AFRICANEWS
TanzaniaThe forgotten dream of village life revivedTOPIC: Unemploymentby Bernadin Mfumbusa (835 words)
Stealing a bed sheet was all it took to ignite the ire of the villagers. Isa Mazengo, 22, was doused in petrol and set ablaze by a gang of Bihawana villagers in near Dodoma, a town in Central Tanzania. Bystanders applauded the grisly spectacle. "Even kids and women encouraged my attackers," Isa recalls. Nursing first degree burns, Isa is one of several young men trying to adapt village life after years in the streets of Dodoma. Now he is facing a dilemma. Should he stay or return to the uncertain life of the streets? Either option bristles with difficulties. While villagers are suspicious because of his past, street life is equally unforgiving. Some of Isa's friends from Tegemeo Centre, however, have integrated amicably in villages elsewhere. A note from the village chief of Mzaganza, Tanzania to Father Arnold Boisseur, the director of Tegemeo Centre, says that another graduate of the Centre is "hard working, respectful and a good example to other young men in the village." Father Boisseur thinks many people are unnecessarily wary of these young men and basically see them as incorrigible criminals. "That is not fair. Given a chance and proper guidance many will resume normal lives," he says with conviction. It is this conviction which led Fr. Boisseur to set up Tegemeo Centre, in 1994, 12 kilometers outside of Dodoma. "What we are doing is trying to give them a second lease on life," he says. Tegemeo Centre houses 20 young men aged 16 to 30. They are learning basic skills in carpentry, gardening and masonry. The young men also attend adult education classes for writing and reading skills. The ultimate goal is for young men to become self reliant in a village they choose. Surprisingly Tegemeo Centre is succeeding where the government has failed. The government programme encouraged youth to stay in villages. Overnight so called youth villages mushroomed, but the euphoria did not last. Haji Hussein, 40, a former resident of Serya youth village in Kondoa near Dodoma says, "The idea of the villages was good, but mismanagement and lack of focus destroyed even the basic facilities like a hand loom and carpentry workshop which were meant to be a cornerstone of our economic activity." Serya, like most other youth villages in the country, remains a symbol of an old forgotten dream. Victor Buyi, 20, is one of Tegemeo's success stories. " It gives me tremendous pleasure to see these 'city urchins' settle in village of their own choice," Father Boisseur says Buyi is the proud owner of a bicycle and a two acre vegetable garden generating about U.S. $11 every week. In a country where the annual per capital income is a mere U.S. $ 120, he is doing rather well. Today, Buyi's uncertain income as a street hawker seems like a bad dream. He spent six years on the streets of Dodoma, saw the inside of Isanga prison, smoked marijuana, and had a bleak future. Father Boissurer began befriending petty traders, hawkers and small time criminals as part of his ministry to the youth in 1994. "I found out that most lived dangerously, picking pockets to augment their income or dabbling with bhang and doing acts of vandalism," he says. A thin scar on his face as a testimony to his violent past, Buyi is a changed man. Harvesting a handful of maize, he hands it over to Father Boissurer with a smile: "Farm gifts," he says. People often ask Father Boisseur whether he wants to convert these youth. Many are normally Moslems. "That is not my immediate aim," he says. " I am only trying to make them responsible people capable of managing their own lives as law abiding citizens. Religion and God will come out of their own choice." Food and other necessities for Tegemeo Centre are supplied by donors and good Samaritans. Each resident receives a weekly allowance of less than U.S. $1. The aim of this meager stipend is to encourage thrift. Those who refrain from spending the money on trifles like cigarettes or booze and save U.S. $1.50 are given an additional U.S.$6 as a bonus. In recognition of the Tegemeo Centre, and in a salute to the efforts of the young men to leave behind their murky past, the Uhuru torch, in a country wide race, made a schedule stop at Tegemeo Centre last year. "Our house looks tiny and rough, " the young men said in their message to the leader of the race before laying a foundation stone of an extension building. " But we are proud of it for it is the work of our own hands." When the young men finally stood up to sing the traditional uhuru torch, the words in the verse struck home: bring hope where there is despair and light where there is darkness. Tegemeo Centre is synonymous with hope for these street-wise young men, even for Isa who still lays in a hospital bed nursing injuries, tomorrow brings its own difficulties.
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