Guest blog #6: Katie Jones

We've (Libby's parents) just returned from probably our last trip to Dodoma, before Libby and Daniel relocate to Kenya. These are some observations I (K) made whilst we were visiting, but hearing about Focus's house falling down set about a train of thought of houses generally.

The people, who work for MAF in Dodoma, unless renting off site, live in single storey, properly constructed, houses, built some time ago, plastered inside and out and with corrugated iron roofs (currently painted blue) Inside they have coloured concrete floors, fitted wardrobes and kitchen cupboards and except for what bits of furniture were brought from their home countries, the houses are generally furnished from a MAF central store of locally made wooden furniture, which gets used over and over again, as families come and go. It's not expensive (by Western standards) to get curtains and cushion covers made and families are adept at personalising their houses. Good concrete foundations limit termite damage, mosquito mesh on the windows, in theory keeps out insects; and burglar bars, anyone who might try to break in; the inner part of the windows is louvred glass.

By UK standards these houses would be very modest, the bathrooms and showers in need of replacing/updating, to sort out inadequate water pressure particularly and the general effect is very basic, but adequate. Each house has running water (not drinking water) and there is electricity. (There are really posh houses in Dodoma, but these belong to wealthy Tanzanians, not people who work for NGOs)
To the average inhabitants of Dodoma these houses would be very desirable, because they themselves don't have such luxuries as running water, bathrooms, kitchens and electricity. Their houses are often built of mud bricks, corrugated iron roofs and earth or concrete floors and may or may not have windows; it depends on how much you can afford. The outside toilet, is often a hole in the ground, with an outside “shower” room. Cooking is done on a small charcoal burner and in the more rural suburbs, rats and snakes are a problem, as well as malarial carrying mosquitos. Some people have a stand pipe where they can get water for washing, but water for drinking needs either to be bought or be purified first. Other people like Focus in Libby's blog, have to walk some distance to get water of any kind.
The biblical story of the wise man, who built his house upon the rock, whose house withstood the heavy rains, which inevitably came, and the foolish man, who built his house upon the sand, which collapsed in the same storm, brings to mind Focus's plight. On a practical level, Focus is a very diligent young man, hard working and determined to improve his lot. The fact that his house didn't have a good foundation is partly the extra cost that would have entailed and also his lack of knowledge of house building, because he was doing it himself. Apparently mud bricks on a concrete foundation and plastered inside and out, will last for years, but without a proper foundation, water gets in underneath and undermines the structure during the heavy rains of the rainy season. When we went to visit his home just before returning to the UK, we were impressed that he'd built the temporary “house” out of the roof sheets and although very happy to have help, wasn't assuming he should get it. He is someone it would be worth while helping.

We also had occasion to visit a house being rented by friends of Libby and Daniel, who have relocated to their home country sooner than expected, but need the house to be packed up. Superficially it's much smarter than the MAF houses, but a closer look reveals very poor workmanship, ill-fitting cupboards and drawers, uneven floors, switches at strange angles, not aesthetically pleasing at all. It wouldn't pass muster in the UK or health and safety for that matter, but as Libby remarked, those who did the work might be living in mud brick houses like those mentioned above and thinking this house was much superior to their own, and would wonder what all the fuss was about. Maybe we're too perfectionist, but I suspect it's more than that, because true workmen, whatever their nationality, take a pride in their work and maybe it was unskilled labour that was used.