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About Tanzania
Tanzania is bordered on the south by Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia; on the west by Zaire, Burundi, and Rwanda; on the north by Uganda and Kenya; and on the east by the Indian Ocean. Tanzania is the largest of the East African nations,and it possesses geography as mythic as it is spectacular. Natural resources include hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, and nickel.
Following independence from Great Britain, in 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania. One-party rule ended in 1995 when the first democratic elections since the 1970s were held. The current government is seeking to increase economic productivity while dealing with serious pollution and deforestation problems. In addition, the country is home to hundreds of thousands of refugees from Burundi and Rwanda.
Tanzania is among the poorest countries in the world today. The economy is highly dependent upon agriculture, which provides 85 percent of exports and employs 80 percent of the work force. Unfortunately, the terrain and climate limit the land’s ability to produce sufficient crops to support domestic needs as well as market needs. Agricultural products include coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum, cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava, bananas, sorghum, fruit, vegetables, cattle, sheep, and goats. Estimates state that between 36 percent and 50 percent of Tanzania’s people live below the poverty line. More than 45 percent of people live in chronic food deficit regions. Unemployment is at 16 percent, and 25 percent of all households are headed by women.
The AIDS pandemic has taken a toll on Tanzania. Life expectancy figures have dropped in recent years as the number of HIV/AIDS sufferers has increased. The overall prevalence rate is 7.9 percent. However, some sources state that in urban areas the incidence level is as high as 16 percent. The effects of AIDS overflow to families and especially children. Most tragic is the number of children left without parents: nearly two million boys and girls have been orphaned due to AIDS.
In the northeast of Tanzania is a mountainous region that includes Mt. Meru (14,979 ft/4,566 m) and Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 ft./5,895 m), the latter of which is the highest point in Africa and possibly the most breathtaking mountain imaginable. To the west of these peaks is Serengeti National Park, which has the greatest concentration of migratory game animals in the world (200,000 zebra, for example). Within the Serengeti is Olduvai Gorge, the site of the famous discoveries by the Leakeys of fossil fragments of the very earliest ancestors of Homo sapiens. The Serengeti also contains the marvelous Eden of Ngorongoro, a 20-mile-wide volcanic crater that is home to an extraordinary concentration and diversity of wildlife.
Moving west from the Serengeti, one reaches the shores of Lake Victoria, the largest lake on the continent and one of the primary headwater reservoirs of the Nile. Southwest of Lake Victoria, and forming Tanzania's border with Zaire, is Lake Tanganyika, the longest and (after Lake Baikal) deepest freshwater lake in the world. It was at Ujiji, a village on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Tanganyika, that H.M. Stanley presumably encountered David Livingstone in 1871. Livingstone had fallen ill while searching for the source of the Nile, and despite his illness he refused to leave. Instead, he persuaded Stanley to accompany him on a journey to the north end of Lake Tanganyika. The region that they passed through has since become famous as Gombe National Park, the site of Jane Goodall's chimpanzee research station.
Southeast of Lake Tanganyika is a mountainous region that includes Lake Malawi (previously Lake Nyala), the third largest lake on the continent. East of Lake Malawi is the enormous expanse of the Selous Game Reserve, the largest in Africa with over 21,000 sq. mi. (55,000 sq. km.) and perhaps more than 50,000 elephants.
Moving northeast from Selous brings one to Tanzania's low, lush coastal strip, the location of its largest city, Dar es Salaam. Dar Es Salaam is the embarkation point for Zanzibar, the fabled emerald isle that lies off the Tanzanian coast.
Climate in Tanzania
Tanzania climate varies quite a bit, considering that its environment includes both the highest and the lowest points on the continent. While the narrow lowland coastal region is consistently hot and humid, the central regions of Tanzania are sufficiently elevated so as to offer much cooler temperatures. The rainy seasons extend from November to early January and from March to May.
The Weather conditions are dominated by the Indian Ocean monsoons which bring two rainy seasons to most of the country each year: one long and one short, affecting different parts of country at different times. Although flooding is common on the coast, most of the country is semiarid. Minimum temperatures tend to occur in June and July in most places and range between 10°C (50°F.) at Mbeya in the Southern highlands to around 20°C (68°F.) at Tanga on the northern coast. Maximum temperatures vary from 25°C (77°F.) at Mbeya to 35°C (87°F.) at Tanga.
Temperatures range from a high of mid 32°C (90°F.) on the coast to permanent freezing on the top of mountain Kilimanjaro. On the plateau the temperature averages between 23°C (75°F.) and 29°C (85°F.) in the daytime and falls to less than 10°C (50°F.) at night. On the mountain slopes the temperature may fall to the low -1°C (30°F.).
Rivers in Tanzania
The largest river in Tanzania with its spectacular array of plants and animals can be devided into four distinct parts. Starting up river where rivers like the Luwegu and Kilombero (Ulanga) form to become the Rufiji River at the Shuguli falls. Then flowing North- East through the Selous Game Reserve to be joined by the Ruaha River, entering its second part when entering the Stieglers Gorge. Here the Rufiji River makes his path through a 8 km narrow canyon, only approximatly 100 metres wide. In this gorge the river heads down over rapids known as "Pangani Rapids", Conman´s Foil and Ropeway Rapids. Finally flowing out into a wide area where it splits into many different channels and lakes known as Lake Tagalala, Lake Manze, Lake Nzelekela, Lake Siwandu and Lake Mzizimia.
Culture in Tanzania
Over 100 languages are spoken in Tanzania, most of them from the Bantu family. After independence, the government recognized that this represented a problem for national unity, and as a result introduced the Swahili language (Kiswahili) as the only official language. The government introduced it in all primary schools to spread its use.
Given the conditions of the period, it was not possible to introduce the language in the entire educational system, because the scale of the task of writing Swahili textbooks for primary schools was already considerable. As a result English (which has been the colonial language since the end of the First World War) is still the language of high schools and universities. However, the great majority of the population has accepted Swahili, and little by little they are disappearing. To date none of them has entirely vanished, but it is clear that unless the linguistic policy is changed, many will soon cease to exist.
Our Missionary Activities in Tanzania
Kibaha Branch, in Coastal Region
With your support, Feed The Needy Children is assisting Tanzania Branch to build brighter futures filled with hope for their children. Many activities are under way to help meet immediate needs and promote lasting changes that will assist communities and families toward self-reliance.
Our Missionary goals include:
• Building better Dormitory, Clinic and classroom facilities from kindergarten to12 grade, including vocational classes in tailoring, carpentry, catering and bakery, so orphans can have a better place to stay and learn.
• Conducting immunization campaigns to protect children from typhoid, pneumonia, TB, cholera, malaria, polio, meningitis, malnutrition, urinary tract infection, worm infestation, diarrhea, skin diseases and other deadly and debilitating diseases.
• Teaching mothers about hygiene, nutrition, and disease prevention to equip them to better care for their children.
• Drilling and constructing wells to provide families with safe, clean water.
Your commitment as a Feed The Needy Children donor and sponsor helps provide a child and aging adult in crisis with love, hope, and opportunities for a healthy, productive future. |
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