Friday, October 2, 2009

City of Mbeya, Part 1

Mbeya is a fairly large city, with a population of 291,600. That compares to the roughly 24,000 in Chimala and roughly 27,000,000 in Dar es Salaam.

There are many types of construction in Mbeya, but as shown in the first two photos, there are many traditionally built Tanzanian houses even in the large city.








The next photo shows a large church, but we do not know what kind of church.





This next type of construction could be in any modern city.




There are many, many small businesses along the streets.




We shopped in this area. There were a few tourist type items for sale, but mostly there were items for the local population.









I'm not sure that we would name a shopping center PMS !









The next photo shows the store where medications are purchased for the Mission Hospital. This is where Bill and Cyndi come every week for the needed items. Personal medications can also be purchased here for a very cheap price---with no prescription needed! There are limited types and quantities of medications, though. A very nice middle-eastern man owns the store.





These next two photos were taken at another location in Mbeya. These two businesses cater to tourists.


The word "Karibu" over the doorway is Swahili for "Welcome". The owners of the shops were very glad to see us!


The small building on the right in the following photo is a church building that is being redone. Bill wanted to go by to check on the work.




This next picture shows the scene looking down the street from the church building. Can you believe that we actually drove on this "street"! Needless to say, it was a bumpy ride!


The next photos were taken close to the church.


These children were dirty and had on very ragged clothes, but they still had smiles!
I don't think that there would be a way to keep children clean on these dirt streets!












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