Newsletter for MS Tanzania

September 2005

Editor: Information worker Lisbeth Jensen

Editor-in-chief: Director Jan Kjaer

Let’s promote a gender sensitive atmosphere

It was a pleasure to meet you all at the Morogoro MShikamano meeting. I had indeed looked forward to this important dialogue with all partners, PAB, development workers and staff. The Annual Meeting and the MShikamano meeting is where we all find out that we are together and that we work along the same line.

The two topics, Intercultural Co-operation and Code of the Conduct proved both relevant and complicated.

In my opening speech I said: “Development is not a smooth process. Let’s be honest. Development means conflict and disagreement, too. That is why it is necessary that we try to find solutions to the differences and obstacles we come across and not try to widen the gaps. In this way we will succeed.” And this is exactly how we proceeded.

The participation was generally very good at this year’s MShikamano meeting. But in my final remarks I mentioned a.o. gender as an area of concern in the programme. At the meeting almost 50 % of the partner participants were women, but their participation was inadequate for sure. It was a handful of men dominating the discussions, whether on Code of Conduct or Culture. However, the women should not be blamed. Instead we should ask ourselves why they didn’t participate that actively. In the corridors between the sessions the women argued that they had a lot to say, but there was no space left for them. In the future, MS Tanzania as organizer needs to enhance women’s participation by putting in mechanisms that ensure that women feel free to air their views. Facilitators and planners should actively promote a gender sensitive atmosphere and participants should acknowledge that real development requires that both woman and men take part. 

Jan Kjaer, interim director

News from the director

I took over this interesting job as interim director in the end of July after Finn Petersen, who left for studies in Ireland. He is his family are all fine and they convey their greetings. I will only be on this office until October 10^th, when Flemming Winther Olsen will take over on a permanent base. The warmest welcome to Flemming!

In this relative short period we have welcomed 6 new development workers, among them Lisbeth, the new information worker and editor of this Newsletter. We have had an MShikamano meeting. We have introduced the new MS logo and finished the MS Tanzania part of the new framework agreement with Danida in Denmark.

These were the more positive developments. But there are also setbacks. I am sad to announce that programme officer Simon Lugandu has decided to leave us after almost two years of service to take up a new interesting assignment on Zanzibar. Simon will be missed for his hard work and humor.

As you were informed earlier, on August 13^th, robbers tried to steal four cars in our compound and finally got away with three brand new Toyota Hi-Luxes. Two cars are still missing. We still hope to be able to find the people orchestrating this robbery. We have already taken some security measures (a.o. installed panic buttons in the guest house) and will do more in the nearest future. As partners, development workers and staff I urge you to be on alert and take security serious.

Finally, I want to stress, that I have liked working with all of you and I have learnt a lot. I thank for the good cooperation with Partners, DWs, staff and external stakeholders. October 17^th I will go back to Denmark to continue my work as information officer in MS Copenhagen. 

Tutaonana.

Jan Kjaer, interim director

News from the PAB

The next PAB meeting will be on the 6^th and 7^th of October. PAB will on the first day discuss the results from the Mshikamano meeting in Morogoro and decide on the way forward for the Code of Conduct and the Cultural Cooperation.

The second day will be discussions on how MS Tanzania and its partners can engage in advocacy world wide on issues like Millennium Development Goals, Trade Agreements and Globalisation and how MS Tanzania can strengthen partners in local and national advocacy.

MShikamano – meeting 

Partners, DDW’s and CO staff had a very good MShikamano meeting in Morogoro. The subject on cultural cooperation created many good laughs and a better feeling for the Tanzanian and Danish culture. But also an underlining of the cultural differences internally in Tanzania, which is an important aspect to remember when working with development and changes.

Dress code, food, manners and language can not only be the roots of laughing together, but also misunderstandings and blockage of progress.

The discussion of the Code of Conduct did not get as far as expected, although there were very good discussions. The PAB will develop on the discussion and design a way forward for the implementation and monitoring.

MS new logo symbolise the spreading effect

If you drop something in a still water, you will see the ripples go in bigger and bigger circles. That is the picture MS want to create in peoples mind with the new logo.

The new logo was presented at the Mshikamano meeting I Morogoro, and during the coming weeks it will be put on all MS stationary and cars.

But the new logo does not mean a new MS and a new approach. MS still hopes, that the thing dropped in the water is the result of the partnership between MS and the local partners. The ripples will then be the effect spreading to the local communities and further out in the global communities.

Danish prime minister coming to Tanzania

In October the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh will arrive on a three-day state visitto Tanzania.

During the visit he wants to get an update on the elections by talking to the government and the opposition. Monday the 10^th of October he will be in Dar es Salaam. Tuesday the 11^th he will be on a whole day field visit to Iringa to see Danish funded projects. Wednesday he will visit Zanzibar again meeting both president and opposition. From Zanzibar he continues to Mozambique.

For further information se www.stm.dk

International NGO’s suggest changes to NGO Act

The amendments to the NGO Act will be very difficult for the International NGO’s to fulfil. Especially the signatures on the application for registration will give many NGO’s difficulties. The founding members of the NGO’s will long be dead and gone. Like MS, it was founded just after The Second World War in the late 1940ties. The International NGO’s are legal organisations in their homelands. The branches in the different countries are not member based, but run by employed staff.

Many NGO’s have cooperation agreements with the Tanzanian Government. MS is working on a bilateral agreement from the early 60ties.

The second problem in the Act for International NGO’s is the line “They shall refrain from doing any act which is likely to cause misunderstanding among NGO’s”. The term “misunderstanding” is not defined in the law, and that makes it impossible to comply with the law.

53 International NGO’s, among them MS, have signed a letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Vice Presidents Office, Honourable Mary Mushi to ask her to take action on this matter.

MDG Campaign launch

Kampeni ya “Ondoa Umaskini”, or the Millennium Development Goal Campaign Coalition was officially launched the 10. of September in Dar es Salaam.

The guiding policy of the campaign is “No more broken promises.....every Tanzanian has the right to better quality services”.

The main thrust of the campaign is to build the culture and movement of people at community level to begin to hold our leaders accountable to achieve national development targets.

The campaign specific demands focus on three basic social aspects – education, health and governance and accountability.

The coalition is made up of over 50 civil society organizations, and the secretariat is at MS partner TANGO’s office.

For more information se www.tango.tz

Danish journalists visit

During October MS Tanzania will receive three Danish journalist students. They will research on the progress on achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Together with other students from the Danish School of Journalism they will contribute to the coming issue of MSikamano for MS East Africa with stories from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The students will be visiting some of MS’ partners during their stay.

MS Tanzania has also invited Danish journalists to cover the elections the 30. Of October, but up to now, we don’t know if anybody will accept the invitation.

Danish local funding to former partner

A local committee of MS members in the northern part of Denmark has started fundraising in the local community to help a MS Tanzania partner. It is the CBRP (Community Based Rehabilitation Program) on Ukerewe in the Victoria Lake.

The first 4000 Dkr. or 800.000 Tsh. have already been sent to CBRP. The donation has paid for five complicated operation on children born with disabilities.

CBRP has been a MS Partner for many years and is now in the phase out year. The contact between Ukerewe and northern Denmark goes through former development workers.

New concept for Africa course for development workers

The African Orientation Course on TCDC in Arusha to train new DW’s for their life as development workers in an African context has been totally changed. The six new DW’s and their spouses were the first group to follow the new curriculum.

The course is still four weeks but the trainers focus in the new curriculum much more on methodological competencies and tools than looser cultural discussions.

The first week the main object is “Culture and development”. The classes focus on interpersonal skills in intercultural settings, gender and analyzing cultures. The next three weeks the main object is “Approaches and tools”. The trainers go through advocacy, organizational capacity building, conflict analysis, MS policy on partnership (as seen by a MS partner), participatory poverty assessment, logical framework approach (LFA) and monitoring and evaluation.

During the course the participants also had the opportunity to practice the tools on field visits to local organizations.

Three of the participants were former DW’s in other countries, and they praised the change compared to their first African Orientation Course on TCDC some years ago.

New DW’s

The program has been boosted with six new DW’s at one time. The new DW’s started first of August on TCDC and arrived at the country office four weeks later. Here they had a good introduction week and they were installed in their houses. They were also introduced to their partner organizations. A good introduction to the MS Tanzania programme was then to participate in the MShikamano meeting in Morogoro. After the meeting most of the new DW’s went back to TCDC for Kiswahili training.

Mogens Krog will be working as cooperative advisor for UVUKI in Kibara. He has arrived with his spouse Birgitte Krogh and baby Tobias.

Lars Bernhard will be working as advisor for JEBA in Bagamoyo. He brings Kathleen Stiebritz as spouse.

Signe Camilla Gossmann will be working as advisor at YAV in Dar es Salaam.

Christoph Lodemann will be working as advisor at Morogoro Paralegal.

Lene Godiksen will be working as advisor at WAMATA Head Office, Dar es Salaam. She brings spouse Kasper Jacoby and the children Oliver and Karoline.

Lisbeth Jensen will be working as information worker at CO MS Tanzania, Dar es Salaam. She is accompanied by spouse Thorkil Green Nielsen.

New responsibilities in the program section

Because of Simon leaving the MS Tanzania, the following distribution of partners and areas of work has been agreed upon: