Development policies are meant to improve the lives of people -- but do they? How can well meaning development wallahs in capital cities know what is happening on the ground? This presentation shares insights from a field immersion done by Twaweza and SNV staff in the Lake Zone of Tanzania in October 2009.
What is African-led development? By Rakesh RajaniTwaweza
This document summarizes key findings from immersion visits conducted by Twaweza in several Tanzanian villages to understand the state of development from the perspective of local communities. The following were observed:
1) Water infrastructure was often broken, locked or non-functional, forcing many, especially women, to walk long distances to fetch water. Water was also often contaminated or untreated.
2) Health facilities lacked staff, drugs and basic services. People had to resort to private care which was unaffordable.
3) Schools lacked resources like books, desks and adequate facilities. Promised funds like capitation grants did not reach schools. Those who complained faced retaliation.
4) Overall, there
Ditosa is a 12-year-old girl from the village of Matuba in Mozambique. She lives with her grandmother after losing her parents to HIV/AIDS. Ditosa attends the Matuba Children's Centre, which provides education, skills training, and support to orphans and vulnerable children. The Centre teaches computer, crafts, agriculture, and helps provide food, medicine and school costs. It is an important source of community and assistance for children like Ditosa who have been impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Musoma Charity Dinner | May 29,2 015 at Imperial Hotel, LondonMusoma Blog
The document summarizes a fundraising dinner for charities working in Musoma, Tanzania. It provides details on the schedule of events for the dinner, introduces the charities working in healthcare and disability support in Musoma, and summarizes 11 projects funded through previous donations. These projects include refurbishing school facilities, supplying electricity and furniture to a school, refurbishing the dental unit and starting a resuscitation unit at the local hospital, extending the Lake Victoria Disability Centre, and supplying books, vehicles, land, and dental equipment for healthcare services. The document encourages continued fundraising to support these ongoing initiatives helping the disabled and improving healthcare access for communities in need.
The Kitengesa Community Library serves both children and adults in the community. In July 2018, they held a week-long health camp for village women to teach them about cancer prevention and signs. The camp was a success, with participants not only learning about their health but also improving their literacy skills. The library also supports secondary students by paying their school fees in exchange for work at the library, and helps some further their education through university. They are working on additional programs and ways to generate income to continue their important community services.
The document discusses the aftermath of flooding in Chennai, India and calls for people to donate and help with rebuilding efforts. The floods have started to recede, but many have lost homes and belongings. Schools and businesses have reopened, but full recovery will take a long time. It urges people to donate money, supplies, or assistance as a way to spread holiday cheer and help those still struggling in the aftermath of the crisis.
PELI-U implemented literacy and health programs during Covid-19 to support communities. In education, they registered over 1,500 library users and distributed books to households and schools. In health, they focused on Covid-19 prevention by training community members and distributing supplies. In socioeconomics, they produced masks and sanitizer for vulnerable groups. Challenges included loss of income and alumni unemployment. Lessons included the importance of parents in education and challenges to organization sustainability post-Covid.
Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Review of Local Government in...Rakesh Rajani
Tanzania has made many attempts to improve public financial management in local government. This presents findings from an exercise to review the state of local governance PEFAR based on visits to six districts, and has some surprising findings.
Pretending to Progress? Education Reforms in TanzaniaRakesh Rajani
The document summarizes issues with education reforms in Tanzania, arguing that while enrollment has increased, the quality of education remains low. It analyzes problems including a lack of strategic leadership, inadequate resources, and failure to focus on learning outcomes. It calls for simplifying consultation processes, independent monitoring and analysis, and efforts to spark public debate and pressure for meaningful change such as by connecting ordinary people and promoting investigative journalism.
What is African-led development? By Rakesh RajaniTwaweza
This document summarizes key findings from immersion visits conducted by Twaweza in several Tanzanian villages to understand the state of development from the perspective of local communities. The following were observed:
1) Water infrastructure was often broken, locked or non-functional, forcing many, especially women, to walk long distances to fetch water. Water was also often contaminated or untreated.
2) Health facilities lacked staff, drugs and basic services. People had to resort to private care which was unaffordable.
3) Schools lacked resources like books, desks and adequate facilities. Promised funds like capitation grants did not reach schools. Those who complained faced retaliation.
4) Overall, there
Ditosa is a 12-year-old girl from the village of Matuba in Mozambique. She lives with her grandmother after losing her parents to HIV/AIDS. Ditosa attends the Matuba Children's Centre, which provides education, skills training, and support to orphans and vulnerable children. The Centre teaches computer, crafts, agriculture, and helps provide food, medicine and school costs. It is an important source of community and assistance for children like Ditosa who have been impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Musoma Charity Dinner | May 29,2 015 at Imperial Hotel, LondonMusoma Blog
The document summarizes a fundraising dinner for charities working in Musoma, Tanzania. It provides details on the schedule of events for the dinner, introduces the charities working in healthcare and disability support in Musoma, and summarizes 11 projects funded through previous donations. These projects include refurbishing school facilities, supplying electricity and furniture to a school, refurbishing the dental unit and starting a resuscitation unit at the local hospital, extending the Lake Victoria Disability Centre, and supplying books, vehicles, land, and dental equipment for healthcare services. The document encourages continued fundraising to support these ongoing initiatives helping the disabled and improving healthcare access for communities in need.
The Kitengesa Community Library serves both children and adults in the community. In July 2018, they held a week-long health camp for village women to teach them about cancer prevention and signs. The camp was a success, with participants not only learning about their health but also improving their literacy skills. The library also supports secondary students by paying their school fees in exchange for work at the library, and helps some further their education through university. They are working on additional programs and ways to generate income to continue their important community services.
The document discusses the aftermath of flooding in Chennai, India and calls for people to donate and help with rebuilding efforts. The floods have started to recede, but many have lost homes and belongings. Schools and businesses have reopened, but full recovery will take a long time. It urges people to donate money, supplies, or assistance as a way to spread holiday cheer and help those still struggling in the aftermath of the crisis.
PELI-U implemented literacy and health programs during Covid-19 to support communities. In education, they registered over 1,500 library users and distributed books to households and schools. In health, they focused on Covid-19 prevention by training community members and distributing supplies. In socioeconomics, they produced masks and sanitizer for vulnerable groups. Challenges included loss of income and alumni unemployment. Lessons included the importance of parents in education and challenges to organization sustainability post-Covid.
Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Review of Local Government in...Rakesh Rajani
Tanzania has made many attempts to improve public financial management in local government. This presents findings from an exercise to review the state of local governance PEFAR based on visits to six districts, and has some surprising findings.
Pretending to Progress? Education Reforms in TanzaniaRakesh Rajani
The document summarizes issues with education reforms in Tanzania, arguing that while enrollment has increased, the quality of education remains low. It analyzes problems including a lack of strategic leadership, inadequate resources, and failure to focus on learning outcomes. It calls for simplifying consultation processes, independent monitoring and analysis, and efforts to spark public debate and pressure for meaningful change such as by connecting ordinary people and promoting investigative journalism.
Donors have been supporting education in Tanzania for many years. But how well are they doing? Is education doing as well, and is donor support helping make things better or doing harm? This presentation reviews the state of education in Tanzania, and suggests a different role for education donors in the country.
Political economy of healthcare financing reformsHFG Project
Presented during Day Four of the 2016 Nigeria Health Care Financing Training Workshop. Presented by Dr. Gafar Alawode. More: https://www.hfgproject.org/hcf-training-nigeria
The document discusses recent reforms to higher education policy and funding in the UK, including:
1. Increases to tuition fees in England up to a maximum of £27,000, while fees are capped at lower levels in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
2. Reductions to direct teaching grants from HEFCE to universities in England of around £2.9 billion by 2014/15, replacing much of this funding with income from student loans.
3. Changes to the regulatory landscape for universities in England, including new student number controls linked to entry qualifications and tuition fees.
If Government was a restaurant, how would it work? How would the customers get treated, and how would the waiters behave? What sort of customer service would there be, and what efforts would be made to get things right?
This document discusses the role of institutions in development and the challenges of using foreign aid to improve institutions. It finds that institutions are deeply rooted and usually durable, while aid focuses on short-term projects. There is no evidence that aid can stimulate growth or improve institutions, and some evidence it can harm institutions by creating moral hazard or rent-seeking. Lastly, it argues that building intellectual capital through local scholars and research may provide alternative ideas to potentially enable institutional change over time.
Higher Education Policy and Institutional Context: Evaluating Israel's Nation...mjbinstitute
A presentation on the Israeli Council for Higher Education's national initiative to increase access to higher education among Arab students. The presentation was delivered by Ayala Hendin, a researcher at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute in Jerusalem who is leading the national evaluation of the initiative. It was delivered at the 2015 international conference of the British Society for Research into Higher Education, held in Newport, Wales, December 8-11.
Reforms and Developments in Finnish Adult Education Policy - A Decade of Cont...EduSkills OECD
This document summarizes reforms to adult education policy in Finland over the past decade. It outlines programs like NOSTE from 2003-2007 that aimed to raise skills for low-skilled workers aged 30-59. It also discusses how reviews from the OECD and Nordic countries influenced reforms to increase participation among those over 40 without qualifications. Subsequent governments committed to strategies that updated skills across the workforce through increased provision of adult education and public funding for programs.
Project proposal on earthquake victims childrenBibek Dhakal
The document proposes a project to help orphan children who lost their parents in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. It summarizes that thousands were killed or injured in the earthquake, leaving many homeless and without access to basic needs or medical care. The proposed "We Will Rise" project aims to provide orphaned children with education, food, shelter, healthcare and job skills so they can become self-sufficient members of society. It outlines objectives, activities, methodology, costs and organizational structure to care for an initial 20 orphaned children through local donations and contributions.
This document provides an overview of life in Ethiopia from the perspective of a Peace Corps volunteer. It includes:
- An introduction to Ethiopia and the volunteer's role providing public health services in a small town.
- Descriptions of everyday life in the rural town, including local markets, schools, health centers, homes, and modes of transportation.
- An explanation of challenges facing Ethiopia like poverty, lack of infrastructure and medical resources, and HIV/AIDS.
- An invitation for further discussion on topics related to Ethiopian culture, gender roles, traditions, health, and social and economic issues.
Ben is a Peace Corps volunteer teaching 11th grade biology and chemistry at a school in Chiure, Mozambique. He teaches large classes of 60-70 students in a poorly equipped classroom in a building that is falling apart. Students walk over an hour each way to attend school, where they only receive half days of education. Ben lives in a rural village near the school where residents struggle with poverty and lack of basic resources. Through his work, Ben hopes to support students' education and provide them opportunities for better lives.
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Volunteering opportunities are available in Kenya through Global Safaris, working with organizations helping communities. Volunteers can teach at an academy supporting AIDS orphans, work at an orphanage in the Kibera slum, or assist with HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Tasks may include teaching, administrative work, home visits, and distributing food and medicine. Volunteers must be at least 18 and independent. Program fees cover accommodation, meals, and local support.
The JOK Foundation donated school shoes, bags, and gift packs to 10 needy learners from local schools in Benoni, Gauteng. About 150 people attended the event at the Church of the Resurrection. The foundation aims to help needy children across four South African provinces. One recipient, Amogelang Mampane, thanked the foundation for changing his life and helping him feel pride in going to school. The pastor praised the foundation for its work in changing the lives of the poor.
The document outlines a 10-step program for an international school to address global water deficits by partnering with a local elementary school in Gui'De, China. The school discovered the local community's main concern was damage to their water infrastructure from annual flooding. Following the 10 steps, which included investigating the problem, consulting experts, planning and fundraising for a solution, raising awareness, and providing assistance, the school was able to help fix the broken water system so it could withstand flooding and provide clean water to over 90 households. The project improved sanitation, health, gender equality and children's education in the community.
Anne Kagiri, Manager eCAP East Africa (www.kenya.mkfc.se) and Local Partner to MKFC in Kenya visited Sololo, a district in Moyale, one of the most northern parts of the country. In this presentation, she tells us about her trip. MKFC and eCAP East Africa will be holding Community Action Plan workshops in the next month. The purpose of these workshops is to create an opportunity for the local people to take up responsibility on their well-being, analyse the problems in their society and take up change-making action.
The document provides information about Sololo, a town in Kenya near the Ethiopian border with a population of 40,000 people. It discusses the local schools which face challenges like low enrollment, lack of resources and cultural barriers to educating girls. It also describes the community's reliance on livestock, challenges with access to water and healthcare, women's income generating groups, and transportation in the remote area.
Sarah Wellard - Grandparenting, intergenerational careAge UK
Sarah Wellard, Grandparents Plus's presentation presented at the Ageing and Ethnicity conference which took place on the 13th December 2012. The conference was a joint Age UK and Runnymede
The Community Together: Twaweza Immersion 2012Twaweza
In March 2012, Twaweza and partner organization staff participated in an immersion in the southern highlands of Tanzania. The aim was to participate in
and experience the daily lives of our
host family and community members.
Zimbabwe faces numerous challenges including a struggling economy, lack of food and fuel, high infant mortality rates, and a collapsed health and education system. The Portland-Mutare Sister City Association was formed in 1990 and has since raised funds to support various projects in Mutare, Zimbabwe like building a clinic, supplying schools, and providing medical care. They hope to continue developing cultural and economic ties between the two cities through student exchanges, fundraising events, and volunteer efforts.
Social analysis is important for understanding issues and realities in communities. It involves talking to community members to understand burning issues from their perspectives and synthesize the information. Social analysis identifies the poorest groups for interventions and informs helping strategies. It empowers communities by raising awareness of their issues and realities.
Donors have been supporting education in Tanzania for many years. But how well are they doing? Is education doing as well, and is donor support helping make things better or doing harm? This presentation reviews the state of education in Tanzania, and suggests a different role for education donors in the country.
Political economy of healthcare financing reformsHFG Project
Presented during Day Four of the 2016 Nigeria Health Care Financing Training Workshop. Presented by Dr. Gafar Alawode. More: https://www.hfgproject.org/hcf-training-nigeria
The document discusses recent reforms to higher education policy and funding in the UK, including:
1. Increases to tuition fees in England up to a maximum of £27,000, while fees are capped at lower levels in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
2. Reductions to direct teaching grants from HEFCE to universities in England of around £2.9 billion by 2014/15, replacing much of this funding with income from student loans.
3. Changes to the regulatory landscape for universities in England, including new student number controls linked to entry qualifications and tuition fees.
If Government was a restaurant, how would it work? How would the customers get treated, and how would the waiters behave? What sort of customer service would there be, and what efforts would be made to get things right?
This document discusses the role of institutions in development and the challenges of using foreign aid to improve institutions. It finds that institutions are deeply rooted and usually durable, while aid focuses on short-term projects. There is no evidence that aid can stimulate growth or improve institutions, and some evidence it can harm institutions by creating moral hazard or rent-seeking. Lastly, it argues that building intellectual capital through local scholars and research may provide alternative ideas to potentially enable institutional change over time.
Higher Education Policy and Institutional Context: Evaluating Israel's Nation...mjbinstitute
A presentation on the Israeli Council for Higher Education's national initiative to increase access to higher education among Arab students. The presentation was delivered by Ayala Hendin, a researcher at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute in Jerusalem who is leading the national evaluation of the initiative. It was delivered at the 2015 international conference of the British Society for Research into Higher Education, held in Newport, Wales, December 8-11.
Reforms and Developments in Finnish Adult Education Policy - A Decade of Cont...EduSkills OECD
This document summarizes reforms to adult education policy in Finland over the past decade. It outlines programs like NOSTE from 2003-2007 that aimed to raise skills for low-skilled workers aged 30-59. It also discusses how reviews from the OECD and Nordic countries influenced reforms to increase participation among those over 40 without qualifications. Subsequent governments committed to strategies that updated skills across the workforce through increased provision of adult education and public funding for programs.
Project proposal on earthquake victims childrenBibek Dhakal
The document proposes a project to help orphan children who lost their parents in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. It summarizes that thousands were killed or injured in the earthquake, leaving many homeless and without access to basic needs or medical care. The proposed "We Will Rise" project aims to provide orphaned children with education, food, shelter, healthcare and job skills so they can become self-sufficient members of society. It outlines objectives, activities, methodology, costs and organizational structure to care for an initial 20 orphaned children through local donations and contributions.
This document provides an overview of life in Ethiopia from the perspective of a Peace Corps volunteer. It includes:
- An introduction to Ethiopia and the volunteer's role providing public health services in a small town.
- Descriptions of everyday life in the rural town, including local markets, schools, health centers, homes, and modes of transportation.
- An explanation of challenges facing Ethiopia like poverty, lack of infrastructure and medical resources, and HIV/AIDS.
- An invitation for further discussion on topics related to Ethiopian culture, gender roles, traditions, health, and social and economic issues.
Ben is a Peace Corps volunteer teaching 11th grade biology and chemistry at a school in Chiure, Mozambique. He teaches large classes of 60-70 students in a poorly equipped classroom in a building that is falling apart. Students walk over an hour each way to attend school, where they only receive half days of education. Ben lives in a rural village near the school where residents struggle with poverty and lack of basic resources. Through his work, Ben hopes to support students' education and provide them opportunities for better lives.
A personal story of how resilience can be harnessed and social justice brought to bear in rural communities across UK. Spanning 30 years from Anglesey to the high Andes and back we look at what features of low income lives will become critical when the current hegemony finally draws its last breaths.
Volunteering opportunities are available in Kenya through Global Safaris, working with organizations helping communities. Volunteers can teach at an academy supporting AIDS orphans, work at an orphanage in the Kibera slum, or assist with HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Tasks may include teaching, administrative work, home visits, and distributing food and medicine. Volunteers must be at least 18 and independent. Program fees cover accommodation, meals, and local support.
The JOK Foundation donated school shoes, bags, and gift packs to 10 needy learners from local schools in Benoni, Gauteng. About 150 people attended the event at the Church of the Resurrection. The foundation aims to help needy children across four South African provinces. One recipient, Amogelang Mampane, thanked the foundation for changing his life and helping him feel pride in going to school. The pastor praised the foundation for its work in changing the lives of the poor.
The document outlines a 10-step program for an international school to address global water deficits by partnering with a local elementary school in Gui'De, China. The school discovered the local community's main concern was damage to their water infrastructure from annual flooding. Following the 10 steps, which included investigating the problem, consulting experts, planning and fundraising for a solution, raising awareness, and providing assistance, the school was able to help fix the broken water system so it could withstand flooding and provide clean water to over 90 households. The project improved sanitation, health, gender equality and children's education in the community.
Anne Kagiri, Manager eCAP East Africa (www.kenya.mkfc.se) and Local Partner to MKFC in Kenya visited Sololo, a district in Moyale, one of the most northern parts of the country. In this presentation, she tells us about her trip. MKFC and eCAP East Africa will be holding Community Action Plan workshops in the next month. The purpose of these workshops is to create an opportunity for the local people to take up responsibility on their well-being, analyse the problems in their society and take up change-making action.
The document provides information about Sololo, a town in Kenya near the Ethiopian border with a population of 40,000 people. It discusses the local schools which face challenges like low enrollment, lack of resources and cultural barriers to educating girls. It also describes the community's reliance on livestock, challenges with access to water and healthcare, women's income generating groups, and transportation in the remote area.
Sarah Wellard - Grandparenting, intergenerational careAge UK
Sarah Wellard, Grandparents Plus's presentation presented at the Ageing and Ethnicity conference which took place on the 13th December 2012. The conference was a joint Age UK and Runnymede
The Community Together: Twaweza Immersion 2012Twaweza
In March 2012, Twaweza and partner organization staff participated in an immersion in the southern highlands of Tanzania. The aim was to participate in
and experience the daily lives of our
host family and community members.
Zimbabwe faces numerous challenges including a struggling economy, lack of food and fuel, high infant mortality rates, and a collapsed health and education system. The Portland-Mutare Sister City Association was formed in 1990 and has since raised funds to support various projects in Mutare, Zimbabwe like building a clinic, supplying schools, and providing medical care. They hope to continue developing cultural and economic ties between the two cities through student exchanges, fundraising events, and volunteer efforts.
Social analysis is important for understanding issues and realities in communities. It involves talking to community members to understand burning issues from their perspectives and synthesize the information. Social analysis identifies the poorest groups for interventions and informs helping strategies. It empowers communities by raising awareness of their issues and realities.
Jewish Heart for Africa is a nonprofit that brings solar technologies to African villages to power schools, clinics, and water pumping systems in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. They have funded 17 projects helping over 18,600 people. Installing solar water pumping systems for villages provides clean water and frees up time previously spent fetching water, improving health, education, agriculture and quality of life. The cost to install a system is $15,000-$18,000 and it can pump over 20,000 liters of water per day.
The document describes the Stratton ABC Foundation, which was created to help disadvantaged children in Thailand who are at risk but may not qualify for other foundations due to having problems not seen as "big enough". The Foundation takes in children and provides them love, guidance, education support including English lessons, skills activities, and weekend work projects. It aims to prevent futures involving drugs, crime or prostitution by giving the children a better chance in life. It operates on a small scale with limited funds and relies on donations.
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Is Policy Practised in Tanzania? Insights from 9 Villages
1. Is Policy Practiced? Stories from 9 Villages Rakesh Rajani, Twaweza November 27, 2009
2. Huge energy goes into making better policies, plans and budgets … so as to improve life for people. Does it?
3. Questions Do public funds reach people? Do services work for the poor? Does governance solve problems? How do people su(th)rvive? We decided to find out.
4. How? ‘Immersion’ field trip 24 Twaweza & SNV staff 5 districts in the Lake Zone 9 villages, 18 homes 3 day home-stays
11. Approach? Entering life-worlds of host communities No development speak No questionnaires, FGDs Open-ended conversations & observations Open to surprises
14. “Our village was close to Lake Victoria, but water had to be purchased at Tshs200 per 20 litres(the same price as in Dar es Salaam) or fetched from the Lake at 1.2 km away. Most collected water from the Lake, but we never saw it being boiled”.
15. “In our village, there were two pumps with clean water, each within half an hour of the majority of people’s homes. But as only half the village had contributed to the payments for the pumps, the other half did not have any access to this clean water. This young girl is holding the padlock.”
16. Some had water 365 days, for others it was a struggle Women had to walk or bike long ... at times for several hours to get water Dilapidated at health facilities … and none at schools
17. 50%+ water points not functional (broken, stolen, locked, dried-up) Bucket of water up to Tshs 300/- (more 10x cost to this building) Water often contaminated, untreated (too expensive to boil), Water-borne illnesses common
19. Nice new/renovated buildings within 1-8 km, but… Staff virtually never around No drugs No lab tests No sanitation = no care
20. “This was the government health centre. There was no doctor, only a ward attendant. The patient in this photo came in with a very high fever. She put him on the bed like this and left. A little later she came back and gave him malaria tablets, but she did not do any examination or any tests. His friend said he would bring him food later from the school where they were boarding.”
21. “Our host family’s daughter had sickle cell anemia. We watched as our host mother spoke with the ward attendant. The ward attendant asked the mother what medicine the daughter should be prescribed. But she said she only had medicine for malaria and paracetamol. She asked the mother if she could give the daughter the malaria medicine for her sickle cell anemia.”
22.
23. In my village you had to resort to private care: “Patients have to go the health centre with an exercise book where the ward attendant will write their information and medicines prescribed. If you don’t have the exercise book you will not be attended.” “Nurses run their own drug store in the town and medicines are not prescribed from the clinic but patients are encouraged to go to the drug store in town”.
24. “In the neighboring village there is a good clinic, built by an NGO, but it’s only for HIV/ Aids testing. People cannot take their children with diarrhea and malaria there.”
30. Newer buildings worse than older ones Many unfinished buildings and insufficient desks despite parental contributions Pit latrines inadequate, no water
31. In one village: Primary school in process of constructing toilets for past three years Parents have had to contribute money and one brick per child every Monday for three years Mama M has personally ferried over 200 bricks to the school as her family’s contribution. She says:
32. “In [our village] we do development every Monday, but it only benefits the officials. Our conditions get worse with this type of development. With all the money and bricks parents have given to the school, three years down the line and the walls of the toilets don’t even measure up to the height of this one year old child!”
34. “Last year we received capitation grant of Tshs 3,700. It is not enough, but we are grateful it as at least something.” (Q: Do you know how much it is supposed to be?) “No, is it supposed to be a certain amount?” (Q: The policy says it should be $10/yr, or about 13,000) “Oh! I did not know!” (Q: What will you do to ensure you get the full amount?) “Nothing,” [laughs] “When your father gives you something, you say thank you, you don’t ask questions, you don’t ask whether it should be more.”
35. “An old Mzee got fed up of paying school ‘contributions’ of 10,000/- each time, and not seeing the fruits of that money. So he refused to pay again until he got a proper income and expenditure report read out in public. The authorities tried to quieten him, but the old Mzee was adamant. The meeting ended in some disarray. Two days later the local militia (sungu sungu) visited his farm, demanded to search it, and ‘found’ a marijuana plant. He was told that he could be jailed for many years, unless… The old Mzee parted with two cows and Tshs 200,000/- to stop matters going further. After that, do you think he or anybody else will speak up again?”
36. Quality facts TPR ratios up to 1:200 (some secondary schools had 2 teachers) Teachers poorly trained/motivated Typically 50% teachers not in attendance; those present rarely teaching Student attendance low, but not captured in district records
38. Students have virtually no access to books (locked up for safety) Less resources now because capitation grant has declined No functional libraries Language of instruction confusion Overall, no learning
39. In summary We have hollow shells, hardware over software, dysfunctional governance, veneers & pretences of progress, high costs and serious inequities, Little care, little health, little learning
40. And little faith in ‘officialdom’ School committees to solve problems Village Councils to air views VEO or WEO to ensure accountability DED to deliver, be responsive Councilor or MP to help Or elections to make a difference… (“whoever wins will eat”)
42. … and even less hope in NGOs (with long acronyms)
43. (In response to questions about policies being known and implemented, money reaching on time, and experiences of ‘development’) “We don’t know any of that. Remember you live in Tanzania, we live in Tanganyika. Tanzania reaches as far as Bagamoyo or Morogoro, at best.”
44. But Life was not that bad for a good number of our hosts and the communities around them Let me share three stories that may explain why
54. Entrepreneurship is driven by communication Talking, meeting, sharing; meeting in common places such as the marketplace, shop, along the way, prayers, all accelerated by new technology
58. Conclusion 1 The ‘official development’ side of life (whether governance, public services, or NGO work) is dysfunctional, delivers little, supports few, inspires no one Raising serious questions about value-for-money, elite-capture, accountability and our theory of development as a whole.
59. Conclusion 2 On the ‘private business’ side of life, people are eking out livings, with no support from government or NGOs, (and in fact often have to duck and dive to avoid harassment). It works better, but lets not romanticize it. Many still poor, eco-linkages weak, yields low, enterprises not as imaginative.
60. What does this mean? for how we understand change and development? learn and engage? I am not sure. Over to you.
Editor's Notes
In Village S, on the shores of the Lake, water came at a price in more ways than one.
In Village S, on the shores of the Lake, water came at a price in more ways than one.
In Village S, on the shores of the Lake, water came at a price in more ways than one.
With regard to basic services in health….Note the expiry date….
In Village S, on the shores of the Lake, water came at a price in more ways than one.
….the patterns across the villages were much stronger, although again there were exceptions especially in the Mabhatini.
….the patterns across the villages were much stronger, although again there were exceptions especially in the Mabhatini.
….the patterns across the villages were much stronger, although again there were exceptions especially in the Mabhatini.
….the patterns across the villages were much stronger, although again there were exceptions especially in the Mabhatini.