Ace Africa - Tanzania

Child abuse in various forms has been increasingly recognised as a serious problem in Tanzania. In 2016, Tanzania committed over $100m in a 5-year plan to end abuse against women and children, however recent reports by the government show that the problem may be increasing rather than decreasing with cases of sexual abuse against children on the rise.

Often there are no systems in place to combat child abuse at the local level. Ace Africa Tanzania are working with communities to prevent incidences of sexual abuse, violent abuse, and child labour as well as providing support to victims. By creating child protection systems run by the community, Ace are working to ensure that children will be protected in the long term and that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice. They are also working with local schools and informal groups to increase the community understanding of child rights so that they are able to identify when they are breached. Ace are also working with the same communities to improve their understanding of HIV and how it is spread, to reduce incidences of the disease.

Fanisi Tanzania

Egmont Partner Fanisi works in Tanzania’s rural Sengerema District where 80% of the population rely on small-scale agriculture to support their families. Many struggle to provide enough food and basic commodities resulting in high secondary school dropout rates as young people seek piecework to boost their family income. Household stress caused by economic pressures as well as traditional beliefs and adverse behaviours leave children vulnerable to abuse, putting girls especially at greater risk of contracting HIV. 

In partnership with Egmont, Fanisi is supporting particularly vulnerable orphans, children and their families at eight schools across Sengerema District. Through school-based groups, pupils are learning about their rights and how to report and prevent abuse. Parenting Clubs are also being run in the community for caregivers. Through school-based pupil-led businesses to raise funds for materials and uniforms, school dropout rates are being reduced. In addition, caregivers are being supported to boost their incomes through Village Savings and Loan groups (VSLs) and training to start their own small businesses so they can more easily provide for their families. 

Forever Angels

The Forever Angels (FA) Baby Home supports new-born infants whose mothers have died in childbirth or succumbed to AIDS complications. Some babies, whose mothers are in such an advanced state of HIV that they are unable to lactate, are given life-saving milk formula by the orphanage. This is essential work in Tanzania where almost 4% of children don’t see their first birthday.

Forever Angels does not operate as a traditional orphanage but prefers to support infants within their own family networks where possible, by choosing to reintegrate severely malnourished infants once they have been brought up to a healthy weight. Forever Angels then assists individual families to establish sustainable income streams to feed their children and fund basic household costs. They are also delivering training workshops on business training, HIV & AIDS and malaria to the children’s parents and caregivers.

Hakizetu Organisation

Over 44% of people in Tanzania live below the international poverty line ($2.15 a day). Seventy-seven percent of women are in paid employment but largely have low paid, unstable jobs (89.3%). In Tanzania’s north-western Mwanza region there are high levels of poverty and HIV. Over 8% of people aged 15 – 49 are HIV+ and women are unequally affected. High rates of poverty and gender based violence (GBV) against women and girls leaves them susceptible to being infected.

Egmont Partner Hakizetu works in Mwanza implementing interventions to increase gender equality in homes, institutions and the wider community.

Hakizetu’s Egmont-funded project is based in three districts where poverty is particularly high and focuses on vulnerable and marginalised women and girls including survivors of GBV, girls who have left school early due to child marriage or teenage pregnancy, and those living with HIV. The project aims to equip these women and girls to take charge of their lives through both economic strengthening and sexual and reproductive health education. Twenty women and girls will take part in vocational skills training in garment making, design and handcrafts and undertake a two-month apprenticeship, to gain valuable work experience. Thirty-five women will also be supported to undertake business and entrepreneurship training and receive mentoring as they set up new ventures or enhance existing small businesses. Alongside this, group conversations and community events will raise awareness among 2,800 local people on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) rights and HIV & AIDS, empowering people to make informed choices, reduce stigma and take proactive steps towards prevention, uptake of SRH services and family planning.

Kwa Wazee

UNICEF reports that nearly 3 out of every 10 girls in Tanzania experience at least one incident of sexual violence before the age of 18. In the Kagera region, where HIV prevalence is high, the issue of sexual violence can become more than just the physical and emotional distress that it causes but also another way in which HIV is transmitted.

Egmont partner Kwa Wazee has been supported to work with children in Kagera to help prevent incidences of child abuse. Working with village leaders and head teachers at local schools, Kwa Wazee has established Child Protection Committees, that aim to reduce the number of cases through community campaigns. This helps Kwa Wazee to also address deep seated views on gender-based violence through behavioural workshops and to bring perpetrators to justice by providing a reporting and support network for victims. Kwa Wazee also undertake self-protection workshops for the local girls and “Peace is a Decision” classes for the boys, which teach them to respect and protect the women in their community. 

R-Labs

In Tanzania, almost a fifth of all young women aged 15-24 are not in employment, education or training. Due to cultural practices and traditional inequalities, this number is double the rate of men of the same age. With few employment prospects, these women may turn to early marriages or transactional sex in order to support themselves, putting them at risk of infection

R-Labs works in Iringa, central Tanzania, where the HIV prevalence rate is 13%. R-Labs has been supported by Egmont to work with 120 young women who have graduated from their successful Grow Leadership programme. Using local businesses and inspirational people to act as mentors for the young girls, the Grow Leadership programme teaches them leadership, business and financial skills aimed at enabling them to create their own businesses or find employment. For this project, RLabs will be working with these graduates to help them double their incomes, enabling them to more than meet their basic needs and begin saving or investing more greatly into their businesses.

Uzima

Ilemela sits on the outskirts of Mwanza, Tanzania’s second largest city. Like the rest of the country, nearly half of the households there live below the international poverty line; on an income of less than $1.90 a day. The struggle to make ends meet places a huge strain on families, especially those impacted by HIV & AIDS.

Egmont Partner Uzima in Ilemela knows that a multifaceted approach is required to successfully combat the effects of poverty in the long term. With support from Egmont, Uzima are training parents and caregivers of vulnerable and AIDS-affected children in financial management and setting up local savings and loan groups. These groups are a proven method of giving people increased access to and control over their resources and access credit, enabling them to sustainably build their incomes and meet their basic needs. Out-of-school adolescents living with HIV are taking part in training with Uzima to identify their talents and start their own income generation activities, setting them on a path to becoming independent young adults. Education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty and so primary and secondary school pupils from AIDS-affected families will be supported by the project with the supplies they need to excel at school. Pupils are also being given solar lamps so they can independently continue their studies at home and develop the skills and knowledge they need to work towards a brighter future.