Monthly Archives: July 2016

25.7.16 Sponsored Walk for Busega Scotland Projects

John walking

‘Walk Moray for Busega’ will take place from 3rd to 11th September, following the Moray Way long distance path for a total of 95 miles. Some folk will be walking the full distance, and others a day here and there. We would love it if you could join us or support us in any way you can.  How can you do this?
  • Join us as a sponsored walker on a walk or walks
  • Sponsor a walker
  • Ask for a sponsor sheet and collect sponsors on our behalf

  • Arrange a fundraiser during

    or around

    the ‘walk week’ to add to the proceeds

  • Help Christine in the ‘walk support team’
  • Encourage family, friends and work colleagues to take part or support the walk.
  • Contact us at [email protected]

7.7.16 Cricket lovely cricket

sukuma cricketWhile this is a West Indian refrain, there maybe a version in Swahili as there is an indigenous form of the game in Sukumaland. We don’t know if is still played, how widespread it was and how many people played it, but play it they did. The Sukuma are the ethnic group who live in and around Mwanza, and the largest tribe in Tanzania.
Sukuma means ‘people of the north’ and there is a superb open air museum at Bujora. In one of the exhibits we found a bat and a ball used in Sukuma cricket. There were no details of the rules but we assume it was played a bit like rounders. We have not seen anyone playing.
Conventional cricket was introduced to Tanganyika around 1890 by British settlers and has been slow to catch on with Tanzanians themselves. It is estimated that there are now about 15,000 players in the country and a growing contingent of women players. How good is the Tanzanian team? You judge – they would be ranked well below Scotland in any world cricket rankings.
We did try and do something about that by having a taster session with the children at the Mayega Centre, using equipment donated by Fochabers Cricket Club. The difficulty is time, the sand and the lack of bounce but we will try again. The skills of the game are a little difficult to master. The answer, of course, maybe playing rounders or, if we can find out more, Sukuma cricket itself.

25.6.16 Mwanza seminar report available

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The reports page now has an account of a Busega Scotland seminar that considered the challenges facing young people when they leave orphanage care.

The seminar highlighted the research of Julieth Godwin, Busega Scotland Apprentice. She looked at the difficulties faced by orphanage leavers in holding down jobs. Christine Carney described the operation of the Busega Scotland Moving-on Project. The seminar concluded by developing improvement recommendations and priorities.

Please read the report.

It makes interesting reading in understanding the challenges faced by orphanage leavers and what the Moving-on Project needs to do to improve its service.

 

22.6.16 Security for the children

Mayega return from shoppingThe contractors have finished the work at Mayega and the children are delighted with their new fence. Having led chaotic lives before their admission to the orphanage , the fence gives the children a sense of freedom . They feel safe and will no longer be bothered by village drunks. This was a particular problem for the girls.

 

Front gate painted MayegaAcross Tanzania vulnerable girls are often forced to get married when they are very young if they have no family to provide for them. Extended families too poor to care for orphaned relatives see it as a way of ensuring the girls  are fed as they become the responsibility of the husband. A girl can be sold for a few cows .   The United Nations Population Fund has a fact sheet on Child Marriage in Tanzania for further reading.

http://tanzania.unfpa.org/sites/esaro/files/resource-pdf/Child%20Marriagge%20fact%20sheet%20English%202014_0.pdf

23.6.16 Julieth Completes her Apprenticeship

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It is just over a year since Julieth Godwin began her apprenticeship with Busega Scotland. This is a pilot project, and Julieth is our first apprentice. One of the most upsetting features of Tanzania is the waste of young talent. Whether this is due to failings in the educational system or a lack of opportunities for meaningful employment or training. This is not our opinion alone but it is what Tanzanians are saying themselves.
It is that context that we introduced the apprenticeship, to allow on the job experience to be obtained in preparation for a career in social welfare. There is a gamble in providing such an opportunity, as employers may not recognise this unconventional route.
As far as Julieth is concerned, she worked very hard to build up relevant knowledge, skills and experience. She had four placements; in micro-credit, co-leading a women’s group, teaching in a street girl’s project and as a leader in a youth project. There was also a research assignment (see website post on 270518 – Research points the way forward) and the planning of a seminar at which she presented her research as the keynote speaker.
Julieth is currently completing a portfolio that she can use in applying for jobs. The job hunt will not be easy but with Julieth’s personality, ability and the apprenticeship behind her we are all hopeful.
While readers will empathise with her struggle as a universal one there are also the demands of being a single parent, in a country where state support does not exist. Despite our time in the country I’m not sure we understand at all what it takes to be resilient, and remain positive, in the face of life’s challenges for ordinary Tanzanians. What we do know is that it requires extraordinary personal qualities and Busega Scotland is there to do what it can.