Category Archives: Tanzania
Tanzania : Mkombozi, reaching out to vulnerable street children
An innovative programme
Mkombozi means liberator or emancipator in Swahili and is the name adopted by an innovative project which reaches out to over 1000 vulnerable children in the Kilamanjaro and Arusha regions of Tanzania.
In addition to working with children already living / working on the streets, Mkombozi works to end the abuse and neglect of children, to ensure that children’s rights are recognised, and to identify opportunities for intervention before a child migrates to the street.
One of the things they do is to research the root causes of the complex issues surrounding child vulnerability in Tanzania. This inevitably means research about the failure of the education system and why children drop out or play truant from education and end up on the streets. One of their documents ‘Handbook: Methodology for delivering and practicing non-formal education in Tanzania’ was originally designed for Mkombozi educators who were working with street children but has now been made available for a wider audience and particularly for cross-application in a school-based context in Tanzania. The authors argue that the Mkombozi NFE principles and practice would be applicable in a schools based context and would be of value to the Tanzanian education system. You can download a PDF of the Handbook: Methodology for delivering and practicing non-formal education in Tanzania.
Family poverty is another areas of research for Mkombozi because many children end up on the streets because they have migrated to towns to find money or work. Mkombozi have distributed 15000 copies of an information guide for families which points to services available in the 4 communities which can be used at little or no cost to try and stem this tide of migration. Their work to support families is wide ranging and includes:
- Recruiting and training community mentors as conflict mediators and positive role models for children in the community.
- Running the first Big Brother Big Sister mentoring project in East Africa.
- Establishing Peer Support Groups in four schools and at Mkombozi’s residential centre. In these groups, children are trained to identify and assist other children in distress, and teachers act as mentors.
- Mkombozi youth workers mediate family conflict so that dislocated / homeless children can return home.
In conclusion, here are some of the reasons why children run to the streets in Tanzania according to Mkombozi:
Family breakdown through divorce, separation, death, single parenting and birth out of wedlock mean that many families with children lack adequate support. These families are at a higher risk of violating children’s rights because aggression is accepted within the familial environment. Combined with a prevailing community attitude of non-intervention and a lack of skills to mediate family conflicts, many children run away from home for a life on the streets.
Visit the Mkombozi website to find out more about their work.
Suggested Books
Related articles
- Mkombozi Group : Tanzania (kiva.org)
Tanzania : National Malaria Control Programme
The malaria control programme
The Tanzanian National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) says that 17 to 20 million malaria cases occur in Tanzania per year, accounting for over 40% of all outpatient attendance. Of those cases, more than 80,000 people die from the disease each year. Malaria is the number one killer in Tanzania and causes 36% of deaths of children under five years old.
In Tanzania, Voices national and district level advocacy work enhances the effectiveness of existing behavior change communication (BCC) programs while strengthening the national level advocacy focus on applying resources effectively.
Multimedia
The ‘Voices’ multimedia campaign uses TV, radio, posters and music (including national music stars) to complement access to malaria treatment with Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies. You can find out more about the Voices campaign on the VOICES for a malaria-free future/Tanzania website. There is a lot to explore on the website
Suggested Books
Related articles
- The malaria mosquito is disappearing — but it is not just good news (eurekalert.org)
- Mystery drop in mosquito numbers (bbc.co.uk)
- Africa’s leaders are committed to winning the fight against malaria | Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (guardian.co.uk)
Tanzania : BikeTown Africa bikes for HIV/AIDS workers
Bicycles for healthcare workers
I always find it interesting when I hear about effective small scale projects, particularly health initiatives. In my mail this morning was a press release (see below) about an ongoing project by Bicycling magazine to provide bicycles for healthcare workers in rural areas of Africa. BikeTown Africa is a partnership between Bicycling Magazine, Rodale Press, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kona Bicycle Company and UTi. The project donates bicycles to healthcare workers in Africa, particularly those involved in HIV/AIDS related work.
In Its Fourth Year, Bicycling’s BikeTown Africa Continues to Help Systemically Increase the Number of HIV/AIDS Patients Treated
Emmaus, PA (November 24, 2009) – Bicycling magazine, published by Rodale, announced that its BikeTown Africa program will be bringing bikes to healthcare workers in Tanzania on World AIDS Day 2009. Once again, Kona Bicycling Company, Bristol Myers Squibb’s SECURE THE FUTURE®, and the Uti Charitable Foundation have partnered to make the annual BikeTown Africa program possible.
BikeTown Africa, the non-profit, international expansion of Bicycling’s seven-year-old BikeTown USA program, was created to help healthcare workers with the delivery of home health aids and services in Africa’s rural and remote areas.
“BikeTown Africa brings bikes to healthcare workers, making it possible for them to reach HIV/AIDS patients living in remote areas that would ordinarily be inaccessible without a bike,†said Loren Mooney, editor in chief, Bicycling magazine. “In Africa, bikes are more than just transportation, they help to save lives by bringing treatment and education to people living in rural communities with no access to care. Bicycling is grateful that Bristol Myers Squibb’s SECURE THE FUTURE, Kona Bikes, and the Uti Charitable Foundation continue to make BikeTown Africa possible through their support.â€
Dr. Travis Stork, host of the syndicated talk show The Doctors, will join BikeTown Africa in Kibaha for World AIDS Day. “As a physician and avid cyclist, I know the health benefits a bike can bring,†said Dr. Stork. “In Africa, a bike brings much needed access to healthcare and health education to people who live far from a town or even running water. Being able to bring bikes to these communities and see first hand how they’ll be used is a humbling experience and not one I’ll forget easily.â€
BikeTown Africa will begin its program in Tanzania this year on World AIDS Day beginning in the community of Kibaha and then continue to Bukoba. In these rural parts of Tanzania, nearly 400 bicycles will be distributed to AIDS prevention organizations committed to fighting against HIV transmission, caring for HIV/AIDS-affected people and promoting development. Earlier this year, BikeTown Africa donated almost 300 bikes to healthcare workers providing care and education to people afflicted with HIV/AIDS and other diseases in the Orange Farm township of South Africa.
Now in its fourth year, BikeTown Africa has brought nearly 2,000 bikes to healthcare workers in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, and Swaziland.
According to the 2008 Country Profile on Tanzania released by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Tanzania has remained stable in recent years, but there has been a recent increase in HIV prevalence among older age groups, with the HIV prevalence rate among women ages 30 to 34 reaching 13%. This study also suggests that the greatest challenge facing Tanzania is inadequate resources to deliver quality health services to the Tanzanian population.
BikeTown Africa will be operated in conjunction with two programs of Bristol-Myers Squibb SECURE THE FUTURE, an unprecedented $150 million corporate commitment to fighting HIV and AIDS in Africa. SECURE THE FUTURE has supported more than 240 projects throughout sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade.
Kona Bikes has specially designed, constructed and donated the Kona AfricaBike for BikeTown Africa. All BikeTown Africa Bikes are tailored to best suit local conditions while also requiring a minimum of maintenance. Spare parts and the training of local individuals on the repair and service of the bikes will ensure the bikes are fully utilized. To view Kona’s AfricaBike, visit www.konaworld.com.
Participating again this year is the Uti Charitable Foundation. Their funding of the transportation and logistics services will ensure the BikeTown Africa bicycles reach healthcare workers in even the remotest areas of Africa.
For BikeTown Africa photos and blog updates, visit www.bicycling.com/biketownafrica.
About Bicycling
As the world’s biggest bicycling magazine, claiming spots on Adweek’s Hot List three years in a row, Rodale Inc.’s Bicycling is the voice of cycling, providing the stories on the personalities, trends, and techniques behind the sport. Appealing to readers of every ability and interest level, the magazine features expert reviews of the latest equipment as well as training and fitness tips. Published 11 times a year, Bicycling is the magazine for the athlete for whom the bicycle is the centerpiece of an active lifestyle.
About the Kona Bicycle Company:
The Kona Bicycle Company designs, manufactures and distributes more than 60 models of purpose-built, high-performance mountain, road and urban bicycles. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Ferndale, Washington, USA, Kona bicycles are distributed worldwide in more than 60 countries through independent specialty bicycle dealers. Kona funds several professional road, mountain and cyclo-cross racing teams that include World Cup Champions, World Champions and National Champions. www.konaworld.com.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb and SECURE THE FUTURE®
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and delivering innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information, please visit www.bms.com.
SECURE THE FUTURE® is Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s flagship philanthropic program that provides care and support for women and children affected with HIV/AIDS in Africa. It is the largest corporate philanthropic commitment of its kind to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. Since 1999, the program has funded more than $150 million in programs in 20 African countries, with special emphasis on community treatment support programs, care for children and building infrastructure. For more information, please visit www. securethefuture.com.
New Technology Helps Young African Journalists Make Their Mark
I love writing about training initiatives! It is so exciting to see people changing their own lives.
Since 2006 the Voices of Africa Media Foundation has been training young journalists in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa.
The foundation uses professional training materials and mobile phone technology to train reporters to create objective news in the form of written and video reports.
- Mobile phone camera rivals quality of professional camera
- Barriers between interviewer and subject lowered by using mobile phone instead of camera
- Cultural and language barriers to the media lowered by working with local youth>
- Talented, unemployed youth targeted
- News stories uploaded to training platform via internet or mobile phone (GPRS)
- Building a marketplace for assignments for our reporters through partnerships
- Providing visibility of local news published by talented reporters
- Creating a pool of professional independent community reporters
These young reporters are now making short video reports (on their mobiles) with the guidance of local professionals, interactive learning and online coaching. The best get their work published on publishing platforms such as Africa News.
Olivier Nyirubugara puts their success down to the rise of mobile wireless technology.
Thanks to tremendous progress achieved by the General Packet Radio System (GPRS), the wireless communication protocol, it is now possible for Africans to send articles and images (still and moving) about events taking place in their countries without using a computer and without having traditional internet connection.
You can find out more about Voices of Africa HERE.
You can see a variety of mobile reports on the Voices of Africa website including:
Kenya: Sack vegetables prove efficient
Kenya: How museum guard turned tree planter
African Social Networking Inspiration: Ida Horner, Ethnic Supplies
I’ve been a follower of Ida Horner on Twitter for a while now and I enjoy following her tweets and her exploits. For me she is an inspiration. She’s a member of Ecademy which is a business social networking site. Today she was the subject of their ‘Social Networking Monday Morning Story‘.  Over the last few years Ida has slowly grown a collaborative network and has become an inspiration for us all. She now helps women to help themselves in Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda.
Read her story HERE.
The African Archaeology Network
Studies in the African past
The first in the book series Studies in the African Past was published in 2001, consisting of reports produced by the archaeology research project, ‘Human Responses and Contribution to Environmental Change’. The new research initiative developed out of this project is known as the ‘African Archaeology Network’. This is investigating how ancient African societies exploited resources, developed settlements and established long-distance trade networks. A pan-African project, it aims to develop new models to understand how ancient communities adjusted and responded to political and environmental upheavals; and to demonstrate the potential for more research in the different areas of African archaeology.
Consisting of ten chapters, this volume includes nine scientific reports and one review emanating from Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, the Island of Mafia in Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. Topics covered include: dense ancient settlements along the Sahara desert; mappings of historical settlements in south-west Nigeria; excavations of the areas around Lake Victoria in Uganda; ancient iron industries; evidence of the domestication of animals and the importation of goods into Tanzania from India and the Nile Valley in the Neolithic age; contact with early European traders and travellers from 160, and how these paved the way for the extension of the western European system into African communities; and hunter- gather and pastoral adaptive strategies in the Namib desert.
How to get a copy
The African Archaeology Network: Reports and a Review
Suggested Books
Africa Development : Evaluating Accomplishments
Seven presumed success stories
Africa’s success: evaluating accomplishments, R.I. Rotberg, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2007
Evaluating the seven African success stories
Chinese influence is growing in the region, mainly in Mozambique and Ghana. Chinese investors are contributing significantly to the growth but colonial methods of Chinese operations characterised by extraction and exploitation have led to serious protests in some areas. Inexpensive Chinese imports are affecting the domestic market.
This paper evaluates the seven presumed African success stories: Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda. It gives a detailed analysis of the economic, political, governance and human development scenarios in each country, and identifies the emerging challenges. Although all the seven countries are growing rapidly, they face, among others, the following problems:
- job creation lags behind promises and expectations
- acute shortage of electricity hinders exploitation of newly found resources
- road and rail infrastructure remains inadequate in all expect South Africa and Botswana
- growing indigenous wealth is accompanied by severe income inequalities
- high incidence of tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS
- high levels of corruption
How to get a copy
Download pdf of full text of document
Africa Culture : The Sukuma of Tanzania
This article by Mark Bessire can be found on philip.greenspun.com
Sukuma Culture and Tanzania
by Mark H.C. Bessire
The Sukuma culture is the largest in Tanzania. In many ways, the Sukuma are experiencing a renewed interest in traditional culture. Some think that the strength of this movement is found in the reconciliation of the modern and traditional. Cultural traditions appear to be spreading through contemporary means and not as a contest between the old and the new. Sukuma traditional arts and culture are thriving as much as the economic growth in the region.
Languages and Education in Africa, Book
Languages and Education in Africa a comparative and transdisciplinary analysis
Edited by BIRGIT BROCK-UTNE &Â INGSE SKATTUM 2009 paperback 356 pages US$64.00 ISBN 978-1-873927-17-5
Languages and Education in Africa: A Comparative and Transdisciplinary Analysis (Bristol Papers in Education)
The theme of this book cuts across disciplines. Contributors to this volume are specialized in education and especially classroom research as well as in linguistics, most being transdisciplinary themselves. Around 65 sub-Saharan languages figure in this volume as research objects: as means of instruction, in connection with teacher training, language policy, lexical development, harmonization efforts, information technology, oral literature and deaf communities.
The co-existence of these African languages with English, French and Arabic is examined as well. This wide range of languages and subjects builds on recent field work, giving new empirical evidence from 17 countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as to transnational matters like the harmonization of African transborder languages.
As the Editors – a Norwegian social scientist and a Norwegian linguist, both working in Africa – have wanted to give room for African voices, the majority of contributions to this volume come from Africa.
Contents
Foreword (Ayo Bamgbose), 11-12
Series Editor’s Preface (Michael Crossley), 13-14
Ingse Skattum & Birgit Brock-Utne. Introduction, 15-54
PART 1. General Considerations on Language and Education
Martha A.S. Qorro Parents’ and Policy Makers’ Insistence on Foreign Languages as Media of Education in Africa: restricting access to quality education – for whose benefit?, 57-82
Kwesi Kwaa Prah Mother-Tongue Education in Africa for Emancipation and Development: towards the intellectualisation of African languages, 83-104
Hassana Alidou Promoting Multilingual and Multicultural Education in Francophone Africa: challenges and perspectives, 105-131
Rajend Mesthrie Assumptions and Aspirations Regarding African Languages in South African Higher Education: a sociolinguistic appraisal, 133-151
PART 2. Language as a Means of Instruction and as a Subject in Formal Education
Mamadou Lamine Traoré L’utilisation des langues nationales dans le système éducatif malien: historique, défis et perspectives, 155-161
Tal Tamari The Role of National Languages in Mali’s Modernising Islamic Schools (Madrasa), 163-174
Irène Rabenoro National Language Teaching as a Tool for Malagasy Learners’ Integration into Globalisation, 175-188
Mekonnen Alemu Gebre Yohannes Implications of the Use of Mother Tongues versus English as Languages of Instruction for Academic Achievement in Ethiopia, 189-199
Silvester Ron Simango Weaning Africa from Europe: toward a mother-tongue education policy in Southern Africa, 201-212
Lazarus M. Miti & Kemmonye C. Monaka The Training of Teachers of African Languages in Southern Africa with Special Reference to Botswana and Zambia, 213-221
Halima Mohammed Mwinsheikhe Spare No Means: battling with the English/Kiswahili dilemma in Tanzanian secondary school classrooms, 223-234
PART 3. Language Standardisation and Harmonisation
Herbert Chimhundu Language, Dialect and Region: the handling of language variation in Shona dictionaries, 237-252
Nhira Edgar Mberi Harmonisation of the Shona Varieties: Doke revisited, 253-262
Nomalanga Mpofu Adjectives in Shona, 263-273
Samukele Hadebe From Standardisation to Harmonisation: a survey of the sociolinguistic and political conditions for the creation of Nguni in Southern Africa, 275-285
PART 4. Beyond Formal Education
Kristin Vold Lexander La communication médiatisée par les technologies de les technologies de l’information et de la communication: la porte d’accès au domaine de l’éscrit pour les langues africaines?, 289-299
Aïssatou Mbodj-Pouye & Cécile Van Den Avenne Comment les langues se mélangent-elles à l’écrit? Pratiques actuelles de deux agriculteurs passés par une école bilingue (franco-bambara) au Mali, 301-312
Foluso O. Okebukola Towards an Enriched Beginning Reading Programme in Yoruba, 313-332
Philemon Akach, Eline Demey, Emily Matabane, Mieke Van Herreweghe & Myriam Vermeerbergen
What is South African Sign Language? What is the South African Deaf Community?, 333-347
Kiswahili chapter in Language Adaptation Book
Development and modernization of Kiswahili
The following book, edited by Florian Coulmas, has a chapter about Kiswahili by Professor David P. B. Massamba of the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
Language Adaptation, Cambridge University Press edited by Florian Coulmas, 2009,
Abstract
Language Adaptation examines the process by which a speech community is forced to adopt an active role in making its language suitable for changing functional requirements. This wide-ranging collection of essays looks at this phenomenon from a variety of historical and synchronic perspectives, and brings together the work of a number of leading scholars in the field. Several different languages are examined at different stages of their history, including Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Kiswahili, German and Hindi. This well-informed book is a significant contribution to the existing literature on language planning, and is the first to use one theoretical concept to deal with the relationship between natural and deliberate language change. It shows that language adaptation is a particular aspect of language change, and thus establishes a link between the social and the historical study of language. It will appeal to graduate students and professionals in linguistics and the social sciences, as well as to practitioners of language planning.Preface
1. Language adaptation Florian Coulmas;
2. Terminology development in the revival of a language: the case of contemporary Hebrew Chaim Rabin;
3. Communicating in Arabic: problems and prospects Muhammad H. Ibrahim;
4. An assessment of the development and modernization of the Kiswahili language in Tanzania David P. B. Massamba;
5. Aspects of modernization in Indian languages C. J. Daswani;
6. Adaptation processes in Chinese: word formation Fritz Pasierbsky;
7. The development of Japanese society and the modernization of Japanese during the Meiji restoration Makoto Takada;
8. Lexical aspects of the modernization of Japanese Seiju Sugito;
9. The transition from Latin to German in the natural sciences and its consequences Uwe Porksen;
10. Greek and Latin as a permanent source of scientific terminology: the German case Konrad Ehlich;
11. Internationalisms: identical vocabularies in European languages Peter Braun;
12. International terminology W. Nedobity;
13. Democracy and the crisis of normative linguistics Florian Coulmas;Â Index.
More information
See http://linguistlist.org/issues/20/20-1605.html
For publisher’s information see: http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521107474
How to get a copy
Tanzania : Assessing the Impact of Commodity Prices on Producers
Effect of commodity prices
The Centre for Development Policy and Research draws on the broad range of development expertise at the School of Oriental and African Studies to engage in innovative policy-oriented research and training on crucial development issues.
The Centre for Development Policy and Research is pleased to announce the publication of Development Viewpoint #27, “Assessing the Impact of Commodity Prices on Producers in Low-Income Countries†Drawing in part on a study of  Tanzania, the author, Hannah Bargawi, Research Officer of CDPR, explains how local producers of agro-commodities in poorer countries have not benefited proportionately from the rise in commodity prices in recent years, and are also likely to suffer disproportionately from their recent decline.
How to get a copy
Download a PDF of the paper Assessing the Impact of Commodity Prices on Producers in Low-Income Countries
Suggested Book
Edutainment : The SADC, Drama for Life Programme
Education through drama
The Drama for Life Programme was developed by SADC in partnership with GTZ. It aims to build capacity in the area of HIV/AIDS and education through drama and theatre. Launched in 2006, the three-year programme runs in all SADC member states which include Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The programme plans to stimulate a stronger use of Applied Drama and Theatre practices (Drama in education, Drama Therapy, Playback Theatre, Theatre in education, Theatre of the oppressed, Community Theatre and Theatre for Development) in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the region.
