Feast at the Foot of Mt. Kilmanjaro

by Judy Balch

The African Dinner with speaker, Rev. Dr. Suzi Robertson, on February 19 was a great success!  We had a celebratory feast with an abundance of interesting and delicious African-inspired food. ECW members provided the wonderful food for the dinner with recipes provided by Suzanne Batchelder. 

Rev. Robertson brought two additional guests, Mkunde and Neema, daughters of the Bishop of the diocese of Mt. Kilamanjaro in Tanzania, who are studying in Houston. They provided us with food for thought to go with our feast and we looked at the wonderful displays of pictures and artifacts from Africa that they brought. Mkunde and Neema told us about the city that they came from, Arusha, which is the second largest city in Tanzania and is beautiful with lush vegetation. Rev. Robertson described her year there as a missionary. She was in a very poor outlying area. There is a shortage of priests in that country where the Anglican church is growing so fast. Transportation is normally by walking or bicycle and only the Bishop has a car provided by funds from United Thank Offering. While there Rev. Robertson created a Godly Play program, with trained teachers and a center with materials translated into Swahili. 

Africa is a beautiful and diverse continent but Tanzania is the third poorest country in the world and much of the country is suffering famine as the result of a drought. Going to school requires a uniform and books which many children cannot afford. Members of St. James expressed an interest in contributing in some meaningful way. The Bishop's family is planning to come to the USA in the fall and airline miles can be given to Rev. Robertson to help get them here to speak to the churches in our diocese. Mkunde and Neema have not seen their parents for the three years that they have been here. Also we were told that     donations can be sent directly to Anglican schools in Tanzania to help with a child's education and several members of ECW expressed an interest in doing that. 

Tanzania seems like a country rich in natural beauty but poor in resources. Our guests introduced us to that part of the world that is ordinarily far removed from us and we hope to maintain a dialogue with them. For all their poverty of worldly goods, they have an abundance of Christian faith. It was a rewarding and satisfying evening.