Tandale is a squatter shantytown situated about 5 km northeast from the centre of Dar-es-Salaam. The place is overcrowded with more or less 70.000 people living in an area not bigger than 3 km2. 80% of the population are Muslims.
Among the main social problems are unemployment, even though most of the people came to Dar hoping to get a job, many of them did not succeed and ended up doing small business, part-time work or just roaming around the streets. There is also a high percentage of people suffering from HIV/AIDS and its effects, not only many sick citizens, but also a big number of orphan children. To this, we can add prostitution, alcoholism, drug dealing and whatever we can imagine, related to a situation of extreme poverty. Most people live in very small houses and many manage only to rent one or two rooms. There are hardly any infrastructures, and it is a daily struggle to get clean water, while most dwellings are surrounded by dirty water from the sewage. The hygienic conditions are very poor.
The Karoli Lwanga parish is situated at the heart of Tandale, near the main market. The parish was started in 2005 under the responsibility of the Missionaries of Africa. Some of our sisters started working there before the fathers, and since those early beginnings, a lot of development has been achieved.
At the moment, we are committed in the Salomé Learning Centre (SLC), a MSOLA project mainly geared to empower young girls and women through different educational projects and in coordination with TASODEC (Tandale Social Development Centre), which includes a variety of projects, both are part of the parish activities.
The SLC is a way to fully live the MSOLA charism by the empowerment of girls and women through education; helping them to realize their human dignity, to be self reliant and to build up hope and confidence in them.
The following activities have been programmed:
A library started to function in the year 2006 for Primary and Secondary students. School books are available, as well as story books in English, and English and Swahili dictionaries.
Some English classes were also provided for them, to awake in them the desire for reading. Adult people joined and the groups were divided according to age.
Through catechism classes we found out that many of the catechumens, especially young women, did not know how to read and write. We started to set up a literacy class. The number of students kept increasing as time went on.
We decided to install a full sewing course for the year 2008. In the course, apart from the sewing subjects, we also offer English, Mathematics, Science, Religion, life skills and sports.
So far we have been celebrating a Eucharist at the beginning and end of courses. We also had a short retreat or seminar before one of the main holydays and a picnic or a get together at the end of the year. We encourage the participation in the activities of the parish.
We also use the birthday celebrations as a means to build up a family spirit among the members of the centre; we share important events that take place in the lives of the student: sickness, death, and other occasions.
Once in a while to have a general meeting as well as organized debates concerning an issue previously chosen and prepared. |
