Equality amidst the backdrop of diversity...

by Terri Horn, IWM serving in Bukoba, Tanzania

It is the second week of September. The rainy season is beginning, which will help BUWEA’s soy farm. We are attempting to harvest 25 acres of soy this year. For those who might not know, “BUWEA” stands for Bukoba Women’s Empowerment Association, a Tanzanian non-profit organization that seeks to raise the economic status of indigenous women by providing access to a micro-loan fund and savings accounts. Additionally, BUWEA employs members to work in a farm cooperative, where soy beans are raised and then processed into soy flour, soy oatmeal, and soy milk. BUWEA recently finished partaking in a preschool feeding program study; 100 children aged 4-6 received daily soy oatmeal in schools where the children had not previously received any food while in class. Teachers from the village preschools have reported positive changes such as reduced illnesses and diarrhea, higher concentration, and improved peer-peer communication. In working to support nursery and primary schools with few resources, BUWEA hopes to analyze the physical development of the children in the study in order to further promote the importance of school breakfast programs.

The BUWEA Board and I are also preparing for the Women’s Global Connection Cross Cultural Forum, which will take place on October 7^th.  The forum will spotlight micro-financing projects this year and how non-profit organizations can embrace the concept of “social entrepreneurship” in reaching out to the local community. We will hook up a webcam and each Board member will take turns discussing the impact of BUWEA programs such as the Revolving Loan Fund and Global Business Partners. In order to emphasize organizational accountability and progress, it will be important for BUWEA to also discuss their role in social efforts such as the Clean Water project and the Preschool Feeding Program. 

This week also marks the end of Ramadan, the international Islamic fasting period. Tanzania is not a Muslim state, nor is Islam the most populous religion in the country, but it is arguably the most Muslim country of Eastern Africa, with its island counterpart, Zanzibar, which has a 98% Muslim population. The festivities celebrating the break of the fast, known as Eid Ul-Fitr, are determined by the position of the moon, and this year the celebrations began on Friday September 10^th. Last year, Eid fell on a Sunday and the celebration was much less visible in town. Walking to the office on this day, I passed through a literal sea of people dressed in their best traditional head covers, hats, and gowns making their way to the local mosques. Later in the evening, thousands of Muslims, Christians, and Hindus celebrated the festivities together by gathering at the beach of Lake Victoria for refreshments and socializing. Living in Tanzania has given me an opportunity to become more familiar with the Islam religion, through friends, festivities, and national holidays such as this. Being here has been a learning, cultural experience of living in a multi-religious region.

Choosing to be a lay volunteer with Incarnate Word Missionaries has affected me in many ways. I am lucky to be living and working in an area with diverse Christian denominations. I have had the opportunity to attend and photograph children’s first communions at the Roman Catholic Cathedral. On special or formal occasions, I can attend the small, candlelit evening services at the local Greek Orthodox Church. If I want to attend a more lively service, I can go to the Anglican Church, where one frequently finds gospel-like choir performances and dancing for the first part of the service. When I lived with my former Polish roommate who has now departed Tanzania, we attended the Lutheran English services together.

When I lived in the United States, I attended the same church for nearly 5 years, hardly ever attending services of other faiths. I feel I now have a better appreciation of traditions and beliefs of many different dominations. Living in a culture of different religions has shown me how “ethnocentric” we can be about our own religion and practices. I was thinking lately about how cultures tend to separate themselves based on differences such as religion and ethnicity. For instance, in Bukoba, the town is geographically split into 3 parts- the area where the Africans reside, the area where the Indians reside, and the area where the Whites reside. In the same way, many countries including Black and White South Africa, Palestine and Jerusalem are segregated by ethnic differences. I am acquainted with a volunteer who is working for the United Nations Human Rights office in Bukoba, and one of his primary roles is to interview leaders of the Islam, Hindu, and Christian faiths to determine how they work together for human rights in Bukoba.

Although I am a Christian and will always be, I can now appreciate more deeply the importance of striving together for worldwide peace, human rights, and equality regardless of cultural or religious distinctions. In so many arenas – in international politics, in education, in worldwide religion, in my life and my job - what I have learned is that it is not “who” (in terms of a specific affiliation) we value that matters; it is “what” and “why”  we value what we do that will make the long-lasting changes when we unite together. That is what I will take with me, and when my present time is over, I hope to continue to learn of equality amidst the backdrop of diversity.

As my time in Tanzania is coming to a close, and as I continue to apply to graduate schools to pursue a Master degree in Sociology, I feel more and more grateful and nostalgic for the many blessings here... blessings of supportive friends, Tanzanian and American; blessings of working for an organization that is continuing to succeed with all of their projects, that I know will continue on just fine without me; blessings of the journey.