Poverty is when life is tough!

The objective of MS Tanzania’s country programme strategy is to reduce poverty. Here, two young Tanzanians give their personal perspective on poverty.

Manfred Felix, 14 years, Dar es Salaam. Photo by Pernille Baerendtsen.

Manfred Felix:

'Three years ago my parents died and I did not know what to do. It was very hard for us. We did not have enough to eat and we did not have any money. That is why my sister and I left Morogoro and came to Dar es Salaam. I thought there would be better opportunities for me in the big city.

'When we came to the bus terminal my sister left me and travelled to another city to go to school, she said. I met a woman who was selling charcoal - she told me about the orphanage ‘Friends of Don Bosco’, where I have lived ever since.

'Poverty is when life is tough, like when your parents do not have any money and when there is not enough food. If I should give children in my situation any advice - they should try to live with their families or other relatives first. Leaving your home is too hard.'

Editha Alex, 15 years, Dar es Salaam. Photo by Pernille Baerendtsen

Editha Alex:

'My father married another woman and moved to Mbeya. My mother did not have a job and she became mentally ill. I had to go from Arusha to Dar es Salaam because I did not have any other options, and because I wanted an education. I got a job as a housemaid in Dar es Salaam, but one day I heard on the radio that there was a place for children like me. I got a phone, and I called it. That is how I came to the orphanage ‘Friends of Don Bosco’.

'My experience with poverty is very bad. When I go to school I see children who are begging in the street. My heart hurts when I see it, and I feel sad because I tried it myself. It is a tough life. It often happens that children have to live on the streets when their parents die or when families are broken apart. It is especially hard in the rural areas, which is why the children go to the cities.

'It is almost impossible to give advice. Children living on the streets get used to it and they don’t like when people try to take care of them. My best advice to these children would be to accept the offers of help they get from well-meaning people. You have to take the chance.'