Suji is a small village in the

Pare Mountains The Pare Mountains are a mountain range in northeastern Tanzania, located north of the Usambara Mountains. The mountains are administratively located in the Kilimanjaro Region, specifically in the Mwanga District and Same District. The North and ...

, in the

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

region of north-eastern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. According to the 2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, the village has a population of around 8,072 {{cite web , url=http://www.tanzania.go.tz/census/census/districts/same.htm , title=2002 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS- General Report , access-date=2006-01-27 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050217171642/http://www.tanzania.go.tz/census/census/districts/same.htm , archive-date=2005-02-17 (Male: 3,974, Female: 4,098). The latest census conducted in 2022 shows that there is an about 50% decline in population
Both sexes (4,681); Male (2,285); Female (2,396)
The majority of the villagers are of the

Pare Pare may refer to: People with the name * Emmett Paré (1907-1973), tennis player * Pare, former member of Kotak, an Indonesian band * Pare Lorentz (1905-1992), American film director * Richard Pare (born 1948), English photographer * Paré, a ...

tribe (legend holds that they moved up the mountains as a security measure in a similar way other villages built forts. Their main antagonists were

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

warriors who they call 'Kwavi'. The village is situated approximately 20 km from Makanya, a town on the main

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

- Moshi road. In terms of religion, the majority of the residents are Seventh Day Adventists.

Transportation

Kilimanjaro International Airport Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) is an international airport located in Hai District, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. The airport serves the cities of Arusha and Moshi. The airport handled 802,731 passengers in 2014 and mainly serves reg ...

, situated between Moshi and

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

is the nearest airport. Villagers rely on shuttle minibuses to transport them up and down the mountain. Suji secondary school together with the SDA church own a roadworthy truck. This is used in case of an emergency.

Amenities

Suji has

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

and clean

running water Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...

in most homes.

Telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

s, (landlines and mobile phones) are widely used, although with interrupted coverage. A few villagers also have

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

. The village has the following amenities: * Local shops and

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

* Mission Guest House *

Clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

Dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...

* SDA church (From 1903) * Primary & Secondary schools * Shamge's Pub * Eneza's Hotel * patron's house

Education

In addition to

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s, there are 2 secondary school
Suji High School
and Malindi Secondary School. Suji High School was officially started on 28 February 1985. The School had two classrooms and four teachers, Singo Andrew K, (the headmaster), Mathayo Fue Mkwizu, Mngale, karani alex and John Kilonzo. Later on others joined the school; Kazani Yonafika Chambi, Mkitunda and Christopher Chambi, to mention a few. In 1988, Suji Secondary School released its first

O-Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

leavers. It operates under the ownership and management of Seventh Day Adventist Church in North East Tanzania Conference. Suji has along history as primary school, teachers training centre and secondary school. The school was found by the Germany missionaries of SDA Church in 1906. Later developed to become a primary school and teacher training centre in 1926. In 1927 the first qualified teachers graduated with Government Teaching Certificate;it thus, produced the first qualified female teacher in Tanganyika in 1931 namely Ms. Damari Kangalu. The school ceased to offer Teacher Training centre in 1945 and continue as a middle school (Std I-VII) until 1965 when the Government nationalized all primary schools, and was downsized to Std VII. In 1984 Suji community requested the SDA Church to open and run the secondary school. The primary school was relocated. The secondary school was then started in 1985. It was registered in 1987 with a Reg. No. S.283; and later was accepted to be a National Examination Centre No.489. The first form four examination was done in November 1988. In September 1999, Suji attain new status of being a high school. Science then, its enrolment include for one through six. The first form six examination was done in May 2001.

Hamlets/Townships/Areas

*Kirangare *Malindi *Chankanga *Gonjanza *jamia *Ngale *Mng'ende *Kitunda *Tae *Chome *Bwambo *Ivuga *Mpinji *Myamba *Parane *Ndungu *Chairika *Heidaru *Shigati *Hempungi *Kisimeni *Ikondova *Heivu *Nkogo *Mvuteni *Ninga *Heirioko *Mweteni

Sources and external links

Tanzania Government Census 2002
* Suji Seventh-day Adventist Dispensary. P.O. Box 26; Suji, Same; Tanzania
Suji High School. P.O. Box 351, Same, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

Birds of the South Pare Mountains

Suji Village Renewal

NUI graduates volunteer in Suji

References

2. The United Republic of Tanzania Administrative Units: Population Distribution Report https://sensa.nbs.go.tz/publication/volume1a.pdf Populated places in Kilimanjaro Region