Letters from my fatherland, Tanzania

One month in....

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Tanzania – the land of Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar! I can’t believe that I’ve already spent over two months here and am finally getting around to sending my updates! I have so much to write about and can hopefully convey all that I want to say about this beautiful country through my letters.

I am so thankful that I made the decision to come here on my first internship early this year. Of course with that comes the blessing of having the perfect opportunity at the right time with the right organisations -- Kibong’oto Infectious Diseases Hospital and Pamoja Tunaweza Research Centre. My experience here is simply amazing and so far I have had the chance to learn a lot about Tanzania and its people as a public health professional.

In addition to that I have had the chance to reconnect with lots of family members and old friends. My second time here has been even more amazing. I like everything about Tanzania that I liked as a child. Of course there are things about this country that don’t always appeal to me but I appreciate those things for what value they bring into my overall experiences here.

I will leave Tanzania next month and by then, I hope to have conveyed to you, all that this beautiful country has to offer. Tanzania is a country full of warm people and rich lands but on the other hand, this country suffers because of poverty and corruption.

Daily struggles continue for the common man in Tanzania! Being a part to several public health projects I continue to see large gaps in the healthcare system. Of course, that means there’ll always be work for me!

Apart from my work, I have also been busy visiting villages, mountains, people’s homes, and absorbing everything I possibly can in my environment here. Along with my public health work, I have been learning more about the rich culture and lifestyles of the Tanzanian people. So, through my writings, I hope you will get a glimpse of Tanzania...I encourage questions and thoughts from all of you.

In ending, I want to share a song – Malaika – on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vQgB6wLksY. This famous Tanzanian song is one that I fondly remember from my childhood. As a child, the soft music of this song provided comfort to me and now this same song provides comfort when I am away from my home in America!

The lyrics convey ‘I love you my angel,’ although the singer doesn’t have the ‘bride price’ to marry his angel! The song has been sung by many famous singers, including Miriam Makeba, also known as Mama Africa...I hope you will look it up and listen to it.

The writer is a Tanzanian-Indian-American who is pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health at Boston University in Massachusetts, US. She is currently an intern with Pamoja Tunaweza Research Centre and Kibong’oto Infectious Diseases Hospital -- both based in Moshi.