The One With Roda (10/27/2012)

Today Dahlia and I went back to Kita’s house after wandering around the city and doing a little shopping.  Most of our conversations with Kita end up in some kind of discussion about cultural customs, school practices, marriage traditions, views of women; it is always fascinating to talk with Kita!  But today we had a particularly interesting (and heartbreaking) conversation.  Kita rents part of a house that is owned by a widow who has only her granddaughter, Roda, living with her.  Apparently her daughter had an affair with a married man and became pregnant.  Shortly after having the baby she passed away and so the baby, Roda, went to live with her grandmother (Kits’a landlord).  In Tanzania children are property of their fathers family and so when a child is born out of wedlock it is the mothers responsibility to raise them until they finish primary school (age 13 or 14).  Then the father comes ad takes the child to live with his wife and family (giving the mother some money for raising the child).  Apparently last night Roda’s father and his wife came to Kita’s landlord and said that they are going to take her.  It is illegal for the grandmother to say no, Roda is property of her father, and so she is spending the day packing her things.  I cannot even imagine what Roda is going through so I ask for your prayers for both her and her grandmother.  

*Roda is not her real name