Blomquist Reflections III

The group from Christ the King arrived on Wednesday pm and we invited them to our apartment for drinks and a light supper. I think they found it interesting to see how we live and what it takes to cook or do laundry – Chris was expecting to see a washer and dryer. I explained that the bucket and tubs were for laundry (done by hand) and the clothesline for drying. Lots of activities have been packed into the 5 days they are here. We began the day on Thursday by going to the diocese offices and meeting with Nayman Chavalla, the General Secretary. He gave us an overview of the non-spiritual programs that the diocese sponsors, including the secondary schools, the Illula Hospital, the medical dispensaries, the orphanage, the radio station, and the Ag. Institute.

He said that the rate of aids in Iringa is the highest of any region in Tanzania. That is due to the growth in population from the number of college students and the road construction, and from the residual effects of the practice of polygamy. Most of the people in the Iringa area are from the HeHe Tribe who used to practice polygamy. Even though polygamy is not practiced now, many men have a wife and a number of “secret girlfriends.” These multiple relationships have kept the rate of aids quite high.

When talking about the number of children people have, Chavalla said that he and his wife have made a choice to have just two, even though many people think you should have four. Both he and Msigwa talked about the extended family that one usually has living with them. I later told the group about our dinner with the Bishop last year when he introduced us to the 23 people who live under his roof.

We talked about special needs children, and Chavalla said that while the Maasai culture would have killed children born with a handicap, the HeHe tradition is to keep them hidden in the home. Just recently handicapped children are coming into the public eye.

Chavalla talked about the radio station as a way to educate and evangelize. They have had the radio station up and running for a test run, but need a letter approving them before they can be running full time. He said that people can buy Chinese radios very inexpensively and that a lot of people have them.

Chavalla talked about the Ag. Institute and the role it can plan to increase agricultural production. It is more successful than government programs because white people are bringing a message from Tumaini University, and people don’t trust the message that the government is sending.

We then drove out to Tumaini University, where enrollment is now over 3,000 students. Gary said the University is currently operating on the revenue from student fees. Any loans on currently occupied buildings will be paid for by 2012. Only 514 students can stay in the dormitories on campus so most of the students stay in homes near the campus. Richard Lubawa, who is now the Deputy Provost for Academic Affairs, said that 45% of the students were female. He mentioned the shortage of graduates in science in the country. The government has been building a number of secondary schools throughout the country, but there has been a shortage of science teachers. He said that the government loan program was giving 100% loans to students in the sciences and less than 100% to students in other disciplines. Tumaini will begin offering curriculums in science, and they are building a new science building. We were able to go inside the construction gate, and it is going to be a three

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