From the comfort of Australia it is easy to see the difference. It comes in bland statistics like GDP per capita, life expectancy (around 50), and median age (17.5). From where I sit in Tanzania it comes in practical realities.

Power supply  is unreliable.

Electricity supply may drop out for seconds, minutes, or hours at a time. At the end of last year there was no power for almost two weeks. I confess that I am glad I was not here. At it’s best a power dropout is an inconvenience. At it’s worst it may include a power surge that destroys electric and electronic equipment. The results are costly. There is a need for backup generators, and fuel to run them. Diesel is currently close to $2 AUS per litre, so you do not need to run the generator for long to eat into your financial reserves, or eke away any profit. And then there is equipment that needs protection. The computer lab had about 10 UPS devices (Uninterruptible Power Supply units) to protect the computers and allow the students to save their work. It is no fun in a computer class when the power drops out for a few minutes, it is even worse when there is no power and 3 classes of external students come to learn Word or Excel. They have paid their money….

Internet access is costly and slow.

While the computers are capable of much more, the network runs at 7.2 kbps in Mbeya (and probably in most cities outside Dar Es Salaam). That may actually be a good thing when downloads are paid for per MB -a basic plan can cost around 400 Tshs (AUS 50 cents) per MB. 2 Gb per month is considered unlimited as it is difficult to actually download that much in that time frame. At 100,000 Tshs it is less than 50 Tshs (AUS 7 cents) per MB Beyond the cost, consider downloading Windows Updates – almost a daily occurrence those days, at anything from 256 kb to 8 MB. The initial cost paid for the operating system will pale into insignificance when the cost of all downloading all the updates is added.The government mandated basic wage for employees is just over 100,000 Tshs a month. No many can afford to use the Internet – but most people have no chance of even owning a computer. A cheap second hand laptop is around 800,000 Tshs – and with all the power dropouts at least a laptop is usable for a short time. Oh, and did I mention media rich websites. A great marketing tool in the West, they are a slow costly nuisance in Tanzania.

If a country is to develop trade is vital. Trade requires communication, and today that means electronic communication. Electronic communication requires power. If the lives of the ordinary Tanzanians is to be improved the cost and reliability of technology must be reduced, but that costs money.

It is a vicious cycle that will only be broken when those of us in the developed countries get serious about opening our doors for trade, and our wallets for aid.

Tanzania is one of the poorest nations in Africa, and the world. Apparently about 60% of the government budget comes from donor funds.

Many, perhaps most, of the houses in the cities do not have electricity, nor do they have a reticulated water supply. A communal tap will provide for the needs of those nearby. On our one excursion into the country it was evident that only the houses near the centre of the villages had power (if they had it at all), and that the water supply may have been a nearby stream.

Swahili is the national language. That has given the population a common language instead of many tribal languages. Swahili is taught at primary school (Standard 1-7) and English is introduced at secondary school (Forms 1-6). Universal education is the theory, but primary schools are crowded with very large classes (I have heard of some up to 180) in rooms not designed for that number. Secondary school is expensive (300,000 Tshs when minimum wage is 80,000 per month), and most do not get past the early years. As a result English is not widely spoken, and this limits the possibilities for people in the world of commerce.

Modern technology (excluding mobile phones) is expensive. While food here is fresh and cheap by our standards, computers and electrical goods are priced somewhere near the amounts we would pay. Since their minimum wage is only about A$100 (US$65) per month that is a huge barrier to progress.

Transport infrastructure is poor. Since road building is expensive, and government funds are limited it is not at all surprising. Even the main highways are only two lanes, and major upgrades are supported by donor funds. The main road through Mbeya is one of three major highways in Tanzania. It is THE major transport route to Zambia and Malawi from the port of Dar Es Salaam. It carries a huge amount of heavy transport, and the wear and tear is significant. Even on this highway a four-wheel drive is to be preferred! The cost in man-hours, and in damage to vehicles, of a substandard national highway must be huge, but the resources are not available to upgrade.

Giles Bolton wrote that poverty means you have fewer choices. It is true for an individual; it is also true of a country.

Funds come from student fees, from donations, and from fund-raising efforts, and contacts overseas, and – when things are desperate – a call may go out to the ‘mother organisation’ – The Salvation Army.

Maintaining property, replacing equipment, and providing upgraded resources are all necessary for the effective running of the collge. Often major expenses cannot be met from within the on-going budget. Efforts have been made to establish income generating activites to supplement collge income, but even setting up these ventures costs money that is not readily available.

Landrover

A current need is to replace and aging and ailing landrover.  This vehicle is part of the equipment needed for the running of the collge, and is also used for some other projects that support the surrounding communities.  It will cost approxiately A$10,000 to replace the vehicle with a second hand equivalent. It has been gratifying to see the responses of my local church (Preston Salvation Army), Camberwell Salvos, and my service club (The Rotary Club of Preston) as they have responded to the need of Shukrani. Hopefully a more reliable vehicle can be found that will support the work at Shukrani.

While still being developed it offers a glimpse of what is on offer at Shukrani.

Mbeya is a city of over 250,000 and is the administrative centre of the Mbeya region.

The college offers a variety of courses at tertiary level in business, teaching, and hospitality and is accredited to award diplomas by the National Council for Technical Education.

With 90% of graduates finding employment within six months of completing the courses the college is a doorway of hope for many young Tanzanians. For each graduate who finds employment it is estimated that at least ten people are helped – parents are supported and siblings helped with education.

Among the graduates are some disabled individuals. Places are reserved in Shukrani courses so that the door might be opened for those who suffer the additional barrier of living with a disability. When a disabled person graduates and finds stable employment it must be a cause for great excitement and celebration.

Education comes at a cost. The Salvation Army runs Shukrani as a not-for-profit college, but expects the college to be self-funding. Fees are low, and sponsorship is sought for disabled or poor students. Shukrani is a college for all, but it is a continual challenge to finance the day-to-day operations of the college. There are more applicants than there are places for students, but there are no funds for expansion. Even replacement of major assets and upgrading of facilities is a major obstacle for the college.

Success in such an environment is in students who graduate and go on to support their families, and to make a contribution to life and community in Mbeya and beyond.

Tanzania is identified as one of the poorest countries in the world, and is heavily dependent upon agriculture. About 80% of the workforce is engaged in agricultural.  Before the recent world economic downturn the Gross Domestic Product of Tanzania was growing at nearly 7% per annum.
International agencies have been actively engaged in efforts to rehabilitate the economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty.

Despite it relative lack of resources Tanzania is host to over half-a-million refugees. Since it is surrounded by eight countries – including Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – it is not surprising that it’s stable government would be an attractive location for those seeking asylum or refuge.

In this country The Salvation Army is one of the Christian churches with which 30% of the population is aligned.
With numerous churches and a variety of social programs throughout the country, The Salvation Army is making a contribution to the spiritual and social life in Tanzania. Shukrani International College of Business Management and Administration is one centre where help and hope are part of the program.

Offering accredited training in a number of areas – business, teaching, hospitality, etc – Shukrani also offers hope.  Approximately 90% of Shukrani graduates find jobs within six months of completing their courses. A job for a graduate means support for parents, and money to educate siblings. For each one graduate approximately ten others are better off.

As a not-for-profit college in a poor country Shukrani International College runs on a shoestring budget. Our hope is that we will be able to help in some way – and look forward to supporting Christine and all the staff at Shukrani for a couple of months.

As we planned for a 12 month sabbatical we wanted to do more than just rest and recuperate. Two years ago an article by Christine in a local Salvation Army publication “On Fire” caught my eye. Contact was made, and on February 9 we leave for Africa and Shukrani College. What will we do there?  We will support Christine and the other staff according to our abilities and their need – and we are certainly looking forward to experiencing Africa and finding new friends in Mbeya.

Along the way there were moments of ‘should I keep this, or should I throw it away’. When I wasn’t sure I would put it aside, and come back to it later. Most of that stuff eventually went.

What was good about the process was the memories that were evoked, and a recognition of the people who have been part of my life over the years.  The ‘stuff’  – photos, trinkets, letters, trophies – helps to recall people and events. I don’t want to throw it all out – but rather keep the things that bring to mind that which is significant.

This is the biggest clean out we have had in many years – and it has been a healthy (but not yet complete) process.

Why? Why not!

How? To get to this point I have already experimented with a website (www.johntenten.com) that will be undergo a transformation over the next month. It is some months since any changes have been made, but it was part of my learning curve. In my teaching I have also used the Internet to make class notes and presentations available to students.

More recently I installed FeedDemon  and began monitoring a number of blogs – including a number of blogs on blogging.  ProBlogger Blog Tips (www.problogger.net) and Josh Klein Web Strategy(www.joshklein.net) are two of many that can be found in the ‘blogosphere’.  Blogger and WordPress are the two platforms that are free and easy to use – and both factors are important. To them I have also linked Scribefire (www.scribefire.com) as a blogging editor.

What constitutes a successful blog?  Statistics seem to be the measure, and some people even make a good livng from blogging. The question for tose who desire to make money from blogging is: would you keep doing do it even if you earned no money from your blog?  For those who desire to impact others the question is: how many people follow you blog? 

Are these the real measures of success for a blogger, or can success be defined in other ways?

For this year ‘blogging’ is to become part of my regular routine.

We have chosen this path because we want to give our best in the years to come – and so the next twelve months will be a sabbatical. It is a time when we hope to be refreshed physically and spiritually, and experience life without the daily demands of ministry.  As well as taking life a little easier we will also be spending a few months working as volunteers in Africa – at least that is the plan for now.

For us this is a time of change, and the changes have already started as we finalise matters at Preston, pack and clean house, and prepare for life without a home and with few possessions.

The times they are a-changing.