How Tanzanians in Chicago celebrated Kiswahili Day

The Tanzania national anthem played in the venue and everyone respectfully stayed still, this was Chicago in the Midwest United States, and the Tanzania Community Association in the Midwest was holding its first annual Kiswahili day.

The mood was later turned up a notch, the latest Bongo Flava hit songs could be heard blasting through the speakers at the venue as the guests were settling in, everyone showed up in their African attire smiling broadly, and a small catwalk was staged as some attendees walked majestically showcasing their Tanzanian attire while others cheered, July 6th was a day for celebration.

Led by their President, Alphonce Bigirwa, the Tanzania Community Association was registered in Chicago in 2002 to unite Tanzanians and friends of Tanzanians, promoting Swahili culture and traditions as well as being of assistance to Tanzanians economically, when a need arises, “in most cases when a member has a funeral, we announce it in our WhatsApp groups and contributions and plans are made if the burial will be done in Tanzania or here in the US” said David Mhenga, TCA’s Secretary.

“We also have plans to start scholarship programmes for children of Tanzanians in the diaspora, which has not yet started but it’s in the pipeline” he added.

For more than two decades since its inception, it has been a pillar in the Tanzanian community in the Midwest in good and bad times. Today was one of the good times that not only bring together Tanzanians but East Africans, as well as anyone who has love for Kiswahili, the language that is spoken by more than 230 million people, has increasingly gained popularity across the world, deliberate efforts have seen it grow and now its being taught in countries like Namibia, Uganda, Ethiopia and many more, and here in Chicago, Kiswahili has united Tanzanians with other people from the neighboring countries, it serves as a bridge that brings together these people, and today they came to feast the finest Tanzanian cuisine, dance to the music and celebrate Kiswahili day.

“Kiswahili is not just a language but it’s our culture, so we have our songs, attire, food, so we had to meet this year and celebrate that,” said Mr. Mhenga.

TCA has been able to not only bring Tanzanians together and promoting Kiswahili, but in recognising TCA’s influence and importance as a pillar in the community, The Chicago Mayor’s office sent the representatives to the event.

Recognised globally by UNESCO Kiswahili day has been used to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, and in Chicago Tanzanian Community Association was deliberate in starting this annual celebration to not only celebrate the language but to promote Tanzania’s tourism, ‘we invited Tanzanians who are tour operators to set up their booths and showcase their tourism packages, and we will be doing more in the coming events to focus on promoting our tourism“ said Pastor Catherine Abihudi, Chairperson for the Kiswahili Day Event Planning Committee

A discussion panel was set up and the agenda at the table was what is being done by the diaspora to promote Kiswahili and the challenges they face, panelists shared their opinions, and what they are doing. They highlighted that there is a church in Chicago that conducts sermons in Kiswahili, a significant step in promoting the language. Mzee Simba Tayari a renown member of the Tanzanian community spoke of his services and how he is teaching Americans Kiswahili.

Tanzanian elite comedian Mpoki famously known as ‘Mwarabu wa Dubai’ was also present to bring the waves of laughter, dressed in a baggy red shirt with matching oversized red shoes, every time he touched the microphone, the atmosphere became vibrant with people wiping away tears of laughter, it was pure happiness and faces lit up upon seeing him.

Innocent Galinoma the legendary reggae artist graced the stage with the drums and guitars, his song ‘sote ni ndugu’ echoed in the room as the crowd was singing along, later Mzee Simba Tayari performed his rhythmic and powerful drums that captivated the audience, then the rap artist Wakazi had his turn to uplift the mass and the iconic hip-hop legend Balozi Dola Soul took the stage and enchanted the crowd with their popular songs that had the attendees reminisce of their time in Tanzania.

"Although we had some attendees who couldn't even speak or understand Kiswahili they were thrilled by our music, we catered to the young and the old, we had hip-hop for the youth and also some old classic music for the old, everyone was excited,” she said.

Remi Ongala and orchestra super Matimila’s song ‘Narudi Nyumbani’ was played and had old souls dancing on their feet, remembering their youth in the streets of Dar es Salaam.

The kitchen staff was fully prepared, Tanzanian food was not in short supply, the Swahili food aroma permeated the rooms, the tables were filled with the Swahili cuisine from pilaf, banana mixed with meat, buns, flatbread, and barbecue in plenty, “at some point people were concerned if the food would be enough, but we had more than enough” said Pastor Catherine, guests especially the young who hardly have time to cook took this opportunity to take some food back home, and Pastor Catherine was more than happy to help them pack the food.

“Seeing everyone enjoying the food we made was satisfactory to me,” she added. But she also used this opportunity to let the people know that the food they had enjoyed is cooked by Tanzanians and they can order it from their business at any time just like they order Mcdonald’s food, “for me it was a way of advertising their culinary business and help them get more customers” she said.

Secretary David Mhenga, was in a jubilant mood, the event had surpassed their goal, they expected a hundred people to attend and more than 200 people showed up to their delight.

They engaged with people from all nations and they had a chance to share with them a lot about Tanzania, and David feels proud for every moment they got to speak about their motherland.

As the TCA is growing in influence and members, they are also using their platform to help the Tanzanian business community in Chicago to network and grow their businesses, with the unexpected big turnout for their first Kiswahili event, they are hoping for more entrepreneurs to have their booths in their future events so that they can showcase their products.

After a successful Kiswahili day, the Tanzanian Community Association in the Midwest is currently gearing up to have another event, this time it will be in celebration of Tanganyika’s independence on December 9th.