Leaving Dar

How do you say goodbye to a place that offered you a taste of Eden and a portal of peace, which is what Dar es Salaam means?

It was hard to contemplate leaving while sitting at the Yacht Club beach and watching the tide come in, or while relaxing on Bongoyo Island with my teenagers who were about to leave home and strike out on their own. It had been a rare treat to live near the sea and closer to nature than in any city I’ve known; and a few hours drive from Dar there were mountains like Meru and Kilimanjaro as well as vast stretches of wilderness in the Selous and Serengeti.

*Sitting at the Yacht Club taking in the beauty*

The gentle Tanzanian people truly made Dar es Salaam feel like a haven of peace. No one ever refused a request for help—for directions or with mechanical problems—and their hospitality seemed heartfelt. Interfaith cooperation between Muslim and Christian leaders was exemplary as they worked together to teach congregations about HIV and other health issues.

There was poverty, of course. Tanzania was one of the poorest countries in the world, and too many people contracted preventable maladies like malaria and HIV/AIDS and had limited access to education and stable jobs. But the will and impetus to improve their situations was evident among students, professionals, and the guards at our gate.

My children came of age in Dar, and they had Muslim, Hindu, and Christian friends at the international school during a formative period in their lives. They were exposed to alternate perspectives on world affairs, religions and cultural norms while traveling through Tanzania and doing community service with the school.

For those reasons and more, it was too hard to contemplate leaving Tanzania and saying goodbye; so I simply said au revoir with the hope of returning there someday.

New Year’s Resolutions