Tanzania: SCAW in Mzambarauni

We started our morning at 5:15 AM -- a half hour later than usual. Everyone got their own breakfast, made their lunch and we were off to the distribution site by 6:30 AM.

The traffic was busy but moved right along. The amount of exhaust fumes from the numerous diesel is unbelieveable. The roads -- even the paved roads -- have huge holes big enough to damage your car. It seems that in Tanzania, if you want to avoid the holes and rough areas, you have to move into the oncoming traffic lane when it's clear so that you'll miss the trouble. Everyone seems to take it as normal and slows down or moves over. We have not seen any road rage here. There are also occasional speed bumps -- you must slow right down for these or you may be launched into space.

The distribution was at a school at Mzambarauni which is very close to Dar es Salaam. The schoolyard was rectangular with buildings on three sides. It had many trees with lots of shade to protect the children while they waited to receive their bedkits. The only place to take pictures without shadows was an open area in the centre of the yard. The distribution went extremely well and we finished as heavy clouds started to move in.

All the children were beautiful. Many of the children attending could understand enough English to follow our instructions.

Several physically disabled children received bedkits. Although these children were unable to communicate with us verbally, their smiles showed their pleasure.

During the last two distributions we have had several albino Tanzanian children. These children have very white skin and white hair. It is difficult to see their eyes as they are always squinting since the sun hurts their eyes. These children face a bleak future as they may go blind and they almost always develop multiple skin cancers due to the sun damage. This condition seems to be very common in this country, much more than we would ever see in Canada. There is a great need for these children to have proper sun glasses, wide rim hats, and strong sun screen, but many of them cannot afford such luxuries. During these distributions we have been able to give some of these children baseball caps. They should have hats with wide brims all the way around but a baseball cap is a start.

All the children were very appreciative of the articles they received. They showed their happiness by their wonderful smiles and thank you's. We feel very honoured and humbled to be able to accept these children's gratitude on your behalf.

Thank you for the support for the children.

Helen Brown,
SCAW 2006 Tanzania Travelling Team