Tanzania Partnership

At Shepherd of the Valley on August 12, we prayed, we walked, and we gave money to support water projects in Ikwavila and Mpalapande, Tanzania. Every gift of prayer, walking, and funding is a blessing. Why did people walk three kilometers up hill to fetch a bucket of water on a hot, hot day?  Why, when we have a perfectly good spigot and all the water we could possibly want right within reach? We walked to remember our friends in Tanzania. The girls and women in villages like Mpalapande and Ikwavila walk every day to collect every drop of water they use for cooking, drinking, washing, and watering their gardens. Girls spend so much time each day collecting water that they often are not able to attend school. We walked to experience in some small way, the reality of their daily life. Carrying water is hard work.  A five gallon pail weighs 40 pounds.  We used the water that was collected to water the garden...

For the past year and a half, most of the posts here have revolved around the construction of Mpalapande Primary School. Finally, the school is completed, and the first class of sixty students are attending school in their own village, without the hours of walking to the next closest school, some 6-8 kilometers away. Bwana Yesu Asifiwe!  Praise the Lord Jesus! So what's next? Well, now it's time to address some issues of water. Mpalapande Village receives its water from a pipeline that starts in the hills around Mapogoro, follows the roadside, then continues to Mpalapande and Kitisi. The pipeline has been in place for thirty some years and was designed to provide villagers with water at 16 public spigots. Over time, individuals have tapped into the pipeline to bring water closer to their own homes. I've been told there are now some 60 places where the public water is connected for private use.  That, of course, has an effect on the amount of water available fo...

July 15, 2017 We began our tour of Makifu Parish at the main station with Pastor Nejabel Madembo welcoming us with his warm smile. While waiting for everyone to arrive, we got a tour of the newly roofed parsonage and had a chance to share photos with friends. Then it was on to Kisilwa. There was a lot of joy here as the congregation proudly showed us the finished roof on this chapel that has been waiting several years since the walls went up. Even more impressive is the fact that two sons of the congregation contributed most of the money to buy iron sheets for the roof. Funds from SOTV were used to buy lumber, nails, and other supplies. Next, the group from the game park rejoined us at Misufi. This is a newer preaching point, still renting a house to use as a worship space. It's a two room structure, so it's kind of awkward for a gathering. Evangelist Lazaro Mlunza explained that there is a new primary school in Misufi and this d...

Four years ago , I visited the village of Ikwavila for the first time.  The people I met told me I was the first wazungu to venture to their remote village.  To get there, we had driven four hours out of Iringa to the village of Tungamalenga.  Heading out of that village toward Ruaha National Park, we took a left onto the road that leads through Makambalala, Makifu, Mahuninga, and all the way uphill to Kisilwa. At Mahuninga, we took another left onto a narrow road that used to end at the bridge where we normally go offroad to Mahove.  At the bridge, continuing on a new road where there used to be barely a path, we arrived in  Ikwavila. The hospitality was humbling.  I accepted the gift of a chicken. This church elder welcomed me to the village.  His young son greeted me in perfect English, "Good morning, madam.  How do you do?" Our travelers have visited Ikwavila every year since that first time, and as we have gotten to know ...