St Martin’s Presbyterian Church
Overseas Mission Project

The Girls’ Orphanage is at Kisongo, twenty minutes southwest of Arusha and near a Masai market.
It is on the plateau.

TANZANIA (capital Dodoma; population 39 700 000)

Tanzania, formerly called Tanganyika, on the Gold Coast of Africa, is known for its tropical beaches, great lakes, huge game areas and majestic snow capped Kilimanjaro.

Situated in East Africa just south of the equator, Tanzania is made up of a mainland area and the Islands of Zanzibar, Pembe & Mafia. Mainland Tanzania lies between the area of the great lakes – Victoria, Tanganyika & Malawi – and the Indian Ocean.
It is slightly larger than twice the size of California.
A plateau makes up the greater part of the country.
It is hot and dry on the plateau;
moist in the lake regions.

About 40% of the population is classified as
undernourished by the World Bank.
Of children under the age of five, about 31%
are underweight, and nearly 43% are stunted.

Tanzania is one of the world’s poorest countries
and undernourishment is prevalent, especially in
children. Life expectancy is 42.3 years: mostly due
to malnutrition, tropical diseases such as malaria,
AIDS and unsanitary conditions.

Only a little over half of all children attend primary school, according to UNICEF.

The diet is largely based on starches such as millet, sorghum, beans, pilaf and cornmeal. It is served with a sauce containing either beans or cooked vegetables. It is typically eaten in a large bowl and shared with everyone at the table. This is often served with chai tea.

The people of Tanzania follow a variety of religions, roughly one-third of the population are Muslims and one-third Christians. The other third is made up of Hindus and indigenous beliefs.

Official languages are Swahili and English.