While this is a West Indian refrain, there maybe a version in Swahili as there is an indigenous form of the game in Sukumaland. We don’t know if is still played, how widespread it was and how many people played it, but play it they did. The Sukuma are the ethnic group who live in and around Mwanza, and the largest tribe in Tanzania.Sukuma means ‘people of the north’ and there is a superb open air museum at Bujora. In one of the exhibits we found a bat and a ball used in Sukuma cricket. There were no details of the rules but we assume it was played a bit like rounders. We have not seen anyone playing.
Conventional cricket was introduced to Tanganyika around 1890 by British settlers and has been slow to catch on with Tanzanians themselves. It is estimated that there are now about 15,000 players in the country and a growing contingent of women players. How good is the Tanzanian team? You judge – they would be ranked well below Scotland in any world cricket rankings.
We did try and do something about that by having a taster session with the children at the Mayega Centre, using equipment donated by Fochabers Cricket Club. The difficulty is time, the sand and the lack of bounce but we will try again. The skills of the game are a little difficult to master. The answer, of course, maybe playing rounders or, if we can find out more, Sukuma cricket itself.
The contractors have finished the work at Mayega and the children are delighted with their new fence. Having led chaotic lives before their admission to the orphanage , the fence gives the children a sense of freedom . They feel safe and will no longer be bothered by village drunks. This was a particular problem for the girls.
Across Tanzania vulnerable girls are often forced to get married when they are very young if they have no family to provide for them. Extended families too poor to care for orphaned relatives see it as a way of ensuring the girls are fed as they become the responsibility of the husband. A girl can be sold for a few cows . The United Nations Population Fund has a fact sheet on Child Marriage in Tanzania for further reading.
At last the contract is signed for the security fence at Mayega. It has taken two years of negotiations to resolve the land ownership disputes and thanks are due to the many Tanzanian Government officials at village , district and regional level who made this possible. Busega Scotland is also grateful for the efforts of Arnold and Valerie Barrow in getting things moving. The Mayega staff and children are delighted. They have been bothered by village men drunk on local brew. The fence also means that we comply with Tanzanian Children’s Homes regulations.
Chole – poor but spectacular.
When we are home we get asked many questions that seem to imply ‘living in Mwanza must be hard’. However much we try to reassure folk that it isn’t, we reckon that knowledge of David Livingstone, the ‘Heart of Darkness’ (the Congo not Tanzania) and the ‘White Man’s Grave’ (West not East Africa) makes our inquisitors hard to convince. We tell of the Rock City Shopping Mall, less than ten minutes from our door, and that we arrive in Mwanza on an Airbus not behind a yoke of oxen! So we needed some photographic evidence and here it is – a plate of chocolate cakes! Admittedly our first while being here but definitive proof that we are not deprived! Mrs Livingstone never managed such baking (as far as we know), so it sucked to be David. One final comment, that will make Christine’s pals raise their eyebrows – she said the cakes ‘aren’t really for us but just a trial for when our ‘kids’ arrive’, in about a week’s time! These are chocolate cakes and, I am pleased to report, made with Tanzanian cocoa.
At the TSI Moray ‘Joining the Dots’ conference earlier this year (see news item on 280316) John met a former colleague , Sheena Main, a Service Manager with Aberlour – Scotland’s children’s charity. Sheena and John discussed the work of Busega Scotland and, in characteristic fashion, Sheena became enthusiastic about what we do and links that may be established between Aberlour and Busega Scotland. This is a bit of a ‘Goliath and David’ connection but Aberlour has local services in Moray. For example, we have accepted an invitation to Alba Place’s open day on 18th September. Alba offers services for children with disabilities.
A MORAY-based charity has been given a £2500 grant for its work in Tanzania. The cash award will pay the yearly course fees at college for eight young people who recently left an orphanage funded by Busega Scotland. In addition, the money will also pay for their food, accommodation, clothing and footwear. Busega Scotland is run by retired Garmouth couple John and Christine Carney, who spend large chunks of the year in Tanzania.
Mayega children were happy to check out the Busega Scotland web site yesterday. The connection was slow but it was worth the wait. They got very excited looking at the photos of the students who used to live at the centre.
The children also received gifts of colourful towels from a supporter in Elgin. Having a towel is a luxury. The youngest children had first choice of colour .