Newsletter for MS-Tanzania

For MS partners and development workers in Tanzania .

March 2004

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

In for a bit of a dogfight

Last issue of Habari za Tanzania was about democracy in Tanzania . The partners were all offered to present ‘their own democracy’ in the partnerships in a few lines. Not one single partner took up the challenge. I hope it does not tell the story of your democracy…!?

This time I try to get the DW’s involved in the process of writing and describing life in the development world in Tanzania . They will have to write articles about ‘Children – and their rights’ which is the theme for the coming issue of Habari za Tanzania . I will have this issue ‘on the street’ in the beginning of April.

News from the director

The recently finished Annual Meeting discussed some very important issues for the future of the MS programme globally as well as locally. Globally, how do MS reach its vision with a sharper profile and in a more focused way? Could the evaluation report of MS be instrumental in that perspective? What were the findings? What were the recommendations? And how did we see the way forward? The Annual Meeting discussed the issues on how they were perceived in a Tanzanian context. The contributions from the AM will be very valuable in the discussion at Annual General Meeting in Denmark in April, were the PAB chair and the Director will participate. Locally, the draft MS-Tanzania Policy Paper 2004-2008 was presented and issues clarified related to the interpretation of the policies. It was acknowledged that it was more in line with the MSiS Policy Paper, but it was a concern that this paper might move us from the grassroots partners. This and other concerns were clarified and it is believed to be a good tool to assist achieving our goals over the next five years. In the end of the AM, new PAB representatives were elected so the new PAB look as follows:

Partner representatives:
John Wihallah         UVIMTA
Zaa Twalingeti       TANGO
Evelyn Ruzindaza    WAMATA

DW representatives:
Kjeld Silkjaer                  TRC Mugumu
Tina Loevbom Petersen    LHRC
Jesper Joensson              CORDS

Independent representatives:            
Rosemary Thomas
Josephine Kimaro
Alex Mgongolwa

At the PAB inaugural meeting Rosemary Thomas was elected chairman for the next two years.             

Focus on your AIDS-policy

I met many of you at the MS Annual Meeting but for those of you I did not meet, my name is Kirsten Madsen. I am a short term Development Worker who is advising on HIV/AIDS and assisting the MS Country Offices in Kenya , Tanzania , Zimbabwe and Mozambique on how to mainstream HIV/AIDS into their programmes. See also the MS' HIV/AIDS Guidebook that all partner organisations should have received by now.

I will only have time to visit a few partners while I am in Tanzania , but at least I can inform all of you that the MS-Tanzania Country Office now has three shelves in the library with updated materials about HIV/AIDS.

Unfortunately it is for reading here only, unless it is a brochure or a few pages you can copy. Also there will be a number of videos available to watch here or you can talk with the receptionist about borrowing them for a short period of time. Also at TCDC in USA River different videos as well as written materials will be available in the library about HIV/AIDS. Once the list of documents is completed I will e-mail it to all of you so you can know what is here.

Should you need further information about HIV/AIDS do not hesitate to write me on the following e-mail address: kirsten@pvpm.dk

Yours in the fight against HIV/AIDS - Kirsten Madsen

Your Newsletter

This is issue number 10 of the ‘Newsletter for MS-Tanzania’. Do you think, we shall continue?

The Newsletter is basically meant as a fast news flow of information to all MS-partners from other partners, DW’s, PO ’s, MS-DK and the Country Office. In order to make it a fast media we have a very short deadline for input from you (last weekday of the month) and there is no layout or fancy printing involved.

The Newsletter is most of all an electronically media for your email box, but we still send out the Newsletter as hard-copy also. In the future that will change when all partners and DW’s have access to an internet-connection in their neighbourhood.

In the beginning the Newsletter had some stories from DW’s, but recently it has turned into one-way communication – news from the Country Office to you.

Remember that this Newsletter is supposed to be a way of communicating with each other – presenting new ideas, sharing experience, informing on practical issues and networking. Please use it that way. It will slowly dry out without your input.

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