Tanzania: Day 8 - Kitunda

From Tanzania Album 8

Today we travelled to an area called Kitunda, a short distance from Dar es Salaaam, to a school located at the end of a narrow dirt road with potholes so large they almost swallowed up our van. How we don’t get a flat tire is beyond me! The good news is that our new driver seems to be able to find our distribution sites without stopping for directions every 100 feet.

When we arrived, the students were gathered in an open area, ready to perform their opening exercises. They sang the national anthem, accompanied by four girls on drums. What an uplifting way to start your morning! Mama Wandoa then introduced us all, making us feel like celebrities. However, that feeling didn’t last long once we were covered in dust and sweat!

It was obvious right from the start that the number of children here exceeded our previous distributions, yet we weren’t concerned about crowd control, feeling assured by what appeared to be the head mistress explaining earlier who we were and what we were doing there.

From Tanzania Album 8

However, while the distribution itself proceeded very smoothly over the next few hours, as our pile of brightly-coloured mattresses grew smaller and smaller we began to sense the growing desperation of the children and parents who were not slated to receive a bedkit. This is, without a doubt, the most difficult part of the day: few things are as heartbreaking as a mother pleading with us to give her child a bedkit.

But this is the reality so we do what we can and console ourselves that at least a few more children will sleep well tonight.

Maureen Maus for the SCAW 2007 Tanzania travelling team.

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