Through this project I have learned the major importance of human rights education, whether it is in developing communities or with our own children here in Canada. While there are many issues involving education policy that are difficult to change at the government level, Project TEMBO is making a significant difference in the lives of so many women and children in northern Tanzania. Kimokouwa, was one of the first girls in her village to go through the Alternative Rite of Passage (ARP) program iii, a program that includes education of what it means to be a Maasai woman without any cutting. Because of Project TEMBO s community education programs it is not only TEMBOsponsored girls who are beginning to question these practices but also their families and community leaders. Most importantly, their thoughts towards the practices of FGC and early marriage are changing. I myself was able to notice a change in the girls attitudes and involvement after only three weeks of working with them. Tanzanian teachers of TEMBO-sponsored girls have noticed the obvious difference in confidence between girls who attend TEC and girls who do not ii.
Last year, 5 TEMBO-sponsored girls passed their Form 4 national exam, allowing them to continue on to Form 5 and 6 rather than being circumcised and married. It is clear that Project TEMBO is having a positive effect on the communities of Longido and Kimokouwa. Namayani (front) is one of the first girls in Kimokouwa to pass through the ARP program. 2Ī traditional Maasai boma in Kimokouwa, where many of our students live when they are not at secondary school or TEC. With this knowledge community members can then identify the problems that need to be addressed within their own society. I mention this organization s success since Project TEMBO, whether intentionally or not, has a very similar approach to community education and creating awareness of human rights. The Tostan program has been an immense success, essentially ending the practice of Female Genital Cutting in Somalia within one generation. Specifically, literacy and human rights education is the key to empowering a population. Previous projects, such as Tostan in western Africa i, have proved that education is the fastest way to bring about change. Educational projects have a ripple effect that spreads village to village and generation to generation. While Project TEMBO has a direct and immediate impact on these students, clearly evident by their drastic increase in confidence and self-efficacy, the indirect impact of the project will be much greater. Many of the 51 secondary school students live a traditional Maasai lifestyle, one that rarely allows for girls to attend secondary school, still practices Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and believes in early marriage. This July, myself and four other University of Ottawa Faculty of Education students, along with two teachers from Ottawa, travelled to Longido, Tanzania to work in association with TEMBO Trust, a Registered Tanzanian Trusteeship, to implement the TEMBO English Camp for girls from Longido, Kimokouwa and neighbouring villages.
Mwalimu (teachers) of TEMBO English Camp 2014 in Longido, Tanzania. It is about liberating a community from practices that no longer make sense while preserving the rich and vulnerable Maasai culture. In short TEMBO is about empowerment through education. It is difficult to adequately portray the impact of Project TEMBO in a mere 500 words. The project is a campaign for effective and innovative reporting of HIV and AIDS and is a partnership between Zambian Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Botswana chapter and the University of Kentucky.UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA Project TEMBO The impact of Project TEMBO in the communities of Longido and Kimokouwa, Tanzania Jenna Lilly Report to The Centre for Global and Community Engagement for review of the Alex Trebek Innovation and Challenge Fund project implementation Last week, Tembo performed in Grahamstown, South Africa at the Highway Africa media conference under the Hearts and Minds project. She also served as a Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.
Tembo won a number of awards including a Ngoma for best female artist and best female performer. She worked as a news reader on Lusaka’s 5 fm radio before launching her music career. She did her secondary school education at Kabulonga Girls and later studied Journalism at Evelyn Hone College. She was working on her third album at the time of her death. Tembo released her debut album Lily T in 2004 and followed it up with another titled Osalila two years later. Tembo 27, died in Lusaka last evening after suffering severe gastritis at the weekend. Zambian singer Lily Tembo popularly known as Lily T is dead.