Kikundi:Ladies Fellowship Group

A few years ago, my host mother and a couple of her friends started a Ladies' Fellowship Group in an effort to create greater unity and friendship among the women from the local church. Every woman in the group has a 'best friend' that they can rely on for support and help in any situation. Every weekend, approximately 40 women from the Nyabange Mennonite Church gather at one member's home. This member acts as the hostess for the group, providing a gathering place and refreshments.

I recently attended my first Ladies' Fellowship Group with my host mother. Our school accountant came along and acted as my translator so I could get some of what was going on. We arrived to find several benches set-up under the shade of some trees and sat in the back row. I came to regret that decision the moment the hired DJ blasted the first tunes thru the pair of large speakers directly behind us. Apparently, there's no 'happy medium' on the volume control; it's either off or cranked to ear-splitting levels. I couldn't help but plug my ears. My host mother was kind enough to request the DJ turn it down.

All the ladies wore their best kitenges (traditional African dress) and swayed to the music. The hostess, accompanied by her 'best friend' and three other ladies, made her grand entrance and sat at the front facing us. The program consisted of an MC leading us in prayer, followed by some hymn-singing and a devotional. Bible study completed, we moved on to the celebration. The hostess' 'best friend' proceeded to shower her with gifts, including money, kangas and kitenge fabric, sugar, bars of soap, a 50L rain container, a wash basin… The hostess' mother, father, aunt, and grandmother who had come from a nearby village to attend the festivities each received a gift. A hired photographer was capturing every memorable moment on his roll-film camera. The MC invited the group of ladies to come and give the hostess a gift. In addition, every group member contributes 1000-2000 TSH at the start of every gathering. This money is placed in an envelope and handed to the hostess at the end of the evening. The women often put this amount towards school fees, household items, and other practical things.

As a guest, I didn't have to contribute a weekly amount but there was a call-up for guests and I was happy to donate some TSH. Once the gift-giving ended, we all lined up for chai and mandazi, TZ donuts that are like a cross between fritters and rollkuchen. We sat and talked, ate and enjoyed each other's company. The local children gathered round and waited patiently for their turn. They eventually got chai and mandazi, a real treat for most of them.

I was humbled by the generosity and servant attitude of these women. They don't have much but what they do have they willingly share with each other and any guest. I was honoured to be a part of their gathering that evening and hope to attend again in the future.