I was born and raised in Nyamuswa, a small village in the country of Tanzania. Tanzania is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country’s eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.
Life in my village was very difficult, and many services we take for granted here in America were not available.
My mom owned a small farm in which she grew cassava, sweet potatoes, corn and sometimes millet. She sold not only what she grew but different kinds of fruits as well to provide for our family. She sold banana, mangoes, and oranges just to mention a few. The money bought the basic necessities of life: other types of food, clothing and school supplies.
From a very young age I learned to cook for my young brother and sister when she was busy working. She made sure I knew almost every job inside and out if for any reason I had to take over.
Life was very hard, and there were no guarantees. We had to take care of one another because no one else would.
She also taught me about business.
When she was not able to be at the market selling fruit herself, she made sure I knew how to handle the affairs of our business. I learned business skills at a very tender age and established relationships with friends of my mother, some of who are still selling in the same market thirty years later.
She often travelled to surrounding villages in order to buy fruit in bulk, and I would sometimes join her on those trips to learn where she bought them, and to help her carry them on my head back home.
We had no modern transportation, and so mostly we walked on foot for miles to get home.
Passenger buses drove through our village on the way to Mugumu, Mwanza and Musoma in the morning, afternoon and sometimes in the evening. If for some reason we could not walk and needed to ride, I had to persuade other passengers to buy my oranges or any other kinds of fruit. I became good at it and my mom trusted me.
For all of my primary school years, I had no shoes. We could not afford shoes for myself, and so I walked barefoot every morning to and from school every day.
I know this tore my mother’s heart to pieces, seeing me go without shoes, and that is why she constantly encouraged me to work hard at all times. At both home and school, she made sure I knew that only hard work and education would improve my life.
Times are still very tough in Nyamuswa, but when i grew up there was a severe shortage of water on top of everything else, especially during the dry season.
I awoke at 5am each morning to walk down to the closest river nearby in order to fill three buckets in the house for washing our face and feet only. The water was not to be used for cooking so most days went without breakfast. As soon as I finished, I dressed for school and ran for 40 minutes to get there.
During lunchtime, if mom was working at the market, I ran home to make lunch for my brother and sister. I then ran back to school before afternoon classes started at 2pm.
School was over each day around 5pm, and I headed straight home to wash dishes, fetch more water and sometimes help mom with her business.
It seemed like I was always busy doing something for my education or my family.
I was tired all the time and I didn’t have time to play with other kids in my neighborhood, but God was my strength, and so I carried on. I knew that my duty was to my family.
God was my constant source of inspiration and hope all the time. I see back them how He walked with me and He was with me every step I took on those dusty trails to and from the river or to and from school.
Life has not improved very much at all since I was a boy, and my heart breaks when I return. I still see women and small children struggling for even the basic necessities of life, including basic medical and health care. Many still are faced with walking long distances to get water and medical care. Poverty in the village is widespread. Many in my village die prematurely.
Because God has now blessed me in so many and countless ways, I want to give back, and I’m asking you to partner with me. Let us help to improve life in my home village of Nyamuswa and the surrounding areas. Please help me help the Nyamuswa people.