To See is to Believe! Tanzania's Government Hospitals.

Lets Fight Cruelty Against People with Albinism

Decomposed body of person with albinism found in Nambala Village

Reported on 13th June 2012

The recent discovery of a badly mutilated body of a person with albinism (PWA) at Nambala Village in Kikwe Ward, Arumeru District, has created fear and dismay among the community in Arusha Region.

The body, which was discovered on 26th May 2012 by children was badly mutilated and left without clothes on, on a stone in the middle river Nambala.

Narrating the sad story, Jeremiah Thomas Ayo (59) who is the Mbughuni Ward Educational Officer and lives near the scene of the crime, says it was a strong smell, which raised the alarm that there was something wrong somewhere. “There was this pungent smell similar to that of a dead animal for about five to seven days before the body was discovered. At first I thought it was a dog or one of my animals,” says Ayo.
On 26th May before going to work he instructed his children and a worker that they should not rest until they found where the smell that made them uncomfortable originated.
The shocked children called him on the phone to inform him that they had found a body in the nearby spring river of Nambala.

Ayo went to the scene where he saw the naked mutilated body of a man aged between 25 and 30 with many of his organs missing. "There were no ears, the skin on his face had been peeled off, his hair shaved; arms hacked off, the tongue and the front part of his neck had been removed.
“Large parts of his bottoms and genitals had been chopped off. His trousers were pulled down to his ankles. The body was placed on a stone face down." Ayo narrated to the shocked UTSS staff, the Arumeru, District Commissioner, one Nyerembe, Police Officer and the Tanzania Albino Society (TAS) members who visited the scene of the crime.

He said that the Arumeru District Hospital doctor who arrived with the police, examined the body and confirmed that it was that of a man with albinism.
A dark blue T-shirt and a white china plate were also left there. Ayo said the T-Shirt belonged to the dead man, wondering why the police left some crucial evidence at the scene.
According to Ayo, the assailants carefully chose the location (where the body was found) because it was surrounded by thick bushes and a forest of old indigenous trees where they could remove the organs and then wash their clothes and hands without any problem.
Among the first adult witnesses to see the body was Mzee Joachim Phabian Shirima (72) who suggested that perhaps the stone was used as a table where the body was laid for easy cutting and removal of the organs they wanted.

“After finishing what they did, they just disappeared into the dark night without a trace. These killers have acted like animals. They did not even have the courtesy to cover the body,” Shirima says.
Shirima suggested that the murder could have taken place elsewhere and the body brought to the area for chopping off the organs. The police say that they are still investigating the incident.
He says that there was no evidence of any struggle on the grass and muddy area surrounding the stone where the body was placed. However he also says that many days have passed and that all the time it was raining in Nambala village. Shirima points out that it could have been the work of people who wanted to use the organs at nearby Mererani Tanzanite mines about 40 kilometers from the village or for use in witchcraft beliefs. He denies though that the indigenous people from the area use such witchcraft for riches and success. "We have been hearing from the media that albino organs are used in the minerals and also for making people wealthy and successful. But that is practiced in the Lake Zone not here in my village," he told the delegation.
Another witness, Beatrice (27) who lives in the area, says they were experiencing the same problem of a strong smell, which was felt in their house but did not know where it was emanating from.
She says although their house was near the place where the incident took place, they never heard any commotion when it happened.

The Nambala Village Chairman, Ramadhan Amani (53) says the killing of PWA was the first one in the village. He urged his fellow villagers to be vigilant when they meet strange people.
Amani remembers that a few years ago unknown people dumped a dead body of a Taxi driver from Arusha city in his village and he thinks the Nambala village forest is a hiding place for criminals.
Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in Arusha City, the Tanzania Albino Society (TAS) Arusha branch chairperson, Godson Mollel says his association condemned the killing of PWA in the country and Arusha in particular.

He urged to the public at large who have lost a member of the family, a neighbour or a friend with albinism to visit Mount Meru Hospital to identify the body in the morgue and report to the police.
He said so far no one has shown up to claim the body for burial services, implying that the dead person may not be from Arusha Municipality and called on the media to publish the information.
“When we got the information, we knew he was one of us but we cannot say where he is from as the body has decomposed,” says Mollel.
Speaking to press, the Executive Director of Under The Same Sun (UTSS) Tanzania, Vicky Ntetema said the current killing of the PWA in Arusha was not the first, saying back in September 2007 an 18-month old child with albinism (CWA) was murdered by his own father.
She warned that persons with albinism are still not safe in the country and called on the government and the public in general to protect PWAs.

"It is our responsibility as Tanzanians to ensure that we make the country a safe place for all of us. It is very easy to control the killings and protect our brothers and sisters with albinism if we all put our mind to it.
“The ten-cell system should be used to count PWA and when they are missing from home or work it will be easy to trace their whereabouts, report to the police and conduct a search immediately," says Ntetema.
She added that the recent attacks against persons with albinism confirmed her concerns that albinism-related killings of PWA continue without being reported. She notes that within three months (since March 2012) there have been five attacks, including two albinism-related murders and three attempted murders. Also during this period there have been reports of an abduction and transporting of a boy with albinism allegedly from Tanzania to Burkina Faso.

On the state of the recently murdered Arumeru PWA, Ntetema admits that during her career she has seen many badly mutilated bodies, but the one at hand cannot be compared with any of those. "This is the most despicable crime against humanity she has ever come across. These butchers have to be found! Government leaders have to say and do something about this. These killings have to end!" Ntetema challenges the law makers and the government officials to stop the killings!
Sweeping the matter under the carpet for fear of "tarnishing the image of Tanzania" as many of you keep on saying will not help the country to be a safe enough environment for PWA to live in!", says Ntetema.

Building Tomorrow Announces New Commitment Supporting Rural Education in East Africa

New outreach to benefit more than 18,000 students.

An Indianapolis-based non-profit social enterprise has announced a new commitment to construct a total of 60 primary-level Building Tomorrow Academies in East Africa and to launch an initiative aimed at improving the quality of education in Ugandan communities by training over 450 current and future educators and developing a rural-relevant classroom curriculum.

The commitment, announced at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting in New York City runs through 2016 and will harness partnerships already built with student chapters at U.S. institutions including the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University and the University of Texas–Austin as well as the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports.

“We’re continuing to see an incredible embrace of the Building Tomorrow model–more so with each new academy we announce,” Founder and Chief Dreamer of Building Tomorrow George Srour said. “Just this week we’ve visited with two new partner communities that have independently made overwhelming contributions with land, labor and construction materials to support Building Tomorrow’s efforts.”

In just under five years, Building Tomorrow has engaged thousands of students in the United States in service-learning, awareness, fundraising and design activities to support the construction of primary-level academies in Uganda. Today, Building Tomorrow counts seven open academies enrolling 1,500 underserved students with commitments for another ten to be constructed. Building Tomorrow’s unique cost-sharing approach means each donor community’s funds will be matched, in-kind, with the donation of land and approximately 20,000 hours of volunteer labor by each partnering Ugandan community.

“While focusing on what happens inside the classroom is new territory for us, we know it is a matter of critical importance to our parents and, most of all, students,” Building Tomorrow Uganda Country Director Joseph Kaliisa said.

For more information see Building Tomorrow’s Clinton Global Initiative Commitment: http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/commitments/commitments_search.asp?id=732518

Building Tomorrow is an international social-profit organization encouraging philanthropy among young people by raising awareness and funds to build and support educational infrastructure projects for underserved children in sub-Saharan Africa. BT works with a college network of over 25 chapters nationwide and has a partnership with the 245,000 members-strong Key Club International, the world’s largest high school service organization.

For more information, visit www.buildingtomorrow.org.

Empowering Women Farmers Could End World Hunger

Across the world, 1.6 billion women rely on farming as a means of survival. In many cases, they are the sole providers of food for their families, yet cultural biases and a lack of resources, education and financial means have prevented most from rising out of poverty.

According to a report released by the United Nations, women produce 50 percent of the food in rural areas yet only receive 1 percent of the profits. Research has proven that women are more likely than men to use money they earn to provide food and other necessities for their families. Closing the gender gap by empowering women with the skills and resources necessary to purchase land and increase yields could potentially lift 150 million people out of poverty.

With approximately 43 percent of agriculture supported by women (it is estimated that up to 80 percent of farmers in Africa and 60 percent in Asia are women) more and more programs and resources are popping up to help sustain and improve their livelihood. Convergence between farmer and buyer, and access to lines of credit, fertilizer and transportation all play a large role in supporting the mission to end world hunger.

In a recent article, the Christian Science Monitor explores several programs that are helping women farmers get on their feet. Concepts, such as vertical farming, which have traditionally been used to provide people living in urban areas the opportunity to render  gardens using alternative methods, are a practical solution for women farmers living in rural communities who do not have the means or rights to own land.

The Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network’s (FANRPAN) WARM Project provides venues for women to voice their opinions on agricultural policies. Men traditionally influence policy, so these gatherings, which are held at FANRPAN theaters in Malawi and Mozambique (the organization is planning to expand to others areas of Africa as well), offer women a chance to brainstorm ideas and collaborate on improving their access to resources vital to growing a business.

The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and The Women’s Collective are organizations that assist women in developing countries with obtaining equipment and licenses to land while empowering them through cooperatives, self-help groups, and agricultural programs. The Women’s Collective focuses particularly on protecting women in India against domestic and sexual abuse while providing education about natural farming techniques that will ultimately increase yields and ensure water and food security.

Collectively, women farmers have smaller yields than men. This is mostly attributed to women having limited access to high-quality seeds. The GREEN Foundation partners with other NGOs to provide seed banks for women in India’s Karnataka state. The seed banks provide women farmers with primarily organic seeds which are known to yield profitable crops. The foundation also runs a gardening project, which “improves women small-scale farmers’ food security and economic status, involves training women in agricultural methods and encouraging them to grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants for their families.”

The future for women farmers is looking brighter as the global community begins to grasp the importance of their role in the agricultural industry. Empowering women with the same resources and wages that are available to men may ultimately save mankind from a creeping food crisis that is threatening our ability to feed the world’s rapidly growing population.

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