The Tanga Times Magazine-The Best Kept Secret

April, 2019

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NEWS & UPDATES Back to the roots! A personal account of a visit to the country of my birth!

Back to the roots! A personal account of a visit to the country of my birth!

During British colonial times, university graduates seeking employment and experience overseas, often joined the British Overseas Civil Service. Applicants were selected after an interview and were only required to have a degree and pass a medical check-up; they then completed a one-year training course in Oxford. My father, they were married three months later!

Once my father had completed his one-year probationary period, he was posted to Muheza District, and that is how I came to be born in the port city of Tanga 60 years ago! Sadly, I left the country of my birth at a very young age when my father fell ill and my parents returned to the UK. However, I grew up hearing fascinating These tales, along with smatterings of Kiswahili, sisal rugs and tilly lamps, added colour and excitement to a happy childhood spent in the drab suburbs of 1960s London.

To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 2007, my parents returned to Tanzania. This was to be a ‘trip down memory lane’ and included visits to development projects, with which they were connected.

A second trip followed a year later. Their travel accounts and photos re-awakened my lifelong desire to travel to the country of my birth and so my German husband engaged the services of Mamuya Safaris, who organised an amazing “back-to-the-roots” tour for my 60th birthday this year.

And what a trip it was! There was no better place to begin than the top of Africa’s highest peak. It was during the 7-day Machame trek, that we learnt to respect and appreciate the people of Tanzania. What a privilege!

We acquired a few words of Kiswahili and spent seven days embracing the friendliness, sincerity, humour and hard work of our ‘Killi family’.

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A three-day safari in Tarangire National Park followed, during which we enjoyed incredible views and wildlife encounters. We will never forget watching lions on their honeymoon and on the hunt; a Zebra herd visibly beautiful birds. What a wonderful country!

After driving south to Lushoto, we meet Mr. Laurent Herman, who had taken time out of his busy schedule to accompany us on my ‘back-to-the-roots’ trip. This was to be a deeply moving and personal journey into the past; a voyage of discovery characterised by nostalgia as I imagined myself a young child and my parents living and working in the places we visited.

I could understand why Lushoto or, Wilhelmstal as it was known in the 1900s, was popular with the Germans.

The geography, views and cooler climate do indeed remind one of places in southern Germany and Austria.

It was a poignant moment when Laurent recounted his father’s memories of the Germans planting an avenue of trees along the main road, the same rows of tress, which my father had described in detail. Our tour of Lushoto town and the German historical buildings was of particular interest to my husband and it was special for me to see the house where my Godfather probably lived when he was DO of Lushoto in the 1960s.

Past, present and future also came together during a visit to VUGA and the centre of the Kilindi clan. We learnt heard about future plans to develop a Visitors’ Centre for tourists. We do hope those come to fruition!

In Korogwe, we found the Old Station Hotel, where my mother stayed when visiting my father all those years ago.

While exploring the Anglican Mission and in particular the hospital, we spotted a plaque commemorating the occasion when Lady Twining (The District Commissioner’s wife) opened one of the hospital wards.

This reminded me of my father’s account of why Lady Twining was not amused when he refused to drive her to visit the Handeni Mission in her Bentley after the rains, because only a Land Rover would have been able to get through on the waterlogged roads thick in mud.

Father …….. welcomed us to the Handeni mission where he gave us a tour of the compound. It was a pleasure to visit the recently renovated church where I was baptised and one of the classrooms and a plaque referring to the support of the Anglican church in the diocese of Hereford, England.

Our subsequent visit to St Francis hospital was particularly special because Matron Zawadi Ngoma welcomed me as a fellow Tanzanian and had worked with Dr Marion Bartlett (a close friend of my aunt and uncle and godmother to my cousin). Marion spent 40 years of her life Tanzania working as a surgeon and physician with the Anglican Mission Society. As matron graciously showed us around the hospital grounds, she made me feel as though I had found a long-lost member of the family and it was wonderful to witness Dr Bartlett’s legacy of quality medical care continuing today. The joy of seeing a new born baby in the maternity unit represented a future of hope for this institution.

We very much appreciated meeting Mwl Boniphace Maiga Juma, DAS for Handeni, and the time he took to welcome us and hear our story. After a spontaneous and delicious lunch, prepared in a nearby restaurant from guest house and so we were able to go into the lobby and feel the historical vibes of a bygone era. Down the hill we spied the old BOMA and Jacaranda-lined avenue leading to the District Commissioner’s House, just as my f ather had described it!

On day 15 of our trip we headed for the Eastern Usambara Mountains and the Amani Nature Reserve. Despite torrential rain, Mamuya drove us safely up the dirt road to the Amani Hill Research Station, which was founded by the Germans in 1902 and later became famous for its research into malaria. The laboratory was accurately described in the New Scientist Newsletter as a “1970s Time Capsule” and it was fascinating to see the specimens and instruments still in place and reminiscent of a bygone era. My parents used to drive up to the Amani Rest House for an “excellent curry” on Sundays, and we too enjoyed a very pleasant meal and wished we had had more time to go on a bird-watching trail through the forest.

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