"It has happened to others before you.... "

By Grace Kossi, who is a young mother speaking of her experience as a 'child mother.

I am a young lady of 24 years, from a family of nine with four brother and two sisters.  My child was born when I was only 16 years of age, which caused me much misery, depression and frustration due to our cultural practice to make a girl an outcast, if she got pregnant before marriage.   I became a social misfit.

Grace with her daughter, Shalon, taken
today, May 25, 2013.

Because of my presence in my father’s home, he was no longer invited to attend meetings of elders or the community.  For my father, this was a negative judgment from the community and indicated that they had lost respect for my father, as he had not done the right thing and chased me from the house.   Life in my father’s home became harder and harder.  He was always angry, and my mother was always crying.

My mother remained forever hopeful for my success in life, because my father blamed her and accused her of destroying my life. Though the community blamed my father and my father blamed my mother, my beloved mother never blamed me.  She said, “It has happened to others before you, and God will help you out.”

As the days passed, stresses of all kinds surrounded my life.  I knew that I needed education to bring up my daughter, but it was all in vain.  As the stress grew, I developed ulcers that made me grow thinner and thinner until I reached 35kg (77 lb).

Grace has secured part-time work with Sauti Moja.

In a period of time between 2005 and 2006, I spent most days in bed due to sickness and depression.  During those days, I would dream a dream so sweet, but I didn’t understand it or take it seriously.  It was all about the success in my future.  First, I saw a tailoring machine, which was mine; second, I was on a computer typing; and third, I was in school.  The dream went on repeatedly until one day God opened the door of love, peace and prosperity.  A community-based organization, ‘Sauti Moja’, uplifted me from my life that I thought would never be good. 

Thanks to God, I am well again, and my daughter is a happy eight year old.  Although my daughter has been diagnosed with a hearing impairment, she is showing signs of improvement, since Sauti Moja arranged for a medical exam and hearing aids.  We continue to remain hopeful. 

Grace with her sponsor and
daughter, Shalon.

Today, I have completed Form 4 (Grade 12), Peace and Justice training, and completed a Certificate in Community Development and Social Work with the help of God and a Sauti Moja sponsor.  (Grace has expressed great appreciation for the support of the Anderson Family).  I am hoping to join a Diploma program in September.  My daughter and I are grateful for Sauti Moja and pray that God continues to bless their work and fulfill their mission of care and concern for poor and vulnerable widows and children.

Before, I was just nothing but an unwanted person in a community that would not recognize me.  Today,  I work part-time with Sauti Moja Marsabit and everyone is happy for my success!

I hope that one day I will be in a position to fight against demeaning cultural practices.  Every human-being has the right to live.  This is my advice to young ladies, “Life does not end when you have a pregnancy outside of marriage.  Avoid the situation as much as you can, but if it happens, don’t give up. Instead, pray that God will use well wishers or other means to secure your life.”

Sauti Moja Donor Shares an Inspirational Message

Mary, Sauti Moja 'girl mother' sponsor.

Through video, Sauti Moja enriched the relationship of a sponsor with a beneficiary.   Mary enjoyed the video she received of the ‘girl mother’ she sponsors; this girl spoke about her situation, challenges and aspirations.  Now, the communication becomes two-way, when Mary shares an inspirational message.  This video clip connects the young mother to her sponsor who communicates a compassionate message of support, putting a human face to the outreach which comes from her heart.

A Son's Tribute to his Widowed Mother and her Sacrifice

by Peter Mirgichan, as told to Lyn Bishop

Sauti Moja is proud to have Mirgichan working as a program assistant in Logologo where he was raised and his mother lives.

Mirgichan and his widowed mother.

At a young age, my mother, a Rendille pastoralist, became the second wife to an old man, and gave birth to three daughters and me. After my father’s death and according to cultural practice, my mother, as second wife, inherited no livestock: all the livestock was shared among the first wife and her sons. For a pastoralist, livestock equals life, but even though my mother was left without even a goat, she was not bitter. She accepted her fate in her culture, but did not lose hope. In her struggle to provide for us, she committed herself to backbreaking work.

My mother began the laborious task of fetching water for other people. This paid only about Ksh500 (~$10) every month carrying five jerry cans of 20 litres (22 kg) each on a round-trip walk of 4 km. This activity was totally exhausting for a woman under five feet tall, but then, she would also fetch firewood for sale when time allowed. That was her hardest task, since she had to walk a longer distance and carry a heavier load. When she returned home from searching for firewood, it was late afternoon after which she would walk to town in the hopes of finding a buyer. Sometimes, a couple of days could go buy before a buyer was found, and time really matters when you are the sole provider. In addition to fetching water and firewood, she would also carry people’s luggage for a small fee. My sister, Ann, and I were upset to see her so exhausted with no time to rest, but our mother’s daily sacrifice for us did not go unnoticed. We were both committed to staying focused on our studies so that one day, we could relieve our mother’s load.

In 2004, my sister and I completed primary school. Having two children attending secondary school was the most challenging and difficult thing that my mother experienced. She asked for people in the community to contribute so that we could at least enter school, but community members were discouraging to her. They felt that Ann should not go to school but remain to help fetch water and firewood. The elders even approached my mother to release her daughter into a marriage in exchange for some valued livestock, but she remained firm that she wanted both her son and daughter to attend secondary school. Finally, through a combination of community support, support from local agencies, and a positive response from the school to reduce tuition, we both gained admittance into secondary school.

The challenge of education costs did not end, as every year, for four years, there was a new search for the next year’s fees. In our poverty, it was not easy to submit our school fees on time. One time, the headmaster announced, “Those who have outstanding school fees will not be allowed back next year. This is not an orphanage!”, and I knew he was speaking to me. In that moment, I was so ashamed and angry, and I felt that all eyes were upon me. I told my mother I would not go back to school, but she would not support my ‘proud heart’.  She told me that it was not what the headmaster said but what God saw in my heart that mattered.

Realising the benefits from a good education was far into the future, and sometimes, my mother’s needs were urgent. Schools for youth were far away from rural communities, and as such, we were unable to return home very often.  However, I remember once returning from school to find my mother’s home ready to fall over. I quickly organized my friends, and collected enough sticks to repair her small home.

Today, I have not only completed Form 4 but graduated from Mt. Kenya University. My sister found employment as an assistant with a local school, and I have been employed as a program assistant with Sauti Moja Marsabit. I am proud to be working for Sauti Moja, as my mother was first supported by Sauti Moja which provided her with 6 goats that have now become 13 and with family health training and food aid during drought. Now, my sister and I also contribute to my mother’s household, and she no longer needs to fetch water and firewood for others. We are coming through our struggles, together.

One very important thing I would like to point out about my mother is that she is a Christian, and one who prays all the time despite the difficulties that she passes through. My mother would give thanks to God, even if her meal was only tea. She has taught me that even a simple cup of tea can feel greater than a banquet, if one is truly thankful. My mother is and has always been a very rich woman. Today, I see my mother as a courageous Christian; I seek to be as rich in faith and as courageous in spirit, as she has been all her life.

From spectacle to resistance: the displacement of Maasai in Loliondo, TZ

Chuck Wright with Corey Wright

"A Maasai is good for a tourist's photograph, useful to carry your bags to the camp, or even to guide you to see the animals. But in the end the animals are far more valuable than people."  Moringe ole Parkipuny. Maasai rights campaigner and Tanzania’s first Maasai MP (The Observer, September 6, 2009).

Respected Maasai women, like Koko,
provide leadership in the struggle
against oppression. 

On the couch of my Winnipeg home lays a blue- and red- checked cloth known in Swahili as a kikoi – a garment worn by Maasai people. Travelers encounter the East African plains dotted by these decorated people along with the herds of cattle that accompany them. Along with wildlife tours of Ngongoro Crater and the world-renowned Serengeti, travelers often pay to see and experience an “authentic” Maasai village. This cloth oft reminds me of a people I have come to respect and know through the work of my family and Sauti Moja, though they have little more status in East Africa than the spectacle of the animals that international tourists flock to observe, photograph, and hunt.

There has been an on-going tension in Tanzania between the customary land use of the Maasai people and wildlife tourism since the time of the British colonial government – a conflict of values between economic growth, expanding foreign investment, and the survival of indigenous people. Until 1960, pastoralist communities, such as the Maasai, co-existed with wildlife in the Serengeti plains; in 1959, Serengeti National Park was established by the British colonial government, forcibly relocating 1,000 Maasai residents and excluding them from their traditional grazing grounds. Some residents were moved to the region of Loliondo, where they are again facing conflict between land and tourism – specifically recreational hunting.

More recently in 2009, during one of the harshest droughts the region had ever seen, the Tanzanian government evicted Maasai residents from eight villages in Loliondo, purportedly for conservation purposes, though at the request of an international hunting company. In the face of resistance from residents, homes were razed by government troops and livestock was lost.   Continuing this colonial legacy of land dispossession, the Tanzanian government officially announced in March 2013, its plan to establish a wildlife corridor between Serengeti National Park and the Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya; this corridor runs through the village land of Loliondo. Subsequently, thousands of families face further dispossession of the land they've relied on for over 200 years as many residents spurn the ruling party and pledge their commitment to defending their inherent and legal rights to the land. 

A large part of Tanzania’s “development strategy” is based on boosting tourism, often at the expense of peoples inhabiting prime areas for tourism. Critics point to the fact that the purported wildlife conservation areas of Loliondo have been leased, since 1992, to Otterlo Business Corporation – a safari hunting company owned by the defence minister of the United Arab Emirates. Many advocates believe that economic opportunism is actually at the root of the proposed evictions. While close observers can point to eco-tourist models that benefit local communities as well as to the importance of the local pastoralist economy, the government is choosing instead to grant exclusive hunting rights to a foreign company for the recreation of millionaires and Gulf sheikhs.

 

At the same time, the government has launched a propaganda campaign claiming that the area has been invaded by illegal immigrants from Kenya and degraded by an increasing human and livestock population. However, the region’s history points to the co-existence of pastoralism and wildlife for centuries. In fact, research indicates that the land management practices of Maasai, who move seasonally between grazing areas as well as hold cultural beliefs that prohibit the killing and eating of wildlife, is ecologically sustainable. Rather than degrading the environment, and contrary to popular opinion, there is strong evidence that the Maasai people have contributed to the abundance of wildlife in northern Tanzania.    

     

Above the couch in my Winnipeg home, hangs a print of a strong, proud Maasai woman wearing traditional dress. The women have been the most outspoken about the evictions as they will bear the brunt of the impacts of these evictions; similarly, women are the leaders of the Idle No More movement in Canada – a mounting resistance to the exploitation of indigenous lands and resources. As I reflect on these common struggles, I wonder how long it will take before the governments of Tanzania and Canada alike will recognize the devastating effects of unfettered economic opportunism and foreign resource exploitation has for people and the environment.  When will our elected leaders begin to respect the rights and dignity of indigenous peoples and recognize our shared responsibility to the land?

Join the international campaign of Avaaz in demanding that the Tanzanian government respect the land rights of the Maasai people.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_the_maasai_loc/?cl=2678696013HYPERLINK "http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_the_maasai_loc/?cl=2678696013&v=23733"&HYPERLINK "http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_the_maasai_loc/?cl=2678696013&v=23733"v=23733

Read more about the current land conflict at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22155538

Chuck Wright is an educator and activist living in Winnipeg, MB.  Corey Wright is a Sauti Moja's Africa Program Advisor and a researcher studying the politics and impacts of land policy in northern Tanzania.

Zainabu, a courageous woman

Zainabu and Haasan are a Maasai couple living with AIDS.  When pregnant, Zainabu was tested at the medical clinic and found to be HIV-positive.  Nasula, a home based care worker in our HIV/AIDS Program, counseled her and Haasan, who also tested HIV-positive. Together, they joined the Good Samaritan Group, a support and advocacy group for those living with HIV/AIDS.  Zainabu is inspiring, as in the midst of suffering, including the death of her baby, she is very strong and an example to others.

As Zainabu faces daily challenges related to
her AIDS, she remains an inspiration of hope to others.

As Zainabu has serious uterine and head complications associated with her disease, Sauti Moja supports her travel and treatment. Bi-monthly, Zainabu takes the two-day trip for treatment; first, there are X-rays in Arusha, and then, two weeks of radiation and other treatment in Moshi.  As she is vulnerable to secondary infections, she stays at a guest house rather than the hospital, and a Muslim nurse from the hospital has other Muslim women help feed and care for Zainabu. In an exhausted state, she returns to her remote village.

Living with AIDS presents many challenges for people like Zainabu. She explains that she is weakened by treatment and medications, and often, so tired. Though she does have access to anti-retrovirals (ARVs), these medicines make one feel very sick, if there is inadequate food to eat.  As well, the family and community tends to exclude those with AIDS from social events; for example, eating together, an important part of socializing, ends.  Farmers and their families normally work together for labour-intensive tasks like ploughing and weeding, but generally, others will not help those with this disease.

Zainabu stands with her husband, Haasan on the right
and Karoli, Sauti Moja's Community Health
Facilitator.

Zainabu and Haasan face health challenges, food insecurity, and social stigma, but they are determined.  They appreciate that Nasula visits them regularly, provides help around the home, and keeps Sauti Moja informed of concerns. Karoli, our Community Health Facilitator, has organized for ploughing their field and seed and fertilizer loans so that they will be able to produce food for themselves, again. They gain comfort and emotional support from their 13 peers in the Good Samaritan Group.

And, in spite of the stigma, Zainabu traveled to Oltepesi village on World AIDS Day to convince villagers that they cannot tell if someone has HIV, so everyone needs to be tested.  Sauti Moja has utmost respect for Zainabu, as she struggles with her health issues, yet serves in the community that rejects her.

What inspires Jenaya?

by Tim Wright

In 2011, Jenaya Rockman joined Sauti Moja, as our Africa Program Manager.  She came with a wealth of expertise – several years working with volunteers in Maasai communities, professional qualifications in both education and public health, and experience in program management.  We hired Jenaya to help build the capacity of Sauti Moja-Tanzania and to support development of reproductive health education.  At least, that was the plan.

The first week on the job, Jenaya began with hosting donors from Canada, and in the second week, co-hosted 24 Rotarians from Canada. Her experience in hosting international visitors was valuable.  Jenaya’s passion for education was important, as she has been ensured that each girl mother accesses appropriate education. She has supported our staff in both Kenya and Tanzania to develop and implement effective curricula around life skills, reproductive health, communication, and family planning. Her management experience is appreciated by local staff, as she has brought increased rigour to planning and reporting. She facilitated the local Board’s hiring of a Director for SM-TZ, and staff has expressed appreciation for Jenaya’s contribution to effective teamwork. We are all pleased with her output!

Recently, I asked Jenaya what was most fulfilling about her work. She responded with several comments. 

• “The staff are passionate about the beneficiaries and communities they serve, and often, have initiated and developed the programs that they implement.” 
• “We are not changing the World, but we do help a lot of people.  We are helping individuals, and as compared to some large organizations, lives are changed. We are close to beneficiaries.  People even show up on our doorsteps with sick children that need help.”
• “We have flexible hours. Everyone does what has to be done without regard for evenings, weekends or holidays.
•  “People are better at planning, now.”
• “As compared to my previous work, I actually get to ‘know’ the beneficiaries and personally engage with them on a day-to-day basis.  I am not just coming to a village, doing training, and leaving.”

Jenaya, along with of our Kenyan and Tanzanian staff, demonstrates professionalism and superior commitment to service of vulnerable people. Such character is critical to Sauti Moja becoming the agency that the Founders and Board envisioned.  Thank you, Jenaya!

A Strategic Gift Provides Twins with an Opportunity

by Jenaya Rockman

The Government of Tanzania claims 97% enrolment in primary school. However, this claim of high enrolment seems to be untrue for most rural areas. Driving through the countryside, one sees numerous children minding livestock, hauling water, collecting firewood, and caring for younger siblings. Many children have never been enrolled, and others have been withdrawn to help with home activities. For many Maasai families, the goats and cows, which are critical to survival, are valued more highly than education.

Daniel and Msanja 

Over a year ago, Daniel and Msanja, who are twins, graduated LECHE preschool, but until recently have not been able to attend primary school. Their mother is a widow with three other children but owns no property except for three goats. When her husband died, she and her children came under the care of her brother.  Because the uncle feeds and houses them, the twins have had to care for his goats so that his own child can attend school. He claimed that he could not afford school uniforms and school supplies for them.

Sarah Ilmolleian, the Early Childhood Development Program Coordinator for SM-TZ, was aware of the twin’s situation, but the Program did not have funds to assist students, such as Daniel and Msanja, with uniforms. However, a visitor to SM-TZ learned of the plight of the twins, and provided a donation for them. Sarah used the money for uniforms to enable students to proceed to primary school. This provided the leverage she needed to approach their uncle about school enrolment; lack of money was no longer an excuse. 

Mother, Uncle, Twins and Sarah

Sarah took the neighbourhood leader, called the balozi, to talk to the uncle about allowing the children to go to primary school. The uncle wanted to allow just one boy to go, but Sarah and the balozi insisted that they both be allowed. SM-TZ was able to provide the boys with uniforms and school supplies so they could enrol in school!  For now they will attend day school, but when space becomes available, Sarah will ensure that they attend boarding school. As boarding students, regular school attendance will be ensured.

Daniel and Msanja were named after the first two village leaders of Longido, because their mother wanted them to grow up to be great men. Without Sarah and the balozi advocating getting these children in school and without the donation from visitors, the twins would likely never have attended school. Now, they have a chance to become educated and the potential leaders their mother wants them to be; they have a chance to use their education to pull their family out of poverty; they have a chance to change the future by ensuring that their own children are educated. Change can start with just a few people; it can start with Daniel and Msanja.

For more information on Sauti Moja programs, select from the side margin or go to www.sautimoja.org.