Tanzanian cricketers visit Australia

The Tanzanian national team is one of the eight nations playing in the World Cricket League Division 3 tournament in Darwin this week.

This tournament provides a stepping stone towards qualification for the 2011 World Cup. The top two teams from this event will join UAE, Namibia, Denmark and Oman in Windhoek, Namibia at the ICC World Cricket League Division 2, in November. The top teams from that tournament will go to the ICC World Cup Qualifier in the UAE in 2009.

Tanzania have prepared for the competition with a three week training camp in India in April, which saw them take on five local sides in warm-up matches. Hamisi Abdallah's side also gained valuable experience when they took on some of the Associate member countries taking part in the World Cricket League Division One in Nairobi in January, although they did suffer a 79 run defeat to Scotland.

I'm glad to see the Tanzanian national team visiting Australia. Cricket seems to be one of the most skilled and least violent of the big international games, so it is a sport that I would like to see encouraged. And, as the Australian government recently banned the Australian cricket team from visiting Zimbabwe as a sign of disapproval of the Mugabe regime, it is important that we put out the welcome mat for other African countries.

While I understand the impetus towards African solidarity, I am disturbed to see African countries put solidarity with the Mugabe regime ahead of broad principles of fairness and effective government. In the same way, I get annoyed by the stance that 'Africa is a hopeless case, look at Zimbabwe'. The poor practices of the Mugabe regime reflect on all African countries. So, I am glad that I have learnt a bit about Tanzania, because it allows me to point towards other African countries that are relatively well-run but still desperately poor.

What reason is there not to help, when you find a good project in a country that is working hard to improve the standard of governance and the economy? You can help to ensure that the future leaders of Tanzania, get an education that includes solid values as well as the broad foundations for effective professional lives.

Give your support to the School of St Jude, in Arusha, Tanzania and help Fight Poverty Through Education.

Gemma talks up a storm!

Gemma is still on the talk-trail – talking up a storm!

Gemma Sisia

The ABC has an interview with her online, from their 'Conversation' program in Brisbane. Their website says....

Gemma Sisia is a woman with an outrageous amount of energy. With $10 in her bank account, the former Guyra farm girl set up a school in Tanzania for poor but bright African children. Gemma found sponsors and supporters in Australia, and literally helped build the school - brick by brick - on an idyllic piece of land at the foot of Mount Meru in Tanzania. She named the school 'St Jude's' after the patron saint of lost causes - but in fact the school is a huge success, bringing a decent modern education to 890 kids who would otherwise be doing manual labour. She's written about her amazing experiences in her book called, simply, St Jude's.

Gemma's childhood, growing up on the farm with seven brothers, equipped her well for the daily challenges she faces in Africa. "I was expected to do everything," she recalls, "from mustering sheep to land-marking to even crutching sheep. Mum and Dad brought all of us up to never give up; anything's do-able - you can start anything if you really put your mind to it, but nothing will succeed without hard work...

"Before I went to Africa originally I did this two week 'how to integrate into a third world country' course. Absolute waste of time! If anyone wants to work in Africa, they should go to TAFE and do a mechanics course, a plumbing course... Thank God I was brought up on a far! All the days I was with Dad helping with the tractor, laying down the polythene pipe pumping water... All this stuff I learned has really come in handy!"

At St Jude's, Gemma's busy day starts at 7.30am. "I go through all my emails, then the school buses start coming in. We have 18, with all the kids and teachers...

"School starts at 8.30. Then I have a spike near my desk - if anyone needs any materials, painters/electricians, hey put it on my spike. I can't talk to anyone! If they want something in town they stick it on the spike, then once or twice a week I take my spike into town... Then [I] come back... [have] meetings with teachers... I meet once a week with the head of the Masai guard and head cook, cleaner, gardener. Every three minutes probably [I wear] a different hat."

Gemma has a small army of people helping her, however. "We've got a melting pot of nationalities, religions, money backgrounds, beliefs, senses of humour. In my office alone, my sponsorship co-ordinator is German, the accountant is French... [we have an] Irish visitor co-ordinator because everyone gets along with the Irish!"

Gemma's thrilled with the school's success. "Every year [we get] 200 new kids... With that, more bus drivers, more cooks and cleaners, 12 or 13 more teachers. It sounds very romantic and really exciting but actually, it is so hard! It is by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. The last five years have taken more out of me than my whole life put together, but I wouldn't do anything else. I wouldn't be able to find anything as challenging or rewarding and when you do get the wonderful academic results that we've been getting, and the knowledge that these kids are definitely going to lead Tanzania in the future - well then, it makes it all worth it."

You can listen to the program as Gemma talks with Richard Fidler by going to the ABC website and downloading the audio file.

This fantastic education project in one of the poorest countries is very well run. Gemma has a close eye on every detail, and she has a large vision for the future. Don't hold back from giving your support.




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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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Does international aid make a difference?

There is an entrenched view in some quarters that all the millions of dollars given to poor countries in the past 50 years have made no difference to poverty because the money is wasted, misused or syphoned off by corrupt officials. Those who hold this view have good reason to give nothing and so the continuing cycle of poverty persists.

Students from poor families at St Judes donate to those in greater need

In contrast with this helpless worldview, others have been active in finding ways to ensure that international aid is directed towards reducing poverty. As a result, we see campaigns like the Millennium Development Goals, the End of Poverty, Red, and so forth.

The big shift that has come about from this 'what can we do about it' approach, is that Official Development Aid (ODA) is increasingly tied to performance on poverty reduction.

I have blogged here and here about some specific consequences for Tanzania. Today I read that Bangladesh is being held to account by a group of donor countries on its tardiness in implementing its Poverty Reduction Strategy.

The Local Consultative Group, a platform of the country's bilateral and multilateral donors, has made it clear that unless the government moves forward on implementating the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the donor community will not commit to assisting future programs and projects.

The donor groups have advised the government to hold the Poverty Reduction Strategy Implementation Forum without delay in order to ensure the flow of aid.

This new approach to official aid by the world community should give hope to private donors who support projects like the School of St Judes. Offical aid is important in improving good governance and infrastructure on a country-wide basis. This means that the kids who are getting a great education at the School of St Jude will grow up in a community with better economic prospects and better services.

So, if you get a chance, you can encourage your government to direct its official aid towards the alleviation of extreme poverty in the world's poorest countries. Recently, I wrote to all 150 MPs in the Australian House of Representatives. My own representative, Brendan Nelson, sent a poorly-researched reply that avoided the key points and presented a mix of lies and misrepresentation. I think I will have to reply. No wonder we are constantly disappointed and cynical about our politicians – most of them play the game of defending fixed positions instead of facing issues and presenting useful strategies for moving forward.

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Does wealth make us more generous?

Apparently not. Data from the Reality of Aid organisation shows that OECD donor countries have failed to significantly close their “generosity gap”, which has been growing since the mid-1990s. The following graph shows how wealth per capita in OECD countries grew by 230% from $9,887 to $32,462 between 1961 and 2004.

Source: Reality of Aid

In the same period, Official Development Assistance (ODA) increased by only 50% from $55 to $83 creating an ever-widening generosity gap.

The Millennium Declaration issued by the UN in 2000 called on all countries to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.” In September 2005, the Special UN World Summit to review progress with respect to the Millennium Declaration reiterated the longstanding goal for the rich countries to devote 0.7% of their GNI to ODA.

Ireland has already reneged on its 0.7% by 2007 commitment and pushed its target date to 2012. Japan, meanwhile, has effectively reneged on its $10 billion commitment made at the G8 Gleneagles meeting for new aid money for Africa.

On a more positive note, France, along with Spain, Brazil and Chile, has been leading the way in developing innovative mechanisms for funding development.

And Australia? Well our targets have been so modest, and so far short of 0.7%, that there is little pride is knowing we are on target to reach 0.35% by 2010.

Reality of Aid report that

Most donor countries that have so far failed to move towards the 0.7% target, can well afford to do so. The successful mobilizations in the 2005 Global Call to Action Against Poverty campaigns in many donor countries, as well as generous responses to the December 2004 tsunami, demonstrated that citizens are far more prepared to respond with generosity than their own governments.

All my letters to politicians are now posted and the breakfast table is clear of paperwork. So I have been using it to baste a quilt I am making.



We have had good rain in the Sydney catchment today! I expect the dam levels will be up this week, though I think we will have water restrictions forever more.



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Gapminder

Do statistics make your eyes glaze over? You won’t think so after you have seen Hans Rosling’s remarkable presentation of 30-year trends on world health, education and wealth.

The animated graphics prepared by Gapminder provide a wonderfully clear explanation of the Human Development Trends, and transform development statistics into dynamic and mesmerising journeys. Well, they do for me!

Gapminder chart: GDP per capita and education levels

Using these tools Gapminder's founder, Hans Rosling, proves in a brilliant presentation that development statistics can be very entertaining. Check out the video presentation of his talk at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) site.

Then you can cruise over to Gapminder and play with their animated charts and maps. Set your own questions, quiz yourself.

• Which one country is outstanding in going backwards on child (under 5 years) mortality in the past 10 years while all other countries have made significant advances? Iraq. Evidence of the superior foresight of the Bush Administration.

You’ll find lots of surprises and quirks in these gorgeous playthings.

It's fun to check out your favourite countries on these charts. Tanzania, Australia, India, Norway. It's hard not to barrack for your favourites when you press the 'play' button on one of the dynamic charts and watch the dots move onward and upward from 1970 to 2003. Very exciting stuff. Or am I just nerdy?

Government spending on education

It is widely accepted that a well-educated population is a cornerstone of economic prosperity. Australia spends 5.8% of GDP on education, and it ranks mid-point amongst OECD countries on education spending.

UNSW graduates – Master Clinical Psychology

With GDP per capita of $31,600, this means that Australia spends $1,800 per capita on education each year.

If Tanzania spent the same proportion of GDP on education it would equate to $41 per capita. It is clear that the poorest countries do not have the resources to run even basic education services, never mind invest in improvements and try to catch up with other countries.

The Tanzanian investment in education has been restricted by huge debt repayment schedules. However, since Tanzania completed the current debt relief program they have received $3 billion in debt relief, according to the World Bank.

Tanzania has used the savings to increase education spending and eliminate school fees for elementary school education. Almost overnight, an estimated 1.6 million kids returned to school. By 2003, 3.1 million children were back in school. The net enrollment ratio has risen from 58.8 percent in 2000 to 88.5 percent in 2003. Tanzania expects to attain universal basic education by 2006.

With debt relief savings in 2002 and 2003, Tanzania built 31,825 classrooms and the number of primary schools increased from 11,608 in 2000 to 12,689 in 2003, a net increase of 1,081 schools. Also in these two years, 17,851 new Grade A teachers were recruited and 9,100 science-teaching kits were supplied. The pass rate in primary school exams rose from 19.3 percent in 1999 to 40.1 percent in 2003. This rate would have been higher if the pass rate standard had not been raised.

The international campaign to raise awareness of the pernicious effect of debt repayments on the poorest countries has been effective in causing First World countries to re-think the ways they help the poorest of the poor.

Just as the very poorest people in society have no means to repay loans, so the very poorest countries do not have the means to repay loans.

It is great to see that the Tanzanian government is able to invest more in schools. But on an ongoing basis, the country still has only $700 per capita as a tax base to fund essential services.
With economic growth running at 6%, this may grow to around $742 next year giving the government $43 per capita for education (at 5.8% – the same proportion Australia spends on education).

It will be generations before the Tanzanian economy has grown enough to fund basic education and in the meantime it is clear that at this stage on its upward climb out of poverty, your contribution is essential.