Community

The place is split into two villages — Engaruka Chini (Lower Engaruka) and Engaruka Juu (Upper Engaruka). The population of Engaruka Ward, which encompasses the villages and the sparsely settled surrounding area, is about 7,000 and growing. Most residents are from the Maasai tribe, though there are a few others. People in town are usually seen wearing second-hand t-shirts or rubega — the Maasai cloths that Mzee Godfrey is wearing. Most people are Christians or have indigenous religion. There is also a mosque with about 70 people. The village is very poor, even by Tanzanian standards. A few hardy tourists come to see pre-historic ruins and a mysterious ancient irrigation system in Engaruka Juu. Most people near the river are jobless and involved in subsistence farming and raising livestock. Away from the river, raising livestock is the only economic activity.

The 2008-2009 drought has brought people from the harder hit areas to the north who come looking for pasture for their livestock. Hunger and drought-related diseases have killed thousands of cattle in the area, devastating families who relied on the cattle for sustainance. Many have moved and taken their livestock to areas to the south in Manyara Region and beyond that have not experienced such severe drought, meaning even the human population has shrank.

Infrastructure

Engaruka Chini lies 55 kilometers north of the paved road at Mto wa Mbu town, or about 3 hours from the regional capital, Arusha. The gravel road to the village is not passable for cars because there is no bridge over the Engaruka River, just before town. The gravel road continues north on to Oldonyo Lengai (East Africa’s only active volcano), Lake Natron (Africa’s largest flamingo habitat), Loliondo (a remote district capital), and the Kenya border. There are no other roads in the area.

Engaruka is not on the power grid. There are two sources of electricity. A diesel engine runs a small grain mill, which produces flour for the villagers. Engaruka Juu Primary School is a boarding school with a solar panel, which powers the school in the evenings. It help their neighbors, too, to charge flashlights or cell phones.

There is no cell phone reception nearby, though. Sometimes a little reception can be found several kilometers outside of town on top of a hill. People with phones sometimes hike there to send text messages and check for received messages. To get good cell phone reception by vehicle, you have to drive about 50 kilometers south. This makes communication between Engaruka and the outside world difficult.

The education infrastructure is small, but growing. There are two primary schools in the area – at Engaruka Juu and Engaruka Chini. A secondary school just opened in 2007 a few kilometers south of town, Oldonyo Lengai Secondary School. It is one of 40-something new secondary schools to open in Arusha Region that year as part of the country's expansion of secondary education. Last year there were about 1,500 secondary schools open in Tanzania. In 2007, 1,050 brand new secondary schools opened their doors.

Health

There are no modern health care options in the village. Just outside of Engaruka Chini is a small dispensary with a staff of three. The nurse said that the most common health problems they treat are conjuntivits (pinkeye) and respiratory problems. The dusty environment contributes to both problems. Medicines at the dispensary are often not available or in short supply.

The 2007 eruption of Oldonyo Lengai, East Africa's only active volcano, has put a lot of ash into the air and caused a small-scale humanitarian crisis. The mountain is in the area north of Engaruka. Many Maasai families from the immediate vicinity of the volcano have resettled near Engaruka and are facing hunger. A doctor participating in field work with the Tanzanian Red Cross said that respiratory problems for people in Engaruka and points north have noticably increased since the volcano began erupting in July.

There is no HIV/AIDS testing, care, or drugs in Engaruka. The nearest services are at Mto wa Mbu, 55 kilometers (35 miles) south. The infected population has no options and often die without knowing or acknowledging AIDS as the sickness. Some say their sickness is the result of a curse. The dispensary cannot give out ARV drugs to infected people because there is no testing, and so they are not qualified. The cost of testing and drugs is free to adults, but the cost of transport by bus to the nearest district hospital in Monduli or Karatu makes it beyond the means of most people in the village. The stigma attached to HIV/AIDS is very strong, and people who know they are infected tend to keep it secret. National trends for HIV/AIDS show that rural populations have much lower rates of infection than urban ones.

The problem of vaginal fistula is present, but anecdotally it seems to be uncommon. Fistula is a problem for women that leaves them unable to control their bladders. It is often a result of teenagers bearing children at too young of an age — a common problem among traditional Maasai. Patients are referred to Selian Lutheran Hospital in Arusha.

Malaria does not thrive in the semi-arid climate. It is present here, but it is not such a major source of sickness as it is in greener parts of Tanzania. Most people sleep without mosquito nets. Malaria probably increases during the rainy season, but it tends to thrive most in places where its vectors can live year-round. Many Engarukans who suffer from Malaria become infected during trips outside of the village (perhaps while visiting the nearest market town Mto wa Mbu, which is Swahili for ‘River of Mosquitos!’)

The low population density and dry climate limits the spread of other diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever. But the area is prone to illnesses that come from meat. Anthrax kills people who eat meat that has begun to spoil. An outbreak of Rift Valley Fever entered the region from Kenya in late January 2007. It is spread through livestock by mosquitoes. During the outbreak, people were advised not to eat cow, goat, or sheep meat. The price of beef plummeted, while the price of chicken and fish doubled for some months. The scare has since subsided.

There is a link between the health of cattle and the health of their owners. Outbreaks of disease within livestock have in the past decimated the Maasai population and altered their economy. A major drought at the end of the 1800s killed, by some estimates, about two-thirds of the Maasai population and most of their livestock. A drought in the mid-1990s again killed cattle en masse. The result was an enormous migration of young Maasai men from their homelands to the urban areas of Arusha, Dar es Salaam, and Nairobi. Many found work as watchmen and security guards, owing to their reputation as fierce warriors. They work long hours for meager pay. A side effect of urbanization is the spread of HIV/AIDS to rural areas from men who come to work and live in the cities.

The river

Water is life. Without it, there are no cows, no crops, no food, and no life. The short-lived Engaruka River begins its course in the Ngorongoro Highlands nearby, tumbles down the great escarpment into the Rift Valley just above Engaruka Juu, flows through the village, then dries up in the dust on the valley floor. In it's short course it irrigates the area's small banana and corn farms, it waters the cows, and provides water for drinking, housework, and sanitation for the residents of Engaruka

The river has two major diverts. One just above the Lutheran church sends water downhill and to the north to a standpipe and a large concrete water trough. It's several hundred meters north of the river. The herders bring their cows and goats there to drink. Another major divert is in Engaruka Chini, where a water gate can be opened to send a stream water for irrigation.

A mysterious ancient civilization used the river to build a complex irrigation system here hundreds of years ago, long before the Maasai came. Their city seems to have ended very suddenly, and it is still unknown who they were or what their tribe was. They left behind their irrigation system and a couple of stone forts. It has been the study of anthropological studies from European and American universities. One theory is that it was built by the ancestors of the Iraqw tribe, who left suddenly when they lost in battling an invading bantu tribe. The Iraqw speak a unique and difficult language similar to Somali and live in an area southwest of Engaruka.

There's no cell phone reception. Or electricity. Medical services are very limited. It's hot. The dust here on the floor of the Great Rift Valley can cover your ankles — deep like snow, hot like sand on the beach. There are almost no jobs. The soil is poor. So are the people.

But the people are rich in spirit. They work hard for their fields, animals, and families. Crimes like theft and murder are unheard of. The escarpment and surrounding mountains are beautiful, and so are the dry plains on the valley floor. The stars are bright. The Engaruka River brings water and life. The ever-adapting Maasai culture is strong. Families grow together. This is Engaruka.

Rev. Lekojja talks about Engaruka and the Maasai  |  English translation