Both Father Gilbert and Father John are passionate about the proverb that if you educate a woman you educate society, one of the first Tanzanian proverbs we learned. It has been the cultural touchpoint for much of women’s development in Tanzania, but I’ve had my concerns about it. While it […]
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 […]
I’m writing to exorcise a demon before I go to bed tonight. Not a literal demon of course. What I mean is I feel the need to make a confession before I can sleep. Confession features in Tanzanian culture as an expression of power – I make you confess because […]
Last night Robert Mugabe finally gave his resignation to the Speaker of the Zimbabwe Parliament, and impeachment proceedings against him were stopped. This morning, I asked some local friends from our street what they thought about it. Everyone’s been following it, but with all the moving pieces it’s been hard […]
We had a friend over for a 6pm dinner, later than usual for us, but very early for him. Like, 3 hours early. It is not unusual for Tanzanians to eat dinner at 9pm. While it is a symptom of modern life, and the pace and busyness at which middle-class […]
“Because of TAFES I have changed what I am looking for in marriage.” One of the staff said this to me one evening when he was over for dinner. Intriguing! I asked him, how have you changed? This guy hasn’t lived in his tribal context for most of his life, […]
This week, we were stopped by police three times in two days, and we weren’t fined any of those times. Despite what I’ve written about negotiating the police in Tanzania, this is the far more common experience: friendly police who merely greet you, or look at your license / rego […]
Meet Jesus at uni 