I'm back in Arusha with so much to write about. I'll do this in installments, so I'll see how far I get today.
When I wrote last from Morogoro I had a bus ticket which was supposed to be for Monday 9th March at 7.00 a.m. We got to the station about 6.45 and learned that the bus was coming from Dar es Salaam and passing at 8.00 a.m., not 7.00. I should have known/remembered that these young men who act as agents for the buses don't usually tell the entire truth; after all their job is to get passengers and once a ticket is bought they have done their job. Anyway, the Sisters left to go to their teaching that morning and I sat and visited with one of these ticket agents. Three parts of the conversation were especially interesting. Firstly, he told me that he had a three year old daughter who was "very, very smart" and so he wanted her to have a good education. Since he just gets by with what he makes from the job he has, he asked me if I wanted to take her, live with her, educate her so that she gets a better chance in life. Of course I told him that I couldn't do that, but we talked about how he might help her develop her talents in the home that she has. Secondly, he told me about how important it was to do an honest days' work and how he manages. He gets a little bit of money here and there, and with that he pays the rent on the room he rents, buys simple food, fuel to cook it with, etc. It was amazing to me to hear how he manages. Finally, after someone had come and told him about an accident that had occurred, he gave me his take on drug use in the town. He said that it is extensive among the young men, both smoking (I assume marijuana) and needles (heroin??). When I asked how they manage to buy the drugs, he told me that they indeed are the thieves that harass the people and steal what little they have. And they are the reason that more wealthy people's houses have walls and locked gates and watchmen and watch dogs.
The Morogoro bus station is like all bus stations here in Tanzania: full of sellers walking around with things that a traveller might need: bread, candy, peanuts and cashews, shoes, handkerchiefs, flashlights, phone vouchers, coffee, water, soda -- you name it and it will be available. One guy was walking around with a three foot stack of hats on his head!
The road to Dodoma is all paved and very good so the bus ride was comfortable. An interesting exercise is now being used to try to lessen the number of deadly bus accidents. Buses tend to be driven very fast, because the first bus to pass any point most often gets the passengers, and so speed causes some horrific accidents. Now each bus leaves its station with a timetable of where it is supposed to be at what time, and traffic police sign that timetable at those points. I don't know if it helps, but at least there's an attempt to control the speed. By about 12.30 we were in Dodoma and again I noticed how the city has grown. A place that I remembered as being a bit out of town is now surrounded by buildings and a part of the city. Dodoma is the official capital of Tanzania although much of the commerce and many embassies remain in Dar es Salaam. Parliament meets in Dodoma, however, and some of the government offices have moved. Dodoma Region used to be known for its underdevelopment and aridity but the city of Dodoma looks really nice now. It seems to be developing according to some kind of plan, and so that makes the city attractive. I was told that after the new water scheme was completed there is no longer a water shortage (and there was plenty of water at the hostel where I stayed). Electricity and communications are good, because Parliament needs those services, and I was told that there are two universities also being built there. I found the city attractive, and what I saw made me even more interested in settling there. It was also cooler than Morogoro. I wanted to see the Bishop to get his ideas but unfortunately he wasn't in town. The Sisters who are in his office were very welcoming, and I'll go back after making an appointment. This Bishop is also the Chairman of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference so he's a busy person.
The next morning, Tuesday, I was off on the bus to Singida by 8.00 a.m. When I had previously lived in Singida it was always after taking a deep breath that I left Dodoma for Singida because the road was so bad. Now it is paved for all but about 100 kms. out of about 25o kms. What a difference that makes! We arrived by about 1.00 p.m. and there I was met by Bibiana Mkenda, a very dear friend with whom we lived in Nangwa and who is Headmistress of a large secondary school in Singida town. Tuesday was a national holiday in Tanzania (Maulid, celebrating the birthday of Prophet Mohamed) so Bibiana and I had the afternoon to chat and to try to catch up on five years of separation. It was a wonderful visit, and her welcome of me was so generous, including giving up her bed for me. She lives in a small and simple house on the school grounds; her husband remains at the family home in Nangwa and teaches there and her children are all in boarding schools, secondary and university. She goes home to Nangwa almost every Saturday and returns to Singida on Sunday, an arrangement that many families make.
This is enough for now so later I'll continue the saga.
No comments:
Post a Comment