IMANI JUU YA HOFU
(faith over fear)
Hmph Oba ntandikilewa …… i had this conversation with a gentleman “ Covid is not real, its not there”, mind you this is not barely a year ago; its in the recent delta wave. My eyes almost darted to the back of my head, that’s if they didn’t. He explained to me why they as a nation, they don’t have Covid ; while pointing out to the over-filled to the maximum dala-dalas (taxis), no sight of masks or anything, business as usual; its like there’s not a pandemic in the whole world. Some lad shouted at me “Kwanini munavaa Barakoa”, which means why are you wearing a face mask, this dude was actually mad angry and bitter.
While back home it was a different story, it is a mess, it was a mess, a ( duka-duka moment) a day couldn't pass by without losing a loved one. I tried telling him, well its actually real and how i lost people that i loved and he still stuck to his belief. The beauty of World views, you have to understand another persons perception since we have been influenced by different cultures and traditions as we grow old. One has to listen, understand and appreciate the perception one has . And yeah his points were valid; ohh and he believes Magufuli handled the Covid situation well.
These are my observations, (i aint a doctor, philosopher or psychologist), i am just often intrigued by different scenarios;
The 1st is the Magufuli effect; it’s funny how the world was doing “Mpalanilako” for Tanzania when Magufuli died, the guy is bad, people have died and what not. However most of his people stand firm in his ideology towards Covid, its hard to hate your leader when you see progress as a nation aimed at eliminating corruption. Any who the gentleman, reassured me how Magufuli, told them not to fear the disease, the only task was to take care of themselves and build their immunity. You see this man had only the best intentions for Tanzanians, he reiterated. Given the fact he had a science background one would believe his notions.
2nd; is the border control, the border control is intense at every port be it air, sea or land. One must take a Covid test, upon entering the country; it doesn't matter if one is white or black, citizen or not, high ranking official, its a requirement to take the Covid test at the ports. This ensures to curb the spread of the virus. The facilities are readily available and the results are given to an individual within 15 minutes. Tanzanians have an amazing work ethic.
3rd; the Swahili lifestyle, its a really rich culture, this ranges from the food to their daily activities. Its a tradition to always take soup first thing in the morning, its the equivalent to Katogo. Soup is recommended as an immunity boost for Covid. The soup consists of soup of beef, goat and potato (soup viari); supu ya mbuzi is a favorite, the blanket offal's are really soft. This soup is reallly nice and well prepared you can feel the soul put into it. The soup is often accompanied, by lemons and pepper, hmph a lot for immunity.
Swahili people are heavily dependent on fruits plus spices and there's sufficient supply of all types of fruits and spices in the market, all beneficial towards immunity. Zanzibar, the “spice heaven” ensures there's sufficient spices. The coastal towns too have an array of fresh fruits, the food and transport community perform a commendable service.
4th; is the weather, the coastal weather is hot all year and the heat gives the chills. The temperature is at the average of 27 degrees Celsius, having a fan is kinda of a basic right since one can get easily chocked by the heat. I believe the heat helps kills the virus, anti Vitamin D.
5th: is the faith, you see Madam, we prayed Covid away, we have so much faith, prayers change everything. When you let fear control you, you cant win whatever ailment one has. There is some thing about fear and Covid, its easier to recover from Covid when you have hope, cause hope is all we have in this life; looking towards to something to live for. The zeal that everything will get drives towards a better health.
Without any lock down in sight, with a progressing nation aimed at maintaining its middle income status, its really fascinating ; on the other hand does Uganda really need a lock down? Truth is this ka virus is going to stay around, we need way better sustainable measures to fight Covid.
Ubarikiwe!
~ Ava Aster~
