Walking Together in Solidarity Report on Banúlacht ExChange trip to Tanzania
Noreen Kennedy Access 2000

(Noreen Kennedy preparing for Mná Sasa bike ride)

Having been involved in training with Banúlacht two years previously and forming a group called Target (Tanzania Awareness Raising Group Enabling Triumph) and also meeting the Tanzanian women as part of their exchange trip to Ireland last year when they visited Access 2000, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to visit Tanzania and see for myself the different projects which organisations like Kivulini are involved in.

There was a lot of preparation for the trip, from training in Banúlacht, Swahili lessons, buying essentials for the trip, such as insect repellent and suitable clothes, having inoculations, ensuring my children had back-up and contact numbers for Tanzania if needed, collecting children's clothes for the group to carry to Tanzania, organising a fundraiser etc. The time just flew in and, before I knew it, I was leaving for the airport on the 30th Oct, a chilly Saturday morning.
Following a long sleepless journey from Heathrow to Dar es Salaam, going through immigration and waiting over an hour for our visas, then a group check-in during the long wait for our next flight, we finally arrived in Mwanza.

When we finally collected our luggage I was free to enjoy my first cigarette since leaving Dublin. Standing there in the glorious sunshine I wondered why I was being stared at: was it my blonde hair? funny clothes? No it was the fact that I was smoking! Women do not smoke in Tanzania and it is frowned upon. First culture shock!


Then we left the airport in three taxis for the short drive to the Midlands Hotel. I was amazed by the amount of people along the side of the roads selling their wares. I was excited by all the colours and smells surrounding me. I was a bit dismayed by how shabby the place looked initially compared to home, but managed to look past this and remember that this was a country that gets very little rain compared to Ireland. But it was the lack of infrastructure and shops and buildings which looked so different from anything I was familiar with that gave me my second culture shock.
Mwanza airport.



(Photos: Mwanza Airport and Street on the Way from Airport)


First day Monday Nov. 1st

This morning we had a joint meeting in Kivulini kitchen to look at Mná Sasa. Present were nine women from Ireland and six from Kivulini- Anna Chambo, Tonny Ndunguru, Mary Kabati, Mary Makinda, Jovitha Mlay & Celestina Nyenga.
Maeve Taylor from Banúlacht gave an introduction, and Siobhán Madden, who had facilitated the meeting that gave rise to Mná Sasa, gave some background information about how Mná Sasa came to be written and what it meant to the women involved.

We all took turns to read a paragraph before breaking into groups and each group reading a page to see what if any changes should be made. Then each group gave feed back.


(Photo: Kivulini colleagues discussing the Manifesto)

Jovitha was very excited about Mná Sasa and said it had to go into the media, and she could take care of this. It was also decided that it should be written in Swahili, Jovitha offered to translate it for the conference on Wednesday
We then split into two groups, the Irish women formed one group and the Tanzanian women the other, to discuss how to take Mná Sasa forward, to reach as many people as possible, how to use Mná Sasa as a training tool and an introduction to women’s equal rights and discuss issues such as gender violence and solidarity among our two countries.



 
Day two Tuesday 2nd Nov

Today we were brought to the Sekou Toure Hospital which is the government run hospital in Mwanza. Here we met Eva Muday the hospital Matron who took us to the Maternity ward. This was full of pre natal young women. Two women share a bed, making it very uncomfortable for everyone. Eva explained that women have to come a long way to the hospital often on foot or on the back of a bike, and they don’t always make it on time and give birth on the side of the road. She also explained that they have to depend on their family to bring them food as the hospital are not in a position to provide food unless they live really far away and their family cannot travel to the hospital daily.



She said that they can deliver up to 30 babies a day with maybe two nurses on duty and sometimes no doctor. This means that women are often unattended during the later stages of labour and complications are often unnoticed, and women get up to walk around when they should stay in the bed to avoid giving birth in a corridor, but if the nurse is with another patient or called away, it is impossible to watch each woman throughout her delivery.


(Banúlacht group at Sekou Toure Hospital)

Eva is also a member of Kivulini and can talk to a woman confidentially and find out if she is experiencing domestic violence at home. If it turns out that a woman needs help Eva is in a good position to advise her to contact her street leader for support. From there she can access the necessary help to deal with her situation.
Next we were brought to the Paediatric ward. Here two maybe three children shared a bed. This is highly unsuitable and can lead to cross infection. The mothers stay with their children during the day but have to leave at night as there is no room for them to sleep. They must also bring in food for the children. Having a sick child in hospital puts a huge strain on families. It means the mother spending long hours away from home and any other children she might have, and also extra expense of having to bring food to the child in hospital. They also have to pay a contribution for the stay in hospital.



(Noreen with Mary Makinda (left) and Celestina Nyenga (right) at Sekou Toure Hospital (photo: Ann Fitzgerald)

We were then brought to the burns unit where there were three very young children, all with bad burns. Eva explained that as the people live in such cramped and close quarters it is very easy for young children to get scalded with boiling water when they are running around playing. On each bed there was a dome shaped cage over the child and covered with a blanket. Eva lifted each blanket for us to see the extent of the burns which if they were to happen to a child here would require skin grafts, I don’t think these children will receive such treatment.


(Photo: Washing lines at hospital)

After visiting the hospital we broke into two groups- Liz and Aoife went to visit an education project with Mary Junior and the rest of us went with Tonny, Anna and Celestine to Igomba Town.

First we went to the dispensary for Bugogwa ward in Ilemla district. This is where the women bring their children Mondays and Tuesdays for their check-ups. If they are diagnosed with malnutrition they are referred to Chemi Chemi nutrition programme run by Tonny Ndunguru. The women come for their check-ups on Wednesday Thursday and Friday. Up to 150 women a day can be seen any day with just two nurses on duty. If a woman presents with complications such as pre-eclampsia she is referred to the hospital. While here I discovered that the medical equipment that the last exchange group from Ireland brought over arrived just in time. The day it arrived a woman came to the clinic having suffered a miscarriage and was bleeding heavily. Because they had received some medical instruments needed they were able to save her life. It was great to hear this and know that a small donation from an anonymous doctor in Ireland had helped so much.

The women are encouraged to bring their children and they in turn encourage other women to come to the clinic. Once a child is referred to Chemi Chemi they are put on a nutrition program. They are brought by their mothers every week to the nutrition clinic to get the porridge. This porridge is made from ground Soya beans, rice and maize. It is boiled in water and then cooked for about an hour. When it cools down the powdered leaf of the Marengo tree is added. This is full of vitamins and nutrients.



(Photo: making nutritional porridge)

The women are shown how to make it at home and collect a kg of the powder before they leave. This enables the women to give it to her children at home all week. Before leaving the clinic Tonny checks their weight and enters this on the record card which allows each child’s progress to be monitored.

Kivulini were able to supply a sewing machine for the women to sew clothes on while at the clinic. They in turn teach other women to sew and this gives them a small income and some financial independence.



(Photo: Noreen with sewing machine at Nutrition Clinic)


Next we visited the Gender Based Violence Program, which is over seen by Anna Chambo, the Program Officer in Capacity Building with Kivulini.

Here we met the co- coordinator Emmanuel Mhoja. Celestina translated for him: he explained that the program had twenty members of staff altogether and introduced each one present: Playeda Thomas- Accountant, Ester Maico-Secretary, and the other members of staff were-Zawadi Malhias, Happiness Maico, Anna J Malai and Pastory Paschel.Some of the staff members have experienced domestic violence themselves and now work in their community.


(Photo: Staff of the Gender Based Violence Project)

Emmanuel explained that if a woman is experiencing domestic violence she can come to the office and meet privately with a member of staff. She might also have been referred by Chemi Chemi or the hospital. Because of the huge stigma attached to domestic violence women are often reluctant to access any authority.
After her initial visit she is offered mediation if appropriate. Some husbands are willing to attend and matters can be resolved without any further action needed. However if the situation is more serious the woman will be assisted to go to the district court, where the judge will decide what she is entitled to. Normally the mother gets custody of any children from the marriage. The husband can be charged with domestic violence and receive a prison term.

 
Wednesday Nov.3rd

Work shop in conference room in midlands hotel in Mwanza
Making Mná Sasa a reality
Twenty six women from Tanzania joined us in the work shop. All interested in joining and becoming part of Mná Sasa. Women ranging in professions from Nurses to University lecturers, from Politicians to Journalists.

Celestina started by giving her presentation on poverty and education. She explained that most African’s live on $1 a day. 66% of women do the work, yet 70 % of women are poor and women only earn 5 % of the money. 29% of people have electricity in Tanzania, with only 2% of people in rural areas having access to electricity. Most people have to walk 30 km to the nearest water source.
Celestina also explained that by law parents must send their children to school at age seven. Parents can be prosecuted for not sending them, yet a lot of parents cannot afford to buy their children the uniform. They must also pay for the desk their child uses in school. This puts a huge strain on familyies as most people earn 100.000Tzs per month, the equivalent of €50.

(Photo: Celestina Nyenga and Anna Chambo of Kivulini)

Girls are more likely to drop out of school early to look after younger children or care for a sick parent/relative. Boys receive a higher level of education, but things are improving for young girls with more parents being better informed than previous generations.
 
Then Jovitha gave a presentation on Gender based violence. She gave us some statistics about women who experience domestic violence. 60% of women do not go to the formal authorities to report incidence of abuse.

There is a huge stigma around gender abuse and a woman risks being isolated from her family and shunned by her community for speaking out. If she has to leave her marital home she may have no where to go except back to her family, which brings shame on them in the community. If a woman does report it the onus is on her to prove her case and bring it to court. This can be a long drawn out process and is heard in the district court. Most women cannot afford solicitors and lack of confidence and fear of authority mean a lot of women just stay in a bad marriage. Jovitha through her work is trying to educate women and inform them of their rights and efforts are being made to have family law courts introduced, which would help make the whole process less intimidating for women.

Jovitha also explained that 39% of girls are married before the age of 18. 64% are married before the age of 15-with their parents consent. The law supports this; however efforts are being made to raise the age of consent. Most families consent to early marriage as they get a bride price-dowry for their daughters.

Next Tonny from Chemchemmi gave a presentation on maternal mortality in Tanzania. In 2008 for every 100 live births 7-8 mothers died. In 2007 232 -100,000 died who availed of a health facility. 2008 218 died, 2009 182 died. As only 47% of women attend any health facility this is not a true figure of maternal mortality as it is impossible to track women who give birth at home.



(Photo: Tonny Ndunguru of Chemi Chemi)

Some of the contributing factors for these deaths are a delay in accessing the hospital, lack of transport, lack of qualified doctors and equipment. Tonny explained how she through her work tells the women to get surgical gloves, a rain coat an da bucket to bring with them when coming to the hospital to give birth. She explained that if a woman does not make it to the hospital and has to have the baby on the way; people may not help her for fear of contacting HIV if she has no surgical gloves. The raincoat is to lay and wrap the baby in and the bucket is for the woman to use to pass urine and reduce the risk of infection.

Tonny then explained that they often use role play to get their message across to women. She asked for a volunteer to help her demonstrate the preferred birthing position. Mary Timmons agreed to do this. She was made to look pregnant by attaching Katanga’s around her and stuffing more katang’s under this. She was then asked to squat to show the traditional position women deliver their baby. Then she was asked to demonstrate the position she had delivered her babies. While this was a bit of fun it was also a way of communicating Toni’s message which was very effective.
 

Photo: Mary Timmons participating in a role-play about home birth)

Mary Timmons also gave a presentation about the Limerick women’s network and what it meant to her. She gave an account of her life and how losing her mother at the age of twelve had led to her having to leave school early to look after her father and siblings. This had a bad effect on her education and it wasn’t until she had grandchildren herself that she became involved in adult education and proceeded to limerick university and received her Diploma in women’s study’s.


(Photo: Mary Timmons sharing her story)

I was so proud of Mary for telling her story and the Tanzanian women were very impressed by her and said that she would inspire other women to get back into education. They are going to look at the possibility of introducing some programmes for women to encourage them to obtain further education and enable them to seek meaningful employment.

We arrived in Dar es Salaam on Monday 8th feeling fairly tired after a very early departure from Zanzibar, but also relaxed after a restful weekend.

We visited TGNP on Monday and had lunch with some of the staff and then a meeting in the afternoon to read together the Mná Sasa manifesto. Then we had a discussion about mobilizing women at grass roots level. Discussion also included issues regarding moving forward in solidarity and funding in relation to feminist movement building. Mary Rusimbi invited the group to dinner at her house in the evening.
On Tuesday we visited WLAC-Women’s Legal Aid Centre. Here we met with Magdalena. She explained about the work they do which centres round providing legal aid services for women. She told us that they are presently conducting research on matrimonial disputes. There are 29 paralegal units in Tanzania Mainland. We then travelled to Kibaha to meet trainees in their paralegal programme.







(Photos: These are the two men we met who run the training programme in their present office which is a container. They proudly brought us to see the site of their new office being built.)

Having visited the different projects and meeting the women who run them for me the common thread was the solidarity and respect shown to women through their work. Women’s issues are very much on the agenda in all these projects. The willingness and enthusiasm from grass roots women to help each other and improve living conditions is very evident. These women work in some very unsuitable conditions, some without proper running water, electricity, limited and cramped office space, low pay. Yet they are the most dedicated, inspiring women you will ever meet. One woman who works with Kivulini Anna Chambo is 71 years of age. She was the first female referee in Tanzanian soccer. She is the development officer with gender based violence network. Tonny Ndungru also connected with Kivulini runs Chem Chemmi the nutrition clinic, and also owns a shop which sells herbal soaps to treat different ailments. Her office and shop combined is smaller than my sitting room, yet the amount of work coordinated from there is staggering. The energy these women pocess is amazing. The courage and patience they display is an inspiration to us all and made me tired just thinking about their typical day compared to mine.

Wherever you went in Tanzania poverty was very evident. Women working breaking stones, or sweeping the streets. I saw Women carrying large bundles on their heads, men sitting around chatting. Even in the hotels we stayed in the women seemed to do the bulk of the work while the men did “light duties”. An example of this was in the first hotel we stayed in the women were serving the breakfast, and clearing the tables, fetching food from the kitchen, the men sat at a desk and asked guests for their room number. I am not saying that men did no work, but it was strange to see women doing manual work.

By walking together and lending our voices to our sisters in Tanzania we can keep pressure on our government to continue to send support and funding through Irish aid so that Banúlacht can continue their work in raising awareness about the situation in Tanzania. By doing this more women will get an opportunity to hopefully visit there and also raise awareness in their own communities. The Tanzanian women are depending on Irish women to be their voice in the north, as they said themselves they cannot march in the streets to put pressure on our government, so we have to do it for them.


(Launch of Mná Sasa)


Another thing that I was surprised by was that so many people still have no electricity or plumbing. The government just don’t seem to have the money to put into the infrastructure like proper roads housing, facility’s. The village that we visited on the launch of Mná Sasa had one toilet for the whole village; we were told that this was a good village to live in as most don’t have one. I found this very hard to comprehend when most houses in Ireland have at least two toilets. For people not to have access to such a basic need as a toilet, just staggered me for some reason. Yet the people are friendly and very welcoming and willing to share what little they have with you. They certainly have community spirit which sadly we seem to have lost here the more materialistic we have become.

While Banúlacht are looking at the bigger picture I am looking at ways in which I can offer practical help, even if it’s felt that they don’t need it. What I witnessed for myself told me otherwise. The practical help can touch a life directly while the political help can change the way of thinking and hopefully improve women’s lives. But I will not stop offering practical help. That was my real reason for making the trip and I intend to do what little I can to support them on the ground. I cannot walk away from this trip and just go back to my life as it was before.

I do not regret for one minute going on the trip, even though it had a profound effect on me, which I have been unable to talk about since my return; no amount of training can prepare you for what you see there. While there is great work being done by the various organisations and they are making a difference to people's lives and enabling women to improve their own and their family’s lives, a lot is not being done, that needs to be done. Some people can remain detached from situations they are faced with, and I suppose that is necessary to remain focused, in order to carry out their work.
 

(Noreen with Maimuna Kanyamala)

On Tuesday afternoon we went to visit KIOHEDE-Women Health and Development Organisation. We met with the founder and co-ordinator of this project Justa Mwaituka. She explained that many of the young people who attend the project are employed in domestic service. They are not always treated very well by their employers and some endure abuse. They run a back to education program to enable the young people to continue their education and also have a space to share their experiences.


(Kiwohede Centre, Dar es Salaam)

They do a lot of work through music and dance. She brought us out to meet the pupils and they performed three dances for us. Their enthusiasm and joy of sharing their talent with a group of strange looking white women was incredible. I could not believe how un self-conscious they were and was struck by the amount of joy and cheer they processed. I could not imagine a group of Irish teen agers putting on such a spontaneous performance for anyone, let alone a group of strangers. It brought a lump to my throat to think that these young people have so little but can give so much to others.


Justa then brought us down stairs to the work shop where they sell the clothes and jewellery that the young girls make. Everybody bought as much as they could to support this project. I gave Justa the ear rings which three women in Wexford had made for me to bring for the house girls to sell, in the hope it would enable them to buy more materials and beads. I have learned since my return that they raised 100.000 Tzs (about €50)

(Photo: Justa Mwaituka)


On wed. 10th we visited Women’s Dignity project. Here we met Catherine who had previously taken part in exchange visit to Ireland. They told us about their research being conducted by interested group into why women in rural areas were developing Fistula. Some of the causes of this are believed to be delay in women getting to hospital, accessibility to health services, rape and complications related to child birth.


(Photo: Christine Matovu, Catherine Kamagumya and other staff of Women's Dignity launch the Health Repoert)

They analyse policies to look at implementation of practises. After their findings they use advocacy to create awareness in the community. They inform women of their health rights. They mobilize women with fistula for treatment. A lot of women do not get checked or go for treatment because of stigma. Treatment for Fistula is free in Tanzania, but it is impossible to reach every village.
They use catchment groups and drama to communicate the message. People can then ask questions and give feedback. Their key partners in the National Fistula programme are the minister of health & social welfare.

• Their main objectives are to build capacity of health care providers and to ensure girls and women access quality fistula care.
• To increase public awareness and understanding of fistula and maternal health.
• Allocate 15% of National budget on Health.
• Expand emergency obstetric care
• Ensure all women deliver with a skilled health care worker in attendance
• Ensure services for all pregnant women and girls
This is their campaign for the next five years.
The health equity group have a vision of increased public participation in health planning, finance and governance. They are seeking increased political commitment for plan and policy making to be included in their election manifesto. Radio is used to get their message to people as most do not read or write. This greatly helps to raise awareness about fistula. Radio Free Africa, Tanzania Broadcasting Co-operation (TBC) help with this initiative.

Public forums organised by Women’s Dignity e.g. “Dead mums don’t cry” is a documentary made in association with BBC is a study on findings about fistula in regions. The Media, mainly journalists go to rural areas to document people stories. They asked us to watch this DVD based on one doctors story in India. It followed her work over several days in a maternity hospital. However the scenes were very distressing and it was decided that it would be too stressful to continue with this.
Women’s Dignity work with other organisations such as Femact and Health Equity in raising awareness about fistula, women’s health rights and family planning. While family planning is available it is not consistent and varies greatly from region to region. Women’s Dignity strives to bring health equity to all women of Tanzania and will continue to need support from our government through funding and aid. Banúlacht will continue to stand alongside them and help raise awareness here. 

Thoughts on interconnectedness: Report on the Tanzanian ExChange November 2010

By Aoife Cooke, St Margaret's Traveller Community Association



(Aoife with women from Kabangaja planting trees to commemorate Mná Sasa)

After participating with the first ExChange in 2007, I relished the opportunity to return to Tanzania in 2010 to maintain and strengthen my involvement in Banúlacht’s work and the development of the Mná Sasa manifesto and collective. On my first trip to Tanzania in 2007, I had been very inspired by the Tanzanian women we met and remain in awe of their enthusiasm, dedication and commitment – despite the adversities they face. I felt I could hugely gain from a follow-on to this experience.


My first impressions: the heat and brightness of the days coupled with the stunning fabrics of the kangas makes the first few hours in Tanzania an assault on the senses. One of the greatest differences to strike you is the outdoor lifestyle, with on-street shops and markets full of buyers and sellers. We received a relaxed and friendly welcome wherever we went, with many people we met as interested in chatting and greeting us, as we were interested in them!






There was great energy around the general elections the day we arrived. Many people we met proceeded to talk politics –everyone had an opinion. There was an enthusiasm for change and progress. It was an exciting beginning to the ExChange.






Visit to the Education Projects in the Nyamwililelwa Village

In Mwanza, Mary Kabati of the Tanzanian Home Economics Association (THEA) brought myself and another ExChange participant, Liz, to visit different aspects of an integrated, sustainable community project. It was explained during our short car journey that we were going to visit three related community projects in the Nyamwililelwa Village. Members of these communities are part of the Sekoumo ethnic group.

We first arrived at a pre-school set up by TAHEA. The need for this school is due to the desperate shortage of teachers in Tanzania, particularly in rural areas where pay is low and there are few incentives to remain, particularly where urban life seems to promise more. In response, TAHEA asked villagers to choose people from their community who wanted to teach. These volunteers took part in a pilot programme where they received in-house training. These ‘para-teachers’ then took on classes of pre-school children who walk up to 3 kilometers to come to school. With 196 children and 3 teachers, it cannot be an easy morning! It is planned that these teachers learn English and progress to mainstream teacher training in the future. Training manuals are in development. This will be expanded to another five communities in the near future, including one at Kambagaja Street where we were to launch the Mná Sasa manifesto in the coming days.

Micro-credit schemes have been developed to support the financing of education projects such as this pre-school and the primary school. We were brought to one such scheme, a chicken farm. This project involves 22 group represented by 30 people. Each contributes 100,000 Tsh and then are entitled to secure loans from the fund. These loans are to be paid back in 3 months with interest. The interest then goes into a separate education fund which is administered by a voluntary committee who make decisions on how it is best spent.



(Sustainable agriculture to fund pre-school education)


One project which receives some of this funding was our final stop of the afternoon. Mary brought us to the Malezi Resource and Training Centre, still a building site with a number of structures in progress. We were introduced to a number of workmen as well as community member and project leader Edward Crimmins. Mary and Edward showed us the around the buildings – circular in shape to copy traditional Sekouma houses. The community centre will hopefully be self-financing in the future. It is planned that the space will be rented for training events, weddings and that local villagers can provide catering services for such events. The smaller building will be a daycare centre to cater for children ages 3 and 4. The larger building will cater for the pre-schoolers, ages 5 and 6. The smaller side room will be developed as a library where the para-teachers can hold sessions for quiet reading, story time and to show films.

Alongside the community centre is a recreational garden created for use by parents. Mary explained that the garden is to allow parents to relax and socialise in the vicinity of the centre to support the integration of the centre into community life and allow them to take ownership of the development of the centre. It is also a garden that may be utilised as a space for adult learning, where literacy development can take place in the shade. The concept behind these buildings is they will be a central place for a number of different activities; formal schooling for children, as a site for various events, a place where information and ideas can be disseminated, and as a space for adult relaxation and adult learning. This idea of the centre as a comprehensive community resource and adult learning, Mary explained, was something she brought back from her trip in Ireland after visiting projects such as St Margaret’s Travellers Community Association. I was thrilled to feel part of this exciting project in this way.



(Liz Price, Waterford Women's Network and Mary Kabati, TAHEA, in the adult literacy garden)


We were fortunate to then meet a number of women from the village who presented us with a kanga each. With a variety of gestures, facial expression, laughter and even drawing in the sand, we communicated warmly. To meet the women who will benefit directly from the project helped me to visualise the building full of people and buzzing with energy. The sustainable nature and the interconnectedness of the education projects we visited that day impressed me greatly and pushed to me think about the different and dynamic ways organisations can work and develop to meet the needs of a community.



Visit to Women’s Dignity

The meeting at Women’s Dignity was a highlight of our time in Dar Es Salaam. Women’s Dignity was set up in 2002 as a research based project dealing with obstetric fistula. It’s work is based on concern for women suffering from obstetric fistula despite it being a fully treatable condition. The organisation supports the integration of policy into grassroots work and also, what is learned and experienced at the grassroots level is integrated into policy. Women’s Dignity use a variety of creative and innovative participatory methodologies, which I found very interesting and exciting. However, it is their comprehensive vision linking the particular to the general which I found such a great feature of the organisation. Though they deal with one issue, fistula, it is understood as a feature of maternal mortality and morbidity, which in turn is one element of the greater campaign for women’s right to health.



(Tonny Ndunguru giving a presentation on maternal mortality)


VISIT TO WOMEN'S DIGNITY

The visit to Women’s Dignity occurred at the latter end of the ExChange and we were a well-formed group by now. As we sat around that table, with the fans buzzing overhead and the sun beating down outside, I observed all of us confident and comfortable participating. The meeting went smoothly from presentations into a litany of questions we wanted to ask. Ann shared her own personal story of meeting and working with a local women’s group in Ireland. The campaigns around the eradication of fistula is a particular interest of the women from St Margaret’s Travellers Community Association and so this focused and helped me engage.


The story of working on Mná Sasa with our colleagues in Tanzania

I found that Mná Sasa can be used as a document to bind various projects and women’s groups . These groups may work on very different issues on a day-to-day basis. Although we can intellectually make the links between the interconnectness of the local with the global, recording the lived experiences of this is served by such a document. The manifesto creates a shared emotional, inspirational and creative link between the work we all do. As it was read aloud during our meetings with our peers in Tanzania, I really felt a part of something bigger. This feeling was not a sterile intellectual one based on a dry discussion on aid or borne from the jargon of development issues, but rather it was grounded in the knowledge of the shared (as well as disparate) experiences of gender discrimination, resistances and working in solidarity.

I plan to introduce Mná Sasa Manifesto to the participants of the St Margaret’s Women’s Group towards the end of the training course on women’s development issues. This will be in advance of a solidarity project we are in the initial planning of for International Women’s Day.


(Mary Makinda and Siobhán Madden reading the Mná Sasa Manifesto)

I hope that other ExChange participants could visit the women’s group in St Margaret’s and share their experiences of the ExChange and the Mná Sasa manifesto. Or, (more ambitiously!) that an event could be held where the women’s groups who are looking at and working with the manifesto might meet together on a shared project developed out of using the manifesto.

Notes from the Women’s Dignity meeting

N.B. Much of the information from the Women’s Dignity Presentation are available as a PowerPoint presentation made by staff members of the organisation.

Women’s Dignity was set up in 2002 as a research based programme dealing with obstetric fistula. It’s work was based on concern for women suffering from obstetric fistula despite it being a fully treatable condition. The majority of women who were not accessing health services were from rural areas and living in poverty, or living in particularly difficult circumstance e.g. vulnerable women living in refugee camps who are vulnerable to rape and attack. 80% of the population of Tanzania live in rural areas. On a global scale, research has drawn connections between fistula and maternal mortality. The fundamental issue is one of access to appropriate health services.

Women’s Dignity began with a programme of awareness building; many women are learning still that is a preventable and treatable condition. Now, the focus of the organisation is the underlying causes of fistula. They prioritise working with their strategic partners on prevention. As a grassroots-based organisation, Women’s Dignity work with communities on the ground in supporting public debate to demand action from the government in widening access to services and health equity. The upcoming work of Women’s Dignity includes looking at issues which arise for women after treatment. This will commence with research into the experiences of women.


(ExChange group with staff of Women's Dignity)

Women’s Dignity is organised into the following projects:
- Research and Policy
- Strategic Partnerships
- Health Equity
- Public Engagement and Debate
- Organisational Development


Research and Policy

- Analyse relevant policies
- Advocate with research based evidence
- Feed policy into the community awareness programmes
- Monitor how policy is or is not implemented on the ground
- Inform women of their health rights
- Promote awareness that fistula is preventable
- Promote the dignity of women and girls in all the work, named as ‘sensitising’

Issues that arise during this work:
- Many women suffering from fistulae don’t arrive to meetings due to stigma
- Challenging perceptions that fistulae are caused by curses

Treatment of fistula is free at the point of contact. However, Tanzania is a large country where mass campaigning by Women’s Dignity is necessary for the organisation to reach rural communities. Though there is a shortage of skilled health care providers, Women’s Dignity see it as integral to their work to work with regional health officials and to document best practice.

Methods of awareness raising include drama, storytelling and songs. This are employed in order to start a debate and to encourage community members to engage and ask questions. Drama performances are found to be particularly effective. Drama groups from local areas are involved in the campaigns in order that actors remain in the locality afterwards to answer questions and discuss issues that arise. Women’s Dignity produce reports after each event and present them back to the communities which were visited.

National Fistula Programme

This is a national comprehensive strategy developed to address fistula which was launched in 2005. Fistula is used as a ‘lens’ onto maternal mortality and morbidity and the intersections of health and poverty.
It’s objectives are to:
- Build on strategy among stakeholders
- To link fistula strategy to the broader issues of women’s health and rights
- To build the capacity of health care providers to ensure access for women
- To build strategies for prevention

Health Equity Group

The sole funder of the Health Equity Group is Irish Aid. Established in 2004, the Health Equity Group is a network of Women’s Dignity, Care Tanzania, Tanzanian Gender Networking Programme and Sikika with a shared vision that women’s rights to health are realised. This a collection of civil society organisations focusing on policy engagement and advocacy around maternal and newborn health.

The objectives of the group are:
- To ensure that government deliver on their target that 15% of the national budget is directed towards health
- To expand emergency obstetric health. Currently, caesarian sections are available to 1 in 7 women who need it.
- To ensure all women deliver with a skilled attendant present. Currently, 1 in 4 women do.
- To lobby for free services for pregnant women and girls. This is to include both formal and informal costs.

Health Equity Group:
- Encourages citizen engagement with political leaders and decision-makers.
- Engage in budget analysis.
- Popularise and monitor plans and policies
- Engage in sensitisation campaigns such as popular tribunals and the bi-annual Gender Festival.
- Coordinate tripartite dialogues between service users, policy-makers and policy implementators.


Strategies for public engagement:
- Public Awareness campaigns
- Radio and TV slots to encourage public dialogue
- Building awareness that fistula repair can be done by outreach
- Initially, lots of literature was produced. However, due to widespread low literacy rates, there has been a move to working in the mediums of radio and television.
- Investigative journalism exercises in communities
- BBC documentary used as a training tool, ‘Dead Mums Don’t Cry,’ though there are questions around its appropriateness.

The health equity group coordinate community feedback using ‘Community Scorecards’
- Focus group evaluations
- Narrowing focus groups to thematic issues
- Issues formed into questions
- Staff at Health Facilities are given this feedback
- Focus group participants trained as peer researchers
- Health care workers score themselves also
- This information is collated into policy packs to be used in lobbying work

Family Planning is a key issue as after a fistula repair, childbirth before healing is completed can result in another fistula. Also, one fifth of maternal deaths are due to botched illegal abortions.

Thoughts of a Community Volunteer and Feminist Activist Report on Banúlacht Tanzanian Exchange Trip 2010

Mary Timmons



(Mary Timmons with Tonny Ndunguru of Chemi Chemi at a meeting with 30 Irish and Tanzanian women at the Midland Hotel, Mwanza)


(Mary Timmons with Ann Fitzgerald and Noreen Kennedy)

As chairperson of the Limerick Women’s Network and taking part in equality and human rights training with Banulacht, I had the pleasure of meeting Maimuna Kanyamala (founding member of Kivulini Women’s Rights Organisation) and Mary Rusimbi (Director of the Tanzanian Gender Networking Programme i.e. TGNP). These women inspired and motivated me so much that I applied for a last minute place on the 2010 exchange trip. To fundraise for this trip my husband and son ran a sponsored marathon in Newcastle which raised the bulk of the money needed and I held a coffee morning in the local community centre which helped raise the rest.

After a lot of preparation and a jam-packed schedule we were ready to make the life changing trip to Tanzania. Following two flights we arrived in the airport in Dar es Salaam. I felt quite overwhelmed by the heat and the lack of infrastructure that greeted us as we drove to our hotel. You get a real sense of the size of the population as throngs of people lined the streets. The poverty witnessed in those first moments made me realise how far from home we were and how the poverty and inequality in this country was not exaggerated.

Our first day in Mwanza we were taken by bus to a meeting with the women in Kivulini to discuss the draft of Mna Sasa Manifesto and work on the text and to agree on any changes that had to be made. We came together as equals to progress this document for its launch in Mwanza. We also discussed how we would take forward the actions agreed in the manifesto as we read it aloud Irish and Tanzanian women together, sisters in solidarity. Mna Sasa was ready for launch.


(Reading the Mná Sasa Manifesto)


On day two, we went to visit Sekou Toure hospital in Mwanza. The hospital matron Eva Muday greeted us and took us on a tour of the maternity unit. Eva, who is also a member of Kivulini counsels women who find themselves in domestic abuse situations and also puts these women in contact with the right people who can help them with their problems. Eva carries out this work in addition to her work as matron in the hospital as she comes in contact with these women every day and understands the conditions they live in. In this hospital I bore witness to the appalling conditions and lack of basic human rights that these women have to endure.


(At Sekou Toure Hospital)

The Swahili meaning for Kiviluni is “in the shade or shelter”. Kivulini Women’s Right Organisation is a safe space in Mwanza for women and men who believe gender based violence is not only a violence of individual women’s rights but also an issue for the whole community. The organisation was established by six women who felt the need to respond to the injustice of domestic abuse. The organisation focuses on providing services for women affected by domestic violence. They have a dual role in helping women in these situations and also raising awareness and lobbying for change.

One of the highlights of my trip came on the third day when I had the honour of listening to women present different topics and also I presented my own story of change through community development education to an audience of approx 30 women including academics, politicians, and media and also women working at grassroots level. This took place at the Midlands Hotel. The speakers at this workshop were Celestine Nyenga and Liz Price whose theme was poverty, Jovitha Mlay spoke on GBV, and Toni Ndunguru spoke about maternal mortality. My presentation on change through community education was well received and a copy of my presentation was requested. Mna Sasa was presented at this workshop and was progressed further during this session. It had been translated into Swahili and was read by all there.



(Mary sharing her story)


One of my more interesting visits was Kabangaja the village where the tree planting was to take place to celebrate the launch of mna sasa on arrival we were meet with opposition from the men in this village who said we would interfere with their land rights if we started planting the trees. This caused some tension and so we moved on to the next village. This demonstrated the balance of power between male and female and the issue of inequality in the women’s lives. We then successfully planted a number of trees in the school grounds in the next village. With much singing and dancing we launched Mna Sasa.






(Launch of Mná Sasa)



Our first meeting in Dar Es Salaam was with the TGNP (Tanzanian Gender Network Project). Usu Mallya informed us of the work of TGNP and FemAct. Maeve Taylor gave a presentation on Banulacht and following this Tracey Taylor presented on the work of Tipperary Women’s Network. The TGNP works towards the social transformation which leads to the creation of a vibrant Tanzanian society. Their work focuses on practical promotion and application of gender equality and lobbying public and government sectors in achieving their aims. Mary Rasimbe also spoke about various ways of taking Mna Sasa forward.


Banulacht is a feminist organisation that is part of a global women’s movement and is committed to political action. Banulacht believes in justice and equality for all women. The organisation carries out work shops and short courses to community based women’s groups and women’s networks. The Limerick Women’s Network and its affiliated women’s groups have taken part in such courses as economic literacy, equality and human rights all run by Banulacht. These various courses have been instrumental in empowering and educating grass roots women locally and nationally. The facilitators of these courses, Maeve and Eileen have worked very hard in the development of these courses.






(Mary Timmons presenting and image of solidarity created by women in Limerick to Kivulini Women's Rights Organisation)

This exchange has been a very interesting experience for me as a community volunteer and feminist activist. The trip was very fulfilling, very tiring but very worthwhile and a great learning experience for me personally. As part of my role as Chairperson of the LINK I will be promoting the Mna Sasa for the coming year through a celebration of community women’s education where the Mna Sasa will be presented to local women and I hope these women will get a sense of what the manifesto means to women locally and globally in today’s society. We will be holding a conference in conjunction with the National Collective where the Mna Sasa will be promoted again. I hope to share my experience of the exchange with a number of women’s group in my local area. As community activists we need to lobby governments for continued aid to these countries to ensure the work is continued.


By Mary Timmons

WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS RESOURCES FOR WOMEN'S GROUPS

From the website of the Centre for Global Women's Leadership



International Networking for Women’s Human Rights by Charlotte Bunch with Peggy Antrobus, Samantha Frost and Niamh Reilly


Women's Human Rights: An Introduction by Charlotte Bunch* and Samantha Frost


There are links on this website to a range of other reports, including AWID's 2006 Publication, Achieving Women's Economic and Social Rights: Strategies and Lessons from Experience :
click here to go to the publications page and then scroll down to view the titles.

Banúlacht’s Feminist Dialogues Series
Maternal Mortality as a Women's Human Rights Issue|Wednesday | April 28th | 7.00 p.m. | Temple Bar Hotel | Fleet St | Dublin 2 |

Speakers

Senator Fiona O’Malley, independent member of the Seanad
Ilham Siddig, medical doctor and activist
Meghan Doherty, Policy and Advocacy Officer, Irish Family Planning Association

According to Mary Robinson in an article entitled, Let's Stop Women's Suffering, The reason that women are still dying is because women's lives are not valued, because their voices are not listened to, and because they are discriminated against and excluded in their communities and by healthcare systems that fail to prioritize their needs.

The world’s governments meet to review progress on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2010: MDG5 is: “Improve Maternal Health”. How is the goal progressing? Progress in reducing maternal mortality and universalising access to sexual and reproductive health services and supplies is most off-track. Overall, improvements have been slow and almost absent in Sub-Saharan Africa where women face the greatest lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth.
See Quick Facts compiled by Action for Global health


Banúlacht believes that it is critical that as governments focus on MDG5, they are informed by a holistic understanding of women's human rights.

About the speakers
• Fiona O’Malley was first elected to Dail Eireann in 2002 and was appointed to Seanad Éireann by the Taoiseach in 2007. Senator O’Malley is the current Chairperson of the Irish All Party Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, Population & Development.
• Ilham Siddig graduated from the faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Khartoum, Sudan and holds a masters degree in Public Health from the George Washington University, USA. Her work has focused on health and development projects aiming to increase community level access to quality reproductive health and family planning services and contraceptive methods. She has worked in Yemen, Sudan, Nepal and Egypt on projects that promote family planning, clean and safe labor, postpartum family planning and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
• Meghan Doherty is the Policy and Advocacy Officer of the Irish Family Planning Association
She recently participated in the Beijing+15 Review, where she focused on the topic of maternal mortality.