Coping with COVID-19 in Tanzania
“We don’t have the perfect words to express that gratitude to thank the people who touched by God made a difference in our lives.” – The Diocese of Tabora, Tanzania
Tabora, Tanzania
The Anglican Church in Tanzania distributed hand washing buckets to community members. Here one is installed at a church hostel.
Tabora is in Western Tanzania. The population of the town is just over 125,000. And while Tabora used to be a major trading center in the 19th century, currently it is known mostly for its agriculture.
The church here is vibrant and the Bishop of Tabora, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Elias Chapukewa, is a long-time partner with ARDF. When he told us about the dire situation in Tabora due to the coronavirus pandemic, we knew we wanted to help. Thanks to our generous donors, we could!
ARDF sent $5,000 to help the church support the community by providing face masks, soap, sanitizers, foodstuffs, and buckets for hand washing. The families of Christian pastors and elders, as well as health workers, were prioritized. Over 814 families were helped in all!
Each family received a hand washing bucket, 40kg of rice, 40kg of maize, 10kg of beans, and 6kg of sugar. The Bishop estimates that this will last each family one month, allowing them to make additional plans should the lockdown go on for several more months.
Why clergy? Aren’t they the ones still employed? Yes, but they receive their income from the church offerings that are collected at worship services. With the lockdowns and travel restrictions, the church has not been able to meet nor receive alms. The bishop predicts that even when in-person church gatherings resume, the dire economic situation that the lockdown has created will result in fewer church offerings.
The clergy, many of whom had been unable to feed their families, are so grateful.
Rev. Thombias with his new handwashing station and cash to purchase food and sanitation supplies locally.
“By the grace of God, I’m serving the church of God here in Tabora Diocese with my lovely wife and six children. Our day-to-day survival depends much on the church member's support through offerings, donations, and small-scale agriculture activities around my ministry station. The pandemic has made our life situation worse than ever since [and] as a result, church members are overwhelmed by worrying about COVID-19 even those [generous] Christians [have been] shaken drastically economically.’’ – Rev. Thobias Lubikwa
The diocese also prioritized health workers. Ten liters of sanitizers, 300 face masks, and one thermometer gun were given to health workers in desperate situations and at St. Phillip Health Centre. This increases their capacity to work against the coronavirus outbreak. Tanzania has only 509 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths (according to The Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins). However, there is reason to think that these numbers are under-reported. Neighboring countries are all reporting a higher case count and more deaths, but this number from Tanzania has remained unchanged since late April. The Diocese is forward-thinking in their desire to be prepared.
It is important to remember that good hygiene also reduces the cases of other, common but deadly, diseases like dysentery and cholera.
We are so grateful for our donors to our COVID-19 relief fund. Your compassion has allowed us to respond quickly to our partners like Bishop Elias. Please keep Bishop Elias and his diocese in your prayers as the pandemic continues to devastate the economy in Tabora.
“I have spent time serving as pastor at Isevya parish for more than 25 ministry years. Due to my full-time work serving the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my family of my one beloved wife and my children and my grandchildren depend [so] much on the compassion from the parish around us through offerings and small agriculture activities. The number of church attendees drop-down for social distancing purposes hence low-income. This evening I was mourning but now I am smiling because I know what life without food is and life with food. Praise God. Thank you so much. May God bless you abundantly’’.
– Rev. Zakaria Tungaraza
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