News and Events

A girl runs away from FGM

Domina, a girl aged 17 was born in Kigunga village coming fifth in a family of 12 children from the same mother and father. She is the first girl child and has two younger sisters. She went to school in Komuge primary school, completed class seven in 2010. Afater finishing primary school she continued to live in the village helping her parents in various family chores. In April she was “engaged” by a young man aged 17 from neighboring village (Kuruya). Parents consulted and agreed on brideprice of 5 cows which was paid to Domina’s parents June 25th 2011 and was later followed by traditional wedding celebrations. After the wedding celebrations, Domina was walked to her husband’s home by her paternal grandmother Wabori aged 70 which is a normal tradition to Wasimbiti community. The groom lived with his parents and this is where Domina was taken to. The grandmother had this to tell: “The day I walked Domina to her husband’s place we were met by Domina’s in law and the first thing they asked me was whether Domina had undergone FGM, of which I responded no. They asked why that had not happened and the grandmother responded that FGM was no longer practiced in her community. They were disappointed by this response and the inlaws wondered how their homestead had been invaded by an uncircumcised woman. However the groom’s family promised they would look into the issue of performing FGM to Domina to enable her fit into their community and be allowed to perform expected domestic chores. They decided that they would arrange for Domina to undergo FGM after two weeks. This surprised Wabori and left feeling sorry for her granddaughter Domina. Continue...

CCT Executive Council is meeting in Dodoma for two days: 1st June to 2nd June 2011

The first two days of June of 2011 will be marked by the beckoning presence of church leaders from all over country, in Dodoma. The council is the second top-most body in CCT and meets once each year.

This years meeting will be distinguished by several matters including the presence of newly appointed bishops and the recovery of the General Secretary from heart surgery that he went through early this year, among others.

Although much is expected from this meeting, one thing is foremost: The will of God for his church in Tanzania will prevail.

Posted By PME
31st May 2011

 

Simanjiro District in Severe Food Shortage, Needs Over 3,000 Tones of Maize

At least 3,000 tonnes of maize are needed urgently to feed several families facing a food shortage in Simanjiro District, Manyara Region.District leaders say relief food must be delivered soon before the situation gets worse during the long dry season. This is as reported by The Citizen Newspaper of 23 May, 2011.
The district commissioner, Mr Khalid Mandia, has revealed that many families are already short of food and that they can be rescued if relief food is sent urgently.He said the district recently received 601 tonnes of maize for distribution to the critically hit families but the stock was not enough
The semi-arid district, which is inhabited predominantly by nomadic pastoralists, is often affected by food shortages during seasons of severe drought. This time around, much of the district did not receive sufficient rains which normally end at the beginning of May.
Mr Mandia urged the Prime Minister's Office, which normally coordinates relief food supplies, to treat Simanjiro as a special disaster zone."It is very unfortunate that some areas in our district did not receive rains at all. This has impacted negatively on food production," he stated.
The grim situation is likely to be similar in Kiteto District where recently there were reports of a water shortage following the drying up of water sources. The drought scare is equally worrying in neighboring Arusha Region where the authorities have started distributing food to affected families.
The Arusha regional commissioner, Mr Isidore Shirima, admitted on Friday that the situation was critical in some parts of the region. According to him, the most affected districts are Longido, Monduli, Ngorongoro and parts of Karatu and Arumeru.
We have already started distributing relief food in some areas and we are urging officials to provide us with data on the most affected families," he said. In Simanjiro, a councilor for Langai Ward, Mr Jackson Sipitek, said most of the crops on farms have dried up, killing prospects of any harvest
He said the ward, which has a population of 2,800, needed at least 20 to 30 tones of maize currently before the situation gets worse.

Posted by Angelus Mapunda
Program Officer,
Climate Change, Environment and Food Security
CCT

 

Evictees urge High Court to speed up giving verdict

BY THE GUARDIAN REPORTER
23rd April 2011
The High Court (Land Division) in Mwanza has been blamed for its slow pace in passing judgement in an evictees’ case they filed against Geita Gold Mine (GGM), forcing them to live in tents for three years.
They allege that the delay is meant to deny them their right to compensation.
The internally-displaced villagers said this in Geita yesterday while talking to a Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) team from Dar es Salaam.
Speaking outside his tent, one of the evictees, Hamisi Charles, said they were forcefully evicted by the police from their land in 2008 and forced to live without basic needs.
“Police officers came at about 03:00am and forced us to board their trucks on account that the area belonged to the GGM. They told us there was another area reserved for us but we were later left in an open place to fend for ourselves,” said Charles.
Charles noted that they had not been compensated, instead district land officers came and went to show them an area where they could not grow any food crops let alone have basic social services.
“I request the court to speed up our case and protect our rights. We are aware that they want us die but we know God will not allow that to happen. The Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) was the one which gave us these tents and has been giving us food and not the government,” said Charles.
An old lady, Veridiana Joseph, said they were evicted while they had a letter which prohibited the eviction until the court made the ruling.
“They demolished our houses and uprooted our crops. We went to the district commissioner and said he did not recognise us.
The case has been in court for eight years and nothing seems to proceed. Worse still, most of the government leaders including the Vice President passed here and never bothered to come to us,” said Joseph.
Kalangala village executive officer (VEO) Samsoni Muhondwa said he came to the office only to find the 32 evictees sleeping in his office.
“They used to live in Mtakuja ward but were brought here without any notice. They are demanding compensation from the GGM and their case was in the Primary Court, the District Court, the Resident Magistrates’ Court and then to the High Court (land Division) in Mwanza.
The GGM only gave them food for 14 days and stopped. We are not happy with this situation but their issue is at district level,” said the VEO.
The team made efforts to talk to the DC and were told that he had gone to a meeting.
However, they managed to talk to district administrative officer Piensia Balyamha who admitted to have been aware of the problem.
“The evictees are there by mistake. It is a sad situation but the district commissioner will be in a better position to talk about it as I am not the spokesperson,” she said while promising to call the team once he returned to his office.
At least three evictees have died because of bad weather and the others allege that during the mourning they went to seek help to the DC only to be told that he did not recognise them and that they would all perish one at a time.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

LTC Financial Partners Support CCT's Work

Seattle, Washington - LTC Financial Partners, LLC is very pleased to donate $5,000 to the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) to help support the Land For Life Project. After reading about all of the wonderful things CCT was doing in Tanzania, we thought our donations would be best spent in building two Land for Life homes. Safe shelter is one of the basic human needs and as such, we really liked that CCT chose to make it a priority.

CCT has embarked on an ambitious project to build very low-cost, durable, homes for AIDs-Affected families and families with Orphans & Vulnerable Children.  Virtually all these families are headed by a mother or grandmother who is taking care of one or more children.  The goal of the CCT is to build 100 of these homes per year, beginning in 2011. The project will include training the beneficiary families in intensive gardening; care, feeding and marketing of chickens / goats; and finance & entrepreneurship.  It is estimated that the annual cost of the project will be $300,000.

LTCFP is a nationwide insurance agency specializing in Long Term Care insurance. We donate 2% of our annual profits to self-sustaining charities around the world (focusing on Kenya). Our main areas of donations link to clean water projects, meal programs, education and health programs primarily involving children. In 2010 we spread our donations over six charities totalling $60,000 USD sent to Kenya. We believe that paying it forward to organizations that help others not only betters our corporate culture, but society in general. We rely on and appreciate groups like CCT to help us, help others.

 

Brick Making in Nzuguni

10 Feb 2011 - Six of the Land for Life Project beneficiary family heads were at the Nzugini site on Thursday to learn how to manufacture bricks for their new homes.  Foreman of the Project David Ishairu demonstrated how the bricks are made using an interlocking press machine.  The machine uses a soil cement mixture resulting in a strong brick that is shaped much like a toy Lego block.  Once users of the press machine are familiar with its operation, it is expected that three or four people can make up to 400 12x6x6 inch bricks a day.  The bricks must be left to dry for 3 or 4 days before they are used.  The Tanzanian National Housing and Building Research Agency (NHBRA) supplies the brick presses and advocates its use.

Work is progressing rapidly under the guidance of the HIV AIDS project manager John Kolingo.  Since the dedication of the land just a week earlier, the site has been measured, the individual lots for the eight homes marked and staked and four foundations have been dug ready to receive the cement and block footings.  Once the footings are in and a floor is poured on the first house, then brick making will begin in earnest.

The land acquired in Nzugini for the project will eventually accommodate 32 houses, but Project Manager John is only concentrating on the first eight houses for now.

LFL Dreaming

Next week, six of the project beneficiaries will receive training in Farming God's Way.  Once the training has been completed, the group will decide what crops will be planted in the project's garden plots.  Each group of eight homes will have 8 large areas for gardens.  It is the goal of the project to work with the beneficiary families to attain financial stability through agriculture and income generation training.  The CCT also plans to help the families establish a Village Community Bank.  Photo right: "Dreaming of their new homes"

 

3 Feb 2011 Land for Life Dedication LFL

The day began with the first eight Land for Life beneficiary families loading into two Daladalas, the local Tanzanian taxi vans.  The group, along with Pastor Manase of the Mennonite Church, and members of both the Grace and Healing Ministry and the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) were on their way to Nzuguni, a village about 5 Km outside of Dodoma. Nzuguni is where the first Land for Life Project homes are going to be built.

LFLThe CCT has embarked on this ambitious project to build very low cost, durable, expandable homes for AIDs-Affected families and families with Orphans & Vulnerable Children and to provide the tools to achieve financial security. Virtually all these families are headed by a mother or grandmother who is taking care of one or more children.  The plan of the CCT is to build 100 of these homes per year beginning in 2011.  The project will include training the beneficiary families in intensive gardening; care, feeding and marketing of chickens / goats; and finance & entrepreneurship.  It is estimated that the annual cost of the project will be $300,000.

Upon arrival at the site, and once the cheering and singing subsided, Pastor Manase lead a brief service of dedication.  Once the service concluded, the families and volunteers set about to clear the land.  Eventually 32 homes will be built on the 4 acre parcel of land, over the course of the next 8 months.  But today, the volunteers cleared 1 acre for the first eight homes.

Girl seeks refuge in church to protect herself from FGM in Tarime

 2010 was a year of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Tarime. FGM in Tarime takes place with prior “consultations” with traditional leaders with their Gods in their sacred places. The consultations are done before FGM is performed on the young girls of the community and it is formally announced by the respective traditional leaders when they come back from “their Gods”. December 2010 was announced as the time for FGM in 2010. Information reached community members quickly as most would be expecting it. According to a reliable source, FGM in Tarime is conducted during even numbered years. In 2010 the FGM was conducted in December. As the CCT Programme Officer for Women Development, Gender and Children, I had an opportunity to be in Tarime during time of FGM and experienced the appalling situation. Young girls were paraded through the town covered with old and new clothes, immediately after circumcision. A big crowd accompanied the girls dancing traditional dances, carrying big sticks and traditional weapons. In effect they were taunting the law makers because they threatened violence if the officials interfered with the procession. The community was well aware that this form of female mutilation or ‘circumcision’ is against the laws of Tanzania.

Rhobi Nyakita* is a girl aged 16 studying at Inchugu Secondary School. She lives with her sister in Sirari, 20 kilometers north of Tarime. Her parents are separated and her mother lives and conducts business in Musoma. Rhobi is the fifth born in a family of 7 children. She has two elder sisters both of whom were circumcised and already married. She also has two elder brothers. According to Rhobi, her parents do not feel strongly about FGM but her father’s relatives do. The parents told her that she and Sirari could decide not to go through with the FGM procedure but they will not be there to defend them when the relatives and traditional leaders come for them.

Rhobi is a good church-goer and since 2009 she has been learning from her Sunday school teachers and youth leaders about the adverse effects of FGM. The Sunday school teachers received their training on advocacy against FGM last year through a CCT program. The Sunday school teachers are sensitizing Sunday school children while also establishing youth groups through which advocacy programs are implemented. Through Sunday school and youth programs, Rhobi came to learn that FGM has no advantages and decided that she will never go through with this traditional violation.

On Friday December 3, 2010, Rhobi heard her family planning for her to be taken for FGM in the next village. She told her younger sister in confidence that she was going to run away as she was not ready to undergo the dehumanizing act of FGM.

She left their house in the early morning for Tarime and went straight to Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) church priest, John Maguge. She explained why she had come and both the priest and his wife decided to give her refuge. The church leader himself is of the Kurya tribe (same as Rhobi) but had received training against FGM conducted by the CCT. He has become an activist against FGM together with his wife and therefore the couple accepted Rhobi into there home without. Rhobi’s mother has visited the family twice to try to get Rhobi to come home but Rhobi has been adamant saying that she will not go home until after the circumcision period ends on 31 December 2010. Speaking personally with Rhobi, she said she was going to find it hard to live in her community as her peers will be booing at her while community members will be naming her as one who has let down her traditions. Rhobi has requested support to study in the ELCT secondary school instead of the government school she was attending. That remains a challenge since CCT has no strategy for supporting victims of FGM.
*not real names
 

WORKSHOP ON CHURCHES ENGAGEMENT ON IMPLEMENTIG THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR GROWTH AND REDUCTION OF POVERTY II

The Christian Council of Tanzania through its department of Peace, Socio-Economic Justice, and Good Governance conducted a workshop on the a.m. theme from 20-22 December, 2010 at the Morogoro Women Training Centre in Morogoro. The main objective of the workshop was to share the MKUKUTA II document with member churches and look into ways of how best could the church compliment the government’s strategies as envisaged in the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) Phase II popularly known as MKUKUTA II. It is the responsibility of the Council to sensitize church leaders and communities on policy issues which come along from time to time with the aim of stimulating further debate among stakeholders and enabling them to prioritize and synchronize their interventions into the national policies. The workshop would help greatly in creating awareness of the general public on church’s prophetic role to the rural communities in the country. The participants were also availed with material documents that would facilitate the church’s setting up of priority areas in different sectors and come up with consistent and sustainable implementation strategies. The workshop was attended by 32 participants mainly from development desks and Women Secretaries from the churches. Out of the total participants 13 were women and 19 were men. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Misanya Bingi a lecturer from the University of Dar es Salaam and Mr. Juvenal Lema a senior Economist from the Ministry Finance and Economy,Dar es Salaam. During the workshop, the following topics were covered: 

  • The process and historical perspective of MKUKUTA in Tanzania

  • Major clusters as ccontained in MKUKUTA

  • Implementation of the National Economic Empowerment Policy 2010 - 2013