town has become a lot more interesting… there are mini-lakes along several parts of the road that have formed in the low points. It is not quite as hot as it was at the end of November or the first few days of December. Things are pretty quiet at Msalato because there are only seven students living here and a many staff members have gone home to their villages to work on their shambas (farms).

The seven students living here now are in a three week English course. They meet every day in the library for lessons and I hear them working as I am in “my office.” I have sat in on a few of their lessons and gotten to know them somewhat. Quite a nice group of men – there are no female students. The purpose of this course is to prepare them for an English examination to determine if they can begin work as pre-diploma students. Their tests will be at the end of next week. The pre-diploma period lasts five months, a full semester, and will focus on improving the students’ knowledge of English, the Bible, theology, and computer skills. This is a necessary step because most, if not all, of the students have been out of school for decades and many do not have a secondary education.

The education system in Tanzania is not very good. I am still learning about all of the terms “Standard 7,” “Form 4,” etc… It appears that the system is based on the British system, which I know nothing about. Basically, the founder of modern Tanzania focused on improving the education system and adopting Kiswahili as the national language. The president chose to pick a national language to unite the different ethnic and cultural groups that populate the country. He also tried to improve education by providing universal free primary education; however, it is not really all that free because there are uniform and other fees that must be paid at nearly every primary school in the country. Secondary education is far from free and is, in fact, very expensive. I have read that around 5 or 10% of primary students continue on to secondary school (that is not say that even those who do continue even get a degree).

At Msalato Theological College there are three different programs for theological students. First, there is Haduma (I am uncertain of the spelling), which is a three year theology program taught in Swahili. Graduates of this program receive a diploma, not a degree. The second program is Diploma, which is identical to Haduma, but the courses are all taught in English. Finally, there is a small Degree program which is also three years and designed for students who intend (or hope) to pursue studies in theology outside of Tanzania. Currently there are 104 students at Msalato – five are degree students and the rest are split between the Haduma and Diploma programs. There is also a secretarial school at Msalato that teaches basic office, typing, and computer skills to students.

One of the hurdles at Msalato is money… The fees for theological students are rather high (around $1,000 US per year) considering that the luckiest parish priest in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika earns about $10 US per month. Not surprisingly, almost all of the student fees get paid for through the generosity of donors in the West (and the East – Australia and New Zealand are big supporters).

Internet access at Msalato for the past two years or so has been provided through the generosity of a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta who gave more than $10,000. That money was used to setup a link between Msalato and McKay House (the diocesan headquarters) in downtown Dodoma. McKay House had an internet connection from the local phone company (DSL, for my fellow geeks) and shared that connection with Msalato via wireless antenna (Wi-Fi) at both ends. Well, the money used for that connection (about $350 a month, I think) ran out at the beginning of November. So why can’t Msalato get its own connection to the phone company? Well, we are about fourteen kilometers outside of downtown Dodoma, which is about nine kilometers past the maximum distance that a DSL connection can be operated.

Why can’t Msalato use the connection that I am using to access the internet? Well, first, let me explain how I am accessing the net. The antenna that used to connect Msalato to McKay House has been turned a degree or two to point at another service provider MAF Tanzania, which connects to the internet via satellite. However, they do not have enough internet service to provide service to the whole campus of Msalato. Also, even if MAF did have enough, it would be too expensive – it costs $50 US a month per computer (additionally – you have to pre-pay in a minimum of three month increments).

How can Msalato get internet access? The only viable connection option left to Msalato is satellite internet. This is a very expensive option. Purchasing a new satellite dish and required equipment costs about $3,000 US and installation costs $750 US. Additionally, service for approximately ten concurrent users is $450 US a month. Also, the speed of that connection is very, very slow by Western standards. The aforementioned $450 package provides a total of 256 KB download speed. Back in the States you can get from the phone or cable company internet access with about twenty times that speed to your house for about $35 a month. This is not an insult on Africa or Tanzania… just the facts about satellite internet access.

Oh well… its not a big deal. The students here are learning more about their faith and how to serve their fellow man. I am honored to play a small part in helping to train the leaders of the Anglican Church of Tanzania. The people here are so loving, faithful, and welcoming. It is a wonderful honor to be here with them.

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