Street children and ceremonies

In our society, we find children who, in one way or another, lead life outside the family or in families which cannot support them for one reason or another. These are normally marginalized, not touched squarely by the mainstream national budget. These are grouped as street or vulnerable children.

The extreme part of this scenario is the case of orphans; be it artificial or natural. The natural orphans are the under eighteen who have lost both parents and have virtually no ways of supporting themselves thus depending on the support from other relatives, the government, religious organizations or charities. This number is swelling very fast with the coming of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Artificial orphans are mainly children who were born without planning and whose parents are unwilling to support their livelihood and other social services. These might result from prostitution, rape or the law of the land.

The country law requires that any student found pregnant is dismissed from school and the one who induced it jailed for a generation. Under these circumstances, many males reject to have induced pregnancy and even run away; leaving the child under the care of grandparents who did not plan and thus making some reject the responsibility. Coupled with the fact that the mother too was unprepared, we find the child without the normal parental care as the mother will be forced to look for other alternatives in taking care of her own life mainly through prostitution and/or petty business; thus leaving the child as an orphan.

Regardless of the reasons for the orphanness of the child, these children miss the basic services like education, health, livelihood support; leave alone parental love. As we know, the fundamental need of a child is education. Once given education, the child will find his/her own way of survival.

The education sector has been hit most severely by this phenomenon. Many students are enrolled by their parents and go on schooling. At some point, their parents are unable to support them and they have to stop schooling. We have reports even from government schools which virtually provide free education whereby students drop out and go to street in search of basic human needs like food and shelter during class hours. Under these circumstances, we cannot expect these children to perform well academically. These are now the ones that later transform themselves into bandits and prostitute after observing that they cannot lead normal life like their counterparts who are in schools.

On the other side of the coin, every weekend, almost Dar es salaam and other big city streets, churches, mosques and beaches are full of people with white robes and black suits. Guess what? Weddings; a rite of passage made to every new couple after marital vows and signing of marriage certificates. These ceremonies are normally preceded by a series of preparatory meetings attended mainly by close relatives, work mates and other folks. The main objectives of these meetings are to contribute in kind and cash for the success of the ceremonies. Huge sums of money are collected and spent during their officiating. In most cases the direct expenses (hall hire, meals, attire, decors, motorcade, still/mobile pictures, invitation cards, master of ceremony with public address system & live remote show Audio Visual facilities etc) range from ten dollars to tens of thousand dollars per hour depending on the collections by the preparation committees. This does not include indirect costs like “uchakavu” and personal preparations of the ones attending the ceremonies.

In most cases, there are a total of five main ceremonies; two of which are for the maternal side, two involving both sides and one involving the new couples but financed by the paternal side. The ceremonies involving the maternal side are kitchen and send off party. The ones involving both sides are the wedding and reception parties. The one involving the new couple is the honey moon normally made in carefully selected cool lodgings. Apart from the mentioned main ceremonies, in some cultures, we even find silver (25 years), golden (50 years) and diamond (60 years) jubilee weddings to long serving couples.

These ceremonies are highly celebrated in all cultures throughout the world. It is hard to imagine as to when they started but the fact remains the same; these ceremonies are the ones that set the first step towards the longest and most intimate relationship from which all responsible human population come from: the family. It is no wonder that any person choosing this kind of institution is congratulated in all types of styles. Long live weddings. Long live the family institution.

Yes. Both poverty and ceremonial life take place on the ground of the same planet Earth under the same Sun. …and yes; the same sun melting wax while hardening clay!!!. … One groaning in poverty every coming thunder and drought and the other celebrating every coming sun and rain. The same Earth. Even the same immediate source of scientifically accepted source of life: man and woman. The only thing keeping them apart being the metal that made Judas betray Jesus: the coin.

The interaction of the above factors has made the number of children without parental care swell every coming day and night. This is uncalled for and something urgent has to be done by the same community that is feeling the pinch of this shortcoming. Given these stories, we normally rush in pressing the government increase the budget for social welfare, call for religious organizations, charities and development partners to donate more in favor of these members of the public. To my opinion, the institutions mentioned above have done to their level best and our role is to congratulate for encouraging them.

Is it possible for the two to meet and be sympathetic to one another? Yes. Possible. How? Wait a minute. In Kenya, we have the well established “HARAMBEE” whereby the community members contribute for meeting some social obligations like education. It is no wonder we find the education level in Kenya higher than in Tanzania despite the fact that cost sharing in Kenya started a long time ago. In Tanzania we still have the socialism hangovers whereby the government takes care of all social services except wedding and burial ceremonies. We have to wake up now and change because the government has silently returned this responsibility to the society. So the society has to learn on how to take care of its own self.

One entry point are these wedding ceremonies. Burial ceremonies are mainly not planned and it is quite unbecoming going there to run a harambee while people are bitter with losing a loved one. So the only remaining possibility are these expensive marital related ceremonies.

One way to make them contribute is to go through their marriage registrars (i.e. the district commissioners and religious leaders) and carry out a workshop to sensitize them on making all those entering the marriage institution contribute to the social responsibility fund (SOREFU). Under this arrangement, all those registering marriages will be required to voluntarily contribute some money to SOREFU. This amount will be deposited in a special account and used for taking care of children who are marginalized as mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs. Once this fund is established, there will be a committee to monitor the revenue and expenditure so that the money collected is spent for the intended purpose.

Since the objective of this fund touches almost every family in Tanzania, it is expected that it will be the most sustainable and many will be convinced to contribute towards it success. I am not trying to say that this will be a panacea to the street children challenge. My point is that, coupled with other available means of combating mentioned earlier, it we will significantly be minimizing the number of children who miss education due to the failure of their families to sponsor them.

Mr. Benjamin Nkonya is the Chief Executive Officer of the Goldenrule Global Evangelists (GGE) that runs the SOREFU. Besides, he is a free lance consultant on education management, a school owner, Secretary General to the Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of Non-Government Schools and Colleges (TAMONGSCO). He is reachable through 0715/54/84-316570 or tamongsco@yahoo.com

Watoto wa mitaani na sherehe

Katika jamii yetu, sisi kupata watoto ambao kwa njia moja au nyingine, kuishi maisha ya nje ya familia au katika familia ambayo hayawezi kuwasaidia kwa sababu moja au nyingine. Hizi ni kawaida ya pembezoni, si kuguswa squarely tawala na bajeti ya taifa. Haya ni makundi kama mitaani au watoto wanaoishi katika mazingira magumu.

sehemu kubwa ya hali hii ni kesi ya yatima; kuwa ni bandia au ya asili. yatima asili ni chini ya kumi na nane ambao wamepoteza wazazi wote wawili na kuwa na hakika hakuna njia za kusaidia wenyewe na hivyo kutegemea msaada kutoka kwa ndugu wengine, serikali, mashirika ya dini au misaada. Idadi hii ni uvimbe haraka sana na kuja kwa janga la VVU / UKIMWI. Yatima bandia ni hasa watoto ambao walizaliwa bila mipango na ambao wazazi wao hawana nia ya kusaidia kuendesha maisha yao na huduma nyingine za kijamii. Haya yanaweza kutokana na ubakaji ukahaba, au sheria za nchi.

sheria nchi inahitaji kwamba mwanafunzi yeyote kupatikana mimba ni kufukuzwa kazi kutokana na shule na yule ikiwa ni jela kwa ajili ya kizazi. Katika hali hii, wanaume wengi kukataa kuwa ikiwa mimba na hata kukimbia; kuacha mtoto chini ya uangalizi wa mababu ambao hakuwa na mpango na hivyo kufanya baadhi kukataa wajibu. Sambamba na ukweli kwamba mama pia alikuwa hawajajiandaa, sisi kupata mtoto bila ya huduma ya kawaida ya wazazi kama mama watalazimika kuangalia njia nyingine katika kutumia huduma ya maisha yake hasa kwa njia ya ukahaba na / au biashara ndogo ndogo, hivyo kuacha kama mtoto yatima.

Bila kujali sababu za orphanness ya mtoto, watoto hawa kukosa huduma za msingi kama elimu, msaada wa afya, maisha, mnaacha upendo wa wazazi. Kama tunavyojua, haja ya msingi ya mtoto ni elimu. Mara baada ya kupewa elimu, mtoto utapata yake / zake mwenyewe njia ya maisha.

sekta ya elimu imekuwa hit wengi sana na jambo hili. Wanafunzi wengi waliojiunga na wazazi wao na kwenda shule. Katika hatua nyingine, wazazi wao hawawezi kusaidia nao, na wao kuacha shule. Tuna taarifa hata kutoka shule za serikali ambayo karibu kutoa elimu ya bure ambapo wanafunzi kuacha na kwenda mitaani kutafuta mahitaji ya msingi ya binadamu kama chakula na malazi wakati wa masaa ya darasa. Katika hali hii, hatuwezi kutarajia watoto hawa kufanya vizuri kimasomo. Haya sasa ndio kwamba baadaye kubadilisha wenyewe ndani ya majambazi na kahaba baada ya kuona kwamba hawawezi kuishi maisha ya kawaida kama ilivyo kwa wenzao ambao ni katika shule.

Kwa upande mwingine wa sarafu, kila mwishoni mwa wiki, karibu Dar es salaam na wengine mitaani mji kubwa, makanisa, misikiti na fukwe ni kamili ya watu wenye mavazi meupe na suti nyeusi. Nadhani nini? Harusi, ibada ya kifungu kufanywa na wanandoa kila mpya baada ya ndoa ahadi, na kutiwa saini kwa vyeti vya ndoa. Sherehe hizi ni kawaida ya kutanguliwa na mfululizo wa mikutano ya maandalizi ya walihudhuria hasa kwa ndugu wa karibu, mates kazi na folks nyingine. kuu malengo ya mikutano hii ni kuchangia katika aina na fedha kwa ajili ya mafanikio ya sherehe. Kiasi kikubwa cha fedha hukusanywa na kutumiwa wakati wa officiating yao. Mara nyingi gharama za moja kwa moja (ukumbi wa kukodisha, chakula, mavazi, decors, msafara, bado / simu picha, kadi za mwaliko, mkuu wa sherehe na mfumo wa umma anwani & kuishi kijijini show Audio Visual vifaa nk) ni kati ya dola kumi kwa makumi ya elfu dola kwa saa kutegemea makusanyo na kamati ya maandalizi. Hii haina ni pamoja na gharama za moja kwa moja kama "uchakavu" na maandalizi binafsi ya wale wanaohudhuria sherehe.

Katika hali nyingi, kuna jumla ya sherehe tano kuu mbili, ambazo ni kwa upande wa uzazi, mbili kuwashirikisha pande zote mbili na moja kuwashirikisha wanandoa mpya lakini kwa upande upande wa fedha. sherehe kuwashirikisha upande uzazi ni jikoni na kutuma mbali ya chama. ndio kuwashirikisha pande zote mbili ni harusi na vyama vya mapokezi. moja kuwashirikisha wanandoa mpya ni mwezi asali kawaida kufanywa katika makazi uangalifu cool. Mbali na sherehe zilizotajwa kuu, katika baadhi ya tamaduni, sisi hata kupata fedha (miaka 25), dhahabu (miaka 50) na almasi (miaka 60) harusi yubile kwa wanandoa kwa muda mrefu kuwahudumia.

Sherehe hizi ni sherehe sana katika tamaduni zote duniani kote. Ni vigumu kufikiria kama kwa wakati walianza lakini ukweli unabakia hiyo; sherehe hizi ni wale ambao kuweka hatua ya kwanza katika uhusiano wa muda mrefu zaidi na ionekane zaidi ambayo wote kuwajibika idadi ya watu kutoka: familia. Ni ajabu kwamba mtu yeyote kuchagua aina hii ya taasisi ni aliwapongeza katika yote...