My Pinoy Life in Tanzania

Pinoy Life in Tanzania

My Pinoy Life in Tanzania
Ferdinand Acosta

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

In June2003, my father passed away and suddenly I didn’t feel like staying in the Philippines anymore.  Serendipitously enough, a friend invited me to go to Africa and as they say, the rest is history.

 

Tanzania, I can say, is the crown jewel of Africa. It is famous for the biggest safari game park called Serengeti, the beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro, and amazing beaches with sparkling sands and blue waters that are heavenly to look at. For those who want to visit, I would recommend all of the above and a visit to the island of Zanzibar, the land of spices).  Tanzania has two types of weather, summer and winter, but I can describe it as being hot and cold. During summer, it is hot but dry and during winter, there is no snow, save for the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Pinoy Life in Tanzania

There are plenty of cultural practices among Tanzanians. One are their traditional dancing styles that vary from one tribe to another. They also have various dressing styles that are attractive to visitors and foreigners like us. But even if we are in a foreign land, we still observe Filipino customs and traditions and instill Filipino values in our children.  One is religion; we make sure our children do not to forget Catholicism. There is also the Filipino value of family and the importance of close family ties. Lastly, the value of hospitality and helpfulness, we extend support or offer help to others, if we can.

Pinoy Life in Tanzania
Maasai women in their village in Tanzania, Africa

Work in the Crown Jewel of Africa

I work in a private security company. I am in charge of the country’s business operations, focusing mainly on the petroleum depot, embassies, power plant and other private companies. It is challenging and pressure-filled, but I enjoy it. It is a big help and a great joy that my wife, Chari and our four children, Theo, Kimberly, Marco, and Naomi are with me. Filipinos are highly regarded here, they are professionals and skilled workers. I have been living here for more than 10 years and so far, I have not seen or heard of mistreatment of Filipino workers here.

Pinoy Life in Tanzania
Elephant in river in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

There are Filipino communities in my area. I don’t have the exact number of the Filipinos in the whole country, but I could roughly estimate the number to be about more than a thousand, I think. The communities are quite active; they celebrate Independence Day, Halloween, and the Christmas holidays. They also conduct outreach programs that help the poor and orphans of Tanzania.

 

Love it, hate it – but this is home

 

Other people call this place Tanzania, but for me and my family, we call it home. Two of my children were born here. We left and yet we came back. You hate it, you love it–that’s how I would describe my relationship with this beautiful country. I like this country a lot– its beaches, food and the friendly people, but there are also things I don’t like here. For example, I don’t like the congested roads, garbage all over the place especially after the rain and some other things best not to mention.  But no matter what, this is still home to me.

Pinoy Life in Tanzania
Savanna in bloom, in Tanzania, Africa panorama

I think I am one of the lucky few that didn’t find it hard to adjust living here because I had the privilege of bringing my family immediately. So, I have not succumbed to bouts of homesickness.

Pinoy Life in Tanzania
Close-up of Lioness in Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa
Pinoy Life in Tanzania
Lions on rocks on savanna at sunset. Safari in Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa

I think it also helps that I have other hobbies. I have formed a band with some friends who also work here and were looking for activity that would relax our mind. We named our band “Traffic Jam”. I play the drums, I have two Filipino friends who play the bass and rhythm, a Dutch friend of mine plays the lead and another good friend from Sweden plays  guitar as well.

 

Teaching Filipino values 

 

I would suggest to any one living away from the Philippines to teach your children the culture of the Filipinos, especially the language. Don’t let them forget their origin so that they will grow up with sense of Filipino identity. Visit the Philippines from time to time and promote our country to your foreign friends to help boost our tourism industry.

Pinoy Life in Tanzania
Pool at lake manyara Tanzania

Pool at lake manyara Tanzania

Tanzania is a good place to work for overseas Filipino workers as they respect Pinoys in this country. Most of the Filipinos here are in managerial positions, working in NGO’s, in development agencies like the United Nations, big companies, hotels, telecommunications and power plants.  Tanzania is a peaceful, quiet place to live in. So, KARIBU Tanzania! (In English, “Welcome to Tanzania”)Pinoy Life in Tanzania

Pool at lake manyara Tanzania

3 Comments

  1. Hi Mr Acosta ,
    Sir my sister is detained in Moshi, I wonder if you know good lawyer? Also i wanted to travel there pero natatakot kasi of what happened sa sister ko. Sir puwede bang email mo so I can give more detail. I reside here In US p

  2. Joachim Deogratius says:

    Sorry sir,I am a form six graduant here in Tanzania,i am interested in joining a Phillipine University but since I come from a single mother familly i face some financial problems,I am requesting for your supports.
    Yours sincerely;
    [email protected]

  3. Good morning Mr. Ferdinand Acosta!

    I am Rita Ang, a medical doctor from Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines.
    Together with two other Filipino doctors, (JR and Ezra), I am here in Dar Es Salaam for a one-month Global Health Course at the Muhibmili University of Health and Allied Sciences.
    I chanced upon your blog entry while I was looking for information on the internet about Filipinos living in Tanzania. It is just my 2nd day here in Tanzania and I am very excited to see the rest of the country.
    Also, we’d like to meet you and fellow Filipinos here in Tanzania.
    We are currently billeted at the Varlek Hotel, together with the other delegates of the course from Finland, Chile and Nepal.

    I hope to hear from you soon.

    All the best,
    Rita

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