Grandmas Helping a World Away 

By Mary Katherine Keown, the Sudburystar 

April 11, 2009

Tanzania

Growing old is not easy, and for Tanzania's seniors, it usually means they have lived through some tough times. 

When Tanzania gained independence, it went socialist and the more than 120 tribes were brought together under the leadership of Julius Nyerere, known reverently as mwalimu (Swahili for teacher). 

This turned out to be a good thing, since most older people were educated and are literate and they lived peacefully in a region plagued by civil conflict. 

The advent of HIV, however, has been difficult for older generations. While relatively few senior citizens are infected with the virus, many have watched their children die and have been left to raise their grandchildren. 

In a country with abysmal health care services and few government-funded social assistance programs, senior caregivers often face difficulty feeding, clothing, housing and caring properly for their grandkids. They are also burdened by their own failing health, and often, broken hearts. 

Hobokela Sunga and Theresa Boniface care for five grandchildren. The women are strong, dignified and loving. You get the impression there was never a moment's hesitation. 

"Their parents died in a car accident -- all of them, their mothers and fathers," Boniface says through an interpreter. "They were all in one car. There were five children left behind." 

Boniface's face reveals a life of labour and benevolence. Two of her sons have died, but she is resilient and remains undaunted. 

She has been caring for her grandchildren for seven years and her affection for Zainada and Nicodem Nestor, both aged nine, is evident, even when she disciplines them. During a moment of juvenile mischief, Boniface restores order with only a stern glance and an up-turned finger. 

She also cares for Sylvester Charles, 12, who was away at school the day we met. The other two children live with extended family members. 

Sunga, on the other hand, is vague about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of her grandsons' parents, saying only that the boys' fathers died in car accidents and their mothers from illness. Sunga has been caring for David Bahati, nine, and Daniel Nashiri, eight, for approximately six years.

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