Does a country deserve the leaders it gets?

I am more than disheartened by the disasterous leadership shown in many African countries. African post-colonial history is littered with civil wars (Rwanda, Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Angola, Sierra Leone), straight-forward madness (Idi Amin) as well as sheer ignorance (Yahya Jammeh, the president of The Gambia, is currently promoting a herbal remedy for AIDS/HIV!).

Right now Zimbabwe is being dragged further into the abyss of destruction by President Robert Mugabe. Since 1980 he has held onto power and, combining poor economic decisions with violent corruption, he has wasted the future of the country.

Mugabe, 83, has been Zimbabwe's only ruler since it achieved independence from Britain 27 years ago.

Mugabe, blames the West for his mess

Under his rule, the once-prosperous country now faces its worst crisis with inflation running at more than 1,700 percent, soaring joblessness, and regular food and fuel shortages.

In an effort to foster an African solution, an emergency meeting of southern African leaders was held last week in Tanzania.

The talks were called by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe, after its attacks on opposition activists.

It is hard to see poor countries suffering from bad leadership that is intent on throwing the baby out with the bathwater. In their mission to reject the European countries that colonised their land, many new African nations have rejected all that the West has to offer. So one can’t help but feel hopeful about Tanzania when it demonstrates willingness to accept resources from the European Union (EU) to assist the ongoing talks between the country's two major opposing political parties.

The EU has pledged 8m euros to help the process of dialogue because it had been impressed by Tanzania's resolve to seek internal solutions to internal problems. Tanzania's ruling party and the country's main opposition started a new round of talks in January 2007 in hope of finding a way out of their political impasse.

The closed-door negotiations started with talks between Yussuf Makamba, secretary-general of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party (CCM), and Seif Shariff Hamad, secretary-general of the opposition Civic United Front party (CUF).

Now a special committee with five members from each of the CCM and the CUF is continuing the talks.

Intra-party relations entered an impasse in the wake of the 2005 general elections in Zanzibar, where the CCM won the polls with a small margin.

The CUF has been boycotting the activities of the Zanzibar House of Representatives though the party's elected members have been sitting through sessions of the Zanzibar parliament.
The opposition party claims that the October 2005 elections had irregularities and had been rigged by the ruling party.

This is the third formal talk between these two parties that concluded their previous talks in October 2001 with a peace accord known as Muafaka.

Kikwete: Mediates and seeks better government

One of the fruits of this dialogue is the outcome from the SADC meeting. After the meeting, President Kikwete announced:

The leaders have expressed great concern over the worsening political situation in Zimbabwe. The situation is not good both ways and SADC has decided to act.

Kikwete revealed that SADC had appointed President Mbeki to mediate in Zimbabwe on its behalf, underlining that SADC now had become a player in the country's crisis.

Both the ruling ZANU-PF party and Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were urged to cooperate with the South African President.

But as SADC was now taking on responsibility, President Kikwete urged Western powers to stop their one-sided actions against the Mugabe regime. "Diplomatic relations between Zimbabwe, the EU and the US are not healthy," he said, urging the West to engage in communication with Zimbabwe instead of isolating it. SADC leaders made it clear they would prefer the US and EU to lift their sanctions against Zimbabwe, claiming these only fuelled the conflict and the economic crisis.

Tanzania is showing great maturity in continuing two-party talks to resolve differences with its own political process; great maturity in accepting resources from the West that will enable the process; and great maturity in taking diplomatic initiatives to foster better government in neighbouring countries.

If you are looking for a project that can make a real difference in one of the world’s poorest countries, lend your support to the School of St Jude in northern Tanzania and help educate the future leaders of the country. Visit the school website or use the ChipIn tool on this blog.

How many countries are there in Africa?

Here are some more fun resources for learning the names of all the countries in Africa. There are 53 of them, including the islands – Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe.

In an earlier post , I gave a neat countdown tool from UC Berkeley that gives you 10 minutes to name all the countries.

Now I have found some other fun ways to learn the countries. Owl and Mouse has a free download that lets you drop outlines of the countries onto the map of Africa.

43 things has a challenge that asks you to point to the countries as they are named. And PurposeGames has a similar map with a counter tells you how long you took and colour codes indicate whether it took you 1, 2 or 3 tries to identify it. As you mouse-over different countries, their names appear, and that helps you learn them.

I thought I would do OK on this task because I have learnt the names of all the countries by doing the Berkeley challenge. But so far I keep getting stuck on one of the countries. Where IS Malawi!! (OK, that long thing isn’t a lake, it is a country!). On my latest try, I scored 86% in 3.5 minutes. Definite improvement!

You’ll want a good map so you can study the countries before you take any of these challenges. Here is one from WorldAtlas.com.


Check out new developments in the formation of the East African Community in this item on my blog.

I don’t know about you, but I find it stimulating and expansive to learn new things. Somehow, the world is becoming a clearer place for me now that I know a lot more about Africa. Knowing the shape of the continent and having a better idea about the countries, gives me an indefinably clearer understanding of the issues and news I encounter.

The children at the School of St Jude in northern Tanzania are learning something similar. Their world is expanding as they receive a standard of education that is only possible through the support of people like you and me.

Why don't you take one of these learning challenges and report your score here?

Or you could just click through to the School of St Jude and make a small donation! Go on – make use of the interactivity of the web!



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Get to know Genofeva

Miss Genofeva is one of the teachers that I sponsor at the School of St Jude. She has been at the School since 2004, teaching Kinder and Prep classes, but this year she is the homeroom teacher for Class 1F and teaches Kiswahili in Standards 1 and 2.


Genofeva is a member of the Girls’ Affairs committee that helps female students address issues that specifically affect them. In addition, she is part of the Staff Support committee that provides peer support to teachers.

She is a very busy lady, because as well as teaching, she has a one-year old daughter and also cares for her four year old niece who was orphaned.

Her gentle spirit is evident in her care for others.

She says she is proud to work at The School of St Jude because she understands the importance of educating fellow Tanzanians who, due to poverty, haven’t been blessed with the opportunities she enjoys.

The School of St Jude relies on the professional knowledge and commitment of teachers like Genofeva to bring the best standard of education to children from very poor homes.

Your support for the school makes it possible for Tanzanians like Genofeva to build a better future for their country.



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Health checks for school kids

Every year, the Tanzanian government requires schools to check the eyesight, height and weight of EVERY child in the school. So St Jude's has just been through the exercise of measuring, weighing and inspecting all 850 students. A team of volunteer trainee doctors visited the school and worked non-stop to get the job done. They added extra checks such a hearing and general body check! A BIG thanks goes to Mr and Mrs Ryan, Miss Davina, Miss Sarah-Beth, Mr Gurj who came from America, Australia and the UK and also to our Irish volunteers Miss Rebecca, Miss Niamh and finally to Mr Jacob from Australia.

Checking every ear in the school

This was the first year the School had the resources to check the ears of every student. They discovered that more than 75% of students had blocked or partially blocked ears due to too much wax. So now the School is educating parents and guardians about the need to clean their child’s ears out gently a few times each year.

The health checks also revealed that lots of the new students need glasses and many have skin infections. Many of these problems would typically go undetected in a Tanzanian home and make concentrating and learning so much more difficult. 85 students were found to require glasses and so over the coming month the School will help them to see an eye doctor in town for further investigation.

It ain't glamorous, but worm medicine puts a smile on faces!

Worms are a major problem in most of the developing world, and especially in poor countries like Tanzania. They are most prevalent in school-age children and while normally not life-threatening, infections cause chronic health problems in children. These include anemia, malnutrition, and diminished cognitive development that usually results in noticeably lower test scores and attendance.

The wonderful group of doctors doing the St Judes health checks helped to source worming tablets for not only each student, but also 3 other people in each family. The school has purchased thousands of doses and will be educating the families of students how to take the tablets etc.

A very big thank you to PFIZER AUSTRALIA for donating thousands for worming tablets. Our children and their families greatly appreciate it!

The School of St Jude stretches its resources to the maximum so that these bright children from the poorest homes have the best chance of getting an excellent education. This school is like an ark. It provides a protected environment that removes many of the obstacles facing these children. It provides uniforms, free lunches, health checks and medicine, as well as excellent classroom teaching.



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Book launch events

From the 23rd April to the 8th May, Gemma Sisia will be going around Australia to launch her book St Jude's at "Friends of St Jude's" functions in various cities and towns.



The aim of these functions is to:

1. Bring current and new supporters together in a friendly atmosphere.
2. Educate people who have never heard of this school, by showing a short visual presentation. Gemma will also be giving updates and information about future projects for both old and prospective supporters.
3. Launch the book St Jude's and sell copies. Sales of the book at these events will benefit the school directly. People who buy a book during the function will also receive a free DVD about the school.

Full details of the book launch events around Australia are on the School website. The cost seems to range from $10-$50 depending on the refreshments (tea, breakfast, dinner, whatever) and you will need to book a place if you want to go.

Here is the list of places and dates.

Friday 20th April - Gordon, Sydney
Monday 23rd April - Dubbo
Tuesday 24th April - Potts Point, Sydney
Thursday 26th April - Brisbane CBD
Thursday 26th April - Auchenflower, Brisbane
Friday 27th April - Centenary, Brisbane
Saturday 28th April - Bendigo
Sunday 29th April - Scotch College, Melbourne
Monday 30th April - Toorak, Melbourne
Tuesday 1st May - Hyde Park, Adelaide
Wednesday 2nd May - Glenunga, Adelaide
Thursday 3rd May - Perth
Saturday 5th May -Armidale
Monday 7th May - Inverell
Tuesday 8th May - Tamworth

So, if you would like to meet the remarkable Gemma Sisia and make contact with other St Jude's supporters in your area, book a place and share the joy!



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Drilling for water

To connect with World Water Day on 22 March, ABC Local Radio is running a water awareness campaign called The 40 hour Drought. Listeners are encouraged to commit to using only 40 litres of water across a 40 hour period and to experience what it is like to live with a limited amount of water.

I have blogged here and here about the drought in Tanzania last year that brought the country to its knees when the hydro electricity failed and power was rationed to just a couple of hours a day.

While the rains have come, the local village water supply can’t meet the growing needs of the School of St Jude with its 870 children, plus 170 staff, plus building operations. This is why raintanks are needed at the school (see the Chipin tool on this page which is raising money for rainwater tanks).

New classroom building – gutters and downpipes, but no water tanks.

This new classroom building was finished in January this year, just in time for the new school year and an extra 150 students. There was not enough money to install water tanks, so the downpipes drain to the open ground.

Right now, the School is also drilling for a new borehole, praying that a new water source will be found to supplement the current supply.

Hoping to find water in the new borehole

In Tanzania, one of the poorest countries in the world, everything is harder! You don’t just open a school and focus on education policies, teacher recruitment and curriculum. You also drill for water and install water tanks. What’s next? Solar power?

Keep in touch, learn about it, and lend some help.



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Excellence again!

The second group of St Jude’s students blitzes the exams.

The results have been announced for the second group of St Jude’s students to complete the Standard 4 national exams in Mathematics, Science, English, Kiswahili and Social Studies.
In the previous year when 27 St Jude’s students sat the exam, they excelled — Esuvat was placed first in the district of 17,000 students (you can read about her here) and several St Jude’s students placed in the top 10 students in the district. A fantastic achievement for these children from the poorest homes!

In the recent exams in 2006, 123 St Jude’s students sat the exam – an extra 100 students, but the School doesn’t seem to mind that kind of challenge. And how did they do? They were fantastic! The students had an average of 90% which placed the School of St Jude as second amongst 200 schools in the district.

Gemma says:

We owe a huge congratulations to all teachers and staff who worked so hard because getting an extra 100 students ready for the exams is no mean feat at all. We are still waiting from the Education office for the list of students who did best out of the 17,000+ candidates.

Here is a photo of the five students who did the best from St Jude’s – scoring over 245 out of 250.

Mr Nestory, Academic Master, standing proudly with students Elizabeth, Arnold, Jovanesta, Agnes, Blandina and Carolyn.

If you want to join the band of enthusiastic supporters who are giving these children from the poorest homes the chance to excel, you can become a sponsor by visiting the School website link. If you would like to give a small amount right now, just click on the Chipin tool on this page.



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