I have to admit that this was a tough post to write. Craig actually wrote most of it last week and I have been avoiding even looking at it.
There are many things in Tanzania that people could say make life stressful and it seems that it is different for each person. Not knowing when and if you are going to have power and water is hard for some. Other people have trouble adjusting to cooking here or shopping in the markets when you aren’t used to that. The language and the culture are very different from what we are accustomed to in the states and that can be tricky. But, I think the one thing that I personally have struggled with the most is the traffic. It overwhelms me, and Craig is the one driving!
In Tanzania, the roads are for everyone. So, combine the heavy trucks and personal cars on the road with all of the public transportation (which includes buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and bajajis) and then a large amount of people walking and an abundance of livestock with few or no traffic lights/signs/street lights and no real specific traffic rules….you get the idea. I had been both amazed and thankful that despite the chaos of daily traffic, I had not seen any accidents.
Then it happened.
We were on our way to the office, and had just turned into the entry way. Suddenly, brakes screeched near us on the road. I looked back to see people reaching into ditches to help others out. I wasn’t sure what had really occurred at first. But then we saw the dala dala (public bus) tipped over into the ditch. It was filled with local children on their way to school. People were helping them out of the windows. It tore at my heart. Normally, that is something where we would have rushed to assist. However, unfortunately, it is not safe to do that here. We just had to continue into the office compound, behind the gates to safety, and wait. We learned later that not only had the bus tipped over, but a piki piki (motorcycle) had slid underneath the bus and its driver had been killed.
The whole event really shook me up. Emotionally, I was struggling anyway, feeling a bit homesick—but that tragedy was difficult to come to grips with for me.
However, a family shared an amazing story a few days later.
Their son was on his way to school, and normally travels in a bajaji (a covered cycle). On the morning of the accident, he was having trouble catching a ride. Then, a motorcycle taxi stopped to pick him up. Just before he got on the cycle, a bajaji pulled up. It was brand new, no stickers (you need to understand that vehicles here are required to have insurance and safety stickers…and with all the dust and rough roads, nothing ever looks brand new!) He later learned the cycle he almost rode on was the cycle that went under the bus.
As we heard this story, we thought about how many times in our lives that God had protected us. And, I am sure that there are so many we don’t even know about! It is so important to be able to look back at those times, especially when we struggle in our circumstances or don’t understand, so that we can be reminded of His faithful protecting hand.
