Friday Find: A Good Driver

When you are in a new place with both a language and a cultural gap, a good driver can be a lifesaver. A good driver, not only knows where to go, he (in this culture it is rarely ‘she’) is your culture guide, your handy translator, your camera man, your Zagat rating agency with best local finds, your warning sign and safety net, and yes, your new friend. The truth is that with the local traffic you put your life in their hands. But also, they can become your trusted advisor in so many other ways.



On this trip I have had three drivers. The first, Chicha is a great guy. He speaks wonderful English and is a trusted taxi driver in Dar es Salaam. His father had a taxi (teksi) and Chicha paid him the car ‘rental’ according to the local customs. He didn’t know this was his in his father’s mind, but when he had paid his father enough money to buy his own teksi, his father gave him the money to do so. You can see that Chicha comes from good stock and it is part of him today. He told me his name is pronounced like ‘teacha’ so I call him ‘professor’.


The second driver I have had is Roger Lajab. Roger is a young man who speaks very little English. The first day when I was done with my appointments, I told him in English, “Go home.” He didn’t know what I meant. So I said, “Chilwa’s nyumba” (or Chilwa’s house.) No connection, after trying for 10 minutes to explain where to go next, I finally called a friend who translated over the phone.

Because Roger speaks so little English, we have very little to talk about in terms of ordinary conversation. This is really a problem because it can take 2-3 hours in traffic to get anywhere in Dar es Salaam. So Roger has taken it upon himself to be my Swahili tutor. This is true immersion training since he speaks hardly a word of English. Sometimes when I am fully confused I try to look up the word in my little English-Swahili book. One evening I was exhausted after a series of really long days. I put my seat back and went to sleep. Roger nudged me awake so that we could continue our lessons. Little by little (kidogo kidogo) we are learning to communicate.

In local customs I should address him as ‘Lajab.’ But he has asked me to call him ‘Roger’ in line with western customs.


Kato Kamala has accompanied me on trips away from Dar es Salaam. He is a brilliant mechanic, completely trustworthy and speaks eight languages including English. When he is with me he is also the official photographer. When we are traveling away from Dar es Salaam, he receives several calls a day from customers seeking to have their car fixed. I was quite worried about all the business he was losing because he had left town with me for two weeks. Not to worry, he is such a trusted mechanic that his customers all waited for his return.

Kamala comes from a family of really smart people. One is a local medical doctor, who after I was covered by mosquito bites prescribed a medication to make sure I didn’t get malaria. Another one is a famous comedian who looks a bit like a black John Belushi and is on the local equivalent of “Saturday Night Live”. He’s really famous locally. Every time Kamala gets a text message it screams out a comedy bit from this show. Kamala himself is really funny. We were often driving in the Iringa area with student interns, an accompanying teacher and perhaps another person or two. Kamala could keep a series of one liners going non-stop for 45 minutes. Although he speaks English, he told them in Swahili. The car would burst in laughter, which after 20 minutes or so was pained, gasping laughter. Hardly able to speak, someone would translate for me. I would laugh. Then Kamala would immediately toss out another. I wish you could have heard the sound of this laughter, it was one of the most joyful I’ve ever heard.

I have lots of great stories with Kamala. I’ll tell more in a future blog. He is one of my best friends here in Tanzania and someone I really would trust with my life.

‘Kato’ means ‘twin’ because that’s what Kamala is but I know him as Kamala, rafiki (friend), kaka (brother).