Tanzania

Ally Futto

Programme 4: 8 February 2008
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Tanzanian acrobat, Ally Futto, is a regular performer on the streets of Cork. Bob first encounters Ally back flipping on Patricks Street. He then follows him back to his home in Dillon's Cross and meets his Irish wife, Jenny Lee. Ally came to Ireland, via Kenya and England, eventually settling when he met Jenny. Ally has strong ties here, but misses his two children, who are living with his father in rural Tanzania. Bob returns to a frenetic Dar es Salaam, where he visits Ally's old haunts and hooks up with his friends and brother. Finally, Bob travels west to the market town of Morogoro to meet Ally's Dad and his two children. His father acknowledges that it is not easy to look after Ally's children, but that this is his lot and Ally's remittances are crucial for the family's survival. Finally, Bob demonstrates some acrobatic moves he picked up in Cork to Ally's father, himself a former acrobat. Bob returns with a moving message for Ally, who is touched on seeing his children, who have changed in the four years he has been away from home.

Factfile on Tanzania

Population: 38.4 million

Major Languages: English, Swahili

Geography: Tanzania lies south of the equator in East Africa. It borders the Indian Ocean and eight countries, namely Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (across Lake Tanganyika), Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique

Main exports: Sisal, cloves, coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, minerals, tobacco

Religion: Christianity, Islam, Indigenous beliefs

Famous Tanzanians: Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922-99), the founder and first president of independent Tanganyika (and later of Tanzania) from 1962 to 1985.

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara to Persian parents on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar