Change Happens

One of my favorite things about my job is seeing change happen right before my eyes.  Change for the better.  Granted, it doesn't always present itself *so readily* and there are many *storms to be weathered* along the way -- particularly in a developing country -- but when those storms erupt, and they always do, my friends here in Moshi like to say, "But remember why you're here.  Remember the children."
 
Okay, I know it might sound simple and rose-colored at best, and trite and formulaic at worst -- my New York posse's eyes are rolling back into their overly caffeinated heads right about now -- but God's honest truth .... it's honestly true .... I swear to God!!
 
It really is that simple.  I'm here for these kids.  For better or for worse.  Through the good, the bad, and all sortsa ugly.
 
This past week has been rough for me, personally.  Mama left after five glorious weeks of mother-daughter bonding, and sentimentalist that I am, I was hit hard by her departure.  While she was here, it was us against the world, taking care of business outside of the schoolyard, handling bullies handily, and pushing back the pushers.

In fact, this whole year, I have only been at school a handful of days -- something that is about to change big time -- because I wanted to maximize Mama's time in-country to deal with the irritating, nitpicking, bureaucratic yuckiness of running an NGO in Tanzania.  That meant going to accountants, lawyers, banks, THE REVENUE AUTHORITY, and all manner of other unpleasant locale in order to cross any Ts and dot any Is that are necessary for Toa Nafasi's legal status in Tanzania.  (We're all good, should anyone have any concerns, Mama saw to that before she left!!)
 
Now, on the cusp of a new month -- and just weeks from my 40th birthday -- I am reflective .... and thankful.

The past eight years in Kilimanjaro has been an amazing opportunity, an incredible experience.  "The best of times, the worst of times," as Chas Dickens once wrote.  But an experience that few others can say they have had the opportunity to live.  I know it sounds hokey and maybe I'm getting maudlin and mushy in my old age, but I feel quite certain that I'm on the right track here.
 
And my certainty mostly stems from the change I see around me.  I know I am hard on TZ and TZ'ians and I rail often about taking responsibility, being accountable, problem-solving, and thinking critically....  But ultimately, if all my railing comes to naught except to motivate just a select few, then my time here has not been wasted.  (Vumilia Temba, nakupenda mtu wangu....)

For my part, I've been taught many a lesson here, none of which I could have learned in a publicity department on the 20th-odd-floor in midtown Manhattan.  So .... asante sana, Tee-Zed, whether we like it or not, it appears we're stuck together, wewe na mimi.  And, you can now add Mama to that mix because she has unfinished business with several and sundry in the Moshi community.  And, she WILL be back!!
 

 

 

 
This is Grace, Vumi's daughter.  She was born in 2010, which makes her five years old these days.

The daughter of a teacher, she is inquisitive.

The daughter of the Vuminator, it also makes her opinionated.  And autonomous.  And stubborn.  And a lil' bit aggravating, quite frankly speaking....

But, as I said, change happens....

Five years appear to have passed -- according to Miss Grace -- yet I've somehow managed not to age a day....!!

Call for Overhaul

Big news in the education sector recently as Tanzania unveils new education overhaul plan.  I am of two minds about this, particularly the switch from English as the medium of instruction in secondary school back to Swahili.  

One part of me is absolutely strident that all people should know English if they want to be able to travel abroad, communicate with many different types of people, and succeed in the global marketplace.  If a Tanzanian, an American, a German, and a Korean all met up in a bar, the common denominator language-wise would have to be English.  That I happen to be a native English speaker is my good fortune, but I don't think anyone would argue with my notion of the importance of English language skills in such a situation over say, Urdu.
 
The other part of me, the Toa Nafasi part, thinks that realistically the majority of kids in public schools in Tanzania will ultimately not be world travelers or working in the international sector.  Unfortunate, but true.  And, if we can bring ourselves to admit this, then English language skills are much, much, MUCH less important than say, agricultural know-how and animal-keeping.
 
That English is continued to be taught in schools I still consider important, but that it be used as the language of instruction is indeed crazeballs.  Particularly when you consider that the switchover from Swahili to English in secondary school is sudden and arbitrary.  And furthermore, that the teachers in the majority of these secondary schools have fairly poor English language skills themselves.

The extension of basic education to encompass Form 4 and the abolition of those nasty standardized exams, I ain't mad at.  Both seem like steps in the right direction.  But as the author of the Newstime Africa piece below states, such changes are gonna be a long time in the making.
 
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Tanzania announced a new educational overhaul plan, one that will extend basic education to Form 4, instead of the current Standard VII.

"It's our hope that when students complete this basic education, which is compulsory up to Form 4, they will be at an age ready to contribute to the country's development," Sifuni Mchome, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, said.

He added during a televised national ceremony that the new system would abolish national examinations for primary school leavers.

Mchome noted that students would have their final exams after 11 years in primary and secondary schools.

He said the new system would make primary and secondary education free of charge at state-run schools.

Most important in the new system is that it will ditch English as a language of instruction at Tanzania's schools, making Kiswahili – the mother tongue of the people of Tanzania – the instruction language in these schools.

English dominated teaching in Tanzania's schools from secondary to tertiary levels for a long time.

"Language studies will then be available to enable students to communicate in English," Atetaulwa Ngatara, the assistant director for policy at the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, said.

"Communicating in English is something to do with language studies," he added.

Mchome, meanwhile, noted that the new system would also incorporate vocational education in basic education syllabus to allow students who do not make it to Form 5 to have skills to contribute to the development of their country.

"We need a critical mass of skilled labor for the country's development," Mchome said.

"This cannot be achieved within the current policy, which focuses on filtering and rejecting students without skills through final exams," he added.

Nevertheless, the new system might take decades to take root, some of the officials speaking on Saturday said, because extensive preparations would need to be made for English to be ditched.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said the new system was part of his country's Vision 2025.

He said the system took the global economy, and social and technological changes into account.

"In the next seven years, we will have built the capacity whereby every child who starts Standard I will reach Form 4," the President said.

He added that the system would take Tanzania to the next level, where the nation would have skilled people with both practical and theoretical knowledge."

The Wackness

Years ago, when I was still young and vain and silly, I was complaining to a friend about my looks.  My unusual ethnic heritage gave way to a plethora of imperfections: the wild tangle of curly hair, the faded perma-tan color of my skin, the random disbursement of freckles across my body - nothing matched up and I would never be a classic beauty.

At that time I was working in publicity in New York and glossy magazines were not only a guilty pleasure but the bread and butter of my work.  I was having trouble escaping the concept of "image" and reconciling myself that own was vastly differing from the mainstream.

I remember that this friend looked at me and said, very simply, "Symmetry is wack."  She meant plainly that sameness is boring, conformity is lame.

Those three words have stuck with me all this time since.  Though it is a simple point to understand, it took me a long time to accept; the idea that my differences - some more annoying, unpleasant, ugly than others - actually make me ME.  Those dissimilarities that I found so glaring in my youth have made me the woman I am today.  And though we were talking about ideas of physical beauty at the time, the notion really applies across the board.

Symmetry is wack.  It is wack in looks, it is wack in styles, it is wack in thoughts, it is wack in opinions.  So, though we have long lost contact, I owe thanks to Aisha Wilson for her three words of wisdom that have remained with me to this day.

In this recent article from The Guardian, the writer discusses how the Tanzanian education system should be overhauled and touches on my particular notion of The Wackness.  It underscores the fundamental Toa Nafasi premise of embracing difference and individuality and fostering those very traits which make us each who we are, separate from anyone else in the world.  To date, the systems in place here in Tanzania promote conformity, marching in place, being very careful not to rock the boat.  But, it's not working.  Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are difficult for Tanzanian kids because they have never been asked to think for themselves.

However, the time is now, on the cusp of a new Tanzanian governing body and with the climate ripe for change in the education sector.

Asymmetry can be pretty dope, too.

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Education can be described as a process of training and instruction, especially with respect to children and young people in schools and colleges, designed to impart knowledge and develop skills.

The introduction of the Western system of education in Tanzania left much to be desired as what we have today leaves little or nothing for a legacy, and it is a far cry of where we ought to be.  Every area of our life has changed, or at least improved, except our antiquated system of education.  It is clear in the language of Tanzania's educational system that its primary focus is on knowledge and teaching rather than on the learner.

Students are expected to conform to schools rather than schools serving the needs of students.  Regardless of the high-sounding rhetoric about the development of the total child, it is the content of assessments that largely drives education.  How often are students given the opportunity to recognize and evaluate different points of view when multiple choice tests require a single 'correct' answer? 

Original thinking is not currently the aim of our educational system.  Schools fostering it become the only hope for the educational system in the 21st century.  The aim of education should be to teach us how to think rather than what to think - to improve our minds so as to enable us to think for ourselves rather than to load our memories with the thoughts of others.

Students receiving the failure label are growing in numbers and percentages, all because the system measures selected knowledge on a one-day standardized paper test.  Anyone who does not have the ability to put clear thoughts on paper is labeled a failure.  Education is the only business in which the customer is to be blamed when it fails. 

If the purpose does not motivate, other than to please the teacher, then there is nothing to process outside of memorizing answers for tests.  Tests do not measure intelligence or ability; they do not measure how the mind processes information, how motivating experiences develop persistence, or how we sort out instincts, opinions, evaluations, possibilities and alternatives. 

Examinations are not tests of knowledge; rather, they are tests of assimilation.  Using that yardstick is like using a thermometer to measure wind speed instead of wind gauge, as both are measuring instruments but do not measure the same thing. 

Now our educational system is becoming a system that memorizes the dictionary.  When students have memorized selected knowledge, then they will be given a one-day test, based on dictionary knowledge, which will influence their employment opportunities for the rest of their lives.

This is where some teachers are failing as they have a single instruction guideline without alternatives.  When one technique fails, other means should be brought in.

The current educational system needs to be overhauled to clear the way for a new system of education that enables full development of personality and character of the individual, the development of full capacities necessary for achievement in life, and the ability to truly think instead of parroting information.

Back to School

Well, I have been back at school one week now and I can confidently say that Toa Nafasi has definitely had a positive impact on the good denizens of Msaranga.  The differences between the regular Standard One classroom and our Toa Nafasi classroom are astounding.

Of course, the nature of our Project being a pullout program, the two arenas are not mutually exclusive but rather complement each other for those children who are "slow learners."  As I have noted many times before, what we do is to provide remedial support for students who are falling through the cracks academically or seem troubled behaviorally or psychologically.

We pull the kids out of the Standard One class (age 7 or 8) for 40 minutes each day to work one-on-one or in small groups with our trained Toa Nafasi staff.  Then, the kids are returned to the regular class to continue their lessons in an inclusive setting.

In this manner, we are able to assist slow-learning children to cope with their learning differences and to utilize alternate methods for accomplishing their school work.  And, the children, parents, teachers, and school administrators alike are positively thrilled with the results.

Check out the photos and video below .... I don't wanna brag, but .... I HAVE TO!  The learning environment my teachers have created is BEYOND amazeballs; it's the phenoma-bomb!!

Too many kids in the class for the beleaguered Mama T to deal with.  And check the peanut gallery in the doorway.  No wonder she is looking forward to retirement!!

 

Aaaand .... we've got a sleeper!  The poor kid was rudely awakened shortly after this photo was taken.

Capers, hijinks, and shenanigans ensue as the two Standard One teachers sit in the back of the room.  Really.  They're there.  I swear.  Watch it again.

VERSUS

Two teachers for seventeen kids, all of whom have eyes on the board, busy little bees!

View from the back.  A reasonable student/teacher ratio whereby the instructors can teach a whole class but still provide individual support for those who need it.  NOTE: This particular group of kids have been in the program some months now, so are able to be taught en masse.  The newbies are still (always have been, always will be) tutored one-on-one or in groups no larger than three pupils at a time until they are up-to-speed.
 

My "sister from another mister" at the head of the class.  Two words: Vumi ROCKS!

The beautiful and soft-spoken Yacinta sits patiently with this little girl, my baby "Snork," Haika, as she practices her numbers.  Still a ways to go, but light-years from where she started.  And, really, who knows where she might end up .... ?

(Social) Skillz to Pay the Billz

Week One of Mama's Tanzanian "staycation" (not a vacation per se since she's been here a million times before, is not participating in any tourist activities, and will shortly be put to work by me, her older and much-beloved daughter) is complete and with a modicum of shida.  Sure, she's been doing all the annoying visitor-y things that people do when they first return after a long absence ("Why won't the lights turn on?  Well, when will the power come back?  And, why did it go off in the first place?  Do you know if it will come back in an hour?  Two hours?  A day?  Two days?  The stove doesn't work either?!?!), but for the most part, we've been bonding in mother-daughter bliss.  She's even developed a sense of humor about my kindly suggestions for living in the Tee-Zed: Be sure to check your shoes each morning for scorpions as they like to hide during the night.  Look to your RIGHT when you cross the street and don't expect car, bike, man, or chicken to stop so you may pass.  Boil full pots of water each morning in the probability that the electricity will be cut at some point during the day so we always have drinking water.  And failing that, make sure we have enough wine in the house because, let's be honest, water doesn't truly slake the Rosenbloom thirst.  These be rules to live by, I say.

Anyhoo, we are now rather in rhythm and I am gearing up to go back to the village for Round Three of the "Thrilla in Msaranga," hoping I can maintain my "fight like a butterfly" modus operandi.  Of course, I have already gone back for the obligatory greetings and distribution of zawadi (gifts, in English, also obligatory) and caught up with Vumi and Yacinta, the Standard One and Two teachers, and the Headmaster.  And the kids greeted me back like the Pied Piper of Hamelin on Rat Catcher's Day.  It was ridiculous.  Cries of "Mwalimu Sarah, Mwalimu Sarah!" along with some kind of tailgating activity rang throughout the school grounds as I shrank in embarrassment, my mom also mobbed by the kids, and Vumi just laughing away.  Great.  Shades of what's to come….

But no sooner than we had visited the village and the school than we were off to Arusha for a four-day conference on "The Role of Social Skills for Employment Opportunities and Social Inclusion."  Granted, my kids are nowhere near ready to be employed by anyone or anything, but social skills are obviously extremely important for any child and even more so for those with intellectual impairment and/or developmental delay.  They need to know how to behave in different circumstances so as to be accepted by the greater public.  This reduces both the children's internal feelings of "being different" and helps the community around them to perceive them as capable and productive members of society.  So, it was important that I attend.

In addition, the conference was being sponsored by my good friends at the International Association of Special Education based in the United States, Mary Gale Budzisz and Iris Drower, in conjunction with Sally Mohemedali of the Jaffery Academy here in Arusha.  I had originally introduced MG and Sally back in 2009 when I first started the research on special needs in TZ that would inform The Toa Nafasi Project and they have collaborated on a number of ideas since then.  In fact, Sally is the Tanzanian rep for IASE and the President-elect for the whole shebang once Iris steps down in a few years!  So, our meeting way-back-when was all very Sarah-n-dipitous and it was high time we had a reunion in Tanzania!!

A friend of mine who works in the tourism industry in Moshi did me a solid and got us a great rate at one of the fancy-schmancy hotels in A-Town although some few things were still lacking.  Mama had to make up this impromptu "Do Not Disturb" sign as 8am conferences are not what Mama does when Mama is on a staycation.

 

 
So, I attended the first day solo for the introductions from Mary Gale, Iris, and Sally as well as Mr. Eugene Shirima, the Regional Education Officer for Arusha and all the various participants, both Western and Tanzanian.

 

 

 

 

 
We set about dividing into small groups to come up with "rules" for how the rest of the conference would run.  Some groups came up with rather fierce examples, verrrry Tanzanian in their Spartanism.

 

 
But since she is a newly minted Toa Nafasi board member, I had to insist that Mama come on Day Two by which time the rest of us conference-goers had already become used to MG and Iris's rather spunky seminar style.
 

 
There were several themes of the session, one being zebras, and an interesting question was posed on Day One: When you look at a picture of a zebra, do you see a white animal with black stripes or a black animal with white stripes?  Well, turns out most of the Tanzies saw a black animal with white stripes and the wazungu saw a white animal with black stripes!  An interesting commentary on how we regard race to be sure, but in the context of this seminar, MG wanted us to know that people see different things, and may interpret the same thing in different ways….and that is OKAY!  There does not have to be a right and wrong answer and there are many paths that can lead you to your truth.  A rather mind-blowing concept for the very literal and formal Tanzanians.

Another theme of the seminar was Bingo.  Each morning, to open the session, we sang the children's song "There was a farmer, had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o...." and each afternoon we closed by playing a rousing game of Bingo, that old retirement home fave, with one person designated Bingo Master to call out the letters and numbers.  I'm of the opinion, though this was never explicitly explained, that the purpose of the song and game was to utilize our social skills of communication and team-building.  I don't know if that's a stretch but it certainly was a kick to be singing "Bingo Was a Dog" with REO Shirima!  ....  And my mother!!

 

 
We also had an opportunity to network with the other attendees and my mom fixated on this one lucky gent, Mr. Michael Pima, a teacher at the SEKOMU school in Lushoto that Angi and I visited last July.  SEKOMU stands for Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University and is a private teachers college that trains individuals in special education and is run by the Lutheran Church in TZ.  I do not know of Sebastian Kolowa was but I gather he was important enough to have a college named after him.

Mama decided that Michael Pima was going to be the fly in her spiderweb and proceeded to grill the poor man about all manner of things: what he was teaching, who his students were, how Toa Nafasi could collaborate with SEKOMU to get qualified teachers in Moshi for the Project, if a visit could be arranged.  In fact, when Mary Gale asked Mama and Michael to tell the rest of the group what they had been so intent on discussing, Michael reported back that "Professor Peterson dominated the conversation."  Indeed.

 

 
Aside from themes and lectures, networking and skillstreaming, Mary Gale and Iris also taught us about "foldables" or "3-D, student-made, interactive graphic organizers based upon a skill."  Such crafts included "The Cube" and "The Pinwheel" and are effective activities for following directions, being creative, and ending up with a finished product of one's very own making.  Again, since we are all different people following more-or-less the same instructions, it is inevitable that we will end up with different results….and that is OKAY!  I had this issue come up last year on Paper-Bag Puppet Day when Vumi and Yacinta started chiding the students for not making their puppets EXACTLY LIKE MY EXAMPLE.  I know it's a product of their culture, that they are taught from a very early age strict versions of "right" and "wrong," but my goodness!  ....  What a bleak world that would be!!  Here is Mama struggling to complete her pinwheel.

 

 

 

 
On the last day of the seminar, Mary Gale, Iris, and Sally helped the Tanzanian attendees to form TASE or the Tanzanian Association of Special Education which would be an offshoot of the IASE.  The newly elected board consists of Sally plus these three chairpeople, one of whom is the beleaguered Michael Pima, nominated by Yours Truly, and probably cursing the Rosenbloom women into the ground for even noticing him let alone giving him all this extra work to do.  Pole, Pima, pole….

 

 
And of course we ended, as any proper conference should end, to the tune of a brass band which played loudly at an indoor primary school during the middle of the school week, and accentuated every sentence a speaker uttered as if it were a proclamation from King Henry the Eighth.  It was really awfully noisy.

 

 

 
As the band played on, MG, Iris, Sally, and I zipped into town for a spot of shopping.  The IASE has very generously allotted Toa Nafasi a certain amount of money each year in the form of their "Giving Funds" to be spent on teaching materials for the Project.  The only stipulation is that the money go towards things and not kids or school fees, and that MG get a receipt for everything.  So, we trekked all over town looking for swag to spend on: a brand-new Toshiba laptop, Hewlett Packard printer-scanner-copier, mini laminating machine, and a crap-ton of stationery and office supplies.  ASANTE SANA SANA SANAAAA to the IASE!!

 

 
Mama and I are now back in Mo-Town, happily ensconced at the Union Cafe and doing our own individual work - bigshot writer Mama is working on a piece for the New York Times and I am blogging and pondering my (already late) January Quarterly Report.  More news to come next week!!

Eagle Has Landed

I am happy to report that my dear lil' mama has arrived safe and sound in Moshi for her first month in-country as acting Toa Nafasi secretary and brand-new board member!  Truthfully, I think she *may* be coming to get a wee break from the old ball and chain (Dad can be a handful), but we are thinking this might be the first of many years to come that she will accompany me in the salad days of each Toa Nafasi cycle.

I am really looking forward to having her here though it is by no means her first time in Tanzania.  The woman has already been to Zanzibar (twice), on safari (thrice), and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (which we are scheduled to do again this summer to celebrate our 40th and 70th birthdays respectively).  We shall see if that actually pans out....  She had some choice words about her first trek back in 2008....  Let's just say that no hot shower and no red wine makes mama an angry bear....

Here is the photo chronicle of our reunion at Kilimanjaro International Airport last night.

 

 

Rosenbloom ladies do NOT travel light!

 

A bit blurry but it captures the excitement....  The guy who rented me my first car in Tanz happened to be at the airport and was kind enough to get a shot.  (Interestingly, my doofus friend who accompanied me to the airport was nowhere to be found at this pivotal moment; probably on his cell phone somewhere....  Hmph.)

Okay, we do NOT look our ages.  Thank you mysterious Jamaican-Chinese blood coursing through our veins, may it continue to bless us 'til the end of our days!

And Mama did NOT come empty-handed.  Here are some shots of the booty she was kind enough to mule over for me.

Swahili-language Toa Nafasi brochures to give to the parents and villagers.

New Toa Nafasi tees: brown for men, green for ladies, and yellow for the kids....  CanNOT wait to see my little rugrats running around in the bright yellow!

For when the rugrat-running gets to be a tad too much....

Just desserts after hard work!  These should last a while....!!

Show Me the Money

An interesting perspective on donor funding from the Tanzania Daily News....  Actually, it made me quite angry, but what can you do?

The writer *appears* to understand why a foreign donor might want to withhold funding where there's issues with corruption, but then he still manages to blame us for the slow-down in development.

How 'bout the GoT chilling out with the bribes and graft and then we can all feel a little better about disbursing funds, knowing they're gonna go where they're meant to?  Or better yet, how about making that final paragraph a reality??  "It can be done."
 
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When Donors Keep Shifting Goal Posts in Unlocking Aid!

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week expressed its satisfaction on Tanzania's economic performance where growth was expected to be maintained at above 7 percent levels and inflation tamed in mid-single digits.

The latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that year-on-year inflation for December 2014 reached 4.8 percent which was quite in line with the government's target of 5 percent.

During the period under a joint review by the government and IMF as part of the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) arrangement, most of the country's macroeconomic indicators were healthy.

The IMF officials, however, noted with concern delays in aid disbursements over graft allegations in the energy sector and revenue shortfalls risk.

The Breton Woods Institution pointed out that the trend, if not reversed as soon as possible, might end up undermining Tanzania's sturdy economic growth.  A group of 12 donors said last year that they will only pay outstanding budget support pledges worth nearly $500 million after Tanzania takes appropriate action against corruption.

The donors had by the end of last year disbursed only 15 percent of their pledges to the 2014/2015 Budget Support, insisting that claims of fraud and corruption in the transfer of billions of public funds to a private firm must be probed and proper action taken against the culprits.

The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) concluded the probe, and heads have started rolling.  More action is supposed to follow after further investigations on suspected public officials.

Despite measures taken by the government to address the alleged wrong-doings by some public officials, the development partners are still reluctant to unlock the much-needed government-budgeted support aid.

Some of their representatives were recently quoted as saying that they were still studying the matter and measures being taken before releasing funds expected to finance important projects including infrastructure development, health, education, energy, and water supply.

In so doing, these development partners are frustrating the country's efforts of the implementation of its growth and poverty reduction strategies (MKUKUTA).  These partners include the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, the European Union, and representatives from Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Japan, and Canada.
 
The development partners were supposed to contribute over $900 billion during the 2014/2015 financial year, but so far only $140 billion has been disbursed, representing just 15 percent of the agreed amount.

This means the country's plans for infrastructure development, health, education, energy, and water supply for the 2014/2015 fiscal year might not be fulfilled because 85 percent of the funds are yet to be made available.

Under normal circumstances, the donors are expected to disburse about 60 to 70 percent of the pledged funds by the end of the first quarter of the financial year - that would have meant by September 2014.

With the ongoing delaying tactics or shifting of goal posts on the part of donors, the nation will be forced to wait indefinitely for reasons outside the agreed underlying principles of cooperation.

The five agreed-upon underlying principles by the Tanzanian government and the aforementioned development partners include maintaining sound macro-economic policies; committing to the MKUKUTA objectives and millennium development goals (MDGs); strengthening budgeting and public finance management; fostering rule of law and respect of human rights; and maintaining good governance.

It is unfortunate that the donors opted to withhold funds without engaging the government fully before making such a decision.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Mizengo Pinda, rightly observed in the National Assembly last year that the move by the partners was unfair to millions of Tanzanians.

This should, however, remind the nation of an important lesson: the country's destiny is in the hands of Tanzanians and not some foreign brothers.  The time has come to think on building more roads, better schools, and health centers with our own money.  It can be done.