Moving Forward

We arrived in Iringa, Tanzania, just 26 hours after leaving our home in St Neots. Not bad for a 4,600 mile journey by car, coach and 3 aeroplanes.

Iringa is set amongst the mountains in southern Tanzania, which means the weather is cooler, but the air thinner than where we worked in Central Tanzania 8 years ago.

Our first day was spent finding our way around the craft workshop which employs 100 physically disabled and hard of hearing adults. In under-developed countries like East Africa, where everyone struggles to scratch out a living, it is vulnerable groups such as these who really suffer from discrimination as it is believed that they are unable to contribute to society. It was to prove this attitude to be wrong that Neema Crafts was set up 14 years ago.

Irene began to learn about the stock control of products, including those made by the tailoring workshop. This is a particularly busy time as the centre prepares for a major ‘artisan’s fair’ to be held next weekend in Dar es Salaam when it is likely a large amount of stock will be sold.

Malcolm’s first day included going out as part of a group to complete negotiations to purchase a plot of land about 5 miles from Iringa. This will be used to build an additional 20 subsidised houses to be purchased by staff. This will be a major step in building their self-esteem as valued members of society. Although land boundaries are uncertain we were assured by the surveyor that a rectangular plot of exactly 2 acres would be properly identified through the use of GPS satellite tracking.

 

Tanzania may be a developing country, but it is moving forward quickly in adopting new technologies