Tanzania
Compassion started working in Tanzania in 1999. Today, there are over 99,000 children registered at program centres run by 477 church partners.
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Snapshot of Tanzania
398
mothers die from pregnancy related causes per 100,000 births
26%
of people live below the poverty line
84%
lack access to improved sanitation
Tanzania has been spared the internal strife that has blighted many African states. But domestic stability has not translated into economic prosperity and many Tanzanians still live in poverty.
The modern nation was formed in 1964 when Tanganyika and Zanzibar united to form the United Republic of Tanzania. The constitution was amended in the 1990s to allow multi-party politics and Tanzania has enjoyed relative political peace and stability ever since.
Despite that stability, many Tanzanians live in poverty. Most of this group live in rural or semi-rural places and work as small-scale farmers. They remain personally vulnerable to poverty because large sections of the country are vulnerable to severe weather events. In 2019, a late onset of seasonal rains meant crops were reduced—and then flooding in some regions wiped out crops entirely.
So, while the economy has been growing, agriculture is growing slower than other sectors, meaning that the majority of families living in poverty aren’t benefiting as much as others.
The country’s poverty rate has come down from 34.4 per cent in 2007 to 26.8 per cent in 2016, but the absolute number of people living in poverty has held at about 13 million, due to high population growth.
In 2015, John Magufuli was elected President on a platform of economic reform and a promise to tackle corruption. As a former minister for works, he had earned a reputation as someone who could deliver big projects and manage budgets with a tight fist. As President he drew criticism for his approach to the press after he shut down several newspapers for publishing articles that were critical of the government.
Many of the poorest Tanzanians in rural and regional areas struggle to access basic services, including safe water and proper sanitation, adequate healthcare and good education. The government’s efforts in many of these areas have been undermined as the population has grown faster than services and infrastructure.
This will be a key challenge for decision-makers as the next federal election approaches in 2020. Meanwhile, local churches across the country are working hard to nurture and protect vulnerable children, to ensure they have opportunities to develop and experience a hope more powerful than poverty.
Letter from Compassion Tanzania Country Director Agnes Hotay
Dear Sponsor, Greetings in the name of Jesus. I am Agnes Hotay; I have been the Country Director of Compassion Tanzania for the last three years, but I joined the ministry 14 years ago. I have been married for 15 years and my husband and I are blessed with three children: Hannah (13), Joshua (10), and Caleb (5). My best moments are during praising and worshiping God. I love singing, especially leading worship songs.
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Letter from Compassion Tanzania Country Director Agnes Hotay
Dear Sponsor,
Greetings in the name of Jesus.
I am Agnes Hotay; I have been the Country Director of Compassion Tanzania for the last three years, but I joined the ministry 14 years ago. I have been married for 15 years and my husband and I are blessed with three children: Hannah (13), Joshua (10), and Caleb (5). My best moments are during praising and worshiping God. I love singing, especially leading worship songs.
Compassion has worked in Tanzania since 1999 and we have 388 Compassion projects where 85,000 children and youth receive support. Tanzania has 947,303 square kilometres with 30 administrative regions, out of which Compassion ministry operates in 16 regions, in partnership with 21 different evangelical denominations.
I want to take this opportunity to specifically thank you for your partnership with us. Your kind support, love and care for your sponsored child have made a big difference. Because of your ministry, your child is connected to the church and has the opportunity to meet people who extend love and care. Your child has the opportunity to hear the Word of God and receives meaningful biblical teachings at least once in a week. Your sponsored child is also provided with the opportunity to attend school with necessary schooling materials and receives appropriate treatment whenever sick. Not only that but also the child is able to build health relationships with peers and enjoys other social activities facilitated by the church.
I am a witness of what sponsorship does in the lives of our children. Children feel cared for and loved, as they have a safe place to go, they have people who listen and protect them. They learn about the love of God and how they can share the same to others.
Apart from normal schooling, they have opportunity to receive other trainings at the project. Our churches have structured lessons for different age categories, which are delivered by the loving and caring church workers and volunteers. Children are provided with opportunity to learn at least one livelihood skill as a means for self-supporting initiatives in the future.
Our children and families face various obstacles in their daily lives; our nation struggles with the quality of education, as public schools face major challenges of poor infrastructure and insufficient numbers of teachers. The government efforts to provide better health services to all citizens are not without challenges. We still have few, ill-equipped public health centres. Unhealthy cultural practices, such as early marriages for girls, female circumcision and albino killings, pose critical challenges to the welfare of children in our nation. I personally appreciate the government’s efforts to address these issues, and we understand it takes time to deal with such culturally rooted practices.
My vision for the ministry in the coming year is to see that we support our church partners to have stronger programs on discipleship, livelihood skills and youth engagement. The teenagers in our program just as in our own homes face different challenges that need special attention and greater innovation in our programs.
I strongly believe in God’s provision and guidance on this, and through your support we shall make it. In a recent youth graduation, two young ladies among the graduates moved many people into tears. During registration, the parents of one of the ladies had a difficult moment to choose between her and her young brother to enter the program. Finally, she was the lucky one and this was because she had a serious illness and her parents had no hope for treatment. “I have so many friends here today who carried me to the project because I could not walk in my early years; after I was registered into the project, I went through six surgeries on my two legs to be able to walk. This would never have happened without the help of Compassion,” she said. She also added that she is pursuing studies in medicine and she is determined to become a sponsor when she finishes her studies and secures a job.
With tears flowing, the second girl shared how both her parents died within three years upon her enrolment into the program. “My two siblings and I were left alone with no one to look up to. Two of us were registered in different projects. What sustained us was the teaching about depending on God and the close attention and care that we received from the project. I want to sponsor children when I get a job,” she said.
The churches have great opportunity to reach their surrounding communities with the gospel as they visit the children and families. Churches have different outreach programs, others have initiated social services such as nursery schools; support during disasters such as floods, droughts and others; special programs for HIV/AIDS affected people, widows and orphans.
Apart from daily support for children at the project, the other valued component is the relationship between the child and the sponsor. The relationship grows stronger and stronger as they exchange letters. Children glow with excitement upon receipt of the letters from their sponsors. They feel more valued and loved. One example is a child who did not want to attend school almost dropped out, but then he received a letter from his sponsor, asking him about how he was doing in his studies. He felt that he was going to disappoint his sponsor and decided to go back to school.
Please be assured that a letter for your sponsored child is a big source of encouragement not only for the child but for the family too. Sponsor letters are often kept as special treasures by children and their families. In a small mud-thatched house, they will keep the letters in a plastic bag to ensure the letter are not spoiled.
I request you to spare a moment whenever possible to write a letter to your sponsored child, even if it is just a few sentences. The few words of encouragement will be so meaningful and life changing.
Some children come from families with difficulties such as broken marriages and hostile environment. Phrases like ‘you are beautiful’, ‘you are smart’, ‘you are clever’ are rarely heard in their ears or no one has ever told them that they are loved. A letter with such words will make a lasting impact.
I want you to know that I pray for you whenever I can. I also understand that your support comes as a gift from God to us and it comes from a sacrificial heart. Thank you for joining hands with us. Please join me to pray for our nation to have better quality education and health services; also, pray that our church partners will continue to be innovative and create more youth-friendly programs.
I am praying that God will reach and meet your needs according to Psalm 20:1-4: “May the Lord respond to your cry in times of trouble. May the God of Israel keep you safe from all harm. May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem. May he remember all your gifts and look favourably on your burnt offerings. May he grant your heart’s desire and fulfil all your plans.”
God bless you richly.
Agnes Hotay
Country Director Compassion Tanzania
Ombaja’s Wise Investment
Ombaja never met his father, who died before he was born. When he was just two years old, his mother died, and he has no memory of her, either. Like other orphaned children in his village, he was left to live with his grandmother. His future looked dire.
open_in_new Read moreOmbaja’s Wise Investment
Ombaja never met his father, who died before he was born. When he was just two years old, his mother died, and he has no memory of her, either. Like other orphaned children in his village, he was left to live with his grandmother. His future looked dire.
But after a few years, his grandmother was struggling to care for him and his uncle, Mathube, decided to take Ombaja with him to town. He wanted to help Ombaja get an education, alongside his own children. When he arrived in Shirati town, Mathube learned about Compassion through the church and asked if his nephew could be registered. From that day, Ombaja’s life was never the same.
He was able to start attending school with new books and a uniform, thanks to his participation in the program. Then, two years later, his sponsor sent him a small financial gift.
“Ombaja started receiving gifts from his sponsor in 2011. He was asked what he wanted to do with his money and he indicated that he wanted to use the money to buy cows. I think this is because most of the people here keep cows,” says Bulima, a local program worker.
Ombaja’s sponsor had sent him 168,000 Tanzanian shillings (about US$75), which in his community was enough to buy one cow and two goats. After a few months, the goats reproduced and the young boy and his uncle exchanged them for a cow. Gradually, by again using his sponsor’s gifts to buy cattle, he built up a small herd.
Meanwhile, Ombaja was thriving at school. After he completed Grade Seven, he earned a good score that qualified him to attend a government school. With the advice of his uncle, he sold some of his cows and used the money to join Komu Secondary School.
“The gifts, which I translated into cows, have helped me a lot,” says Ombaja. “I was able to pay off my school fees and also pay for my other school needs and transport to school and back.”
Now almost 15 years old, Ombaja is confident that his life is anchored on a solid rock and that he can dream about the future, despite losing both parents at a tender age.
“In my studies, I want to major in science because I like biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. My dream is to be an engineer. I had no hope that one day I could be in a good private school. I know I have benefitted a lot in this [program] through different studies and skills we receive at the centre.”
Words by Charles Ngowi
Prayer requests for Tanzania
- Pray for all the all the children who recently completed primary school. May God be with them as they wait to be selected to join secondary school. Pray that they will be encouraged and supported in their education.
- Thank God for His healing for Nasma, a Compassion assisted girl who was suffering from severe back pain. Doctors have prescribed medication and she has been able to return to school while she continues her treatment. Pray for her long-term health, that she will make a full recovery and be pain-free.
- Pray for new survival projects that are opening soon in Mwanza, in the Lake Victoria region. Pray for new project workers as they undergo training and prepare to begin registering mums and babies. Pray that this will be a powerful ministry for the local churches to help the most vulnerable in their communities.
- Pray for Magori, a one-year-old girl who was admitted to hospital recently and diagnosed with malaria and a urinary tract infection. Pray for healing for her and strength for her family. She has received medicine and has been discharged from the hospital. Please pray for a full recovery.
- Pray for the regions and communities that have been flooded recently, particularly in the nation’s northeast where the floods have been particularly bad. Pray for the local church as they support and stand with hundreds of families who have lost their homes and livelihoods. Pray for strength, resilience and God’s grace as they rebuild.
- Pray for Compassion Tanzania national staff as they gather for an end-of-year retreat to review the year and plan for the years to come. Pray for their relationships to grow and flourish; pray for travelling mercies and good health as they gather together.
Stories from Compassion in Tanzania
Restoring Hope to a Teenager With Albinism
Being born with albinism in Africa can be dangerous. Thought to possess magical powers, people with albinism have been hunted and killed for their body parts. This is Grace’s story.
For This Church Pastor, Overcoming Poverty is Personal
On the day his church launches a partnership with Compassion, Pastor Godfrey Yona looks forward to the mission of releasing children from poverty in his community in Tanzania … and explains why he takes it so personally.
10 Eye-Opening Photos of Classrooms In the Developing World
Most classroom in Australia look fairly similar. Although they might be decorated differently, you can pretty much expect to see the same things—some desks, a board, and maybe some computers. But what about the classrooms of children in Compassion’s programs? We all know education varies across the world, but so do the classrooms!