Thursday, 21 May 2015

UNESCO IMEAHIDI KUWASAIDIA WATANZANIA KUKABILI DHULUMA DHIDI YA WANAOISHI NA ALBINISM


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Kiongozi wa ofisi na mwakilishi wa Shirika la Umoja wa Mataifa la Elimu, Sayansi na Utamaduni (UNESCO) nchini, Zulmira Rodrigues (kulia) akisalimiana na Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Mwanza, Magesa Mulongo (kushoto) alipomtembelea ofisini kwake jijini Mwanza akiwa ameambatana na Mbunge wa Viti Maalum CCM, anayetetea maslahi ya watu wenye albinism, Mh. Al-Shaymaa Kwegyir (wa pili kulia) pamoja na Semeni Kingaru (wa tatu kulia).(Picha zote na Zainul Mzige wa modewjiblog).
Na Mwandishi wetu, Mwanza
SHIRIKA la Elimu, Sayansi na Utamaduni la Umoja wa Mataifa (UNESCO) limeahidi kusaidia mapambano dhidi ya unyanyasaji na dhuluma zinazofanywa jamii dhidi ya watu wenye albinism.
Kauli hiyo imetolewa hivi karibuni na Kiongozi wa ofisi na mwakilishi wa Shirika la Umoja wa Mataifa la Elimu, Sayansi na Utamaduni (UNESCO) nchini, Zulmira Rodrigues wakati akizungumza na mkuu wa mkoa wa Mwanza Magesa Mulongo.
Mwakilishi huyo wa Unesco amesema hayo alipomtembelea Mkuu wa mkoa kumsalimia na kumweleza hatua zinazochukuliwana Unesco katika kukabiliana na ukatili dhidi ya watu wenye albinism.
Akifafanua zaidi alisema kwamba UNESCO haijatenga fedha zitakazotumika kuendesha kampeni mahsusi bali itatumia uwezo wa kiufundi uliopo kwa wataalamu walionao na kwamba wanakusudia kuona kwamba miaka 15 ijayo watoto wanaozaliwa nchini Tanzania wanakuwa huru pasipo na viashiria vya kuhatarisha maisha vinavyosababishwa na mauaji ya watu wenye albinism.
Akimkaribisha Bi Zulmira ofisini kwake, Mkuu wa mkoa Magesa Mulongo alisema kwamba ingawa kuna utulivu katika kipindi hiki mkoani Mwanza, bado mkoa wake unaendelea kukabiliana na viashiria vinavyosababisha ukatili kwa watu wenye albinism na wazee.
Bwana Magesa alisema imani potofu zilizopo zinazosadikika kufanikisha biashara za uvuvi wa samaki, uchimbaji wa madini na wanasiasa kuendelea na madaraka ni miongoni mwa sababu kubwa za mauaji hayo yaliyoitia doa jeusi jamii ya kitanzania nje ya mipaka.
Alisema kwamba jitihada zinafanywa kukabiliana na imani hizo potofu kwa kuihamasisha jamii kutoziamini na kwamba madaraka na utajiri unatokana na juhudi, kufanya kazi kwa bidii na si vinginevyo.
Aidha amesema mkoa wake umekuwa ukihakikisha kwamba makundi yanayotumika kuua watu wengine kwa kushirikisha jamii yanavunjwa na pia kuwachukulia hatua kali wote wanaobainika kushiriki kwa njia moja au nyingine.
Hata hivyo mwakilishi wa umoja wa mataifa alisema kwamba hali ya amani itatawala pale tu watu watakapobaini kwamba kuua ni ukiukwaji wa haki za binadamu na ni kosa la jinai.
Alisema pindi binadamu watakapokiri kwamba binadamu wote ni sawa na kuishi na albinism sio ‘mzimu’ watabadili mwelekeo mzima wa fikra potofu kimaisha na kuishi kwa amani na kuthaminiana.
Bi Zulmira alimwambia mkuu wa mkoa kwamba UNESCO kwa kushirikiana na wadau wengine wataendesha makongamano yenye lengo la kushirikisha jamii katika kuandaa na kutekeleza mikakati itakayo changia kuzuia na kutokomeza unyanyasaji na dhuluma zinazofanya dhidi ya watu wenye albinism.
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Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Mwanza, Magesa Mulongo (kushoto) akizungumza na Kiongozi wa ofisi na mwakilishi wa Shirika la Umoja wa Mataifa la Elimu, Sayansi na Utamaduni (UNESCO) nchini, Zulmira Rodrigues (kushoto) aliyeambatana na Mbunge wa Viti Maalum CCM, anayetetea maslahi ya watu wenye albinism, Mh. Al-Shaymaa Kwegyir (wa pili kulia) pamoja na Semeni Kingaru (wa tatu kulia) alipomtembelea ofisini kwake jijini Mwanza. Wa pili kushoto ni Katibu Tawala wa mkoa wa Mwaza, Faisal Issa.
Warsha hizo zitafanyika kwa wakati tofauti katika kipindi cha wiki mbili wilayani Sengerema, Misungwi, Msalala na Bariadi. Warsha hizo zilizoanzia Sengerema Jumatano na kumalizika Ijumaa zitafuatiwa na Misungwi Mei 25 hadi 27, Msalala Mei 28 hadi 30 na Bariadi kuanzia Mei 28-30.
Katika warsha hiyo pamoja na kujadili mada mbalimbali, mijadala itahusisha viongozi wa serikali, wanasiasa, viongozi wa kidini na kimila na hoja kubwa itakayojadiliwa ni dhana ya kisayansi ya albinism, mitazamo ya jamii kuhusu dhana hiyo, makundi mbalimbali ndani ya jamii, tofauti kati ya utamaduni na asili.
Pia watajadili kubainisha na kuanisha matatizo, changamoto na hatari zinazowakabili watu wenye alibinism na kuchambua mambo yanayochangia uwepo wa changamoto na hatari kwa watu wenye alibinism.
Katika majadiliano hayo pia mikakati inayoweza kupunguza au kumaliza kabisa matatizo changamoto na hatari zinazowakabili watu wenye alibinism katika jamii yetu itatazamwa.
Watoa mada wanatarajiwa kutoka katika halmashauri, vyama vinavyotetea maslahi ya albinism, mbunge anayetetea maslahi ya watu wenye albinism Al-Shaymaa Kwegyir na mwakilishi kutoka baraza la taifa la dawa asilia.
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Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Mwanza, Magesa Mulongo akiendelea na maongezi na ugeni huo ofisini kwake jijini Mwanza.
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Kiongozi wa ofisi na mwakilishi wa Shirika la Umoja wa Mataifa la Elimu, Sayansi na Utamaduni (UNESCO) nchini, Zulmira Rodrigues (kulia), akielezea nia ya Shirika lake kusaidia mapambano dhidi ya unyanyasaji na dhuluma zinazofanywa jamii dhidi ya watu wenye albinism nchini alipomtembelea Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Mwanza, Magesa Mulongo ofisini kwake jijini Mwanza.
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Monday, 18 May 2015

INTERNATIONAL ALBINISM AWARENESS DAY -13th June,2015

Kabanga school and center for people with Albinism is in preparations of the event to educate the society about Albinism and tell the why they should not kill/ mutilate PWA body parts.We expect before to start with a football tournament which is going to start on 20th May,2015.We expect to distribute flyers and brochures during tournament.Preparing banners,gifts for footballers and special food for PWA and guests on the date(13th June,2015).
You are welcome to donate anything for the day and or tournament.

By:MR.ISSA KAMBI(The head of the center for PWA and the other disabilities)

Friday, 15 May 2015

Govt not doing enough to end albino killings




Geita albino Confederation Chairman Michael Kamuli gets emotional during an interview with a journalist on the government's effort to end the  albino killings in the country. 
By Mwassa Jingi

Posted  Sunday, March 15  2015 at  13:34
IN SUMMARY
Tragically, this right is now not enjoyed by albinos in the country after an emergence of some of the Tanzanians, who are hunting people with albinism and either chop off parts of their bodies and thus cause their grisly deaths or rather kill them first and then take the body parts for purely baseless grounds associated with superstition.
The right to life is a constitutional right of every person in the world and such it is provided for in Article 14 of The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977.
Tragically, this right is now not enjoyed by albinos in the country after an emergence of some of the Tanzanians, who are hunting people with albinism and either chop off parts of their bodies and thus cause their grisly deaths or rather kill them first and then take the body parts for purely baseless grounds associated with superstition.
Since this social phenomenon emerged in 2006, we are told at least 76 people with albinism have been killed countrywide. Most of the killings so far have occurred in the Lake Zone.
The killings of albinos has tainted the image of Tanzania and we are now viewed as a nation that largely banks on superstition for material or political expediency in this 21st century.
Government agencies, non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations and the international community not only have been condemning these grisly and barbaric killings of albinos, but have been trying to protect their lives without much success so far.
While only one year of 2011 since 2006 no albino killing was recorded, the situation has recently recurred, whereby within one or two months, two children with albinism have been abducted - one being found dead, while the other still missing.
This is a very disgusting situation! It is difficult to believe that a human being of normal intelligence can easily be convinced that part of an albino’s body can make him or her rich! This state of affairs makes Tanzania a country of strange people, since albinos are in many other countries, but hardly do we hear what we hear and see happening in this country.
It’s illogical to believe that some parts of an albino’s body can help somebody to get riches or be successful in life, while we see and know that albinos themselves are among the poorest people in Tanzania. If an albino’s body is associated with any good omen as the albino killers believe, then the albinos themselves would have been people of everything in life. But that story is not true.
We need public awareness campaigns to change these filthy beliefs and inculcate in those who believe it a new spirit – conversion. If we continue taking by granted this situation, these barbaric guys will continue hunting for albinos and killing them.
Recently, when addressing the nation, President Jakaya Kikwete was so much annoyed with the killings of albinos and after the meeting with the albino community on March 5, at State house, he pledged that he would do everything to stop these barbaric killings of albinos.
I compassionately support the president in the fight against albino killings and urge him and the entire government to use all arsenals at their disposal to get away with this disgraceful situation facing our nation for a numbers of years now.
Whatever the government did in the past to deal with the culprits is not enough and I think more concerted efforts are needed now to protect our fellow Tanzanians - people with albinism because like any human being they deserve to live and enjoy life in its fullness.(Source:The citizen)

Wednesday, 13 May 2015

Albinism in Tanzania: slow progress in combatting violence and discrimination


Albinos live with the risk of being killed, their body parts fetching high prices for witchcraft - but NGOs hope that change is coming
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 Around 30,000 people with albinism are thought to be living in Tanzania. Photograph: Ana Palacios
“This is possibly the worst time to be a person living with albinism in Tanzania,” says Amir Manento. 
In October, citizens will go to the polls to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections. “Every election period brings with it a new cycle of killings. In between we have other smaller elections translating to more abductions, more killings.” Manento, a retired judge and human rights activist, has been at the forefront of campaigning for the rights of people living with albinism for decades. “We see an increase of witchcraft and the use of human body parts, particularly albino body parts, in the run-up to the general elections.” Albino body parts are associated with good luck, and as the country gears up for the elections, the demand for good luck charms goes up. Sacrifices during this time are thought by some to be a sure way of guaranteeing victory in the polls.
“Albino hunting came into the limelight around 10 years ago, particularly within the fishing and mining communities,” says Dr Benson Bana, a political science and public administration lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam. Bana believes that some of the roots of the problem lie in the financial downturn in the area around Lake Victoria, one of the regions where there have been the most killings and abductions.
“A certain poverty touched our people after the privatisation of fishing activities in Lake Victoria,” says Bana. “Everything was being controlled, from where one could fish to the size of the holes in his fishing net. The result was diminished harvests. Every above-average catch by the little guys was then attributed to superstition. This is when witchdoctors started peddling the belief that people living with albinism or their body parts, most of whom coincidentally live in these regions, could be used as good luck charms.”
Bana believes that this devastating association was then passed on to neighbouring mining communities. “Eventually it caught wind and was looked upon as a legitimate way of acquiring riches and power by some individuals. Hence the association with politicians.”
Tanzania is thought to have one of the world’s largest populations of people living with albinism, a congenital disorder that robs skin, eyes and hair of their pigment. But for years this population of about 30,000 people has existed under the threat of abductions and ritual killings, and in recent years the situation appears to have worsened.
According to a report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, a complete set of Albino body parts – including all four limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose – can fetch up to $75,000 (pdf).
The Tanzanian Albinism Society says it is almost impossible to know the numbers of those abducted or killed since the beginning of the year. What they are sure of, though, is that the number of victims will be higher than the two cases that made it into police records in 2013.
“Even last year the numbers might have been higher because these crimes are very intimate. Mostly a close family member, even a father, is involved in the killings and abductions. In such cases silence wins; his wife will probably be an accomplice in the crime. Nothing will be said of the matter again and the police will have no chance of prosecuting anyone,” says Severin Edward, programme coordinator for the Tanzanian Albinism Society.



A total of 155 cases of violation of albino rights have been reported to Tanzanian authorities since 2009, according to a study (pdf) released in March by Under The Same Sun, an NGO working to combat discrimination against people with albinism.
“Of these cases, 75 were deaths. We have also received 18 reports of grave violations,” said Don Sawatzky, director of operations for UTSS. The study, which gathered together data from 25 different countries in Africa, found reports of 145 albino killings, in addition to 226 violations that include mutilations, other forms of violence, and kidnappings.
UTSS has been actively pushing the United Nations for four key resolutions aimed at ending all forms of discrimination of people living with albinism.
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 A total of 155 cases of violation of albino rights have been reported to Tanzanian authorities since 2009. Photograph: Ana Palacios
However, Sawatzky argues that to describe the killings as a phenomenon propelled by recent economic hardship would be “to accept the easy answer”.

“Nobody really knows the origin of the killings, since documentation in Africa is not common other than through oral tradition. All we know for sure is that albinism has been ‘mythologised’ since time beyond memory. Muti murders, or ‘medicine’ killings, have a deep, longstanding history, and are a familiar concept to most Africans,” he says.

In Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, the nation’s first albino member of parliament, Isaac Mwaura, says it is time measures are put in place to end these killings and abductions, and that existing laws need to be adhered to by all affected countries.
“Kenya has strict trafficking laws, the same as Tanzania. What makes it possible for criminals to take our children, mothers, fathers or brothers across borders and sell them off like commodities to witch doctors? Enforcement of laws is one of the weakest links in this war. We have become the hunted. Neither we nor our children are safe. Fathers are betraying their children’s trust and selling them off like unwanted baggage. Mothers are conspiring to traffic their own flesh and blood to senseless deaths.”
In Tanzania the government has been working with NGOs and civil society, and results are now being seen. “Never before have we seen so much effort from the government and the general public. At least we are now getting convictions, primarily because investigations are more thorough and new laws are being set up,” says Manento. “Although no executions have taken place, a total of 17 individuals have received the death sentence, some of them as recently as March, when four individuals, including the husband of the murdered victim, were convicted,” he said.
To win this war, NGOs at the forefront believe collusion within the community must come to an end. “We must educate families to understand that having such a child is not a gateway to quick riches. We then encourage the rest of the community to speak up,” says Edward. “The society needs to be more empowered and supported to co-operate. For instance, when family members are involved in killings or abductions it is quite difficult to get witnesses, because even they are not assured of their security.”
Sawatzky also believes that the war will be won, just not in the near future. “Like all forms of discrimination, it will take several generations to achieve. I will not see the war won in my lifetime. The youth and future generations are the best answer to this war,” he said.
More community sensitisation needs to be achieved, says Justus Kamugisha, regional police chief in Shinyanga, in the north of the country. “We need to make our people understand that there are no shortcuts to prosperity. Only hard, honest work pays. Taking the life of someone else, regardless of his condition, is simply murder, for which you will be charged.”(Source the Guardian)Pictures By;Ana Palacios

Monday, 4 May 2015

Mwanamuziki Linex Katika kituo cha walemavu Kabanga-Kasulu leo tarehe 05.05.2015


Linex akiongea na walemavu mbalimbali katika kituo cha walemavu Kabanga,mwenye suti nyeusi aliyesimama nyuma ya Linex ni Mkurugenzi wa Hospitali ya Kabanga Father S. Nzabhayanga akisikliza kwa makini.


Linex akiongea na walemavu wa viungo bwana Cosmas aliyekaa kwenye baiskeli na Novias aliyesimama

Linex akiwa na walimu Paul na Jane katika picha ya pamoja



Tunashukuru sana kwa ujio wa msanii huyu wa Kigoma kutembelea Kituo chetu chini ya Hospitali ya rufaa Kabanga na kujua walemavu wanaishije na kuchukua changamoto mbalimbali za kituo ikiwa ni mara ya kwanza kwa kituo chetu kutembelewa na msanii mkubwa kama huyu.Tunamuombea na kumtakia utekelezaji mwema wa mambo yote aliyoahidi kifanyia kazi lakini kubwa zaidi Kujitoa kuwa balozi wa kituo hiki.

KARIBU TENA KABANGA LINEX
Na;Issa Kambi
Mkuu wa Kitengo cha walemavu Kabanga.