Mwanjelwa Moto Sana

Yesterday evening a fire broke out and consumed the main market in Mbeya – Mwanjelwa. It raged for over 24hrs before it was contained. Partly this was due to fire engine minus water. A fire engine had to come all the way from Iringa to extinguish it this morning.

We walked through the area with bro Jonathan and his wife Upendo this afternoon after our return from Sumbawanga. Upendo (who was the main breadwinner of the family) had a vegi stall in the centre of the market and we walked through a desolate area which was once thriving and bustling with shoppers. She was understandably in total shock and very distressed – we were able to help out a little. Unfortunately not only the fire, lack of water but looters also caused havoc. Truly the place is a pile of charcoal.

Our sister Matilda lives next to the market and we visited her and she is fine. Also our bro Mwakabana who also works in the market is fine and helping with the clear-up. We are keeping an eye on the situation as he eeks out an existance there (he suffers from TB).