This project was implemented in Suma ward of Rungwe District. Suma ward is one of the 30 wards of Rungwe district council. The ward has 9 villages with the total population of 11,974. Of these 9 villages 8 villages have no portable clean water. From the community assessment carried in November 2007, the community identified four major problems: lack of clean water, poor roads, inadequate farming inputs and environmental degradation. Of the four problems identified, clean water was identified as priority need through pair wise ranking. Nevertheless, both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used: Survey, PRA, and Documentary review. Tools used were FGD, Questionnaires, transect walk, observation and review meetings. Following the findings, the community members through ward development committee designed a project that addressed the problem and their need, which is setting Community water management. This was used as a base for the community to have a leading role in requesting for financial support in getting portable water in the ward as per National water policy of 2002 directives.
However, the project Goal was Enhanced Community Management capacity in water supply management in Suma Ward by end of 2008. The goal was to be accomplished through these specific objectives. Objective number one: Organize Community Members in 9 villages for Community Water Management by the end of year 2008, objective number two: Establish the Supportive Network between 9 villages and other stakeholders in the District to support their Initiatives by the end of the year 2008 and the last objective was to determine project implementation structure with the community by the end of the year 2008.
Moreover, the project had these output:
• Nine villages mobilized on community water management
• Ward development committee mobilized in Community water management
• 9 villages elected village water committees each comprised of six people, 50% women
• 9 villages elected Village Scheme Attendants, 2 people from each village
• Members of Village water committee and Village scheme attendants trained on basic of water management
• Community capacity in water supply management enhanced
• Technical and financial support provided by the stakeholders( ELCT Konde Diocese, Rungwe District Council(RDC) and Rungwe Smallholders Tea Growers Association( RSTGA)
• 9 villages mobilized on structure for water Users in the ward
Moreover, the following activities were implemented in for attaining the project objectives:
• 2 Mobilization meetings for the Ward Development Committee,(WDC) were conducted whose members were: Counselor- the Chairperson, the Ward Executive Officer,(secretary) and village chairpersons from 9 villages. The aim of the meeting was to prepare logistics for the mobilization meetings in their respective villages. The first meeting 11 attended, while second meeting 19 attended( some extra people invited for their inputs i.e. Village Executive Officers )
• The mobilization meetings in all 9 villages in the ward was conducted aimed at providing feedback of the community assessment carried and priority need indicated. Thereafter, the community was given information about the current Water policy and the role of the Community. Briefly, the major areas for the NAWAPO of 2002 were explained to the community members. The third concern was on the explanation of the responsibility of water Committee in the village and of the Village scheme Attendants. After all these, the community members were advised to elect the village water committee and village scheme attendants plus their leadership which could be the base for Community water Management. The activity was wholeheartedly done by the villages.
• Training assessment for the Village water committees was done for village water committee and village scheme attendants. The Community participated through WDC members, also, ELCT Konde Diocese was Consulted as it has experiences on water supply project in the area, again District Water engineer was consulted in the exercise.
• Prepare the training programe for Village water committee and village schemes attendants
• Discussion with community members on water supply system to be adopted, during mobilization campaigns, people accepted Water Users Association as a system which fit them.
• Conducted one day training for the village water committee and village scheme attendants, 64 out of 72 people,(89%), on roles and responsibility of village water committee, budgeting techniques, National water Policy and roles and responsibility for scheme attendants.
• Monitoring and evaluation of the project implementation, two mid monitoring and evaluation of project progress was done in order to track the progress and implement necessary adjustments
• Feedback meeting with the stakeholders regarding project progress was done. That is members of WDC and representatives from village water committees in the ward.
• Final evaluation for the project progress, and it was found that the project followed the set plan and it has contributed in enhancing the Community Capacity regarding water supply issues in the ward.
Generally this project has been successful as the 94% of the planned activities were accomplished. The community is now having community water management and they can be in a position for requesting water supply project .As to now, they have requested financial support and Technical feasibility has been done. Very soon the water project will start to be implemented under Ministry of Water and Irrigation being coordinated by Rungwe District council. Normally, this is doing things different from the mainstream, to start setting Community management before having the water project to many is a misnomer but has proved very important approach and ideal as many water projects in Tanzania are failing lack/ inadequate Community management system to oversee the management of water supply activities at the lowest administration level- the village.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Diminishing Communal Grazing land In Mbulu District: The Case study of Gunyoda Village as an element of Social Change.
1. Introduction
Social change is among the most significant phenomena present in societies all over the world. The human beings and non-human being have being undergoing change very gradually but these changes have been so instrumental. The main reason for such change is to balance its force internally and externally. In many cases, these changes brought by social change has been desirable while others regard them as an alien way of doing things This paper is intended therefore to define the meaning of social change, basing on different scholars, it will point out different types and causes of social change as part one. The second part of this paper is on the case study regarding Diminishing grazing land in Tanzania,in Mbulu District the case study of Gunyoda village in particular being an element of social change in the rural setting . Thereafter, there will be a conclusion..
2. The Meaning of Social Change
Different authors have defined social change in different ways. Below do the different authors on social change put some definitions forward.
Soil change is the transformation of culture and social Institutions over time.1
That is to say, the human culture as social component and social institutions are being transformed with time
Another definition of social change say social Change is basically related to the changing trends with in a society like economical trends, political trends, Social
trends and technological developments. These are related to the evolutionary paradigm of Social Change of any society2.
However, the evolutionary paradigms of Social Change impacts on the Social culture of every society and the various cultures existing in it. Amongst the various evolutionary paradigms of Social Change, let’s try to evaluate the evolutionary3
The term can encompass concepts as broad as revolution and paradigm shift to narrow changes such as a particular cause within small town government. The concept of Social change implies the measurement of some characteristics of this group of individuals, while the term is usually applied to changes that are beneficial to society.4
Basically, there are two type of social change, the planned and unplanned social change. The former is directed as Ujamaa villages in Tanzania while the former is pushed by circumstances.
There are two main perspectives regarding the cause of social change. Materialistic perspective regard technology is the cause of it. 5 However, the idealistic perspective regards the cause of social change to be due to values and belief both religious and secular. 6 These have motivated people to work hard and the habit of frugality encouraged them to save which help them in investment. However, these two perspectives depend on which corner one view the cause of social change.
3. Diminishing Communal Grazing Land in Mbulu District:The case
of Gunyoda village as an element of Social change.
Gunyoda is one of the villages of Mbulu District in Manyara region. It is one of the three villages that compose Masieda ward, having 3 villages namely: Endahagichan, Masieda and Gunyoda which is the ward Headquarters. It is 15km west of Mbulu Township. The village has total population of 3528 people, out of which female are: 1028, and male are 2500(Village population report: 2007)
The village has three primary schools, namely Gunyoda having 773 pupils, Gedamar having 527 pupils and Qalieda having 345 pupils. There is also one secondary school, having 227 students (Village Report: 2007)
In the village, it is a common practice to set aside communal grazing land for he sake of cattle which are regarded as assets in he village. Moreover, almost everybody was having cattle. This practice has been passed along the generations in the village. This practice enforced people to set part of their land as common property. And it is this land, which is quarantined after rain season so that the pastures grow well and the community to have good pastures during the period of dry season. That is between July through October. As it is normality people to heard their cattle in this communal grazing land including cattle throughway. (Thornton, J.Robert:1980) p.37. Usually the neighbors cooperate in the maintenance of these pasture as these are the most important element n their livelihood as cattle were regarded as a social bank and play several social and economic functions including: to pay bride price, as a fine, sacrifices, as sources of food. Thus, community was obligated to set some portions of their land for communal welfare without question.
According to (PRA report: 2007) carried in the village, the inhabitant’s are agro-pastor lists. They are mainly involved in both crop production and livestock keeping. The major food crops grown include: maize, beans, and sorghum. Cash crops grown include: Finger millet, beans, and sorghum. In total the village has total arable land of 4998 square kilometers; where as the grazing land is only 500 square kilometers. (Padep Report: 2007a.) This indicates that areas for grazing are quite minimal and insufficient. Whereby the village has 30,000 cattle, 20,000 goats and 5000 pigs. (Village report: 2007)
According to Village PRA Report,( 2007) the village is faced by lack of communal grazing land as a main reason for a poor living condition amongst the people. In this village Livestock keeping is one of the important economic activity which support their livelihood.
Nevertheless, the fiasco began as a result of 10 years drought which hit the village i.e. from late 1980s to late 1990s. People were forced to practicing a kind of transhumance by moving their herds of cows for search of pastures. They had to move to over 30 km away leaving behind their families for over 4 months. It was this movement and trouble to live in the bush for couple of months, which made the young men to refrain from the activity. They started to query the reason for communal grazing land at their expense, as they had no land. In the area, it is a customary Land, which is applicable, and as an order of the area it is until one marries then he can claim for piece of land from the village. (Personal Communication with Village chairperson 2007)
Then, in 1999 a tug of war emerged in the village, as young men started to encroach the communal grazing land. As usual, the village leadership and elders had to summon the meeting to save the communal grazing land from the peril prevailing. (Village Minutes Meeting, 1999). The debate at the meeting was extra ordinarily hot and the village leaders and elders were overwhelmed. The point was they had no cows; the cows had destructed extremely the environment and above all they argued that everybody should zero graze his cattle so that they get land so that they may earn a living. It was a big blow in the history of the village, that there should be no longer a communal grazing land. Indeed that was a turning point for community in Gunyoda village to enjoy a common mans property one of which is grazing land. Now, they have no free woodland for firewood and building materials as they use to do in the past.
4. Conclusion:
Impact of the decision has been an improvement in environmental care as very piece of land is fenced and taken care of, also, as the free natural benefits were cut the people have started to reduce numbers of cattle, and above all there are initiatives of tree planting as source of firewood and building materials. But, the argents of all these changes, which took place, are few young people who were daring to start an alternative line of lifestyle. However, the change has a positive aspect on saving land from land degradation it was caused by heads of cows roaming from one point to another in the village particularly on no mans land. The present practice for sure will make the people responsible for their land, which is their asset and the only resource which support their livelihood. The only shortcoming of abolishing communal grazing land is the prevalence of selfish use of resources and the communal common bond is falling apart as a normal life in western societies. So, from the above fact, it is true that social change is there to balance external and internal forces of communities in any point of time.
References:
Gunyoda village PRA Report in 2007
Gunyoda Village General Annual meeting minutes on 25th October 1999.
Gunyoda village population report 2007
http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/macionis7/chapter24/objectives/deluxe-
content.html, Accessed on 28th Nov 2007
http://www.termpapergenie.com/theoryofsocialchange.html accessed on 28th Oct 07
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_change accessed on 5th Nov. 2007 http://husky1.smu.ca/~evanderveen/wvdv/social_change/causes_of_social_change. htm Accessed on 5th Nov 2007
Thorton,J, Robert( 1980) Space, Time and Culture among the Iraqw of
Northern Tanzania, Academic Press, New York
URT (2007) Padep Report.
Social change is among the most significant phenomena present in societies all over the world. The human beings and non-human being have being undergoing change very gradually but these changes have been so instrumental. The main reason for such change is to balance its force internally and externally. In many cases, these changes brought by social change has been desirable while others regard them as an alien way of doing things This paper is intended therefore to define the meaning of social change, basing on different scholars, it will point out different types and causes of social change as part one. The second part of this paper is on the case study regarding Diminishing grazing land in Tanzania,in Mbulu District the case study of Gunyoda village in particular being an element of social change in the rural setting . Thereafter, there will be a conclusion..
2. The Meaning of Social Change
Different authors have defined social change in different ways. Below do the different authors on social change put some definitions forward.
Soil change is the transformation of culture and social Institutions over time.1
That is to say, the human culture as social component and social institutions are being transformed with time
Another definition of social change say social Change is basically related to the changing trends with in a society like economical trends, political trends, Social
trends and technological developments. These are related to the evolutionary paradigm of Social Change of any society2.
However, the evolutionary paradigms of Social Change impacts on the Social culture of every society and the various cultures existing in it. Amongst the various evolutionary paradigms of Social Change, let’s try to evaluate the evolutionary3
The term can encompass concepts as broad as revolution and paradigm shift to narrow changes such as a particular cause within small town government. The concept of Social change implies the measurement of some characteristics of this group of individuals, while the term is usually applied to changes that are beneficial to society.4
Basically, there are two type of social change, the planned and unplanned social change. The former is directed as Ujamaa villages in Tanzania while the former is pushed by circumstances.
There are two main perspectives regarding the cause of social change. Materialistic perspective regard technology is the cause of it. 5 However, the idealistic perspective regards the cause of social change to be due to values and belief both religious and secular. 6 These have motivated people to work hard and the habit of frugality encouraged them to save which help them in investment. However, these two perspectives depend on which corner one view the cause of social change.
3. Diminishing Communal Grazing Land in Mbulu District:The case
of Gunyoda village as an element of Social change.
Gunyoda is one of the villages of Mbulu District in Manyara region. It is one of the three villages that compose Masieda ward, having 3 villages namely: Endahagichan, Masieda and Gunyoda which is the ward Headquarters. It is 15km west of Mbulu Township. The village has total population of 3528 people, out of which female are: 1028, and male are 2500(Village population report: 2007)
The village has three primary schools, namely Gunyoda having 773 pupils, Gedamar having 527 pupils and Qalieda having 345 pupils. There is also one secondary school, having 227 students (Village Report: 2007)
In the village, it is a common practice to set aside communal grazing land for he sake of cattle which are regarded as assets in he village. Moreover, almost everybody was having cattle. This practice has been passed along the generations in the village. This practice enforced people to set part of their land as common property. And it is this land, which is quarantined after rain season so that the pastures grow well and the community to have good pastures during the period of dry season. That is between July through October. As it is normality people to heard their cattle in this communal grazing land including cattle throughway. (Thornton, J.Robert:1980) p.37. Usually the neighbors cooperate in the maintenance of these pasture as these are the most important element n their livelihood as cattle were regarded as a social bank and play several social and economic functions including: to pay bride price, as a fine, sacrifices, as sources of food. Thus, community was obligated to set some portions of their land for communal welfare without question.
According to (PRA report: 2007) carried in the village, the inhabitant’s are agro-pastor lists. They are mainly involved in both crop production and livestock keeping. The major food crops grown include: maize, beans, and sorghum. Cash crops grown include: Finger millet, beans, and sorghum. In total the village has total arable land of 4998 square kilometers; where as the grazing land is only 500 square kilometers. (Padep Report: 2007a.) This indicates that areas for grazing are quite minimal and insufficient. Whereby the village has 30,000 cattle, 20,000 goats and 5000 pigs. (Village report: 2007)
According to Village PRA Report,( 2007) the village is faced by lack of communal grazing land as a main reason for a poor living condition amongst the people. In this village Livestock keeping is one of the important economic activity which support their livelihood.
Nevertheless, the fiasco began as a result of 10 years drought which hit the village i.e. from late 1980s to late 1990s. People were forced to practicing a kind of transhumance by moving their herds of cows for search of pastures. They had to move to over 30 km away leaving behind their families for over 4 months. It was this movement and trouble to live in the bush for couple of months, which made the young men to refrain from the activity. They started to query the reason for communal grazing land at their expense, as they had no land. In the area, it is a customary Land, which is applicable, and as an order of the area it is until one marries then he can claim for piece of land from the village. (Personal Communication with Village chairperson 2007)
Then, in 1999 a tug of war emerged in the village, as young men started to encroach the communal grazing land. As usual, the village leadership and elders had to summon the meeting to save the communal grazing land from the peril prevailing. (Village Minutes Meeting, 1999). The debate at the meeting was extra ordinarily hot and the village leaders and elders were overwhelmed. The point was they had no cows; the cows had destructed extremely the environment and above all they argued that everybody should zero graze his cattle so that they get land so that they may earn a living. It was a big blow in the history of the village, that there should be no longer a communal grazing land. Indeed that was a turning point for community in Gunyoda village to enjoy a common mans property one of which is grazing land. Now, they have no free woodland for firewood and building materials as they use to do in the past.
4. Conclusion:
Impact of the decision has been an improvement in environmental care as very piece of land is fenced and taken care of, also, as the free natural benefits were cut the people have started to reduce numbers of cattle, and above all there are initiatives of tree planting as source of firewood and building materials. But, the argents of all these changes, which took place, are few young people who were daring to start an alternative line of lifestyle. However, the change has a positive aspect on saving land from land degradation it was caused by heads of cows roaming from one point to another in the village particularly on no mans land. The present practice for sure will make the people responsible for their land, which is their asset and the only resource which support their livelihood. The only shortcoming of abolishing communal grazing land is the prevalence of selfish use of resources and the communal common bond is falling apart as a normal life in western societies. So, from the above fact, it is true that social change is there to balance external and internal forces of communities in any point of time.
References:
Gunyoda village PRA Report in 2007
Gunyoda Village General Annual meeting minutes on 25th October 1999.
Gunyoda village population report 2007
http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/macionis7/chapter24/objectives/deluxe-
content.html, Accessed on 28th Nov 2007
http://www.termpapergenie.com/theoryofsocialchange.html accessed on 28th Oct 07
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_change accessed on 5th Nov. 2007 http://husky1.smu.ca/~evanderveen/wvdv/social_change/causes_of_social_change. htm Accessed on 5th Nov 2007
Thorton,J, Robert( 1980) Space, Time and Culture among the Iraqw of
Northern Tanzania, Academic Press, New York
URT (2007) Padep Report.
Paper on Social Exclusion experience from Tanzania: The case study of Hadzabe of Yaeda Chini, Mbulu District
1.0 Introduction
The concept of Social exclusion has been dominant in western world due to their social economic development. Gaullist Politicians in France coined it in 1960s after being puzzled by the problems of postindustrial society. (Tibaijuka, kaijage: 1996). In developing countries, Tanzania being one of them, Social exclusion has descriptive significance meaning that it has attributes that are based on poverty, deprivation, unemployment and denial of certain rights including political rights. This paper is aimed to discuss the subject matter. It is basically divided into two main parts. Part one will be devoted in discussing the meaning of social exclusion as put forward by various authors; also it will shed light on some examples of social exclusion at Global level. Part two of this paper will be on the case study from Tanzania intended to discuss Social exclusion in Tanzanian Context, by expressing social exclusion amongst Hadzabe Ethnic Minority Group of Northern Tanzania, in Yaeda chini in Mbulu District. These are considered as the only remaining hunters and gathers in Tanzania depending solely on the mercy of Nature. Finally, it will wind up by concluding remarks.
2.0 The meaning of Social exclusion:
Many academicians and authors have dealt with a task of defining social exclusion, which is one of the prevailing elements in our society. “Social exclusion relates to the alienation and disenfranchisement of certain people within a society.” .
Social exclusion is more than income poverty. It is a short–hand term for what can happen when people or areas has a combination of linked problems. . Usually, this combination of linked problems may range from: unemployment, deprivation, lack of basic social services such as health, education, infrastructure, poor skills and even the issue of required skills that can support their livelihood.
3.0 Social exclusion at Global level:
As said above, this concept emerged from early 1960s in Western Europe, and in that context it was focusing attention to the problem of unemployment. However, the social exclusion at global level is disheartening. The following are some examples to validate the statement.
For example in Britain, women from developing countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Caribbean descent, besides being well in schools are penalized in work place. . Another case is that in Britain 43% of adults have paid work, also, more than one in twenty people are disconnected from water, electricity, gas or phone. . This shows that this phenomenon is even prevailing in developed world such as Britain.
In the case of Latin America, formerly, social exclusion was identified on the base of race, ethnicity or gender . But due to transformation in socio-economic activities in the last 25 years, it has changed to be related to urban life, who is not outsiders. Those who cannot afford decent paying jobs to care families. Others are whose who sleep on streets and abandoned buildings.
Moreover, for the Case of Africa, Tanzania is picked as representative country. Here, the common social exclusion is women failure to access land. In most Tanzania societies, women don’t have the right to own land. The situation is intensified by many tribal customs, as women are regarded as third degree. Single out is Bahaya people of Bukoba, Muleba and Karagwe.(Tibaijuka, Kaijage: 1996), Also, there is issues of pastoralist eviction from best pasture lands. Case noted is Barbaig of Northern Tanzania, who’s Land, was taken by NAFCO, (Tanzania Food Corporation) in 1970s. Despite the fact that it was under their village jurisdiction: To date they are marginalized and become victims of collective social exclusion in the Country (Shivji, I: 1995). Their case has been pushed from one court to another over years. Possibly one day they will get their overdue compensation.
5.0 Social Exclusion experience from Tanzania:
The Hadzabe of Yaeda Chini in Mbulu District as a case study.
The Hadzabe are one of the Ethnic group in Tanzania who are found in Manyara, Singida and Shinyanga regions. They are normadic people. They are hunters and gathers. That means going out in the morning and afternoon in search of Game. But in this part I will disccuss Social exclusion as experienced by the Hadzabe who are living in Manyara Region, Mbulu District and Yaeda chini in particular.
Yaeda Chini Village is one of the villages that compose Yaeda chini ward. It is 58 km south west of Mbulu town center. The population of The Hadzabe in Tanzania is estimated about 3000, but in Yaeda Chini, they are about 936. Their major economic activities include: hunting, collecting wild honey, roots and fruits. They are engaged in neither farming nor livestock keeping. Despite the fact that they are living within the same ecological zone with the pastoralist in this case the Barbaig. They believe that wildlife is enough to sustain their livelihood.
The Hadzabe is the ethnic group that is on the verge of extinction and unfortunately, it is socially excluded. This argument is based on these grounds: First, they are not provided with the basic educational facilities as one of the social services. For example, there are only two schools in the catchments area of about 1000 km, the old school was built in 1967, when the Hadzabe started to settle in Yaeda Chini and its within Hadzabe settlement, the other school was built in 2002, that serves both Barbaig and Iraqw who are both involved in pastoralism. (Field Report by Protas M: 2007) . This old school was converted to boarding school, however; the Hadzabe were not comfortable with it, definitely due to their life style of moving from point to point. Their argument is that a child of 7 years old is too young to be in boarding school. So, many don’t send their children to school. The other reason is that the school is poorly staffed and lacks teaching materials. The new school is about 26 km from their village. It is near Haydom.
On the other hand, the Hadzabe are lacking basic health care. There is a dispensary which is headed by an attendant.( who is a sweeper). Formerly, the dispensary was under Rural Medical Aid (RMA), he went for training and whe he had graduated in Clinical Officer Course he decline to go back, and so is in town area. They get outreach services from Haydom Lutheran Hospital. But he health care of women and children is at great risk, since one day is not enough for attending people who had no care for one month. Mbulu District Council has failed to delivery outreach program on the pretext that there is a problem of transport. They are supposed to improve the road to Yaeda Chini as they are part of their citizens.
Third, they lack water Supply, which is the basic need. There is only one borehole for such population. So, they get a lot of walking to fetch water for their need. So, this indicates deprivation as a group, collective social exclusion, that the service is not available. In areas where Barbaig ad Iraqw the pastoralist live there are 5 boreholes.
The lack of these basic services makes the civil servants decline going to Yaeda Chini. That means, the Government was supposed to provide the infrastructures.
Fourth, their area was encroached by the pastoralist, though Yaeda Chini is still the reserve area. This situation has put their livelihood in great risk. It is definite that, the pastoralism as a life style greatly interferes the ecosystem. The number one effect is that, wild animal are disturbed by the pastoralist and run away. To Hadzabe who depend on wild animal it is a big loss. Second, the tress they used for wild fruits are either cut or destroyed by cattle and this make them starve when wild animal are away, especially during dry season. On top of that cattle eat plant whose roots and tubers are usually complementing their diet. This means, their food security has been at risk following pastoralist settlement in the area. However, the Barbaig is another group who has victims of Government implementations of 1970s; they were forced to leave their prime pasture land of about 100,000 acres, to NAFCO (National Food Cooperation) with Assistance from CIDA. Out of which 10,000 acres of the land were at jurisdiction of Mulbadaw Village Coucil. This incidence has led the pastoralist to move searching for pastures; Yaeda Chini was their immediate solution thus brought havoc to the only remaining minority groups of hunters and gathers- the Hadzabe.
Furthermore, to make things worse, the district officials are trying to Lobby and advocate for the Hadzabe to accept hunting company from UAE. They have resisted accepting hunting company using all their voices. But those who were on the front line were arrested and the key leaders put in big trouble, for example Ward Community Development Officer who is Hadzabe too was dismissed from the Job (Field Report by Protas M: 2007) .
Presently, there is only one NGO called NDOROBO TAZAMA that is support them understand their right including the right to live in the area. The other organization is Called Cuso (Canadian University Student Organization) it is engaged in research on the ethnic group.
However, there is need also the Hadzabe o see other ways of supporting their livelihood apart from hunting and gathering. It is a truth that human being is a dynamic being, she or he has do adopt changing circumstances in order to survive.
6.0 Conclusion:
Social exclusion is state which can be corrected, provided that there is both political and administrative will from the decision makers. For the case of Hadzabe ethnic minority group which may get extinct if it is subjected towards natural or human made disaster. There is need to make them access the land, in case limit the interference from other groups such as the Barbaig and Iraqw whose basic activities interfere the ecosystem that with support these remaining last hunters and gathers of Tanzania. It is also ideal to keep away the hunting companies whose activities will endanger the Games around Yaeda Chini Game reserve. As human beings, they have basic right to basic social services. As a country, there has to be deliberate efforts to make them get these services even if it cost a fortune. Those civil servants who agree to work in remote areas have to be highly remunerated as those who are working in some sectors as in TRA, (Tanzania Revenue Authority) then they will stay and this minority ethnic group will prosper as any other group in Tanzania. It is possible to get rid of social exclusion.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_inclusion, accessed on 18th Dec 2007
http://www.swyddfa -cabinet.gov.uk social_exclusion_task_force/context
Accessed Jan 2nd 08
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_inclusion, accessed on 18 th Dec 2007
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/poverty/pse/sum_find.htm, accessed 4th Jan 08
http://idbgroup.org/NEWS/articledetail.cfm?artid=4119&language=En accessed 4th Jan 2008
http://www.yellowstone.net/forums/viewtopic.php accessed on 4th Jan 08
http://www.whoseland.com/paper8.html, accessed on 4th Jan 08
Kaijage,F& Tibaijuka, A( 1996) Poverty and Social Exclusion in Tanzania,
International Labour Organization,Geneva, Switzerland.
Protas, M (2007) Field report on Hadzabe of Yaeda Chini, Mbulu District
Shvji, I, (1995) Mapambano ya Umma na Maendeleo ya Jamii
Masimulizi ya Wazalishaji, Wawekezaji, Wafadhili, Wasomi na
Wana NGOS, Kurasini Dar-Es-salaam, Tanzania
The concept of Social exclusion has been dominant in western world due to their social economic development. Gaullist Politicians in France coined it in 1960s after being puzzled by the problems of postindustrial society. (Tibaijuka, kaijage: 1996). In developing countries, Tanzania being one of them, Social exclusion has descriptive significance meaning that it has attributes that are based on poverty, deprivation, unemployment and denial of certain rights including political rights. This paper is aimed to discuss the subject matter. It is basically divided into two main parts. Part one will be devoted in discussing the meaning of social exclusion as put forward by various authors; also it will shed light on some examples of social exclusion at Global level. Part two of this paper will be on the case study from Tanzania intended to discuss Social exclusion in Tanzanian Context, by expressing social exclusion amongst Hadzabe Ethnic Minority Group of Northern Tanzania, in Yaeda chini in Mbulu District. These are considered as the only remaining hunters and gathers in Tanzania depending solely on the mercy of Nature. Finally, it will wind up by concluding remarks.
2.0 The meaning of Social exclusion:
Many academicians and authors have dealt with a task of defining social exclusion, which is one of the prevailing elements in our society. “Social exclusion relates to the alienation and disenfranchisement of certain people within a society.” .
Social exclusion is more than income poverty. It is a short–hand term for what can happen when people or areas has a combination of linked problems. . Usually, this combination of linked problems may range from: unemployment, deprivation, lack of basic social services such as health, education, infrastructure, poor skills and even the issue of required skills that can support their livelihood.
3.0 Social exclusion at Global level:
As said above, this concept emerged from early 1960s in Western Europe, and in that context it was focusing attention to the problem of unemployment. However, the social exclusion at global level is disheartening. The following are some examples to validate the statement.
For example in Britain, women from developing countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Caribbean descent, besides being well in schools are penalized in work place. . Another case is that in Britain 43% of adults have paid work, also, more than one in twenty people are disconnected from water, electricity, gas or phone. . This shows that this phenomenon is even prevailing in developed world such as Britain.
In the case of Latin America, formerly, social exclusion was identified on the base of race, ethnicity or gender . But due to transformation in socio-economic activities in the last 25 years, it has changed to be related to urban life, who is not outsiders. Those who cannot afford decent paying jobs to care families. Others are whose who sleep on streets and abandoned buildings.
Moreover, for the Case of Africa, Tanzania is picked as representative country. Here, the common social exclusion is women failure to access land. In most Tanzania societies, women don’t have the right to own land. The situation is intensified by many tribal customs, as women are regarded as third degree. Single out is Bahaya people of Bukoba, Muleba and Karagwe.(Tibaijuka, Kaijage: 1996), Also, there is issues of pastoralist eviction from best pasture lands. Case noted is Barbaig of Northern Tanzania, who’s Land, was taken by NAFCO, (Tanzania Food Corporation) in 1970s. Despite the fact that it was under their village jurisdiction: To date they are marginalized and become victims of collective social exclusion in the Country (Shivji, I: 1995). Their case has been pushed from one court to another over years. Possibly one day they will get their overdue compensation.
5.0 Social Exclusion experience from Tanzania:
The Hadzabe of Yaeda Chini in Mbulu District as a case study.
The Hadzabe are one of the Ethnic group in Tanzania who are found in Manyara, Singida and Shinyanga regions. They are normadic people. They are hunters and gathers. That means going out in the morning and afternoon in search of Game. But in this part I will disccuss Social exclusion as experienced by the Hadzabe who are living in Manyara Region, Mbulu District and Yaeda chini in particular.
Yaeda Chini Village is one of the villages that compose Yaeda chini ward. It is 58 km south west of Mbulu town center. The population of The Hadzabe in Tanzania is estimated about 3000, but in Yaeda Chini, they are about 936. Their major economic activities include: hunting, collecting wild honey, roots and fruits. They are engaged in neither farming nor livestock keeping. Despite the fact that they are living within the same ecological zone with the pastoralist in this case the Barbaig. They believe that wildlife is enough to sustain their livelihood.
The Hadzabe is the ethnic group that is on the verge of extinction and unfortunately, it is socially excluded. This argument is based on these grounds: First, they are not provided with the basic educational facilities as one of the social services. For example, there are only two schools in the catchments area of about 1000 km, the old school was built in 1967, when the Hadzabe started to settle in Yaeda Chini and its within Hadzabe settlement, the other school was built in 2002, that serves both Barbaig and Iraqw who are both involved in pastoralism. (Field Report by Protas M: 2007) . This old school was converted to boarding school, however; the Hadzabe were not comfortable with it, definitely due to their life style of moving from point to point. Their argument is that a child of 7 years old is too young to be in boarding school. So, many don’t send their children to school. The other reason is that the school is poorly staffed and lacks teaching materials. The new school is about 26 km from their village. It is near Haydom.
On the other hand, the Hadzabe are lacking basic health care. There is a dispensary which is headed by an attendant.( who is a sweeper). Formerly, the dispensary was under Rural Medical Aid (RMA), he went for training and whe he had graduated in Clinical Officer Course he decline to go back, and so is in town area. They get outreach services from Haydom Lutheran Hospital. But he health care of women and children is at great risk, since one day is not enough for attending people who had no care for one month. Mbulu District Council has failed to delivery outreach program on the pretext that there is a problem of transport. They are supposed to improve the road to Yaeda Chini as they are part of their citizens.
Third, they lack water Supply, which is the basic need. There is only one borehole for such population. So, they get a lot of walking to fetch water for their need. So, this indicates deprivation as a group, collective social exclusion, that the service is not available. In areas where Barbaig ad Iraqw the pastoralist live there are 5 boreholes.
The lack of these basic services makes the civil servants decline going to Yaeda Chini. That means, the Government was supposed to provide the infrastructures.
Fourth, their area was encroached by the pastoralist, though Yaeda Chini is still the reserve area. This situation has put their livelihood in great risk. It is definite that, the pastoralism as a life style greatly interferes the ecosystem. The number one effect is that, wild animal are disturbed by the pastoralist and run away. To Hadzabe who depend on wild animal it is a big loss. Second, the tress they used for wild fruits are either cut or destroyed by cattle and this make them starve when wild animal are away, especially during dry season. On top of that cattle eat plant whose roots and tubers are usually complementing their diet. This means, their food security has been at risk following pastoralist settlement in the area. However, the Barbaig is another group who has victims of Government implementations of 1970s; they were forced to leave their prime pasture land of about 100,000 acres, to NAFCO (National Food Cooperation) with Assistance from CIDA. Out of which 10,000 acres of the land were at jurisdiction of Mulbadaw Village Coucil. This incidence has led the pastoralist to move searching for pastures; Yaeda Chini was their immediate solution thus brought havoc to the only remaining minority groups of hunters and gathers- the Hadzabe.
Furthermore, to make things worse, the district officials are trying to Lobby and advocate for the Hadzabe to accept hunting company from UAE. They have resisted accepting hunting company using all their voices. But those who were on the front line were arrested and the key leaders put in big trouble, for example Ward Community Development Officer who is Hadzabe too was dismissed from the Job (Field Report by Protas M: 2007) .
Presently, there is only one NGO called NDOROBO TAZAMA that is support them understand their right including the right to live in the area. The other organization is Called Cuso (Canadian University Student Organization) it is engaged in research on the ethnic group.
However, there is need also the Hadzabe o see other ways of supporting their livelihood apart from hunting and gathering. It is a truth that human being is a dynamic being, she or he has do adopt changing circumstances in order to survive.
6.0 Conclusion:
Social exclusion is state which can be corrected, provided that there is both political and administrative will from the decision makers. For the case of Hadzabe ethnic minority group which may get extinct if it is subjected towards natural or human made disaster. There is need to make them access the land, in case limit the interference from other groups such as the Barbaig and Iraqw whose basic activities interfere the ecosystem that with support these remaining last hunters and gathers of Tanzania. It is also ideal to keep away the hunting companies whose activities will endanger the Games around Yaeda Chini Game reserve. As human beings, they have basic right to basic social services. As a country, there has to be deliberate efforts to make them get these services even if it cost a fortune. Those civil servants who agree to work in remote areas have to be highly remunerated as those who are working in some sectors as in TRA, (Tanzania Revenue Authority) then they will stay and this minority ethnic group will prosper as any other group in Tanzania. It is possible to get rid of social exclusion.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_inclusion, accessed on 18th Dec 2007
http://www.swyddfa -cabinet.gov.uk social_exclusion_task_force/context
Accessed Jan 2nd 08
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_inclusion, accessed on 18 th Dec 2007
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/poverty/pse/sum_find.htm, accessed 4th Jan 08
http://idbgroup.org/NEWS/articledetail.cfm?artid=4119&language=En accessed 4th Jan 2008
http://www.yellowstone.net/forums/viewtopic.php accessed on 4th Jan 08
http://www.whoseland.com/paper8.html, accessed on 4th Jan 08
Kaijage,F& Tibaijuka, A( 1996) Poverty and Social Exclusion in Tanzania,
International Labour Organization,Geneva, Switzerland.
Protas, M (2007) Field report on Hadzabe of Yaeda Chini, Mbulu District
Shvji, I, (1995) Mapambano ya Umma na Maendeleo ya Jamii
Masimulizi ya Wazalishaji, Wawekezaji, Wafadhili, Wasomi na
Wana NGOS, Kurasini Dar-Es-salaam, Tanzania
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Information about my Project area: Suma ward
Suma ward is one of the 30 wards that make Rungwe District council,Mbeya Region in South west of Tanzania. It is located on East Part of Rungwe District, about 18 km away from Tukuyu town center. The ward office is based in Suma Village, which is cut across by the feeder road from Tukuyu to Mwakaleli. The ward has a total of nine villages with the total population of 11,974 people; out of which female are 6285 while men are 5689. Furthermore, the ward has 9 primary schools, with a total of 2985, pupils and 49 teachers, according to District Educational Report Jan 2008. This participatory assessment was carried from 3rd November to 29th November 2007. The aim of the assessment was to involve the community members in the identification of problems facing, hence come up with their priority needs. In realizing this task, I used the following Research methods: PRA and Survey. Tools used in the community assessment were: Focus Group Discussion, a transect walk, and review meetings. The other tools used included Administered questionnaires, observation and documentary Review. The Community assessment focused on: Economic, Community, Environment and Health Assessment
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