Our time in Tanzania was well spent. We stopped in at Mavuno Village outside of Mwanza, Tanzania and met Dan Tanner. He is a man who was raised in Tanzania. His vision for his orphanage is to raise Christian, hardworking Tanzanians. The living conditions in Tanzania are pretty rough and that unfortunately isn’t going to change any time soon. Dan has seen generations of missionaries come to East Africa and set up orphanages for abandoned children, but these orphanages are furnished with comfortable furniture, western kitchens and bathrooms, free meals, and technology that isn’t available to the average Tanzanian. When these children grow up they are not ready for the conditions that most Tanzanians must live in. These children usually turn to crime, drugs, or prostitution to continue getting their “free lunch,” thus continuing the cycle of poverty that plagues these third world nations.
Dan’s goal is to build an orphanage around the family unit. A mother and father will be given a home, a plot of land to raise their own fruits and vegetables, and means to earn their own income. In return they must “foster” 8-10 children. These children have chores for the family and the orphanage and see that nothing they receive is “free lunch.” They will have a school onsite and the parents and children will maintain the grounds. He allows each family to maintain their own garden and record their sales at the local markets, creating motivation through competition to work more efficiently. This place creates an opportunity for adults to have a safe place to live and work while simultaneously giving back to members of their community. Also producing hardworking, skilled, and educated Tanzanians who are ready for the conditions they must live.
Dan is also opening the doors of his orphanage to house Albinos. African Albinos are sought after for their body parts by witch doctors. The youth are targeted and especially vulnerable, his security and proximity to Mwanza create a good safe haven for Albino orphans. We had an opportunity to meet and play with Helena. She was abandoned by her mother at the age of 2. Many parents are embarrassed and shamed by their community when they have an Albino child. She spoke Swahili and English and was just as rambunctious as her 8 “brothers and sisters.” We loved the opportunity to see this man’s dream becoming a reality and seeing how happy these children were to have a home with a mother and a father.
Our time in Tanzania was short and we have been talking about our drive to Nairobi for quite a few months. When we first decided that the car would be our method of transportation from Mwanza, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya I didn’t even give it a second thought. I thought, well I have driven thousands of miles in the states visiting family and friends and I can handle one 400 mile drive in Africa. Well famous last words. I think the one 400 mile, 10 hour drive is honestly equivalent to a drive from the Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles to Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. I know you think I am exaggerating, but seriously it’s that bad. In Africa, there is not a lot of law enforcement so there aren’t very many officers sitting behind the trees with the radar gun, one might thing that would great, you can drive as fast as you would like. Well, when people started being run over by speeding cars the government had to step in, their solution, speed bumps. Not just American parking lot speed bumps, but the kind of speed bumps that if you are driving faster than 10 miles per hour your passengers in the back hit their head on the roof of the car. These speed bumps come on average 3 per mile. So on a 400 mile journey you can plan on hitting over 1,000 of these things. Now you were only lucky enough to have the speed bumps when the road is paved. Over the course of the trip you can plan on over 30 miles of the trip to be dirt road. Now think of the worst dirt road you have ever driven on, then make the ruts cut from the monsoon type rains 18” to 24” deep. Then add the crazy drivers and the herds of cattle, sheep, goats, or monkeys and it makes the 400 miles through the mountains and tea fields from Mwanza to Nairobi very exhausting.
While we are settling in Nairobi we are meeting new people and finding that our friends from previous trips are offering to help us in every way possible. We are excited about our possibilities to impact people in Nairobi. We will keep you posted in the coming days as our plans for the summer solidify.
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