The Government now spends four times as much on debt repayment as it does on education. Sauda's parents see schooling as their child's chance of escaping poverty. But they're going to need a few lucky years of good crops to be able to afford it. Under pressure from creditors, school fees have been introduced. Less than half the country's school-age children now attend school.
Many schools are without desks, pencils, books and, in some cases, roofs.
After following a tough regime of restricted spending, Tanzania's economy is improving, so the economists say. But statistics won't feed and educate Sauda. Under an international scheme being discussed by the group of G8 industrialised nations in Germany in June, Tanzania may qualify for relief from its debt in 2002. But there are fears that debt relief may come too late, if at all. Meantime, Sauda's development won't wait.