A few weekends ago, I visited the villages of the District Education Officer (DEO) and his wife, with two other WorldTeach volunteers. The DEO and his wife are both extremely generous and welcoming people, who, as good Christians, and as part of the Tanzanian wealthy middle-upper class, do a lot of giving back to people less fortunate than themselves. They are very affluent by Tanzanian standards, and sometimes I can’t help but to think that they are detached from the reality of Tanzanian life for most people. However, a trip to their villages showed that they have a very real understanding of how most Tanzanians live, even if as a result of their affluence they have been able to substantially improve the quality of life of their families.
Both of their families live outside of the city of Bukoba, within 100 kilometers from the Ugandan border to the North. Ngara to Bukoba is about an eight hour trip by public transportation, but traveling with the DEO in private transport (with a driver) we arrived in just under four hours, including a stop to purchase charcoal, and buy pineapples on the side of the store. Arriving in Bukoba, we stopped in the city center to stock up on essentials: a few 25 kilo bags of corn, a couple 25 kilo bags of sugar, and a lot of vegetables. We also picked up about 7 or 8 loaves of sliced white bread.
Then, we headed to the village. About 60 kilometers later (40 of which were on a dirt road), we arrived at the DEO’s village (more specifically, his mother’s house, and his house, just down the road), just before sunset. It was spectacularly beautiful, set on a plateau overlooking the lowlands. Banana farms abounded, with the characteristic cassava, yam, and sweet potato plants mixed in. The house of the DEO’s mother was very nice by Tanzanian standards, and even included a solar lamp. From the minute we arrived, until about 11:30 (when we finished dinner), there was a constant stream of visitors coming to greet us, (Karibu sana – You are very welcome – was heard many, many times). It was clear that the DEO was very respected, and that his success (and before him, the success of his father) had impacted the lives of his extended family and the wider community in a very positive way. We ate boiled bananas and beans three times over the course of about eighteen hours while we were here (traditional Haya food), though I was assured that with one of the meals the beans were not actually beans, but were instead a different crop that was awfully like beans (but actually, somewhat distinct and very nice).
The next day we drove back to Bukoba to resupply, driving past the turn off the dirt road where the DEO’s wife family is from. In Bukoba we went back to the market to buy many of the same things we had bought the day before, and then we stopped at a mattress shop, buying a mattress for someone. Then, on the way out of town we stopped and bought a bed frame for the mattress as well. Arriving at the DEO’s wife’s family’s house, we were treated to another meal (no bananas, but some of the beans that are not actually beans), and another series of welcomes. Here too it was clear that the successes of children have a big impact on how well parents live. The DEO’s wife is working on her Masters, and her sister just graduated with a Masters. In many respects it is amazing that people from so far in the bush have achieved so much educationally, when their parents were simple subsistence farmers, though obviously they emphasized the importance of education to their children.
Leaving the villages, I could not help but be impressed with how much the success of one person has had such a positive impact on the lives of the extended family. While you see this influence to an extent in America (typically more in regards to the immediate family), wealth is not spread around to such an extent, and the emphasis on taking care of family is much less present. Indeed, in the village were were introduced to the DEO’s “fathers” – there were at least 5, and his actual father died some years ago.