Urambo struggles to end child labourBy Gerald Kitabu
13th November 2011EmailPrintCommentsThey work long hours spraying pesticides and carrying heavy loads on the farms and handle dangerous tools. The tasks affect development leading to realising their full potentialities.
They are trapped in this pitiable condition of child labour because of abject poverty of parents in Urambo District and Tabora Region as well as poor learning infrastructures.
As a result, and due to the fact that the schools in the district do not provide food, some children have gone to work on tobacco farms, hoping at least to be able to get something to eat.
“Tobacco farming is labour intensive, it requires huge man power, so in order to maximise profit, plantation owners go for cheap labour; so they ‘import’ as many young children as possible from other areas but the latter are not paid until tobacco purchasing time,” he said.
Urambo is a leading tobacco growing district in Tabora Region, which is also the biggest producer of the crop in the country. In 2008/9, it produced 16 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth Sh41 billion and the following season it produced 23 kilogrammes worth more than Sh66 billion. Estimates for 2010/11 stand at 31 kilogrammes worth Sh71 billion.
Work on tobacco farms is pulling many children away from school. Worse still the working environment is bad.
Justus Molai is the Urambo District Executive Director. In a recent exclusive interview with The Guardian on Sunday, he says they are currently struggling to rescue children employed on different plantations in the district. “For the past three years we’ve rescued about 1,600 children out of more than 3,000 and the work is still going on to make sure that child labour in tobacco farms is eradicated,” he said.
Authorities say the child labourers originate mainly from Singida and Kigoma regions. Despite working in very risky environment, they are paid very low wages or are not paid at all.
Molai says his district has embarked on sensitisation campaigns against child labour and making sure that there is good learning environment for students including school feeding programmes to keep students in schools.
For her part, Vice-President of Elimination of Child Labour in Tobacco growing areas (ECLT), which is working with local organisations in Urambo and Sikonge districts, Barbara Martellini said they have realised that at least one out of eight children involved in labour on the tobacco farms is an orphan.
ECLT is a multi-stakeholder initiative of unions, growers and companies in the tobacco sector, which work together to reduce child labour in the world.
Martellini says child labour in tobacco growing is wrong because it denies children education opportunities, learning about the world and preventing them to develop skills needed to get through life and fulfill their potentials.
She explains that ECLT has worked in Tanzania since January 2004, partnering with several non governmental organisations under ILO coordination in Urambo district on two projects, covering a total of 36 villages. “In the course of working in the districts, we have prevented hundreds of children from entering child labour… 450 families were supported to set up additional income generating activities, 27 schools and one dormitory for girls were built.
“Saving centres were created, health and sanitation structures were provided. Extension services were trained to address child labour and a monitoring system was implemented,” she explains.
Mary Kibogoya, Acting Director of the PROPER, a project supported by ECLT says from July 2011 to December 2015, her project expects to withdraw nearly 6,000 children from child labour while a further 1,800 will be prevented from entering child labour.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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Showing posts with label More effects of poverty?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label More effects of poverty?. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Saturday, August 29, 2009
THE VICTIMS OF POVERTY
Today I am going to do my part and bring to light some of the injustices imposed upon the already suffering victims of poverty.
Is it not enough just to be poor, not knowing when you are going to eat? when your child is going to die so that the suffering can stop as there is no money for medicines?
Is it not enough that one has to sell a daughter to the highest bidder so that the bride price can save the remaining family from social indignity?
Is it not enough knowing if the children live, they will lead the same life since as poor parents there are no means to support the children's education and ensure a better life?
Is it not enough seeing the leaders getting richer and richer, while the families suffering remains the same and gets worse everyday?
Is it not enough .....????
This is the questioned asked by many people experiencing extreme poverty.
Well ... apparently it seems, this is not enough, because there are others who take advantage of these suffering poor to make a living in a way that can only be described as extremely evil.
However, the question to ask ourselves here is, who else are the victims?
By reading this short article published by http://www.underthesamesun.com/ I see more than one category of victims.....
Persons with albinism in Tanzania face several major challenges:
1. The horror of a rapidly growing industry in the sale of albino body parts.
''This unimaginable evil is driven by the belief (in some areas of the country) that the bodyparts of people with albinism possess magical powers capable of bringing riches if used in potions produced by local witchdoctors. During the last year, official reports indicate that 43 people with albinism have been brutally murdered and their bodyparts hacked off and sold to witchdoctors. However, leaders in the albinism community believe the number of deaths to be between 60 and 70. Reports also indicate that albino bodyparts are being exported outside of Tanzania. In one instance, a Tanzanian trader was caught travelling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the head of an albino baby in his possession. He told police that a businessman there was going to pay him for the head by its weight.''
In my opinion, the real crime is being committed by those who are supposed to guide and protect the poor people from being in such a desperate situation, that they actually fall victim to the evil plan of the witch doctors.
The governments are prosecuting the witch doctors (BIG DEAL!) Who is prosecuting the governemnt for failing in their duties? What kind of justice is this? Is the government really committed to alleviate this situation? Is there a real plan that is being followed?
This worries me, I am a Tanzanian afterall.
I have the right to know that my government values the lives of the people regardless of colour, handicaps, religion or tribe.
Is it not enough just to be poor, not knowing when you are going to eat? when your child is going to die so that the suffering can stop as there is no money for medicines?
Is it not enough that one has to sell a daughter to the highest bidder so that the bride price can save the remaining family from social indignity?
Is it not enough knowing if the children live, they will lead the same life since as poor parents there are no means to support the children's education and ensure a better life?
Is it not enough seeing the leaders getting richer and richer, while the families suffering remains the same and gets worse everyday?
Is it not enough .....????
This is the questioned asked by many people experiencing extreme poverty.
Well ... apparently it seems, this is not enough, because there are others who take advantage of these suffering poor to make a living in a way that can only be described as extremely evil.
However, the question to ask ourselves here is, who else are the victims?
By reading this short article published by http://www.underthesamesun.com/ I see more than one category of victims.....
Persons with albinism in Tanzania face several major challenges:
1. The horror of a rapidly growing industry in the sale of albino body parts.
''This unimaginable evil is driven by the belief (in some areas of the country) that the bodyparts of people with albinism possess magical powers capable of bringing riches if used in potions produced by local witchdoctors. During the last year, official reports indicate that 43 people with albinism have been brutally murdered and their bodyparts hacked off and sold to witchdoctors. However, leaders in the albinism community believe the number of deaths to be between 60 and 70. Reports also indicate that albino bodyparts are being exported outside of Tanzania. In one instance, a Tanzanian trader was caught travelling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the head of an albino baby in his possession. He told police that a businessman there was going to pay him for the head by its weight.''
In my opinion, the real crime is being committed by those who are supposed to guide and protect the poor people from being in such a desperate situation, that they actually fall victim to the evil plan of the witch doctors.
The governments are prosecuting the witch doctors (BIG DEAL!) Who is prosecuting the governemnt for failing in their duties? What kind of justice is this? Is the government really committed to alleviate this situation? Is there a real plan that is being followed?
This worries me, I am a Tanzanian afterall.
I have the right to know that my government values the lives of the people regardless of colour, handicaps, religion or tribe.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Agonising hour at the gate of Shinyanga govt hospital
By Lucas Lukumbo
12th July 2009
The entrance of Shinyanga Regional Hospital
.....If you have tears prepare to shade them when you reach the Shinyanga Regional Hospital gate during a clinic day for pregnant women. I shed mine on Friday morning.
A woman, in her 30s, struggled to step down from a bicycle after braving a whole hour of agony on a bumpy road from her village, Ndembezi, situated five kilometres away. Too weak to stand, she fell to the ground.
The cyclist Mwandu Richard said: “She asked me for help, and I just carried her on my bicycle free of charge which costs Sh1,000.”
I learnt later that cyclists in the area transport such pregnant women on bicycles because the region does not have an ambulance. People here have christened the bicycles “dala dala,” apparently for the good service they render.
More pregnant women arrived at the hospital by the same mode of transport, and like the first one, several more fell to the ground.
According to Richard, sometimes women come to the hospital on traditional cattle-pulled carts. On their way back the agony is the same. Distances covered can be as far as ten kilometres.
Near the hospital entrance, I saw a pregnant woman negotiating for the journey back home but could not raise Sh1,000 to pay the cyclist. She was desperate, saying: “There is nothing I can do. I do not have even a single coin.”
I rescued the situation. She thanked me, and off she went away to look for transport home with her newly born baby boy.
A driver who parks his vehicle near the hospital entrance Julius Justo, known by the name Molekos said, sometimes accidents occur as cyclists transport patients to hospital.
“Many of these cyclists from villages come to town because they have a patient to carry but have difficulties following traffic instructions,” the traffic drivers said acknowledging that cyclists are playing a very important role in transporting patients to health facilities.
There are times when the Shinyanga police arrest the cyclist sthey find in the municipality.
“When the police do that, they actually kill our mothers because they cannot hire taxis,” he said.
I witnessed at least 30 pregnant women entering the hospital gate in that one hour, out of whom 29 came on bicycles. Only one of them came by taxi.
A seat at the hospital gate which was being used by women and other patients to get a little rest after a long walk or ride bare nails, possibly to deter people from seating on it.
At 9am, I had to attend a meeting of all regional and district functionaries in the region. Heads of government departments from all the districts came to the meeting, organised by a Dar es Salaam based organisation, EngenderHealth, as well as others like the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA).
It was an advocacy meeting meant to instill knowledge to the participants to the meeting on this year’s World Population Day theme - Responding to the Economic Crisis: Investing in Women is a Smart Choice.
It provided space with policy makers, decision makers and community leaders in the region on the importance of investing in women.
I knew, after making some observations on how women travel to the regional hospital, I would make my contribution to the regional meeting.
At the meeting I was driven out by conscience that I should not divulge the matter to the regional authorities
There was a sign of disapproval from the chairman of the meeting, a retired brigadier general named Yohana Balele, who wanted to disapprove of my submission that Shinyanga region has no ambulance.
“Regional Medical Officer, please stand up and tell us if it is true that we have no ambulance at our regional hospital,” he ordered the Shinyanga RMO, Dr Fredrick Mlekwa.
The latter stood up and replied that it was true that the regional hospital does not have an ambulance. The meeting burst into laughter. I was the winner.
With regard to women’s health in Tanzania in general, figures on the maternal mortality have, remained virtually unchanged in the past decade; and pregnancy childbirth kills some 578 women per 100,000 live births.
With low purchasing power, there is a likelihood of a further decline in social services. This vicious cycle will exacerbate the negative impact of the current economic crisis.
The World Bank has reported that the economic crisis could lead to a cut in budgets, accommodating these issues, leading to more women and children dying, more girls dropping out of school, more women and girls being targets of violence and more women unemployed.
Progress in social and economic development goes hand-in-hand with gender equality.
There is not a smarter investment, with such high economic and social returns than investing in health and rights of adolescent girls and women.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
12th July 2009
The entrance of Shinyanga Regional Hospital
.....If you have tears prepare to shade them when you reach the Shinyanga Regional Hospital gate during a clinic day for pregnant women. I shed mine on Friday morning.
A woman, in her 30s, struggled to step down from a bicycle after braving a whole hour of agony on a bumpy road from her village, Ndembezi, situated five kilometres away. Too weak to stand, she fell to the ground.
The cyclist Mwandu Richard said: “She asked me for help, and I just carried her on my bicycle free of charge which costs Sh1,000.”
I learnt later that cyclists in the area transport such pregnant women on bicycles because the region does not have an ambulance. People here have christened the bicycles “dala dala,” apparently for the good service they render.
More pregnant women arrived at the hospital by the same mode of transport, and like the first one, several more fell to the ground.
According to Richard, sometimes women come to the hospital on traditional cattle-pulled carts. On their way back the agony is the same. Distances covered can be as far as ten kilometres.
Near the hospital entrance, I saw a pregnant woman negotiating for the journey back home but could not raise Sh1,000 to pay the cyclist. She was desperate, saying: “There is nothing I can do. I do not have even a single coin.”
I rescued the situation. She thanked me, and off she went away to look for transport home with her newly born baby boy.
A driver who parks his vehicle near the hospital entrance Julius Justo, known by the name Molekos said, sometimes accidents occur as cyclists transport patients to hospital.
“Many of these cyclists from villages come to town because they have a patient to carry but have difficulties following traffic instructions,” the traffic drivers said acknowledging that cyclists are playing a very important role in transporting patients to health facilities.
There are times when the Shinyanga police arrest the cyclist sthey find in the municipality.
“When the police do that, they actually kill our mothers because they cannot hire taxis,” he said.
I witnessed at least 30 pregnant women entering the hospital gate in that one hour, out of whom 29 came on bicycles. Only one of them came by taxi.
A seat at the hospital gate which was being used by women and other patients to get a little rest after a long walk or ride bare nails, possibly to deter people from seating on it.
At 9am, I had to attend a meeting of all regional and district functionaries in the region. Heads of government departments from all the districts came to the meeting, organised by a Dar es Salaam based organisation, EngenderHealth, as well as others like the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA).
It was an advocacy meeting meant to instill knowledge to the participants to the meeting on this year’s World Population Day theme - Responding to the Economic Crisis: Investing in Women is a Smart Choice.
It provided space with policy makers, decision makers and community leaders in the region on the importance of investing in women.
I knew, after making some observations on how women travel to the regional hospital, I would make my contribution to the regional meeting.
At the meeting I was driven out by conscience that I should not divulge the matter to the regional authorities
There was a sign of disapproval from the chairman of the meeting, a retired brigadier general named Yohana Balele, who wanted to disapprove of my submission that Shinyanga region has no ambulance.
“Regional Medical Officer, please stand up and tell us if it is true that we have no ambulance at our regional hospital,” he ordered the Shinyanga RMO, Dr Fredrick Mlekwa.
The latter stood up and replied that it was true that the regional hospital does not have an ambulance. The meeting burst into laughter. I was the winner.
With regard to women’s health in Tanzania in general, figures on the maternal mortality have, remained virtually unchanged in the past decade; and pregnancy childbirth kills some 578 women per 100,000 live births.
With low purchasing power, there is a likelihood of a further decline in social services. This vicious cycle will exacerbate the negative impact of the current economic crisis.
The World Bank has reported that the economic crisis could lead to a cut in budgets, accommodating these issues, leading to more women and children dying, more girls dropping out of school, more women and girls being targets of violence and more women unemployed.
Progress in social and economic development goes hand-in-hand with gender equality.
There is not a smarter investment, with such high economic and social returns than investing in health and rights of adolescent girls and women.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Time to prosecute albino murderers
By Editor
2nd June 2009
The sacredness of human life is a reality that is not contested by anyone. We all have the right to live, which no human being can simply take away. Granted that we all have to depart from this world at a certain point in time, yet if any of us is dispatched to another world by the cruel hand of a murderer, such an action is not only uncalled for, but deserves the most severe punishment.This is why the law enforcing organs are supposed to work tirelessly around the clock, so that killers in our midst are nabbed and brought before justice.The systematic arrest of murder suspects and subsequent trials serve to instill confidence in the populace that people are being protected.We all know that both our law enforcing organs and members of the Judiciary have a difficult time in executing their tasks in a smooth manner due to possessing inadequate resources; yet they have done a wonderful job whenever called to ensure that the country does not face a situation whereby criminals have an upper hand.With that background in mind, we wish to recall the statement made by the Director of Public Prosecutions that his office is working around the clock to ensure that a proper environment is in place so that the prosecution of suspected albino killers would take place in several regions in the near future.Earlier, the association of albinos had initiated a court action to press the government to prosecute albino murder suspects. However, the organization backed away from proceeding with the case; perhaps because its leaders were assured that the prosecutions were definitely in the offing.Days keep passing, and it seems that the prosecutions, which are eagerly awaited by members of the population-and even more so by albinos, who feel that their existence is threatened-are going to take place later than sooner, and there are those who question whether the presumed high profile prosecutions will take place at all.Reports from neighbouring Burundi, a recently war-torn country--indicate that a trial of alleged albino killers opened last week, with prosecutors saying that the killings were being fuelled by demand for body parts from our country.An allegation this only serves to further damage our image before the world, by showing that we are yet to get on top of the problem.If the Burundian officials have been able to both nab and prosecute the suspects, there is no reason why the Tanzanian authorities should drag their feet in taking similar action. As it goes, justice delayed is justice denied.The authorities might be secretly doing a wonderful job in laying the groundwork for the long awaited trials. On the other hand, they need to remember that justice not only needs to be done, but it must also be seen to be done. Short of that, people might be tempted to wonder whether there are any persons who are protecting the suspects, who must be there because the killings are really taking place. Whenever there is a murder, there is a person who commits it.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
2nd June 2009
The sacredness of human life is a reality that is not contested by anyone. We all have the right to live, which no human being can simply take away. Granted that we all have to depart from this world at a certain point in time, yet if any of us is dispatched to another world by the cruel hand of a murderer, such an action is not only uncalled for, but deserves the most severe punishment.This is why the law enforcing organs are supposed to work tirelessly around the clock, so that killers in our midst are nabbed and brought before justice.The systematic arrest of murder suspects and subsequent trials serve to instill confidence in the populace that people are being protected.We all know that both our law enforcing organs and members of the Judiciary have a difficult time in executing their tasks in a smooth manner due to possessing inadequate resources; yet they have done a wonderful job whenever called to ensure that the country does not face a situation whereby criminals have an upper hand.With that background in mind, we wish to recall the statement made by the Director of Public Prosecutions that his office is working around the clock to ensure that a proper environment is in place so that the prosecution of suspected albino killers would take place in several regions in the near future.Earlier, the association of albinos had initiated a court action to press the government to prosecute albino murder suspects. However, the organization backed away from proceeding with the case; perhaps because its leaders were assured that the prosecutions were definitely in the offing.Days keep passing, and it seems that the prosecutions, which are eagerly awaited by members of the population-and even more so by albinos, who feel that their existence is threatened-are going to take place later than sooner, and there are those who question whether the presumed high profile prosecutions will take place at all.Reports from neighbouring Burundi, a recently war-torn country--indicate that a trial of alleged albino killers opened last week, with prosecutors saying that the killings were being fuelled by demand for body parts from our country.An allegation this only serves to further damage our image before the world, by showing that we are yet to get on top of the problem.If the Burundian officials have been able to both nab and prosecute the suspects, there is no reason why the Tanzanian authorities should drag their feet in taking similar action. As it goes, justice delayed is justice denied.The authorities might be secretly doing a wonderful job in laying the groundwork for the long awaited trials. On the other hand, they need to remember that justice not only needs to be done, but it must also be seen to be done. Short of that, people might be tempted to wonder whether there are any persons who are protecting the suspects, who must be there because the killings are really taking place. Whenever there is a murder, there is a person who commits it.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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