Passion vs Money

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Business, if you had a chance to start your own business what would you do? Would you follow your passion or what’ll make you money?

Often times we go for what works, what makes us money and not what we are called to do or destined to do. There have been those that succeeded in doing any kind of business, and those that succeeded in their passion business, and there are those that failed at both.

If given $100,000 what would I go for? I know I would invest in my passion but I think I’ll also invest into something else that works. Not because my passion won’t work, but because I know I won’t stop going after my passion hence I need something to back-up my passion for those rainy days when funds run dry.

There is no harm in doing what works, but there is always joy in doing what you are passionate about. I don’t think you’ll ever go wrong pursuing your destiny with a passion. In the mean time, do your research, what works right now? Is it a business in swimming pool supplies, door hardware supplies or in selling commercial kitchen appliances? Don’t hesitate, do it wholeheartedly, but don’t forget - when the time is right you should pursue your passion. You may never retire when you pursue a passion.

Graduation Day

UNF graduates, class of Fall 2019. Masters of Science in Civil Engineering and Masters of Science in Communication Management.

Change and Growth

Change and growth

In life, change is inevitable. You may not be the one initiating the change, but there will always be things around you that cause you to change. I have also learned that not every change equals growth. Growths requires self awareness, selflessness and patience. 

Children are a good reason to bring about change in our lives. Prior to kids being the bosses of us in a house, we used to be the bosses of our lives. Sleep whenever, eat whenever, and do whatever we felt like doing. Then children show up and show us who the real boss is. Your phone will consist of not only your alarm reminders but theirs as well. Your fridge will have your food and theirs. Your shopping will involve buying whatever they need because tantrums are inevitable. If you were one to keep a good budget, forget about it when you have a child (unless you don't go shopping with your child) which is smart but so cruel...fyi. 

However, kids teach us who we are, who we have the potential to be and how we have to change regardless of our own desires. We have to be welcoming of change and embrace it, fighting change only leads to more problems. 

The little one had to get her dental appointment scheduled so, I had multiple alarms for that, as well as took a picture of the reminder the pediatric dental care sent us. I don't remember at what point the change got to me, but I have eventually learned to adjust my life to accommodate another human being who is not fully independent. It's not easy, it takes baby steps, but it's doable. Change that leads to growth is the best thing that can happen to any human being.

Dreams Come True

Image from goals on track

You wake up one day and you find yourself in a nice 3 bedroom apartment for rent in Masaki or better yet, a 5 bedroom house for rent in Mbezi Beach, with a pool, green grass thanks to the water sprinklers and a hefty water bill which you can afford because you are loaded. You see yourself driving a nice Toyota Crown (or a BMW, whatever floats your boat) and have a family of beautiful children and a spouse. Sadly your phone alarm rings, you wake up from your dream and realize you now want what you saw yourself having in a dream because it was too real to be just a dream. 

The reason why we dare to go for more in life is because we either dream about things (actual dreams), or we come into contact with people who have those things and we see how "normal" they are and we tell ourselves "if so and so could do it, so can I."  

One of the things I have been praying for is to start dreaming again. There were times when I had dreams that made me want to experience those things in real life - and I did experience some dreams in real life. I have also achieved things in life that I once thought were impossible for me to achieve, but seeing someone else have them, or do them, gave me the confidence to go for it.

Did you stop dreaming? Did you stop believing in yourself? Did you stop having a vision for your future? Pray for a new dream, a new vision and a new goal...don't stop declaring good things for yourself each year until they come to pass. What are you wishing for/dreaming about for 2020?

Do It Yourself

Do It Yourself

Hey y'all,

box braids

How many of you had to do things that required a professional to do? Thinks like doing your hair (braids, hair dye, etc), or house renovation, or fixing a car?

Living in the United States has taught me quite a few things. The cost of having things done professionally has caused many of us to do them by ourselves. I have become pretty good at crocheting, box braiding and hair dye. But what got my attention is when my brother-in-law fixed a friend's car that would have probably cost her $200+ to fix, or when he fixes things around the house. All he does is buy home renovation materials, and voila, him + YouTube = professionally done renovations. 

I am not saying we should all do this, noooo, if you can afford to pay a professional to do things for you, by all means do (especially if you have no interest whatsoever in learning to do things). But if you are one of those challenge takers, then go right ahead, buy yourself some building materials and start building what your heart desires. 

DIY is a good way to test the limits of your creativity. Try it!!

Italian Meatloaves

Hellos,

So, I decided to join Hello Fresh and try out their recipes. My first attempt was the Italian Meatloaves. I must say, I am very impressed. It probably took me more time than they'd mentioned, but I did it. Yay to me. 

It's all about perspectives

I recently had the opportunity to teach a class on Tanzanian food and culture, and as usual, I didn't disappoint. I taught them how to make chips mayai (how genius of me)!!! They enjoyed the food, but I was also able to give them a little lesson about Tanzania, the culture, economy, education, beliefs and Tanzania real estate. 

Part of our discussion was about the land we have, farming or keeping a garden, poultry farms, and people owning their own lands and houses. I had to explain how even though you may find that people live in the villages or maybe make as little as $1 a day in actual wages, that does not translate into overall poverty on that person's part. We still have nuclear families which means we've got each others backs and which helps prevent having more people in the streets. 

Being here made me realize the difference between being poor and broke. And I say that because, most of us, we had parents or grandparents that owned their own lands/houses, whether in the towns they lived in or else where. We may have stayed in a house for rent, and gone broke throughout our growing up years (meaning money was over before the month ended) but it did not translate into poverty. Because our parents knew the importance of owning land/houses and that being an asset, it always added value to their lives. I remember when my folks had put their house for sale to cover other major expenses. It  only meant they had the option to sell the house rather than get a loan from a bank. I feel as though there are  multiple options in Tanzania when it comes to owning a house. One can build a house for as many years as he is able to finance from his income or can opt to get a loan and build one quicker. 

The best part, at least for me, is knowing there are places where one can rent a room for 20k Tzs a month even in major cities like Dar, Arusha, Mwanza. I am not saying Tzs 20k is not hard to get, but I feel  that it allows those who are working hard to make a living for themselves and for their families to be able to  have a roof over their heads as compared to being completely homeless. 

But again this was my perspective, others may have different opinions and views about things and life in Tanzania, I can only speak based on my own experiences and of those I came in contact with. 

Adulthood

You wake up one day and you realize, if you don't move nothing else moves.  

You need to get out of bed and go to work if you need a paycheck.

You need to pray and connect to the word of God if you need your peace of mind.

You need to nourish your relationships if you need to get anything in return.

You realize, you have a part to play for life to happen.

You don't have the privilege to let things happen, you must do something about it. 

That's when you realize, you have grown. But wait, hasn't this been the case from the day you learned how to bath yourself, make your own breakfast, read and write, and so on and so forth. Life has a way of making us get "there" (wherever ‘there’ is) one step at a time. And where you are now, is a result of the many little steps that you and people around you took to make sure you can handle the journey of adulthood. You have been growing everyday of your life, but you have now become an adult because every little thing that used to happen, has led you to this present moment. So no, you don't have the right to give up, and yes, you can do it. You've been doing it every single day; you just didn't realize it yet. 

You complain, and say life is hard, dealing with things is hard work, but to be honest, it's about you. It's always been about you. How you handled your relationships at school, in your neighborhood and family members all these years has prepared you with skills to handle relationships with your co-workers. The test of how responsible you've been with your school and non-school assignments, is now reflected in your job-related assignments. How you've managed your time between playing, praying, eating, doing your school work, doing your chores, etc. And now, you are a mother or a father - with kids, a job, a spouse, a place of worship, and other responsibilities looking you in the face 24 hours. 

Did you know you've been maturing from the day you were born? Did you allow yourself to let the maturity sink in as you aged, and accept your lot? 

Don't complain, you've been doing this since way back, it was just in smaller doses. Now it's time to look back at how you handled some situations years ago as a teenager, or as a young adult, and see what worked and what didn't work, then ask yourself - will it work this time around? 

Just because you are now a customs clearing agent, or clearing agent to Malawi working for  cargo clearing services (hypothetically) ask yourself, how did you get that job. Did you go to school for it or were you favored because you know the boss? Well, if you went to school for it then use the knowledge you acquired to tackle your challenges. If it is a situation beyond your school knowledge then ask yourself, who did you pray to when you needed help to pass those exams? How about you now get on your knees and pray again? If it is about being overwhelmed, then ask yourself, how did you balance life back in college with 5 to 10 different courses along with midterms and finals? Did you have to prioritize things in your life? How about you do that now as well. 

And  if you never went to school, that's not an excuse. We have successful and well known musicians, actors, writers, painters, photographers, or property agents on social media posting about cars for sale and houses for sale and yet did not graduate from primary school, high school, or college. The challenging question is, what did you learn along the way as you were growing up? Utilize that.

We have been growing up even before we knew it. We just need to be in touch with our past, present and our future to put things into perspective.

I AM - Inspired

Image by Mwinga

A friend told me about a declaration she wrote on Facebook 7 years ago and every now and then she goes back to read it  so that she is constantly reminded of her dreams. The post is very inspiring, reading it reminded me of why I wanted to live a purposeful life on this earth with whatever talent, career and education God has blessed me with. 

When we are young, when we are not traumatized by the struggles of this world, that's when we are true dreamers and living with hope. That’s when our true, unfiltered, and God-focused selves can be seen. 

My friend’s post has inspired me to write declarations for myself  at every stage of my life to keep me on track. 

I remember when I was a teenager, I was in a car with a friend’s mom as she give me a ride home after a sleepover. The roads were clear back in the day (not like the present Dar es salaam), but in those few minutes drive to my place she asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I told her I will be a lawyer. She asked me why, I told her because I am following in my father’s footsteps and that’s what he also wants for me. She asked me other questions but because she knew I had no real world experience she opted to give me an advice instead. She told me that once I graduate with my bachelors, I should work then go back to school and get a master’s in Business Administration in order to broaden knowledge. I was grateful for the advice. Fast forward years later, after I finally had a real world experience, I decided to get a master’s degree in the area that I am passionate about, communication. Even though it’s not an MBA, what she said to me stuck. Her advice gave me wisdom and allowed me to dream again. I aspired to be educated in the area that I find meaning. With my passion for media and communication, I see how I am able to be a blessing to others in my community as well as my place of work.  

The reason I wrote this post is to remind you that, there have been times in your younger self when you wanted to do more in life than work a 9-5. Times when you wanted to be a blessing to others outside of your family. Times when you believed beyond what the world has chosen to limit you. 

Wake up and dream again. And be encouraged because every little bit of what you have will be used to bless a life or lives of those around you. Be encouraged, and continue to dream big, see beyond the limitations and reach for the stars. God wants you to be and do what He had put in your heart for you to do for the betterment of the human race and for his Kingdom. 

Be encouraged by my friend’s declaration titled I AM.

“I am a young and strong 23 year old African woman who is on a journey of discovery. I admit it has not been easy but it has been worth every breath, every fall and every rise for I have been able to ascertain attributes within me that I never thought existed.

As I am getting closer to attaining my bachelor degree in Law, all I can think about is what the hell am I going to do with this? Do not get me wrong, I have no regrets in pursuing LLB or taking this path in my life because the long yet short five year experience I have had in this cultured part of the world has been remarkable, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have without a doubt learned a lot.

With some of us, as a consequence of education, we get this compelling force within us that we have to do so much more than just sitting in an air conditioned office, summoning others to fetch us coffee, writing down monthly reports and coming up with innovative ways to swell our bank accounts.

I, for one, would not want to become one of those people who get wrinkles before they are 30 just because they keep on doing what they hate but they just perform because of that hefty pay cheque at the end of the month. Or those who settle for something less fulfilling just because they think they can not get hold of their “dream job”.

I want to be exhilarated waking up in the morning, be driven in doing what gives me pleasure, put a smile on SOMEONE’s face by doing what I love to do and acquire contentment in the course of that, and when I lay in bed at the end of the day, I want to feel imperative in else’s and my own life. i want so much more out of life.

I might seem greedy for I want so many things. But this is life, and it is short and as long as we have the energy, liveliness, willingness, courage and the tenacity, we should always go out there and get what we want and with God’s grace, we can achieve.

I want to make a difference in our community. I am not a billionaire, I don’t have money to give around and fulfill people’s material needs. But what I have, is much more precious than gold coins. I have a lot of love within me which am willing to share with the whole world, especially those who need it the most. There is always some one out there who needs a little extra love in their lives.

To that little girl who is infected with HIV/AIDS, I will give her hope. To that young man who was abandoned when he was only 10 years old, I will be his hero. To that young girl who thinks life is not worth living because she has grown up being sexually abused by the men in her life, I will make her see a whole new world through my eyes. To that young man who was robbed off his life by drugs, I will give him a second chance. To that hardworking mother who is a victim of domestic violence, I will teach her to say Enough.” And to that beautiful girl laying on the hospital bed with ruthless cancer eating her up, having few days to live, I will lay beside her and whisper “it is going to be ok!”

I am not superwoman, I am an ordinary person who is out to do extra ordinary things.”

Is it Fight or Flight or Pray and Praise

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When you have been through a good amount of traumatic events in your life, your perception of things change. You no longer operate on FIGHT or FLIGHT mode but PRAY and PRAISE mode. Life knows how not to give us a break (at least not a long enough break). It is warfare, not because you are a great sinner and so you are being punished, NO! Life just happens because either God is allowing you to move to the next level in your spiritual walk where you no longer fight or flight during what looks like a valley of shadow of death, but you praise your way out to the next stage in your life. 

I have learned to trust God for good things that happen in my life. I have seen God's miracles. I have experienced God's message through dreams, songs, sermons, conversations, gut feeling and even a voice, His voice. But every time I or someone I love goes through trials, it wares me out. The thought of the injustice taking place has caused me to sin in my mind so many times. Yet God reminds me to FORGIVE. When I think maybe I should be on a warfare prayer, my spirit remembers me of a PRAISE or WORSHIP song. It has come to a point where I am learning to be awake, to realize warfare is a promotion - win or loss. When we are faced with trouble, we wish for things to go our way. But we don't realize that even when they don't go our way, especially when we surrender the situation to God (when we don't try to bring vengeance on our trouble makers) and say GOD YOUR WILL BE DONE. Then we should be prepared for either outcome. Eventually, His 'will' will be done and His plans for us are good, no scratch that, are perfect! He will give us what will work out for us in the long run. 

If you operate in this mindset of knowing warfare is inevitable to a Christian with a desire to grow spiritually, as well as the understanding that there are seasons for everything, seasons to laugh, seasons to cry, seasons to sow, seasons to reap. Then you should be on PRAY and PRAISE mode than Fight or Flight mode. The enemy both physical and spiritual will not hire a conference facility and have a discussion with you on how he or they will attack you. And that's okay. Besides, God already knows the end from the beginning, so why are you stressing about the outcome? 

The thing with warfare is that it comes with a cost, be it financial, emotional, physical, spiritual or all four. But ultimately, if it is all meant to be for our good, then we should do what we can (PRAY and PRAISE) and leave it all in God's hand. 

As I write this, it doesn't mean I have mastered this, but it means I am encouraging myself in the Lord and His promise. This is a reminder, a note to self. You can do it too. Let God handle it.

Parenthood 101

It is unclear why we desire children when we all know without a doubt children equals no more “me” or “us” time. They are the ones who call the shots and determine how our schedules should look like. I do also agree to disagree with those who may disagree with me and say we are in control of our lives and schedules, but to what extent? 

If we really think about it, even if we somehow have nannies to help us raise our kids in our absence, or day care centers that you pay a fortune to so that you can have time to go to work and provide for your family. In all these cases kids are the ones determining how our day should look like. Where you can go, what time you can go and so forth.  

A good example is a child who falls sick and causes you to call your supervisor and change your work schedule. Or a child that decides they want you to take them to school because they don’t want to be on the bus with the other kids. The demands and unexpected surprises are endless, yet we love them to the moon and back. 

Are kids a way of God showing us what true love is? A way for us to evaluate ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses? Our selflessness or selfishness? Are kids a wake up call for us? So, that we no longer make excuses of why we can’t do this and that, and decide to work hard to provide for these little humans that we’ve celebrated coming into this world? Are kids a way for us to be grateful to our parents for what they’ve done for us and what they went or are still going through because of us? 

The diaper changing days, the running around in the hot sun, the late nights, the early mornings, the car seats taking up space in our cars, the strollers that we depend on heavily, the messy house, the pile of laundry (thank God for washing machines),and the whole nine yards. 

Kids test our patience, our love language, our outlook about life and our inner fears. Kids are a way of God reminding us about forgiveness and love, unconditional love. And who doesn't love those mommy and baby photo-shoots with matching African fashion, kitenge dress and all. Ultimately, it's all worth it.

Why I love Fall

Image from journal

Fall season is hands-down my favorite. I like the weather for so many reasons - wearing boots is one of them. I call Fall ‘the no sweating season.’I know a lot of people prefer Summer and that’s when they go out more often, but I feel like summer is for sports, doing things like hiking, photography, swimming or whatever else you want to do as a workout. Fall is a ‘mtoko’ season. Time to carry your pochi ya outing, wear your nice boots and I guarantee you, your makeup won’t disappoint you either. Enjoy Fall season everyone.

What are you learning about this year?

Image from exit promise

For one of my school projects I decided to write about finances and I had to choose my own topics to research and write about. One of them includes financial institutions. I have to learn about bank fees charged by commercial banks and the types of accounts available to their customers. I am mostly focusing on individual steps to financial freedom therefore, I have’t touched on retail banks or corporate banking.  

I have realized that information is widely available for us out there but we don’t have the knowledge because we don’t search for information. Before I started writing about finances and financial literacy, I had this period where I did a mini research about credit cards (including talking to someone at my bank) and I gained a vast amount of knowledge. But I also realized that the reason we sometimes don’t learn about things is because the lingo may not be in our favor. Finance language is one of them. It requires having a dictionary handy to learn some of the terminologies so that you can move forward to the next piece of information (or have someone explain things to you in a layman’s language). 

I hope I won’t stop learning about finances once I am done with my school project. And as for you my readers, you can learn anything you want to. So, I urge you to make use of all the information out there - a lot is available online - educate yourself especially about things that affect your life one way or the other, be it health, finance, career, relationships, and so forth. It’s never too late to start. 

Love,

Mamatembo

Cars Cars Cars

I like Facebook market place, I like how they've set up their algorithm to show me the things they think I want to see, very smart. Only problem though, is that every time I look for cars I filter the search based on price and not brand, so they show me car brands that I don't want to buy. 

Sometimes, I wonder if we get ripped off because a company has done so well to make their brand so popular and in demand to the point where their products stand out of the crowd, or because their products are really reeeeeally that good.  It’s funny how when I ask about cars, the first two names that pop-out of anyone’s mouth are Toyota and Honda. And guess what, they are also not as cheap when compared to different brand vehicles with the same or lesser mileage. 

I know Toyotas are affordable back in TZ, cheers to Toyota Tanzania. But this end, these babies are like a gem. The reliability and durability of their vehicles is making us spend  some big money to own one. 

Was looking for Toyota IST for sale (it’s a Scion this end) on Facebook market place and they ain’t cheap yoooo, unless it’s a manual transmission coz kids these days don't drive stick. I have been looking for one of those and I gave up, I just couldn’t keep up with the price. 

Brokenness || Noorie York

May you be blessed by this message.

Dodoma

Image from mwananchi.co,.tz

Apart from being the city where I was born, I visited Dodoma because it was also known for things like the wineries, Mirembe hospital, the University of Dodoma, as well as the Parliament. 

I don’t think Dodoma has received as much promo as Arusha, Dar es Salaam and other cities or regions that have touristic attractions. 
If you plan to visit Dodoma, you can fly there thanks to the availability of an airport and domestic flights. You can easily find accommodation in Dodoma as most of the budget hotels in Dodoma are available online either through directory.co.tz or having their own websites. 

1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments are easily available in most regions in Tanzania especially those that receive a good number of people because of school, work or tourism, and Dodoma has all these reasons and more. Houses for rent are available if you plan to visit as an exchange student, work  transfer and so forth. 

Dodoma real estate is fairing well with home owners and companies being more aware of modernizing the houses for lease and/or selling purposes. You have the option to get a house or apartments for rent in Dodoma with modern home appliances. 

You stand to learn a lot by interacting with the locals than from fully relying on search engines. Try being adventurous and visit Dodoma while you are in Tanzania. 

If anything, Dodoma should get more promo for being the capital of our nation and having good weather.

The popularity of the Toyota IST [in Tanzania]

Image from Wikiwand

You might have noted a few of them on the road around Dar. Actually, make that "lots" of them. I have counted. About three in every ten cars is a Toyota IST. And that's just in town center. They have become so popular that a prominent politician recently criticized men driving the particular model to stop doing so because it looks like they have been bribed (not good for the "ego").

The popularity of the Toyota IST in Tanzania has seen a steep climb in the recent year and a bit compared to a few years back. This can be attributed to several factors including the economical nature of the vehicle, both in maintenance and fuel consumption. These two factors has made the model a favorite for drivers for ride sharing services like Uber. I think we can all agree that the current economical environment makes sense to drive more economically. That said, if you can generate revenue while driving makes even more sense.

The sheer number of these cars driving around makes spareparts dealers smile. Especially suspension parts dealers. Why them? Look around, the roads (yes, most are being laid with tarmac) coupled with overloading will kill your suspension in an instant. If you live in areas where you drive 10 kilometers on "barabara ya vumbi" everyday, you should expect to have a suspension change every six months or so. Otherwise, avoid giving free rides to your neighbors.

Do you remember how popular the Peugeot 504, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Land Cruiser hardtop were? So! It's a good thing to have a particular car model in numbers as it makes finding spareparts for it much easier. However, it also makes it easier for the car to "disapear" into the crowd when stolen. The used spareparts market makes it a huge risk to own a popular car model. Just something to think about.

How you can become an effective leader

Image from https://knowledge.insead.edu

Hey y'all, 

I read an article from Harvard Business Review published in January 2004 and it talked about qualities of an effective leader, and these were self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. These qualities are known as components of Emotional Intelligence (read more here) I am one among the many  people used to look at qualities such as being very confident or being skilled in a certain field as the core reasons for someone being in leadership position. While reading the explanations as well as the hallmarks of each quality, I was able to gauge myself on areas that I am weak or strong, and it kind of gave me an understanding of what I need to work on. 

I think leadership is something that we all need to learn about in school. There should be a class on leadership that will help students know what it takes to be effective in leadership. The funny thing about leadership is that, we have seen so many examples of people in leadership positions yet they were not as effective as others who were perhaps not in a leadership positions. There have also been times when people approach a colleague more than they would approach their supervisor, only because that colleague has leadership qualities that make people drawn to him / her. The good news though, is that leadership skills can be learned, so if you are not one of those people that was born with certain qualities like empathy, or life experiences made you lose some of those qualities, you can always learn them and become more aware of your environment. 

And when it comes to leadership, don't limit yourself to being a boss or supervisor in a firm or company. You might be an entrepreneur with one or two people working under or with you and you need to be the kind of person that people can approach as well as rely on, and know they are doing the right thing being involved in your business. Imagine this, you've just taken a loan for your business thanks to mkopo kwa wajasiriamali, then few months down the line, your business starts failing because you are losing your best employees, or suppliers. You ask around and people that are actually nice enough tell you that you are a horrible person to deal with. Now, do you see how leadership qualities apply even in your small business? 

It costs nothing to learn something new, to learn how to better yourself and do things differently and effective. The one thing I can say is that, anything that is going to make us better versions of ourselves requires change and change is not easy. You may have to come in terms with change being inevitable and make friendship with change so that when time comes to transform your life for the better, you won't go about it being bitter and spiteful. 

Mamatembo.

Exploring Zimbabwe - Bulawayo

Hey y'all, here's more from our trip to Zimbabwe in May 2019.

Burke's Backpackers Paradise in Bulawayo

After visiting Harare, my partner in adventure and I headed off to Bulawayo. Unlike the usual backpackers relying on the lonely planet for bus advice, we had my cousin who took us to a nice bus (C.A.G Galaxy) which left at 2pm sharp and arrived in Bulawayo at 7:30pm as they promised. Kaka was so sure we will get a chicken bus but God was so good to me, and we didn’t get on a chicken bus throughout our entire trip. This luxury bus didn’t stop along the way to pick up passengers, that was impressive especially since we expected that to be a trend. And Kaka had paid more on his way to Harare from Bulawayo and the bus he was on was practically like a daladala, so this particular bus exceeded out expectations. 

We arrived in Bulawayo and our host who was half stoned came with his friend and picked us up and took us to his place. His house however, was very peaceful. We lazied around the next day, and the only reason we went to town was to get food. 

Bulawayo is as calm as Harare, but I did notice the city was not in it’s best shape cleanliness wise compared to the city center area in Harare. Their park which is by the town hall is somewhat okay and could use some TLC. The one thing that’s been a common theme in Harare and Bulawayo are the wide roads and the one-way roads which I believe are a good idea when it comes to preventing traffic jam. The architecture is more than I had expected since it’s not Harare, so I was impressed at the mix of Western and Eastern influence on the architecture. 

The Honda Fit shared taxis are beyond memorable to me. If you are trying to figure out how 7 to 8 people can fit in such a tiny vehicle, think no more...just visit Bulawayo and you will experience that firsthand. 

A flower we saw in Matobo National Park

We went to Matobo National Park on Saturday. The day started off well, and somehow our host decided to give us a taste of Bulawayo, not something I cared for, nor did Kaka. I think we would have gotten more wonderful pictures of Matobo if it wasn’t for the practical joke that was played on us. While exiting Matobo we saw two giraffes right by the road, but I was in no shape nor mood to document anything at the time. 

We spent the night at a Backpackers hostel before leaving for Masvingo the next day. My African dream, my African safari.

Invest in Agriculture

Image from businesstoday.in

Hey y'all,

Am I the only one who thinks financial literacy should go hand in hand with knowledge on right investments (where and how to invest). I am becoming even more interested in financial literacy and how to go about making money, right spending and investing. Gone should be the days when we live paycheck to paycheck with no savings and investments that generate backup funds.

Agriculture is one of those investments that eventually pay back and with the right market it can be a long term successful business because we highly depend on agricultural produce for a great deal of our daily intake.

I would be interested in investing into something that would work itself out as I wait to collect my profit, so I want to expand to new territories.

But the question is, what options are out there, agriculture related. Should one rent a farm? buy tractors? hire help? get farm equipment? And get into farming from scratch?

As I am new to this, and I don't know if what I have mentioned is the only option, but I would think having the option to invest in a company that, or a person who already does farming is better than having yourself - an individual that has a day job, to fully emerge into the farming process. And I say that because getting into business requires time, money and a good research. 

A person that works 8-5 would have no idea where to find the right seed to get good crops, where to find tractors for sale or better yet, the difference between a Massey Ferguson tractor and it's competitors. Don't get me wrong, all this information can be obtained through research, but where is the time? Would it be easy for someone with a 7 days 8-5 job, a family and other responsibilities to fully get into farming without losing other aspects of their lives?

I am eager to know how to go about investing in agriculture, so I will do a little research on where we can get these companies or entities to invest in in Tanzania and get back to you.