Mariamu

Mariamu is from the Mang’ati tribe in the Songea region a two day drive from Neema Village.  It is such a sad story of how she arrived in Arusha.  Mariamu married very young like many young girls in Africa and had her first baby at age 14.  Unfortunately she had trouble with her 6th pregnancy and during the delivery she lost consciousness and the baby was delivered by c-section.  She was unconscious in the hospital for three months.  The government later transferred her to a Dar es Salaam care facility for 18 months.  Hospitals do not have patient services so the oldest boy, age nine then was at the hospital trying to take care of his mother and watch his younger siblings.  He put bells on the baby to keep track of where she was going.  The baby still wears the bells today.

After 18 months Mariamu returned home to find her husband had gone and took the house down.  Mud huts are not too hard to take down.  Now Mariamu was homeless with five children.  She went to the mother in law and a brother in law built her a mud hut.  But he was a bad man and one day came in and took advantage of her and she became pregnant again.  She was brave enough to turn him in to the police who put him in jail.  But his mother became very angry and kicked her out.  Homeless again someone gave Mariamu a little money and she decided that the next bus that came along they would get on.  The bus was coming to Arusha.  When they arrived she found a house to rent for $19, but she only had $15 dollars.  Thankfully the landlord was kind and let her stay.  Mariamu is still very sick and 6 months pregnant from the rape so the oldest boy who is 12 now was going out to beg for food for the family.  He has never been in school.
A children’s center in Arusha told him about a place called Neema Village that helped women.  Anna, Heavenlight and Tonya went out to interview her.  Neema will get her into the hospital in Arusha where she can see a gynecologist. We will also try to get the kids into school and find a helper while Mariamu gets her health back.

I cannot imagine being homeless and alone with five children and absolutely no one in the world you know who cares about you.  The poverty and desertion that hits women here is almost unbelievable. Most women have very little say on marriage and having children.  It can be discouraging sometimes but Neema has been teaching a course on “Women’s  Rights” for about 4 years now.   We can make a difference one woman at a time.  Never give up, they don’t.