"Tanzania? Dodoma? The Carpenter's Kids program?" I'm glad you asked.
Tanzania
- Tanzania is extraordinarily diverse
- No African country has more languages spoken within its borders than Tanzania
- Swahili and English are the two official languages
- Christianity, Islam, and local religions are each practiced by about a third of the population
- Though nearly all Tanzanians are African, the historical legacies of Islamic expansion and European colonialism remain
- Compared to other countries, the average per capita income for Tanzanians is among the lowest in the world
- Agriculture, tourism, and mining are the drivers of the economy
- Booming population pyramid with over half the population between the ages of 0-24
- Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa
- The Serengeti, home to incredibly biodiversity and mammal migrations
- Zanzibar, an incredibly beautiful island (as far as I can tell from Google Images)
Dodoma
- The new capital city located in the center of the country
- Capital used to be Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania
- Government offices still split between these two cities
- Fewer than a half a million people live there
The Carpenter's Kids
- A program run by the Anglican Diocese of Central Tanganyika
- Works to provide education for HIV/AIDS orphans
- HIV/AIDS orphans: children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS
- An estimated 40,000 of these orphans within the Diocese
- Also provides these orphans with breakfast, school supplies, shoes, a uniform, and mosquito netting
- Click HERE to visit The Carpenter's Kids website
To my knowledge, during my time in Dodoma I will be serving as a liaison between The Carpenter's Kids and supporting parishes/organizations, maintaining regular communication with interested parties. We'll see what that means once I'm down in the trenches!
Most of what I just did was throw out a bunch of statistics and facts gleaned from the CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia. But from what I understand, the world is much more than an internet summary. Without a hint of sarcasm, I cannot wait to actually get to Dodoma and get slapped in the face with how much I don't know.
And not just in regards to what I don't know about Tanzania. To learn more about compassion, about hardship, about joy, about humility, about love, about people, about God... I'm so excited for this opportunity.
In two weeks, I graduate from William & Mary. I am just about to finish my career as an undergraduate, but boy am I still ready to learn.
