Tanzania, March 10-31, 2007

Morogoro Centre

Tanzania History


Tanzania, among African nations, has been an unusually peaceful country. This is especially remarkable taking into account the 165 indigenous tribes that share the land. The country won independence from Britain in 1961 went through a period of Socialism and then developed a multiparty system in 1992. Though Tanzania has seen no great wars or disaster, tribalism, prejudice and injustice have deeply wounded many of its people. As in many countries poverty, corruption and rampant diseases such as malaria, typhoid, and HIV/ AIDS hinder Tanzania’s development.

YWAM Morogoro Relief and Development Centre History

Work started in 1997 when the Massai tribe sought out YWAM Morogoro for lessons in Swahili, reading, writing and mathematics. As a nomadic people, formal education is not a traditional value. As the Massai have begun to integrate with town and city society they have discovered that their illiteracy is taken advantage of. Basic education in math and Swahili has become a need.

Massai men may have up to 10-14 wives, this enables half of the women to stay for lessons while the others travel to find feeing for the herds. This means that the majority of the uptake for classes comes from the women in the tribe, they are able to stay committed for longer periods of time. Traditionally the Massai women have shown themselves to be the most industrious members of the tribe so this integrates with their traditional values and lifestyle.

In 1998 YWAM Morogoro met with a large group of Massai and negotiated plans for them to stay longer than the traditional three months of the nomadic people. Massai collected money for YWAM to visit two times per week to provide education in math, Swahili and this has now expanded into a variety of vocational classes (i.e. leather processing, shoe making and sewing)

Problem: Illiteracy

  • Massai men and women were being taken advantage of in the market place due to their inability to read, write and compute basic mathematics.



Response:

  • Classes are held in multiple locations four times per week, teaching Swahili phonetics and mathematics.



Problem: Health and Nutrition

  • Unaware of basic health issues. Infection and spread of diseases like cholera, typhoid and gastric disorders is common. HIV/ AIDS has not been a problem until recently, but once it is introduced into a tribe/ clan, the spread will be rampant so education is vital.



Response:

  • Education in home hygiene, primary health care (as appropriate to their culture) encouraging better nutritional intake and use of local clinics for illness. This is often carried out on an informal basis as YWAM is able to build relationship with individual family units.



Problem: No formal education or vocational skills.


  • The Massai women and orphaned children often have no means of supporting themselves.



Response:

  • Vocational training classes in leather processing and sewing.



Needs

  • Donations of $80-$100 Fabric for sewing class
  • Donations towards: Sewing machines
  • Donations towards: Chemicals for leather processing
  • $15 a month for a teachers allowance.




    • If you want to get involved and help out please contact us or donate now!