[UPDATE: Jan 23, 11am] Tanda passed away this past weekend at the age of 33, according to close friend and fellow Beijing-based Tanzanian expat Dundu Kizozo, who announced the sad news in a WeChat group. Kizozo went on to add that, before his passing, Tanda made it home to Tanzania safely and had the chance to spend time with his family. Kizozo is now in Tanzania for the funeral.

Tonight (Jan 13), four bars in the Beixinqiao area will donate profits to help Mgassa "Kíddö" Tanda, a well regarded Tanzanian expat and former hutong bar manager and bartender who has been stricken with a critical cancer diagnosis.

Queenie’s Sandwiches (QS) The Great Outdoors and Ron Mexico (where Tanda once worked) will be selling discounted craft beers from 7-10pm to raise funds for Tanda’s medical fees, while Café de la Poste — where, like at Ron Mexico, the Tanzanian expat spent many a night cutting his teeth tending bar, harboring dreams of opening a place of his own — will sell discounted bottles Brugse Zot Double for the effort throughout the night. See more details on the poster below.

Known for his mellow demeanor and wide, easy smile, Tanda has made plenty of hutong bar goers happy with his breezy style of hospitality. He reached his goal of becoming a proprietor this past June, opening the Common Room bar and café at Yongkang Hutong (where the original Ron Mexico was located before it moved), the atmosphere of which matched Tanda’s chill personality. While that venue sadly had to close before long, as part of the The Great Brickening that laid waste to the area’s businesses, Tanda nevertheless made an impact with both Common Room and at Café de la Poste where he went back to work after Common Room’s closure.

Café de la Poste co-owner Tristan Macquet called Tanda a "stand up guy" in an interview with the Beijinger, before going on to describe him as "Smart, kind, professional, and always with a smile on his face. He's been part of the Café de la Poste community, and also the whole Dongcheng F&B scene for some years now."

News of Tanda's illness left Macquet and his colleagues shaken. Macquet recalls: "Knowing him as a vibrant and healthy young man, his sickness took us all by surprise. We are all deeply affected by what is happening to him, also as it is something that unfortunately could have happened to any of us. So the Café de la Poste team and Kíddö's friends have been working relentlessly to raise enough money to cover his medical bills. The Café itself gave RMB 5000 to the fund and Daulet Issabekov, our manager, organized several fundraising events in the past weeks in cooperation with other restaurants and bars of our area. All our thoughts of course go to Kíddö and his family in this awful situation, and we truly hope for his recovery."

QS co-owner Wang "Jim" Zheng recalls how Tanda would often stop by his place for a sandwich and drink after his shift after Café de la Poste.

“He made a ton of nice drinks for all of us anytime we went to Café de la Poste. And after work, he’d to my bar a lot. In my memory, he loved to smile, looked a little bit shy and was super gentle. When I found out he was so sick I couldn’t believe it — he is so young, and so far from home. So I just want to do something to help him.”

Uday Phalgun, who recently took over as manager at Ron Mexico, recalls how “Kíddö worked for Ron Mexico in the past. I don't know him that well, but from the times I have met him I can say he is a very soft-spoken guy, and everybody loves him.”

“It was shocking to know he has cancer, at such a young age and from what I know he was very fit and healthy,” Phalgun adds. “As foreigners, It really sucks to be away from your country, away from your loved ones, and to be in the type of situation he is in. His friends have been an amazing support for him and the expat community really stood up and helped him a lot.”

Chief among those helpful friends is Keely Stanley, who founded a WeChat group a few weeks back to quietly begin fundraising for Tanda and to keep friends up to date on his progress while he was being treated at the Japanese Friendship Hospital. Today she told the Beijinger that a relative has come to the capital and together he and Tanda flew back to Tanzania last night so that the family could be together. Stanley also spearheaded the fundraising efforts at the four hutong bars tonight.

She recalls meeting Tanda one night when she stopped in Café de la Poste because she needed some water. She and Tanda struck up a conversation and realized they lived in the same neighborhood. "It was the first time I met someone from Tanzania and I didn't know where that was. My friends who were with me made fun of me because of that, but he didn't. He's just so kind and has such a big heart."

"When he got sick, I had to figure out a way to help him. And not only because he would do it for me, but also because he has such a big heart. He's brought so much joy and happiness to our community in the years that he's spent working at bars here. And I'm just happy that he's my friend."

For more information, or to make a donation via WeChat if you can’t make it to the bars tonight, click here.

Photo: weixin.qq.com