Dodoma

Arrived in Dodoma last night after a hot and dusty journey around the back
of Msalato onto the Iringa road and back into Dodoma. The journey took us
across a vast flat area. In the rainy season the area is almost flooded and
intersected by muddy streams. The mud from which the houses are made is a
light grey, almost white, in contrast to the reddish mud around Mvumi, and
this contrasts with the black thorn bushes and very little vegetation,
giving a stark desert-like look to the whole area. Coming onto the Iringa
road, we passed right by Nkulabi, where Paul and I stayed with Isaac in
2002, and where they had been building a new church. Unfortunately we
couldn't stop, already having been made a little late by this time. In
Tanzania it is not possible just to "drop by", we would have been met,
offered tea and chapatis, had to wait for various people to be found and
probably witnessed ceremonies. We drove on to Mtambulu, where there is a
small bible college. This college is very new, and caters for those students
who want to be catechists (like a lay reader, but with responibilities like
a deacon or curate). The teaching is in Kiswahili. In the first year there
were about seventy students, but this has declined with the poor harvests.
Students cannot afford the 200,000 Tsh pa (about 100 pounds), and the women
in particular cannot be spared from their homes. There were no women in the
first year because of this, although the facilities were available.
We bumped into Dodoma along the rutted mud road which is the main
North-South highway in Tanzania. We are staying in the bishops house, which
is on the other side of the railway tracks from the main town. This area is
definitely the right side of the tracks, with large houses, mostly official
residences of one kind or another. The bishop's house is very grand, but
someone has painted all the sliding windows so they cannot be closed, which
makes it very cold at night. The plumbing, as sual, leaves something to be
desired, and only two showers out of three have hot water; but I have
already boasted that we are staying in the Bishop's Palace.
Today we saw the headquarters of the Diocese at McKay house, opposite the
cathedral. The principal explained the structure of the organisation in
paistaking detail, and we signed a great many vistors books (at least one,
and sometimes two, in each office we visited). After this we saw Grace,
Margaret and Frederick, three of the students from Msalato 2002. Grace is
working as a secretary in the DCT health department, Margaret is also
working at McKay house, and Fredrick has a church in chang'ombe, on the way
out to Msalato.
This afternoon we must buy the coach tickets for the journey home. Using the
internet has proved painful for Jack, who is used to faster computers. The
only way he can contact his friends is via a computer game called Runescape,
which takes twenty minutes to load and then freezes. I have suf\ggested he
resort to more conventional means of communication, but this is not helpful
of me.
Tomorrow we are visiting a Blind school, where I hope to play to them.
Friday we will visit Msalato, Ilolo and Chang'ombe, and perhaps Bishop
Stanway Primary.

Love to all. Missing you loads and loads Carol and Julia.

John

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