04.01.2023

Aging in Tanzania and Germany

While people get older than before, youth are moving to the cities to work: Kusini-Kusini and Bielefeld talk about aging. Here the festive beginning of the visit. Foto by: Ingo Neserke

What does it mean to grow older in our churches? Committed people from Germany and Tanzania met in northeastern Tanzania to discuss this question. The EKvW* church district of Bielefeld in Germany and five congregations in the church district of Kusini-Kusini of the ELCT-NED* in Tanzania are having a close partnership relation for over 25 years. The meeting was accompanied by Rhoda Lynn Gregorio and Matthias Börner from the Diaconia Team of the UEM.

They shared their insights, especially on the topic of care for the elderly and the sick, which is a focal point of the reorientation of the partnership work. "Aging" is an area of tension in Tanzania: On the one hand, it is taken for granted that old people will be cared for by their own families at home. On the other hand, life expectancy is rising. The care situation for older people is getting worse. Similar challenges are arising in Germany in view of demographic change, where more and more people are in need for care: a good opportunity, to engage in conversation across national and cultural boundaries.

Together, they discussed the partnership relationship also in terms of the expectations and actions of both sides to "give and take". The partnership exchange should be less about the question of financial challenges, but rather become joint learning, exchange of experience and mutual responsibility. The joint diaconal fund, set up during the trip, is leading the way in this regard.

*EKvW = Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen (Evangelical Church of Westphalia)

*ELCT-NED = Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania, North-Eastern Diocese