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Tanzania: Actions against poverty

The 'Ondoa Umaskini Tanzania Campaign' which means 'The Poverty Eradication Campaign for Tanzania' is a coalition of 76 organizations, spearheading the fight against poverty and also organising the Stand Up event amongst faith-based and educational organisations.

Action title: Mobilization of the Faith based and Educational institutions for  Stand -Up Guinness World Record Challenge (15-16 October 2006)

Action purpose: Mass mobilization for action against poverty

PROJECT SUMMARY

Introduction
Tanzania, in East Africa, has a population of 34 million (census 2002). The mainstay of the  country's economy is agriculture, which contributes 50% to the GDP and 85% to national exports.

The nation has over the past decade experienced three spells of drought which has considerably impacted agricultural productivity.

Half the population lives in abject poverty. The life expectancy of an average Tanzanian is 47 years and is falling due to the adverse impact of HIV/AIDS.

There are pronounced indicators for the intensity of poverty in Tanzania, which are low incomes, high numbers of deaths due to preventable causes, and poor health and nutrition among the majority of the Tanzania population.

Other indicators of the intensity of poverty are that people do not participate in decision-making process, despite government opening space for participation. This is largely due to ignorance and lack of education.

Poverty is more intense in rural areas were 70% of the Tanzanian population lives.

Another poverty linked challenge facing Tanzania is the lack Social Safety Nets, which makes the people from poor families especially children fall into destitution or child labor and the girls into prostitution which exposes them to the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Despite efforts by government and CSO organization and groups emphasizing gender equality and equity, however due to cultural and sociological factors there is still gender disparity in most Tanzanian communities.

Ironically despite all the above stated challenges the Tanzanian government claims to have restructured and improved the economy .

Poverty reduction efforts
The Tanzanian government is one of the 189 countries which acceded to the Millennium Declaration in 2000.  However, four years down the road of implementation of the time bound MDGs, civil society groups are worried by the slow pace at which the government is honoring its commitment to the Millennium declaration. This raises the fear that Tanzania may not be able to meet even half of the targets set for 2015.

The civil society came up with a united platform whose specific objective was to push the Tanzanian Government, the G8 and other developed nations to honor their commitments to the MDGS.

Initially the platform was called the Tanzania MDG Coalition; however practice thought the MDG coalition that a one track focus on only the MDGs without considering other national and international poverty reduction efforts and frameworks will not move Tanzania any near to achieving the MDG targets.

Thereafter, the coalition broadened its scope and considered other frameworks, among them the National Strategy for Growth and Poverty reduction NSGPR (MKUKUTA).

The CSOs and government worked to gather to harmonize the MDG and MKUKUTA target so that there was parity between the two. Further the MDG coalition factored in the international campaign on poverty eradication, chiefly the Global Call to Action against poverty (G-CAP).

After the consideration of all efforts towards poverty reduction the coalition changed its name and adopted a more inclusive one “Ondoa Umaskini Tanzania Campaign” which means “The Poverty Eradication Campaign for Tanzania”.
The coalition is made up of 76 organizations all of which are appended to this proposal.  

The action
The Ondao Umaskini Campaign is Tanzanians leading coalition in the fight against poverty. Among its objectives are:-

•    Create awareness and raise the peoples’ consciousness and involvement in the poverty eradication fight.
•     Mobilization the public into practical poverty eradication actions especially the attainment of national MDGs targets.
•    Conduct policy advocacy that will lead to poverty eradication
•    Provide capacity building to the CSOs so as have the skills need in poverty reduction strategic advocacy, planning, implementation and monitoring at the sub-national, national and international levels

Implementing Agencies
Ondao Umaskini Tanzania is Tanzania’s major platform for then engagement of the Civil society in undertaking aimed at poverty eradication. The platform is made up of 76 signed up CSOs.

The member agencies of Ondoa Umaskini range from CBOs, FBOs, Labor Movements, Trade Unions, Chamber of Commerce, Farmers and Small Scale Entrepreneurs Associations and NGOs. The project implementation will involve all of the above mentioned CSO actors, draw on their diverse capacity.

Output
The project seeks to mobilize 3000 people in Educational and Faith based institutions to stand up against poverty and add to the millions who will make the Guinness World Record. 

Actions
In the period leading to the 15 and 16 October which are the 40 days of action Ondoa Umaskini will conduct a series of lectures, debates and talks on poverty and efforts towards poverty reduction in schools, colleges, churches and Mosques. This will be crowned by actual stand declaration and pledges on the 15th of October.

The Ondoa Umaskini Tanzania campaign in collaboration with Vodacom will also run a side event which is aimed at pushing the Tanzania public to take practical actions towards providing for the poor. The event will be a concert which will carry the theme “ Simama; Jali Yatima!” meaning stand-up provide for Orphans and Destitute Children. 

Target Population
The general public and specifically students in the designed 8 schools, 2 Universities, 5 churches and 5 Mosques.

Other targets are population in the 50 districts of Tanzania which have district civil society networks.

Time frame
Mobilization will spread over 1st August and 15th and 16th October.

OVERAL PLAN AND ACTION DESCRIPTION

Objectives of the Action
1.    Mobilize a minimum of 3000 Tanzanians to stand up against poverty to show solidarity with and provide for people living in abject poverty and can not afford three decent meals a day.
 2.    Communicate the MDGs and the poverty agenda to the public  through the media
3.    Provide a platform for citizens to speak in one voice holding their leaders accountable for their promises
4.    Influence policy in favor of the poor  and marginalized people
 
Strategy
The following steps constitute the overall strategy in implementing the proposal which will be carried out alongside the wider GCAP month of action campaign activities.

1.    The Ondoa Umaskini Tanzania will conduct three workshops for the coordinators in schools and university (separately), Mosques and Churches (separately) to strategies on the modalities of conducting the month of action.
2.     The Ondoa Umaskini Tanzania campaign will reach out to 8 secondary schools and 2 universities, 5 churches and 5 Mosques to raise the poverty debate. These actions will run through out the month of September.
3.    Liaise with celebrities and eminent people who will grace the stand-up events in the various locations, Mosques, Schools and churches and at the sometime make logistical arrangement for “Jali Yatima Concert”. 
4.    Conduct two media briefing sessions
5.    Prepare adverts for the print and electronic media
6.    Prepare awareness and publicity material for public mobilization
7.    Translation and print the material
8.    Develop a coordinated documentation procedure for the stand up events through out the points of stand-up action.

Detailed actions
Ondoa Umaskini month of mobilization will be launched on September 15th through public statements from the campaigners. The statement will be broadly covered by media. This will be followed by a continued sensitization of the communities on and during the month of action.

Dar es salaam based CSOs will launch the month of action by matching from Mnazi Mmoja Grounds to Karimjee hall where the Regional Commissioner will flag off the event.

During the proceeding weeks that follow the launch a number of policy debates will be held in all districts which have CSOs networks that affiliated to the Ondoa Umaskini Tanzania campaign. In the district, local poverty agendas will form the basis of the public debates and discussions. The Dar es salaam debates will target policy makers at the macro level.

It is expected that the five carefully selected churches and mosques,  the 8 schools and two universities will work out their own relevant poverty agenda which will be discussed.

Implementation Arrangements
1.    TANGO will steer the campaign, provide the secretariat for the action and will be responsible for the overall coordination of the project, resource mobilization and utilization.  The monitoring, evaluation and reporting functions will be vested in the National Ondoa Umaskini Campaign Steering Committee.

2.    Volunteers have been singed to provide logistical assistance to the secretariat and other implementation organs

3.    HAKI ELIMU/ Ministries of Education Science and Technology: will be providing advisory services and technical support to the project in terms of raising the debate in schools and university.

4.    Caritas/TDG/BAWATA will provide advisory service and technical support to the project in terms of engagement with Christians and Muslims (Churches and Mosques).  

5.    Lead organizations picked from forum member organizations will be involved in mobilizing participants to the campaign and providing logistical support in the organization of actions (e.g. invitations, communications, identifying venues).
 
6.    The Media will also be key stakeholders putting the action to the public domain.

Expected Results and Indicators of Success

1.    Thirty  thousand stand up against poverty
2.    Wide media coverage of the poverty agenda and the stand up challenge
3.    Heightened public debate on MDGs and the poverty agenda
4.    Number of specific policy demands put in the public domain

Monitoring and Evaluation
The TANGO will provide the summative evaluation of the stand up challenge. The Ondoa Umaskini Tanzania Coordinators Office will be principal actors in monitoring and evaluation.  It is expected that the Ondoa Umaskini Steering committee will be involved fully in the monitoring and evaluation of the project.

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