Vooraf
In januari 2020 gaven we een terugblik op het jaar 2019 waarin het belangrijkste nieuws was dat het project Sarakasi ya Vijana is overgedragen naar Sasa Center, de lokale schoolorganisatie in Mto wa Mbu. Ook brachten we jullie op de hoogte van de juridische afronding van de registraties in Tanzania en vertelden we dat we het land te koop hebben gezet.
Inmiddels leven we in een andere tijd. Corona ontregelt ook Tanzania.
In deze extra lange nieuwsbrief gaan we eerst zelf in op de huidige situatie in Mto wa Mbu en onze kinderen en daarna geven we het woord aan Gervas Tatah. Tatah geeft een beeld van hoe onze Sarakasi kinderen de afgelopen maanden hebben geleefd onder de Coronamaatregelen en wat Tatah heeft gedaan voor hun welzijn. Het laatste nieuws is dat de scholen in de loop van deze maand nog opengaan. Een onverwachte maatregel waar Tatah nu druk voor aan het werk is.
Corona in Tanzania
De Tanzaniaanse overheid heeft sinds eind april geen cijfers over het aantal coronabesmettingen. Daarmee zijn officiële, actuele cijfers over COVID-19 besmettingen en overleden personen in Tanzania niet beschikbaar. De verspreiding van COVID-19 is in Tanzania niet onder controle en de besmettingsgraad neemt eerder toe dan af vooral in de steden Arusha, Moshi en Dar es Salaam. De mensen in Mto wa Mbu zijn bezorgd over de verspreiding van het Corona-virus.
Tanzania heeft op 18 mei het luchtruim voor internationale passagiersvluchten heropend. Daarmee is het voor commerciële passagiersvluchten weer toegestaan om te landen of te vertrekken vanuit Tanzania. Ook heeft de Tanzaniaanse overheid een eerder verplichte
14-daagse quarantaine voor inkomende reizigers opgeheven.
Het bestuur hoopte in de zomer van 2020 een bezoek te brengen aan Sasa Center om te evalueren en een fotoreportage van de kinderen te maken. Ook als het luchtruim heropend wordt in Tanzania, vinden wij het niet verantwoord om nu een bezoek te brengen aan Tanzania. We stellen het bezoek aan Sasa Center daarom uit tot het weer veilig is.
De kinderen
De updates die we van onze Supervisor Gervas Tatah van Sasa Center krijgen, laten zien dat het goed gaat met de kinderen ondanks het feit dat Corona ook in Tanzania een gevaar is geworden.
Net als in andere landen, zijn de scholen in Tanzania gesloten vanaf 17 maart. De laatste berichtgeving meldt dat de scholen eind van deze maand weer opengaan. De president heeft dit aangekondigd voor alle scholen in Tanzania. Tatah heeft ons daarover afgelopen week geïnformeerd. Iedereen is er opgewonden over omdat het veel eerder is dan verwacht. We zijn erdoor verrast. Tatah heeft 10 dagen om zich voor te bereiden op de opening van Sasa school en alle Sarakasi hun onderwijs weer te laten voortzetten. Tatah en zijn personeel zijn er razend druk mee. Wanneer de scholen in Tanzania vakantie hebben is nog niet bekend. In de tijd dat de scholen gesloten waren, hebben de kinderen thuis hun huiswerk gemaakt en daarbij begeleiding gekregen waar dat nodig was.
Nieuws van 15 juni:
- Scholen zijn vanwege Corona vanaf 17 maart gesloten, maar gaan onverwacht, eind van deze maand open.
- Zowel Corona als een van de zwaarste regenseizoenen met overstromingen treffen de mensen in Mto wa Mbu.
- Veel Sarakasi kinddren moesten naar veiliger plekken vluchten, ook vanwege wilde dieren.Twee kinderen zijn daarom opgenomen in Sasa boarding center.
- Tatah geeft een overzicht van de Sarakasi kinderen en een beeld van de situatie van een aantal van hen.
- Puntsgewijs geeft Tatah ook weer wat hij voor de Sarakasi kinderen doet en gedaan heeft. Daarbij geeft hij ook een indicatie van de kosten.
Voordat u de Engelstalige update van Tata gaat lezen, danken wij alle trouwe sponsoren die de kinderen van Sarakasi blijven steunen in hun schoolloopbaan en gezondheid. Twiga blijft zich inzetten voor een betere toekomst van de kinderen die zonder onze steun geen enkele kans hebben op een volwaardig bestaan. Twiga heeft dankzij jullie alle kosten voor medische zorg, schoolgeld, transport en leermiddelen de afgelopen periode weer kunnen voldoen. Wij hopen op jullie steun te mogen blijven rekenen.
Het bestuur van Twiga
Anne Marie van Lanen (voorzitter)
Jacqueline de Beer (lid)
Sarakasi Children and the Flood & Corona Crisis
The great expectations we had in our community at the beginning of the year diminished just as we got to the month of March. First it was the floods that ruined homes and farms; later it was the corona pandemic which closed down schools and destroyed our tourism business, the lifeblood of Mto wa Mbu.
For a long time we had not had big rains. But from around October last year till May this year, we had the longest rain season we can ever remember, causing many lakes and rivers across the country to overflow. In Mto wa Mbu, it is Lake Manyara that expanded to flood people’s farms and homes, especially the areas around Magomeni and Jangwani. Some of the homes of the children of Sarakasi were flooded and as shown in the table below, some families had to move away.
It is now the third month that the school children are still at home waiting for this corona problem to end. Staying at home is very boring for poor families who have small houses and nothing much to do. Our task at the moment is to supply academic work to these children and ensuring that they stay safe. Our two matrons, Anna and Faraja, are always visiting homes to access the safety and general progress of the children. We thank God that until now nothing bad has happened to the children, or parents of Sarakasi children. However, just around, three people have died with symptoms of the disease. Out of these, two are parents of other students at Sasa School. We are very worried.
The Welfare of Sarakasi Children, 15 June 2020
| Names of Children | Information |
| Thomas Augustino | The home and farm of Thomas’ family was completely flooded. The mother transferred the children to Kilimanjaro Region to stay in the mountains with grandparents. We only sent him academic work to keep him busy. |
| Nancy Martini | The house of Nancy’s family fell down. The family has shifted to a rented house and is always in need of food. |
| Anjela John Lisa Emmanuel Paulo Jalia | All the three children stay with their grandmother together with other two or three grandchildren. Their house is firm but the family is just too big to feed during this corona problem. We have used the recent Sarakasi money to supply them some food to get them through this difficult period. |
| Margret Joseph Peter | Margaret’s poor house in the middle of a farm was flooded one night in April. They escaped unhurt. The parents have separated. The mother and children are constantly shifting from one house to another. We had to rescue Margaret from the chaos; she is back to Sasa Hostel. |
| Neema E. Banga | Neema’s life is like Margaret’s. Their house was flooded in April and the family moved to stay with another big family in an overcrowded farm house. We took Neema and now she stays at Sasa Hostel. |
| Daudi & Gideon | Their respective homes have not been affected by the floods, but we keep visiting and supplying special diet to them due to their health problems. |
| Godbless Isaya Emanuel | Their house was flooded and the boy has moved to stay with relatives in Kigongoni area. He is doing well. |
| Jacob & Lawe | During this long corona holiday, Jacob and Lawe are staying peacefully with their respective caretakers. We pay the caretakers every month. |
| Babu Saibulu, Lamayani Leskar Sapro Molongo | All three Maasai children were sent to their parents at Lake Natron to spend the long Corona holiday. They have been provided with schoolwork to keep them busy. |
All Sarakasi Children, 2020. Roll, Schools and Additional Information
| Name | School | Class | Additional Info |
| Nametu Rasta Laizer | Lake Manyara | 1 | |
| Musa Said Mbuma | Lake Manyara | 1 | |
| Sinyati Engarukai Laizer | Lake Manyara | 1 | Health problem |
| Leiyo Morisey Laizer | Lake Manyara | 2 | |
| Thomas Joseph Augustino | Lake Manyara | 2 | |
| Nancy Martini | Sasa School | T/Class | |
| Babu Saibulu Ndaka | Sasa School | 1 | Stays in Maasai Boma, caretaker |
| Lamayani Olesiaya Leskar | Sasa School | 1 | Stays in Maasai Boma, caretaker |
| Zulhia Ramadhani | Sasa School | 1 | |
| Zulfikra Ramadhani | Sasa School | 1 | |
| Sapro Molongo Mollel | Sasa School | 1 | Sasa Boarding |
| Lisa Emmanuel | Sasa School | 2 | |
| Anjela John Msangi | Sasa School | 3 | Sasa Boarding |
| Damiano Elisha | Sasa School | 3 | |
| Lameck William Tito | Sasa School | 3 | |
| Margret Joseph Peter | Sasa School | 3 | Sasa Boarding |
| Masiaya Kayongo Mollel | Sasa School | 3 | |
| Daudi Julias Hongo | Sasa School | 4 | Health problem |
| David Joseph Adam | Sasa School | 4 | |
| Godbless Isaya Emanuel | Sasa School | 4 | |
| Muya Khatibu Kilango | Sasa School | 4 | |
| Neema Emmanuel Banga | Sasa School | 5 | Boarding student |
| Upendo John Kaaya | Sasa School | 5 | Boarding student |
| Jacob Isaya Joseph | Sasa School | 6 | Boarding S’dent, Holiday caretaker, Shayo |
| Salma Alma Athumani | Sasa School | 6 | |
| Victor Samson Mwiru | Sasa School | 6 | Boarding student |
| Innocent Kalist Ruge | Sasa School | 7 | Boarding student |
| Mwakangale Mark Mrori | Sasa School | 7 | Boarding student |
| Peter Omary Hamis | Sasa School | 7 | Boarding student |
| Sara Maulidi Omary | Mwl. Anna School | 5 | |
| Veronica Benedict Kahama | Mwl. Anna School | 5 | |
| Glory Ambros Kileo | Mwl. Anna School | 6 | |
| Mwasiani Mark Mrori | Mwl. Anna School | 7 | Boarding Student |
| Gideon Emmanuel Hilongu | Kigongoni Primary | 3 | Swahili Medium School |
| Paulo Jalia Juma | Kigongoni Primary | 6 | Swahili Medium School |
| Joyce Chacha Mabenda | Jangwani Primary | 2 | Swahili Medium School |
| Name | School | Form | Additional Info |
| Abbas Saidi Ndugutta | Oldonyo Lengai Sec. | Form 1 | |
| Agnes Gilbert Lymo | Oltinga Secondary | Form 1 | |
| Allen Jackson Aron | Manyara Secondary | Form 1 | |
| Fatuma Athumani Abdallah | Oltinga Secondary | Form 1 | |
| Mary Neema Onesmo | Ole Sokoine Secondary | Form 1 | Wants to shift to a better school. |
| Lawe Desderi Joseph Nade | Oldonyo Lengai Sec. | Form 3 | Holiday caretaker, Eliabu Mnzava |
| Sophia Halifa | Lowassa Secondary | Form 3 | Health problem |
| Martin Tito Martin | Lowassa Secondary | Form 4 | |
| Jonas Emmanuel Elfasi | Mpwapwa Sec – Dodoma | Form 4 | |
| Goodluck Joseph Tesha | Erikisale Secondary | Form 4 | |
| Dorcas Gaspar Marandu | Nanja Secondary | Form 4 | |
| Lisa Eliya Lohay | Nanja Secondary | Form 4 | |
| Bura Ole Sonde | Ilboru Secondary | Form 4 | Holiday caretaker, Mama Flora |
15 June 2020, what has been done for Sarakasi Children
As already communicated, the past five months have been hard time for the people of Mto wa Mbu as floods caused by prolonged rains; and stay-home isolation caused by the corona pandemic, ruined the daily life of the society. From the end of last year till May this year, it rained constantly causing the size of Lake Manyara to increase and swallow some of the people’s farms and fields. The villages close to the lake like Magomeni and Jangwani were mostly affected.
A considerable number of Sarakasi children have been affected by the floods and have moved away to safer places. So far, we have taken two children back to hostel as their homes are still surrounded with water. These are Neema of Grade 5 and Margaret of Grade 3. Our next move is to take Pendo of Grade 5 who lives very close to the boundary of the national park. Wild animals have moved closer to the homes of people due to water. Two days ago a man was killed by an elephant in Mnada wa Zamani, not very far from the property of Sarakasi. Hippos are a problem too and are common near Pendo’s home. Now the rains have stopped but it will take time for the farms to dry and animals to remain in the national parks.
The corona disease is our big ghost. As the first measure to curb the spread of the disease, our Government closed all schools from March 17 until now. It is likely that the schools will open again in July when we start the second academic term. However, it is difficult here to know the rate of infections in our area, even at the national level, because we don’t get reports every day as in other countries. We rely more on prayers and hope that things will get better. We thank God that until now nothing bad has happened to the children, or parents of Sarakasi children. However, just recently, three people have died with symptoms of the disease. Out of these, two are parents of other students at Sasa School.
Colleges opened two weeks ago and this is the early sign that other schools will very soon resume work too. It is more likely that secondary and primary schools will re-open in July when the second academic semester begins. For this case, we shall need money for the third quarter in the last week of June to get things ready.
During this difficult time, we have been visiting the children of Sarakasi more often. As these children come from very poor families, life at their homes is difficult and boring during this time of isolation and water. There is no television to watch, no spacious houses to relax, and nothing much to do. To end this boredom and to keep the children busy and safe, we have done the following.
- We visit almost every family weekly to check the safety of the children.
- We supply exercises for all the primary school children from time to time. Our matrons took printed work to their homes and instructed them what to do and collect finished work for marking. We have to do this because most of these families are too poor to receive work on the internet or through smartphones. The cost of one printed work for all the children is 648,000 shillings per month, equivalent to € 270.
- We support children who have to stay in the hostel for safety. At the moment we have two children and the third will join hostel this week. The cost of keeping one child for one month at the hostel is around Tsh.150, 000/- (roughly € 63).
- We support caretakers who keep some of the children who can’t go to their homes.
Since March we have paid around 300,000shillings (€ 125) to caretakers.
- For sick children, we improve their diet to build up their immunity. Gideon has mild paralysis. Daudi is weak with sickle cell anaemia. The type of food we supply is nutritious porridge flour and fruit. This month we have supplied items worth 100,000shillings (€ 42).
- For the very poor families of Nancy, Angela and Lisa we supply maize and beans. So far we have spent approximately 200,000 shillings (€ 83) to these families.
- We also help children with transport costs when moving from one area to another for safety. We have successfully connected three Maasai children with their parents at Lake Natron, and one child to Kilimanjaro. So far the transfer cost has been around 174,000 shillings (€ 73).
- We pay full salaries to two matrons who check the progress of the children and also cover their visitation costs which roughly goes up to 600,000shillings per month (€ 250).
