Our team of three traveled to Tio, Eritrea, on August 24, 1999, to begin preliminary research of the Afar people group. We hired a four-wheel drive Land Cruiser with a driver in order to give identification and endorsement of the trip.
The road from Massawa to Tio was the most rugged overland trip I have ever taken in Africa. Battling rocky mountain passes or desert sand was the order of the day. The journey afforded little aesthetic beauty, but three places overlooking the Red Sea were breathtaking. The terrain was composed primarily of volcanic rock or sand and was constantly changing. One section was covered with smooth black rocks—some the size of soccer balls.
The journey from Massawa to Tio is about 300 kilometers. One hour out of Tio, we approached a section of road with deep ruts in the sand extending about 50 yards. Despite increasing speed, the driver failed to keep our vehicle on top of the sand and it bogged down. With darkness approaching, we knew we had a problem. No shovel was available, so with branches from a bush and our bare hands the digging began. Eventually three trucks arrived on the scene. One had a cable that the driver used to pull us out.
Town of Tio
Dirty and exhausted, we drove into Tio at 7 p.m. I was surprised to discover there were no hotels in town, so we accepted the invitation of the assistant administrator to stay at his house. His generator had started at 6 p.m., providing light, electric fans and entertainment. He had the only TV in town, so he placed it in his living room window and selected the Eritrean Tigrinya channel. About 50 to 100 people gathered to enjoy the programs through the evening.
The Tio subregion is home to 23,000 people – primarily Afar. About 3,000 live in the town of Tio, and another 2,000 live in nearby villages. Tio is built on a peninsula that extends perhaps 500 meters. A truck delivers drinking water drawn from a well some distance from town, but people also have their own personal wells that provide water for other purposes. The water level is six to eight feet beneath the surface. Everyone uses the eastern beach for a toilet, and the tide takes care of waste disposal.
At Tio’s elementary school, Afar and Tigrinya teachers instruct around 500 children. A new middle school under construction will provide training for 300 sixth- and seventh-grade students. Afar youth come from across the region and are housed in dorms three kilometers from the school premises. The dorms are located near a good water source and give some assurance that the students will maintain their Afar culture.
There appears to be an opportunity for English instructors at the middle school. People in the community remember a Peace Corps worker teaching English at a school in Assab, which was a positive experience. With the new school, leaders hope to have someone come to Tio.
A new hospital facility is located on the eastern side of the peninsula in a section of town where a few cement block houses have been constructed. Otherwise, houses are built of wood or sticks and straw.
The primary disease appears to be tuberculosis, with malnutrition a close second. Vegetables and fruits are not available on a regular basis and the lack of them contributes to health needs. A limited amount of fish is available due to fishermen sending their daily catch across the Red Sea to Yemen in order to get cash. People seem to prefer goat meat and mutton, which is readily available at several local butcher stalls.
A new road from Massawa to Assab is now completed. It passes through Tio and local merchants are pleased, for they know this important link will be a big boost to their business ventures. Tio's village elders believe the new road will entice the nomadic Afar to build villages along the road for the purposes of trade and education.
Key Contacts
One of the village elders is blind. We met him at a restaurant while drinking a cool Coca-Cola. Dressed in a wraparound cloth bound with the Afar green belt, he heard our voices and spoke loudly to us, drawing everyone’s attention. He shared with us the history of Tio, an appreciation of the Italians who governed 
Eritrea for 60 years, and the community’s hopes for the future based on the new road and school. He specifically asked if we would come and teach the children. He agreed to teach us Afar if we taught them English. The old elder gave us his name and asked for his picture to be taken with us. It appeared to be a very special moment for him. He may be the Cornelius whom the Lord has prepared for the Tio area.
A young man preparing for sixth grade in the new school met us at the restaurant. His mother was sick, so he came for a meal. Sitting at a table near us, he tried to understand our English. We asked him to help us learn Afar greetings, and through this exchange we struck up a friendship. The next night, the eve of our departure, he entered the restaurant and walked up behind me, gently patting my shoulder. It was a tender expression and communicated his pleasure with our brief acquaintance.
Religion
Tio has one old dilapidated mosque and a few scattered prayer houses. Not once during our two-day visit did I hear a Muslim call to prayer. There appears to be openness to the presentation of the gospel. Certainly the elders’ approval would be necessary. The town is so small that the people could easily crowd someone out if they did not approve of his evangelism efforts.
In the past, Red Sea Mission invested a lot of time, money, personnel and prayer in Tio with no apparent lasting results. However, seed was sown and must bear fruit in the near future.
Observations
Afar men don’t wear typical Muslim attire, but they do wear prayer caps on Fridays and for pictures. It seems they have their own style of Islam, which is more of a folk Islam and certainly not orthodox Islam centered in the mosque.
Anyone going to Tio needs to know God is sending him. The difficulty of the task, isolation from the outside world and difficult living conditions demand a clear call and purpose.
The timing is right to take the good news of the gospel to Tio. The new road, the Afar villages springing up near it and the new middle school drawing students from across the Afar homeland speak of progressive change. What an opportunity to touch the entire Afar nation!
No gospel witness is available to the 23,000 Afar in the Tio subregion. They are perishing in their sins for lack of a messenger. Who will go to the heartland of the Afar? Who will be known as the one who brought the light of the gospel to the Afar?
Afar Profile