We had our friend Father John staying with us for a few days this week. He wrote his Masters thesis on the early exit of the girl child from school so of course I asked him about President Magufuli’s pregnant schoolgirl ban. Our friend, and Father John’s BFF, Father Gilbert was […]
Part 3 of Biblia na Utajiri is about the opportunities to become wealthy. Ufoo is at pains to argue that it is actually possible to have a measure of wealth. She uses the image of earth: even if you have a small plot of land, if you build up, into […]
When I’m not writing here, I’ve been regularly contributing to Fixing Her Eyes, which is an Aussie site for Christian women. Here are the articles I’ve written in the second half of this year, about one a month: Are we allowed to be angry with God about suffering? As I […]
Last time I said that part two was entitled ‘Why do you want to be rich?’, but the nuance in Swahili is a little different to that. It’s more like, “Why are you wanted to become rich?” or “What is requiring you to become rich?” This is an important distinction, because […]
I didn’t see my maandazi ladies friends for a week or so, until two of them turned up on my doorstep. They explained that the government had declared that no one was to do business near primary schools anymore. This effectively puts them out of business – the corner they […]
As Tanzania celebrated Nyerere Day on 14 October, there are growing comparisons between Tanzania’s founding President and its current President, John Magufuli. One of the enduring characterisations of Nyerere is that he is beloved by ordinary Tanzanians, but regarded by many foreigners and scholars as responsible for their poverty through economic […]
Long Days of Small Things opens with a quote from CS Lewis about how we don’t have to leave the world to find God, but rather to become awake to Him in our world. Catherine McNiel has written it for mums. She’s careful not to make being a SAHM the […]
Meet Jesus at uni 