Newsletter for MS-Tanzania

For MS partners and development workers in Tanzania.

October 2004

Editor: Information worker Michael Bech
Editor-in-chief: Coordinator Finn Petersen

Habari za East Africa

The next issue of Habari za Tanzania is coming to a mailbox near you very soon. The printing is taking place right now. The issue is dealing with ‘Sport in Tanzania ’ and will be trying to look at ways to combine sport and development work – and look into the importance of sport in Tanzanian society.

The December-January issue of Habari za Tanzania will never show. Instead it will be a joint East African effort. The info-workers from MS-Kenya and MS-Uganda were in Dar es Salaam last week to form an editorial board and discuss the layout of the new magazine and the content of the first edition.

The magazine will replace one issue of Habari za Tanzania every year and it will deal with issues related to all three East African countries. The idea is to share information, learn from partners in other countries and to create good cooperation across the East African borders. The name of the magazine will be ‘MShikamano’ (yes – just like our thematic meetings in Tanzania ) and the theme for the first issue is ‘East African Community’: Why do the politicians think a community like this will work now – when it didn’t work before?

 News from the director

I was very pleased with the committed discussions and as well the outcome of the MShikamano meeting in Morogoro last month. PAB will now react on the recommendations from the meeting to ensure that it was more than a ‘talk-shop’ and a Code of Conduct will be developed to guide our governance in our individual organisations. Further more, through the very inspiring facilitation we have all increased our knowledge of the modalities of Good Governance and not at least the impact it can have internally in our organisations.

The PAB-meeting this month will be combined with a weeks training in Policy Analysis and Lobby/Advocacy to upgrade PAB and the Programme Section skills in addressing the objectives of the new Policy Paper. The Policy Paper was officially approved of the MS Board in Denmark 27^th August.

The following article was found on the web-page of Arusha Times. The journalist has been on the TCDC Children Rights course:

Religious and social ceremonies violate children rights

Holy communion ceremonies and Church confirmation parties are among the various ways that children rights are being violated.
This was discussed among the 23 participants of the ongoing Children Rights Advocacy Training course, at the MS- Training Centre for Developmental Co-operation (TCDC), in Usa river, Arumeru district.
Hailing from Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the participants who have been relating their own experiences as far the issues of Children Rights violations are concerned in their respective areas of residence, pointed out that in most cases adults would organize events in the name of children, but actually it is them who make the most of it.
Holy communions for instance, were cited to be a case in point because while it is the children who get forced to undergo church confirmation, the adults use such events to revel in drinking sprees and endless partying.
Despite being the reason for the ceremonies, the children would always be left out in practically everything, having to queue behind adults at meals, ordered to keep quite while adults talk and forced to retire to bed early so that the adult can enjoy their excesses ‘in peace’.
The participants observed this during the course’s initial session to discuss the United Nations’ convention of Children rights and how they are being breached locally purposely or accidentally.
The participants also addressed the issue of modern wedding cards, most of which coming with the ultimate condition of, ‘Children are strictly not allowed!’ This according to ‘Children rights advocates’, is a moral breach of the child’s rights, because it purposely discriminates the youngsters, by barring them from social functions, a right which is stipulated in the UN convention of Children rights.
The course participants lashed at the usual practices in which, children get dressed up to color wedding ceremonies as pages, line up to sing for politicians in public events, or even being undermined at even those events being held in their honor.
The annual, ‘African Child Day’, for instance, which is usually observed on each 16^th  June, is usually hijacked by the adults, in terms of the whole organisation, declaration and official speeches, while the children end up being just items for display during the preceding shows.
Despite representing over four countries, the participants discovered that all Children in the sub- Sahara countries are exposed to similar events that violate their rights.
Organised by MS-Tanzania and MS-TCDC, Arusha, in conjuction with the KULEANA Children centre of Mwanza, the two-week course, which started on Monday, 27^th September going on until Friday, 8^th October, together with the other Policy Advocacy course also taking place at the same time, were both officially opened by the centre’s principal, Ulla Godtfredsen.
The Children Rights Advocacy (CRA) Course facilitators include, Steven Ndosi of TCDC-Arusha, Abdallah Ibrahim, from Kuleana-Mwanza and the freelance trainer, Kachepa Mango from Dar es Salaam .

By Valentine Marc Nkwame, Arusha Times

Video-statements from partners

The web-editor from MS-DK, Peter Bischoff, is visiting MS-Tanzania at the moment. He has been introducing the local maintenance of web pages, the new intranet and the use of photoshop to the information workers from Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania .

Apart from that, Peter Bischoff is filming statements from and small portraits of partners and DW’s to be put on the MS-homepage. WAMATA, UVUKI and TAYEN will be portrayed on the small video-clips.

Contact for the Newsletter: michael_bech@net.dialog.dk – mobile 0744 - 87 40 80