Is there a childhood memory or particular person that you associate with a certain fragrance? For me, the scent of a particular facial cleansing bar instantly transports me back to my childhood.

The face of my grandmother, who always used that product, flashes in my mind. I can even see the pink shag carpet in her bathroom and feel the softness of her skin when I kissed her cheek.

Nowadays I’m the one my family associates with a certain scent. Specifically, I always wear the same signature perfume. People have even told me that they know I’ve recently been in a room when they catch a whiff of that particular fragrance.

I like to think that’s a compliment — and not a hint that I’m wearing too much perfume!

The point is, our sense of smell is powerful. Think about it: Perhaps no other sense connects us to memories and emotions as much as scent does. We associate many holidays, places and people with distinct scents.

I think Christmas smells like pine trees and cinnamon; camping smells like a combination of campfires, bug spray and toasted marshmallows; and babies smell like baby powder (unless they’re in need of changing!).

East Africa also has a distinct smell. To others it might smell of burning trash and charcoal cooking fires. But to me, it just smells like Africa.

With each return trip, the first thing I do when I step off the plane is inhale deeply – and I instantly know I am back!

Disney World’s Animal Kingdom has an East African village replica called Harambe. Disney’s imagineers got it spot on, down to the power lines resting on acacia tree branches, store signs written in Swahili and kangas hanging out to dry.

The only thing they missed is the smell. It might look like East Africa, but it sure smells like America. And frankly, most tourists probably prefer it that way!

Second Corinthians 2:14-15 tells us that, as Christians, we should have a distinctive aroma. The Message translation puts it this way:

“Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation – an aroma redolent with life.”

In other words, whenever our words or actions cause others to experience the love of Jesus, we leave an aroma redolent (fragrant) with life.

• By transforming a child’s life through Compassion sponsorship, we are leaving an aroma redolent with life.
• By building relationships through letters written to our sponsored children, we are leaving an aroma redolent with life.
• By visiting our sponsored children, we are leaving an aroma redolent with life.
• By encouraging others to sponsor a child, we are leaving an aroma redolent with life.

The best part is that it’s not just our sponsored children who get to experience that sweet aroma of Christ! The aroma permeates throughout the child’s family, too.

As other children are sponsored in the community, the aroma spreads further. And as we practice being the loving hand of Christ extended, that same aroma permeates through our own families and communities at home.

As that sweet aroma spreads, we pray that those who come into contact with it would come to associate the name of Jesus with God’s unconditional LOVE, boundless COMPASSION and eternal HOPE.

I pray that I spread the aroma of Christ today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: LeeAnn Thompson is a pastor’s wife and missions director. She leads short-term mission trips to Tanzania, East Africa, where she has had the privilege of visiting her sponsored child.

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Traveling north from the city of Arusha, Tanzania, one passes by the world-famous Ngorongoro crater and the vast plains of the Serengeti before coming to Musoma. The town of Musoma is located on the shore of Lake Victoria, the third largest lake in the world, whose size is greater than Britain and Germany put together.

The local people’s livelihoods are tied to the lake, as most of them are engaged in fishing, the main business that provides commerce to the town. The Mara region, home to Musoma, borders Kenya and part of the different ethnic people who live in Tanzania also live in Kenya.

There are many ethnic groups in Mara, but the major one is known as the Kurya tribe. Within this tribe, there are multiple ethnic groups that have identified themselves with the location where they live.

Each ethnic group speaks the Kurya language, but there are some differences depending on the specific dialects. These ethnic groups also have different cultural practices, such as how they conduct funeral services, their customs for when a child is born, and other manners of celebration.

Circumcision, performed on both males and females, is a major cultural practice throughout the Kurya ethnic groups. It is such an important practice among the community members that when an uncircumcised foreigner comes to live among them, he or she is forced into circumcision.

How Circumcision Affects the Church

Churches are affected because their congregations are forced to undergo the ritual. During the season of circumcision, church attendance drops until the season is over.

To prevent this situation from continuing, there is a need to provide continued education, especially among children, so that they can change the society in the long run. It is important to start investing in small children, and we are working hard to protect children and act as their advocates.

Circumcision in the Kurya Tribe

Male circumcision is practiced all over the region, and female circumcision is practiced in some places like the Serengeti and Tarime districts where the Wakira, Wanyabasi, Wanyanchoka and Watimbaru ethnic groups are found. These are also the ethnic groups that fight each other from time to time.

A person being circumcised is expected to be very brave and not display any sign of fear. When being circumcised, an individual is expected to stay still and not show he or she is experiencing pain. There are people who watch to see that the person being circumcised observes the rules.

Women who circumcise others are known as “Omsali” in the Kurya language, or “Ngariba” in Kiswahili. Not every woman can be Omsali; this is a clan right that is passed down from one generation to another.

To perform the circumcision, the Omsali used to use a sharp piece of metal, which was prepared by special people. But nowadays they use a razor blade when circumcising women and a knife for men.

Why Are Men Circumcised?

The cultural norm is that men should be circumcised. If a man dies and he is not circumcised, he will be circumcised before he is buried..

Circumcision is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. After circumcision, the boy is no longer considered “mrisya” (a child) and has the freedom to make his own decisions. If a man is not circumcised, he is considered to be a child, even if he is over 50 years old. It is a great insult to address a man as “mrisya.” It can even ignite a great conflict, leading one person to kill another person.

Circumcision gives men the freedom to participate in funeral services. A man who is not circumcised is not allowed to come near a dead person. Circumcision gives men permission to participate in civil wars. And, circumcision gives a man the right to look after the family, which means he can marry.

If a man is not circumcised, he does not know in which age group to belong, and no girl will agree to be married to man who is not circumcised.

Women do not like to be married to a man who was circumcised in a hospital. They say they feel like they are being married to their fellow woman.

Why Are Women Circumcised?

Female circumcision is also regarded as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. It is rare to find a girl above age 10 who is not circumcised, and this can explain why there have been early marriages and young mothers who are less than 18 years old.

Female circumcision is done to make women less sexually active because many men spend a lot of time away from home when they go away for wars and battles against other ethnic clans.

They also perform female circumcision to try to make women not go outside the marriage and have extramarital affairs.

Women from other tribes who are married to Kurya and are not circumcised will be circumcised when giving birth.

Preparation for Circumcision

Circumcision is prohibited in July and August. Circumcision is also prohibited during years ending in the number 7, because a year ending in number 7 is considered to be a bad year.

Traditional leaders consult the spirits. The traditional leader goes to a river (Nyesiba River, in Baribari village) to ask “the snake” if it’s safe to do circumcision in that particular year.

The traditional leaders ask this question by placing two empty calabashes (a type of gourd) by the side of the river, and then they go away. The next day they come to see what has happened, and if they find the calabash full of water, they consider the year to be good and circumcision preparations continue.

But if they find the calabashes half full, they know the year is not good and they perform cleansing rituals before they continue. The cleansing is done by consulting traditional medicine men, who announce that a person (normally a pregnant woman or a young man) in the village will die. Once the chosen person dies, the cleansing has passed and the circumcision process continues.

If individuals die before they have healed from the circumcision, they will not be buried in their village. The burial will be done secretly in a neighboring village.

If the other village discovers this, they will find a way to retaliate against the people who buried their dead. This has been one of the main causes of the endless conflicts among the ethnic groups.

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Arusha, the land of the Maasai and their culture, is located in the northern zone of Tanzania and is the fourth largest town in Tanzania after Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Tanga. The northern zone is comprised of four administrative regions: Arusha, Manyara, Kilimanjaro and Tanga.

Until about five years ago, Manyara and Arusha were one region, but the region was split into two because of its geographical vastness.

Population

According to the 2002 census, Arusha had a population of 1,292,973. Given the national annual growth rate of 3 percent, the population of this region was more than 1.5 million by the year 2009. The population of the town alone is about 400,000, but the people who visit the city every day for business, shopping and school make the real number of inhabitants there much more than that.

Arusha is the administrative town of Tanzania’s northern zone and commands a lot of income-generating activities of sizeable scale, such as mining, agriculture, cattle rearing, light industries and tourism.

Culture

Though there are now many people groups in Arusha, the Maasai hold to their culture and love to put on their traditional clothes.

The common language spoken is Kiswahili, which is the compulsory teaching language in primary school. English is also spoken to some degree, especially by young people because of interaction with the guests and tourists who flock to the town as tourism increases.

Economic Activities

Economic levels in Arusha differ a lot and the more affluent are business people who benefit from the tourism industry, mining, and farming sectors. Arusha is home to the world famous tanzanite, the precious gemstone that is mined only in Tanzania.

Arusha is the second government revenue collector, with the highest gross national product (GNP) after Dar es Salaam. It is also the hub of tourism, which is concentrated in northern Tanzania. Arusha is the gateway to the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, where visitors marvel at the great wildebeest migration.

The presence of the United Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, East African Community Headquarters, East and Southern African Management Institute, East, Central and Southern African Health Secretariat, African Court of Appeal, International Postal Union, and the like make Arusha a cosmopolitan town that brings about 100 nationalities together in one place. However, the growth of this international community makes living costs high for the locals who don’t work in these offices.

Food Crisis Update

While Arusha has not experienced widespread hunger and no child in our Child Sponsorship Program has suffered severely from hunger pangs, several families have been touched by the price surge due to the general food crisis in the country.

Food prices have gone high in the past two years. The price for a loaf of bread has nearly doubled, and a kilo of cow beef, which used to sell at $1.70, now sells for $2.65.

Local Issues

The pandemic of HIV/AIDS is still claiming the lives of parents and guardians, leaving an increasing number of children as orphans without support. This might be one of the reasons that Arusha has such a high number of street children, now estimated to be 7,000.

Due to its geopolitical position, Arusha is attracting more people and growing quickly, which has caused an increase in the crime rate. It is well connected by tarmac roads to the major cities of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. These cities have a direct influence on what happens in Arusha.

Water needs have increased in recent years, and this poses a challenge for the municipal authority to devise ways of solving the city’s water problem.

Home Life

Arusha has embraced both local and modern lifestyles and this is reflected by the types of buildings seen in the city and its environs. There are squatter areas as well as posh houses where affluent people live. New hotels are being built to cater to the increasing number of visitors who come to the town for various engagements.

Most of our sponsored children come from the squatter and periphery areas where the centers are located.

Schools and Education

Arusha is endowed with many government and private primary schools. The government has made it compulsory for all children to attend primary school, but this has triggered another problem. Those who finish primary school cannot attend secondary school because of insufficient classrooms, teaching facilities and teaching staff.

The government is encouraging individuals and the business community to contribute and assist in building enough classrooms for the increased number of secondary school students.

Church and Religion

Arusha has many churches, and religious activities are vibrant and alive in the town. People like to go to open-air gospel crusades and the presence of the Christian community is widely felt in Arusha.

The churches have seen a wave of revival from the late 1990s to the present, and although people identify themselves with their religious denominations, there has been a noted increase in the degree of religious tolerance and understanding.

The presence of Islam is seen in town and coexists with Christianity in peace but not friendliness.

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Dan Trumble

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Martha is six months pregnant. She is expecting that perhaps this time she will hold a baby in her hands, and be able to breast-feed it until weaning age. If this happens, the baby will be her first surviving child. Martha has had two pregnancies at an interval of three years, but neither of the children were delivered safely.

She lost her first child through labor complications because she could not reach the maternal clinic early enough to get medical attention. Her second child died a few days after birth because of lack of proper care and medical treatment.

Martha is so alert and aware at this time to do all she can to have her child survive. She cannot withstand the horrible idea of losing her third child after nine months of painful pregnancy. And she wants to be respected and not mocked in the village and in the family of her husband. She hopes the child inside her will reverse this.

This is what is happening in the lives of mothers and children living in poverty. Many expectant mothers live in constant fear and anxiety of what will happen to them and their children. They risk  losing their children or their own lives, or both, through childbirth complications.

The children face myriad obstacles before they attain the age of 5 years, and their survival is oftentimes a miracle from God.

In October 2008, Tanzania started a new program to reach mothers and infants before they are eligible for the Child Sponsorship Program.

The Child Survival Program (CSP) aims at helping children survive the turbulent years in their growth, from birth to 5 years.

The inauguration of the program was graced by Dr. Emmanuel Mbennah, Compassion Tanzania’s Country Director. Dr. Mbennah applauds the mothers who came for the historic day of inauguration. He says this program will help them and their children realize God’s purpose for bringing them to the world.

Several health indicators show that Tanzania’s child mortality rate is still high. According to UNICEF, in 2006 the infant mortality rate was 74, meaning out of 1,000 babies born, 74 die before age 1.

Out of 1,000 children born, 118 will die by age 5. This is compared to six per 1,000 who die in the U.S. before 1, and eight children out of 1,000 who die before the age of 5.

According to Compassion Tanzania’s Child Survival Specialist, Rhoda A. Shimba, death rates are high, as many children die of diseases that can be treated and prevented such as diarrhea, malaria and cholera. Health services are also very far from pregnant mothers, and where they are available they do not have enough facilities to help.

Rhoda further explains that out of 100,000 pregnant mothers, 1,000 die due to the causes of pregnancy complications.

Speaking about pregnancy in Tanzania is taboo. People do not very often speak about it or mention it in public. I wanted to know from Rhoda how she managed to get women registered for the Child Survival Program.

“We prepared the mothers psychologically so that they could volunteer to be registered under the program.

“Advanced notice was sent to the community leaders through the implementing churches’ leadership to announce to community members that there is a new initiative that is starting to reach pregnant and breast-feeding mothers.

“This message worked well with the mothers. They had time to ask questions and get more informed. When the time for registration came it was not difficult.”

What also helped the message to be received without difficulty is the knowledge people have about Compassion Tanzania.

Rhoda says the aim of CSP is to reduce the child mortality rate, which according to the medical statistics available means 45,000 children die every year in Tanzania.

Welcoming the mothers into the Child Survival Program, Dr. Mbennah read the Word of God from 1 Samuel 2:8, which says,

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; upon them he has set the world.” (NIV)

CSP aims to avert mothers and children from obvious risks so that they can attain the purpose of God for their lives. Dr. Mbennah continues,

“These risks are such as diseases and lack of food and they are caused by such things as weak economic level, poor understanding of the mother how to control her environment, culture and norms of the societies, the pains that mothers go through in their poor livelihood state and the like.”

Dr. Mbennah concluded his speech by praying for the mothers, some of whom had never been in the church setting because they came from an Islamic background.

One of the mothers explained her background and what her expectations are.

Zainabu, 26, has been married twice. She was first forced into marriage in 2001 when she was just 18 years old. Her boyfriend made her pregnant, thwarting the plan of education. She had been selected to join secondary school.

Zainabu’s parents forced the boy to marry her. At that tender age they knew very little about living as husband and wife and the responsibilities associated with it. They had very scarce resources and realized they had differences that could not allow them to live together.

They were not prepared for marriage. But their short-lived marriage left them with two children in the three years they stayed together. After divorce, Zainabu transferred to an urban setting in Arusha town to live with her uncle.

While there she met another man, Salim, who married her in 2005. They had their first child, Said, and while she was pregnant with the second child, her husband died in a accident in a Tanzanian mine in April 2008.

Now Zainabu is left with no job, no husband to provide for her child, and she is soon expecting her fourth baby. CSP has come as a big relief to her.

“If I had not got this help from Compassion it would be very difficult for me to go to the hospital, and I could not dream of that. CSP has given me hope because I know when I give birth to my child it will have a secure future.”

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