Reflections on Life in Tanzania

February 4, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Howdy y’all!!!

I thought I might take this opportunity to share some of my reflections on my first four months in Africa. Tomorrow I will celebrate four months since departing from West Virginia. I have greatly enjoyed my time in Tanzania and Dodoma. In fact, I would very much like to return to Tanzania to serve as a missionary for a longer period of time (a three year term or two).

One of the first things that I noticed here was the preponderance of shirts from the West (particularly America) being worn by Tanzanians. In particular a large number of these shirts are from groups or events – such as a t-shirt that was produced for a particular church group or marathon. So my first reflection is to encourage all of you not to produce t-shirts for church or other kinds of groups and events. I am not seeking to deprive Africans of clothing, it just seems like a waste to have custom shirts printed or otherwise produced that will end up quickly being donated to charity and will end up in the developing world. Instead of spending money and energy on custom shirts, money and time could be donated to helping the developing world in other ways.

I was asked the other day if I was shocked by the standard of living or the poverty of the people of Tanzania. I had to respond that I have not been shocked. My eyes were opened to the poverty of the developing world by my time in West Bank and more so by my three weeks in Burma. However, I do not want to minimize the differences of the standard of living here in Tanzania when compared to the West. There are countless differences in regard to the economic and living conditions here and back home. During my trip to a village in November I was able to get a better grasp on the conditions in which most Tanzanians live, but still I was a bit pleasantly surprised. Homes were relatively well built out of bricks that are locally produced in every village. Interestingly, the roofs are the last things added and little money or effort is put into them – most roofs are simple metal sheets. This is likely the result of the fact that it only rains during maybe three months of the year. In the villages electricity is scarce, if even present. However, a new feature is appearing on the landscapes of villages – cell phone towers. As I think is common in the developing world, Tanzania is skipping a few steps that took the West decades… land lines are not being put into most homes and businesses, instead they adopt cell phones. This also includes the limited number of people who have a home internet connection – most connect through an interesting hybrid of cellular and Wi-Fi technologies that is provided by the phone company in Tanzania – TTCL. Also, most internet café’s in towns and cities connect to the internet via a broadband connection (DSL), which was a pleasant surprise.

Again, I do not want to give the wrong impression. The people of Tanzania are not wealthy. The average income is only a few hundred dollars a year. As I have previously explained that the best compensated Anglican clergy in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika earn the equivalent of about $100 US a year. Despite this, there are plenty of pastors eager to serve God and the Church in this diocese.

I have been amazed by the spirit and faith of the people that I have met here. They are very eager to learn and to hear about my life and my faith. Also, I have really enjoyed being able to use the training I have received during my time in seminary and my many, many other years in school.

Looking toward the future, some students are beginning to arrive back on campus from their time off. The school year will begin for me on February 13, when there is a staff meeting and at 11:30 I will get to leave the staff meeting and begin teaching. I will have my first class on computer skills at that time for pre-diploma students. That class will last two hours a week and run the whole semester. My two church history courses will meet for three hours a week each and then the youth ministry course for degree students will only be one hour a week. I am both eager and anxious about these possibilities.

As for prayer concerns I would appreciate your prayers for the students of Msalato as they travel here and begin their studies once again. Likewise, I would appreciate your prayers for the staff and faculty of Msalato as they begin a new semester with fewer teachers. I would invite your prayers of thanksgiving for those that bought me a computer to aid in my work here and also for the wonderful Rev. George Okoth who has brought the computer with him from the States. Also, I would welcome your prayers for me as I begin teaching, while also tackling the numerous technological maladies (internet access for the campus, a dead proxy/web server, establishing a new backup server, etc.). During the coming days and weeks I will continue to pray for guidance in my work and my spiritual life and also for all those who have enabled me to be here in Africa serving God and his people.

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