A Wedding and an Outbreak
According to Pastor Conrad, this was my seventeenth trip to Geita, TZ, having traveled every year, except during COVID-19. His youngest daughter was four when I first met them, and she is now a third-year university student. When his oldest daughter, Neema, who was ten or eleven when I met her, was planning her wedding, it was important for her “American grandmother” to be there. I arrived just one day before her “send-off. the events of the first week were full of celebration.
The send-off weekend is a major pre-wedding ceremony where the bride’s family and community officially hand her over to begin her new life as a married woman. Pastor Conrad had tried to explain this event ahead of my visit and my expected participation. I truly had no understanding at all the experience I was about to share. The first part of the send-off was at a totally transformed compound at Pastor Conrad’s home, and the second part at a large reception venue in Geita. Both events were planned and implemented by a wedding committee, which in the Geita region is a cornerstone of the marriage celebration. These committees do the planning and meet regularly for months to map out budgets, secure venues and vendors, and manage the details of such things as decorations.
Hundreds of community members, along with family, participated at both venues. The women had clothing specially made to match the colors of the bride’s family and the men as well. There was such a spirit of communal celebration, it is impossible for me to describe. Everyone had a role to play, including myself. When told that l would lead the way with Pastor Conrad and Margreth into the crowded ball room and that I should “dance a little,” my face reflected my feelings.
The following weekend we traveled for about hours to the home of the groom’s family, where the wedding and reception were taking place. The wedding was in a beautiful cathedral, and the reception was in a lovely outdoor venue.
Also, the day after I arrived, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was officially declared by the ministry of health on May 15, 2026. Pastor Conrad and I immediately began revising our planned events to avoid large gatherings and still proceed with seminars and meetings with government leaders. With the outbreak growing quickly and considering the advice of more seasoned African travelers, we reluctantly decided that I should leave as soon as flights could be arranged. When we told the local church on my last Sunday, that I was leaving two weeks early due to Ebola, it was evident that many of the people present did not know about the ongoing outbreak. Pastor Conrad immediately texted other church leaders to make them aware. He continues to share information with them regarding the virus and ways to lessen the risk of transmission.
Ebola update: As of July 6, the DRC has reported a total of 1, 561 confirmed cases including 506 confirmed deaths. Also, twenty cases including two deaths have been reported by the ministry of health in Uganda. To date (July 7, 2026) Tanzania has not recorded any Ebola cases, but due to its proximity to the border crossing from Uganda, the Geita region is at high risk.
