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NEWS FROM TANZANIA
Report dated 15th June 2004
Daniel Reports:
“There is a new boy who has joined the Bethany family and his name is Fred Reuben. He is 8 years old from Nyasho Village (Paul's village). Both of his parents died a few years ago.
This brings the total to 57 children as of today’s date with many more to come.
School - Teachers:
Daniel has been to the Education Office in Magu and found out the government pay scale for teachers. Apparently it costs approx. 120,000Tsh (including taxes etc.) ( £65) per month to employ a teacher straight from college with a teaching diploma. He feels we would need at least three/four teachers to start educating our secondary school age children at Bethany as well as continuing to supplement the primary education received at the local village primary school.
Daniel and Eliada (marriage): The bride price has now been agreed at 4 cows and 250,000Tsh which Daniel will have to pay to Eliada’s parents before the wedding. This is a vast amount of money considering the minimum pay in Tanzania is 35,000Tsh per month. It will therefore be a long time before they are married.
Water Supply and Clinic: Both are running fine.
Report dated 4th June 2004
Daniel and the team email us to say that the children are all well and most are back at School and they are all coping very well with the change of culture!
He adds and I quote (with corrections):
“Just a quick message to let you know that Onesmo and I went to Bunda and then to Musoma yesterday to get the children Social Welfare had asked us to admit. We came back with four children, two boys and two girls.
Their names are;
Lucas Mtaki( boy, 14yrs in class five)
Emmanuel Mtaki (boy, 12 yrs in class two)
Biku Mtaki (girl, 7 yrs, has not started school yet)
Wankuru Laurent Marwa ( girl, estimated 8 yrs, has not started school yet)
Number one to three are brothers and sister( from one family), the same mother but different fathers for each one of them. Their mother died of yellow fever but their fathers are not known as they are illegitimate children. They used to stay with their uncle who is just a very poor drunkard.
The fourth one is from Musoma, illegitimate girl as well whose mother died two years ago and left with her very old grand mother (estimated in her nineties). Most of the time the girl used to wander in the streets begging for food and sometimes sleeping with some older boys to get money to feed her elderly grandmother and herself.”
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