Iringa is about 260km away from Dodoma (say, 5 hours on a good road) but at the moment, you have to go through Morogoro, doubling the distance and the travel time. So the government is currently using aid money and the help of many Chinese engineers in straw hats to […]
For Australians, a common image of Tanzania (or pretty much any African nation) is little mud huts, women cooking over charcoal and children carrying water on their heads. Many times as we were preparing to leave Australia, people asked us, ‘Will you have running water and electricity in Tanzania?’ We reminded […]
On our recent trip to Songea, we saw a bit more of village life than we normally encounter in Dodoma. It’s one thing to want clean water and education for people caught in poverty, but I found myself pitying the people I saw because they will spend their lives in […]
I was standing outside the church at Songea because Elliot had been making noise. I watched the other kids who were there, all peacefully reclining on their mothers’ backs or sitting still on their haunches. Meanwhile, Elliot tore around the yard, covering himself in dirt. Is this sort of curiosity […]
1. Double however long Google maps says it will take. That’s if nothing goes wrong. 2. Read the road, not the signs. If there is a sign for the (massive!) speed bumps, it may appear only a metre before the speed bump. 3. Forget everything I said about a 4WD […]
“You can’t use compost on such small trees,” our gardener said. “It’s too strong for anything but the bananas.” “Nonsense,” we thought, “you can use compost on anything!” This little interaction is laden with cultural baggage.
In June Arthur and I are taking our first trip further afield since we arrived in Dodoma. We are off to Songea for the baptism of our friend John’s little girl. Both Arthur and I have been invited to speak. Arthur will preach at the Sunday service and I will […]
Meet Jesus at uni 