The wonders of modern technology.

Glimpses of Africa 4 The wonders of modern technology!

The internet. It is our lifeline here to the rest of the world. It is part of life in western countries. Here it is still a dream for most people. Electricity isn’t even available to many of the areas of Mbeya – the city in Tanzania in which we are staying. In the rural areas it is hardly even thought about. This morning ladies came to the college to get water from the supplies here. Filling up their large buckets and carrying them away on their heads. What percentage of this city has running water I am unsure.
So is it any wonder that the young adults, most of them in their mid-twenties or over, who come to this college are starting from scratch with computers and have never sent an e-mail in their lives. What a privilege Shukrani college has to offer students experience in important skills for the business world of today.
But we see the struggle of students trying to master skills in IT when they have never touched a computer until their adult years. They can’t go home or back to their rooms and practice as most could never think of affording such equipment. But these are intelligent capable adults and young adults who are pursuing an education that will give them better opportunities in life.
As Graham struggles to teach an accounting package to these students on computers that are old by our standards and as we give them the opportunity to send some emails on a very slow Tanzanian internet, we are encourages that they are learning and be exposed to things which we in the ‘west’ take for granted.There are a couple of students who have good computer and IT experience and some who have exposed themselves to the very slow internet cafes that you can find in this part of Tanzania.

Food Glorious Food!!!

Glimpses of Africa 4 Food Glorious Food!!!

Pizza, Chinese, Sizzling steak ….yes we have eaten these in Mbeya. Even a cappuccino! But these are the exception rather than the rule. We have also had cooked green banana stew I guess you could call it, from one of the market ‘restaurants’and delivered to the college. And at the local market ‘food hall’ we have eaten chippsies and tomato, and chipati – like pancake - and chai, and mandasi, (I’m sure I’ve spelt that wrong!) – like donut.
We have shared the hospitality of teachers and their families in their homes. Much of the cooking has been done on charcoal burners. Rice, boiled potatoes, vegetables such as peas, beans, pumpkin leaves and finely ground nuts, or tomato and onion salad and also some meat like chicken, goat or beef or a meat stew, have been prepared for us and we have been very appreciative of this. Depending on the area you originate from in Tanzania you may prefer rice, Ogali – made from maize flour, or cooked green bananas as the staple food. Rice is easily available in Mbeya and has been offered at every home we have visited. The meal has usually finished with fruit. At the moment bananas seem to be abundant.
Tanzanians don’t seem to snack on food as we Aussies do. They do have their takeaways here but they are not McDonalds or KFC. The many roadside cooks who ‘BBQ’ bananas or maize, or cook hot chips (chippsies) and perhaps combine them in a frypan with a beaten egg to make chippsies mayo, or the children or women who sit by the road selling Mandasi or other yeast based fried breads, these provide an abundance of takeaways. You can also buy small packets of shelled raw peanuts, sometimes popcorn or other local snacks from the young men trying to make a little money to keep them going.
A trip to the market exposes you to this and much more.