Sumbawanga, Tanzania

A town on the north to south trek along the western side of Tanzania, Sumbawanga has the feel of a place trying to bust out and become a major hub.

It is the place to begin if you are reaching some of the under-engaged people groups of southwestern Tanzania such as the Pimbwe.  


Very little is easy in Tanzania, and getting to Sumbawanga is no exception.  It is at least a four-day drive from Dar es Salaam over half of which are on dirt roads – or you can fly.

Sumbawanga has an airport- although it is a challenge to reach on the rutted dirt road.  There is a grass runway and one local Tanzanian commercial airline arrives three times a week.









While accessible during the dry season, May-October, this year, Sumbawanga was a town cut off, for a time, during the rainy season -- roads and bridges washed away and the transport of goods and people ceased for a time.

            Hoping to remedy the situation, a major road building effort is underway.

For us, the highlight of Sumbawanga is the Moravian Conference Center.  It is our place to stay while researching this area of Tanzania.  There is a bible in each room and no smoking, drinking or carousing allowed; they also invite everyone to join in their prayer meeting – wonderful!








With fewer people living here and a somewhat harsher climate, the western side of Tanzania is far less developed than the east. While there are plenty of game reserves here and that is a nice thing, they shift people off their tribal land and affect access to villages.  The Pimbwe and the Rungwa are two people groups forced to relocate in the 1950's - 1980's to make way for national game reserves.

Pray that the churches in Sumbawanga would see their responsibility in sharing the gospel message with the people groups within their reach.

Pray that they would not just look inwardly with a desire to use God’s resources for their own benefit, instead they would look at the great commission and desire to use those resources to witness and disciple those around them.

Pray that the knowledge of God’s glory would cover Sumbawanga.

The Pimbwe people and hot water

Maji Moto (Mah-gee Moe-toe), the name of a Pimbwe (Pea-m-bway) village in southwestern Tanzania, means hot water in Swahili. Actually, there are a couple of Maji Moto villages in Tanzania. You would expect this as the Rift Valley runs directly through the country.  The Maji Moto village located in eastern Tanzania near Mt. Kilimanjaro is commercially developed.

The maji moto springs where we find ourselves today, as we visit the Pimbwe people, is not commercially developed at all.  In fact, historically, it was rather a hindrance to the people as the hot water emerging from the earth was seen as a product of witchcraft and the Pimbwe people the holder of that power.

Entering the outskirts of Maji Moto -- everyone is headed
to the market.

Today is Sunday and as we approach the village we realize that Sunday is market day rather than the Lord's day here in Maji Moto.  The place is over-run by people from the surrounding areas.

Large groups from different tribes crowd around stalls of produce and dig through piles of clothing holding up various items asking the price.

Obscenely loud music blares from several stalls selling cell phones and cell time. Looking ahead, there is no way through the hordes of people -- the place is a zoo!


While Maji Moto is a Pimbwe village, Sukuma and Fipa people are prospering the most, not the Pimbwe.

Wishing we had come on a different day, we turn down a path, away from the village center, and look for accommodations. We will not stay here tonight, but when a church engages the Pimbwe people, Maji Moto will be an ideal place from which to base.

Removed from their traditional hunting grounds in order to carve out Katavi National Game Park in the years following Tanzania's independence, the Pimbwe transitioned from hunter/gatherers to farmers. Corn, the main crop, with beans, peanuts and other vegetables in accompaniment are grown on small sections of land tilled with a hoe, by hand – subsistence farming. They also sell honey, brew beer, and harvest timber to make a living.

Today, while geological knowledge explains the hot springs, the Pimbwe have yet to put their faith in Jesus Christ -- they are not being educated in the things of God.
Instead, they are educating themselves in urban/western lifestyle, the power of money and economic prosperity, this seems to be the main goal of many in Maji Moto.

Pray for the Pimbwe people, that they would see their need for a Savior.

Ask God to prepare Pimbwe hearts, much like they themselves prepare the soil, so when the seeds of the Gospel are sown they will take root and flourish.

Pray for those whom God is calling out, that they would be faithful to come and plant the Gospel message in Pimbwe villages.