Following my warm welcome, I am whisked away for language training in the town of Morogoro for 2 weeks. We stayed at a hotel run by nuns. Here I am discussing swahili with another fellow learner (Chiang is a surgeon from China also trying to learn swahili).
The first day I arrive in the office I am called upon to work on a logical framework for a rush proposal. While it was a little bit stressful trying to piece together information for a program I yet know nothing about, it was a good learning introduction. My job involves working with the M and E Coordinators throughout the country and creating a country wide M and E framework and process.
After one and a half weeks of office work I am asked to travel to the north of the country, Geita, to assist with a mid-term evaluation of their child labour project. Gold mining is big business in Geita. It employs men, women and even children. Below is a picture of one of the largest gold mining operations in Geita.
Children are not likely to work with large companies, rather are most often recruited from small scale mining companies providing children with toxic work but steady income. The toxicity comes from separating the gold from the dirt and sand using liquid mercury. My organization strives to get children out of the mines and back into school. There are several strategies being implemented to accomplish this large task. Some of which involve improving the income and livelihood of families at the household level through village savings groups. In addition, we are educating communities, government and village leaders about quality education. Further, we are also advocating to the government to build the capacity of schools to accommodate the stream of children in need of education. Currently, the schools are heavily under-resourced with limited teachers, supplies and infrastructure. I witnessed one school where there was a ratio of 100 children to 1 teacher.
Together with the evaluation team in Geita, we collected data from schools, teachers, students, and community groups. Below is a picture of a focus group discussion in one of the nearby villages.
It was great to have the opportunity to listen to the community members share their views. However, all of our interactions are conducted in Swahili. This provides me with a big reminder and incentive that I need to continue studying this language. Below is a picture of one of the staff members after interviewing the children at school.
During one of our visits to conduct interviews with the students, I witness a male teacher beating 10 of the girl students with a stick. They are beaten in front of the entire school and I witness them being hit over and over again (10 - 15 times). I feel completely powerless to do anything as I am representing my organization. Therefore, I stand in the doorway and glare at him hoping to communicate my disapproval. Unfortunately, my plan backfires and he merely moves the beatings inside where I cannot see. In Tanzania, it is legislated that teachers are allowed to hit children up to 3 times. (How compassionate right?) Unfortunately, this provision is not enforced, and teachers are given much leeway to discipline as they see fit.
Below is a picture of an extracurricular program involving drums at a nearby school. (This picture was not taken at the school where the beatings were conducted).
Following field work and data collection for the child labour project, I am provided with the opportunity to attend a Village Health Day. Men, women and children are invited to attend a dispensary for education, information, free vaccinations and check-ups for their children. Below is a picture of a dispensary and line up of women and children awaiting medical attention.
I witness an abundance of young mothers lining up for hours at a time to get their child examined. Young mothers are toting as many as 4 children. One on their back, one on their front, and two little ones walking beside. You can see their struggle trying to transport these children several kilometers without any help. Some children are tired and are crying and the young mothers are doing their best to accommodate everyone. I am always amazed at how much these women love their children. I have yet to witness a women speak harshly to their children, even though the women look exhausted, are underfed, and are committed to endless work.
Below is a picture of a community health worker educating a group of women about breast feeding.
The community health worker uses pictures to clarify her message as many women in the village are illiterate.
Part of the discussion involves the importance of men being involved in their children's lives. There was a small handful of men who attended the village health day with their wives. They were encouraged to set an example for other men in their village. Men in Tanzania are the decision makers and money holders for the majority of families. Women are still often viewed as inferior to men. As such, if a child becomes sick, the woman is often powerless to even travel to a health facility to get medication unless approved by their father. In addition, if a women goes into labour and there are complications with the birth, she often is without money to seek emergency attention unless the husband is nearby (and approves the expense). This results in a high rate of maternal and newborn mortality that is not specific to Tanzania alone. Hence it is one of the Millenium Development Goals that has made little headway.
During the village health day, children's height and weight are measured and recorded for the mother. Stunting from lack of nutrition is a major problem in Tanzania. As such, educating women about the importance of monitoring their children's growth and ensuring they get enough nutrition is a priority.
I am also provided the opportunity to witness how my organization educates and implements their programs on a large scale. Here all the village leaders from two wards are invited to attend and learn about how to implement children's clubs in their respective villages. Children's clubs are an initiative of my organization and have been facilitated throughout the country so that children themselves are promoters of their rights. Children elect child leaders, and run and maintain the clubs. They promote child rights to village, district and regional leaders through community meetings, government duty bearers and through media outlets (such as radio and television). Below is a picture of a workshop with village leaders.
It was great to travel abroad and see some of the field work with my own eyes. It certainly beats sitting at a computer. Though now its back to the office. Time to figure out how to consolidate the massive amount of data into a finely tuned system.
