République du Tchad
Tchad is a land locked country, surrounded by 5 other
third world nations. As a country it began as a part of the French colony once known as French Equatorial Africa. The 6 million some
people speak 127 distinctly different languages. A large portion
of the population is Arab thus necessitating the official languages to be
Arabic and French. Tchad has not had any natural resources until recently.
There is much hope in the recently discovered oil in the south. However
export still remains a difficult issue as the country contains no rail system
nor any major roads. Most roads consist of dirt trails and paths while
major roads are but hard packed dirt. These roads have also not seen
any tangible maintenance during the past several decades due to internal
strife. Cotton, the only other commercial product of quantity has also
been difficult to grow due to the burning of fields by rebel groups. Most
Tchadian's lives consist of basic farming or herding, providing barely enough
to sustain life. Even international aid has been misdirected in the form
of temporal relief help rather that trying to provide them with training
to overcome their difficulties.
Tchad is a country of variety. The far north consists of arid mountains
which leads into the sandy Sahara which stretches from there to Lake Tchad
just north of the capital, N'djamena. Moving south the land gradually changes
into what is known as savannah, with sparse tree growth dotting the land.
The very southern tip has considerably more vegetation and forest and is very
close to the tropical rain forests of central Africa.
Southern and central
Tchad contain many flood plains making travel very difficult during the rainy
season which lasts from April to September. During this time the heavy rains
cause the two main rivers, the Logone and the Chari, to overflow their banks
providing natural irrigation for rice, which is a staple food for many.
These two rivers flow north into Lake Tchad, a very shallow lake reaching
only 15 ft deep at the most. The lake consists of 2 basins, the southern
of which the rivers flow into. However there has not been enough rain in
the past 20 yrs to fill the northern basin causing famine for the communities
surrounding it who depended on the fish for sustenance.
The weather to is harsh, ranging between 20C and 45C. During the
rainy season (south/central) it is very humid ranging between 25 and 35C
in most areas. Around December and January a phenomenon known as
"harmitan" occurs. This is great quantities of dust
caused by desert storms, caught in the air which blocks out the sun's heat
for as long as 4 weeks causing the night time temperatures to plummet to a
bearable 15C. For the following 4-5 months however temperatures rise to over
40C daily and cooling to barely the mid 30's over night. Late April is
the worst however as these high temperatures are combined with the humidity
of the coming rainy season.
The northern desert regions however are quite
dissimilar, while not receiving the rain and humidity the climate is quite
consistent. Though they do not receive the cooler rainy season and the
hot dry season, each day contains highs consistently around the 40C mark
while each night can reach the low 20s or even as low as 11C.
The political situation has seen its ups and downs. Tchad received its
independence in 1960 which was followed by moderate stability and progress
until the 70's when corruption infected the government. That government
was over thrown and much turmoil and strife has ensued until recent years.
The current government re-established elections in 1996 and was re-elected.
It has also attempted with measured success to put an end to internal strife,
however local rebel opposition does continue on a small dispersed scale.
Due to the recent discovery of oil and current development there of should
provide for some economic stability and growth. The positive effect of
which should help the government to fulfil their desire to provide basic
health and education. 
Missionaries in the country have been trying to meet these needs since
1927. It is by God's grace that Tchad remains open to the Gospel under a
tolerant Muslim government. Tchad is very strategic and unique in northern Africa
as many of these countries are closed to the Gospel. It is bordered by countries
like Libya, Nigeria, and Sudan where many Christians are persecuted and loose their
lives for their beliefs. Evangelism and discipleship are key to spearheading the
Gospel into northern Africa as Tchadians are able to reach their neighbours with
the Gospel. The nomadic loop also reaches from Chad to cross all of west Africa
and able to carry the Gospel to those nations Many mission organizations are
involved in literacy work, teaching reading skills and putting the many languages
into written form. A print shop in the south was also started to provide writen
material in many of the local languages. Missionaries have also provided wells
for clean water while teaching the skills to do so themselves. Teaching is also
done is such areas as basic hygiene, family planing and improved methods of
agriculture that are within their means. A large 250+ bed hospital
was established with an out patient care similar to one of 4x one that
size in North America. It is now staffed by Tchadian
doctors trained overseas. Many dispensaries have also been established in
outlying areas providing basic health care to those who can't or don't
need the attention of a hospital. These are visited by a doctor on a
regular basis to meet extended health needs.
It is Our Goal to be a part of these efforts as,
at present there is no one dedicated to the many technical needs of
these much needed ministries.
psweber@golden.net