WOW!! AN AWESOME WEEKEND!!

On Friday I did visit another high school in Dodoma town, Dodoma Secondary. It is one of the most famous secondary school in Dodoma region. It has students from form 1 to 4, and high school students of form 5 and 6.

It had an awesome experience there, from the first day that I met the Second Master to submit my application to conduct the seminar in Internet and Social Media use to high school students. He was real happy with my project and he directed me to the Academic Master, who gave me a real good support until the Friday when I went to meet the students.

It was a real lovely session, everyone was real excited and very open. The more I do this project the more I realize how important it is. Seeing them understanding better the basic of how internet works and Social media in general has been a real interesting subject to them. Encouraging them on how to set up their first email address, a first privacy setting, awareness of other social media sites and their uses-from Wikis, Blogs, File Sharing {Youtube,Flickr} and even how to sign up and use twitter!

It has been a great moment, and I look forward to visit another school within two weeks. Ooohhhh This is real interesting!!

About Tanzanian Music!

Thanks Helen from http://www.african-music-safari.com/ for your question on Tanzanian music.

Tanzanian music has been growing and growing, much of the traditional style music has now been for cultural events and for other special occasions while music styles such as Hip-Hop, R&B, pop, Zouk, Taarab and dance music have been dominating the music industry. This means Tanzanian music has been highly influenced by foreign music styles. For example there various music artists from D.R.Congo who are signed by various dance music groups. This is because the D.R.Congo Zouk music has been of a influence in Tanzania.

Among youths it is R&B and Hip-Hop that have been doing good for the past ten years. There even came a name known as Bongo flavor, which it has been of a controversy as there has been various artists and other stake holders differ in what this means. Other group says ‘Bongo Flavor’ stands for all music produced in Tanzania being R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop and other music styles that are regarded as new generation music. The other group mainly by some artists of Hip-Hip claim Bongo Flavor to be a music style that is more of a mix of R&B, Zouk, Pop and some local styles, and that Hip-Hop stands alone. For now this tension has been cooling and so far the first group seems to be winning by wanting the name Bongo Flavor to represent all urban youths music from Tanzania. ‘Bongo’ is a nickname for Dar es Salaam that now has been extended it’s meaning to mean the whole of Tanzania. Bongo is a Swahili word for brain and it’s creativity. Tanzanians are joked of being able to get out of any situation, cleverness is how we can say it.

Traditional music has been losing it glory from Tanzanian audiences as there are very few of them that even make it to the mainstream radio plays. Example of artists who made it to a specific period of fame and success through traditional music includes Saida Karoli, she got fame and success for a certain period but as many other traditional music artists could not maintain attention of Tanzanian music lovers for such a long time.

Shortly I can say that there is a lot to be done on raising the position of traditional music in Tanzania, because at the end of the day this is the only music style that can identify us as Tanzanians. On the other hand here is the music of ‘globalized’ Tanzanians, ‘Bongo Flavor’, a source of entertainment and education to the society while at the other hand it is a source of emplyment to hundreds of Tanzania youths.

Here are links that may help you more in understanding Tanzanian music.

Click to go to National Geographic on Tanzanian music!

At Wikipedia!

Saida Karoli!

NB; I have have originally post this article for www.askatanzanian.wordpress.com , a place to ask anything about Tanzanians and Tanzania!

ELECTIONS ARE OVER! A TANZANIAN YOUTH REVIEW!

Firstly the report on the numbers of people who turned out for this year elections was discouraging. Only 42 percent of the 20 million registered voters turned out. This is truly a mark of low political awareness or as a friend of mine kept, that people still don't believe in free and fair elections. Whatever the case the turn out was poor!

I believe co-ordination system that was in place for processing the results was poor! Plainly poor! It might be much harder to convince the masses to take part in the future elections because they have lost trust in the body responsible for Elections due to things like what happened in these elections. It began with the mix up of names of voters by declaring some of the alive voters as dead! Dead and gone? Yeah! I can't imagine that happening to me, that is real scary! "People try to sue them!" Then it came to results, more than 72+ hours of waiting for the Results took away the trust of majority of voters. Actually mine has cracks!

To be honest most of the youths don't have trust in the body responsible for Elections, people kept a lot of trust in the body before the elections but the body failed them. Doubts is a big problem here. And in one way or another it's the Elections governing body that is keeping it's self in situations that encourage people to lose trust in it.

Before the 2015 Elections come it is the time for the body to sit down and see measures to be taken so as to avoid all the shortcomings that happened in these Elections. Lets create a system whereby the looser never looks for a fault knowing it is not there. Lets create a system that the society in general understands and trust in it, therefore it should real be transparent!

Presidential elections results for each polling post should be announced at the given local polling post, this will truly remove a lot of pressures that the body gets right now.

To Mr President, as a kijana with positive hope for my country, and on behalf of all other peace loving vijana, I would like to ask you in your new leadership of 5 years before you step down in 2015 give us the biggest democratic gift of all. Make the Election Body as independent as possible backed up by a new legislation in relating to all operations carried down by the Body. This will reduce accusations to future governments and furthermore it will rebuild and strengthen democracy, the trust in Free and Fair elections in our nation.

I believe by correcting the mistakes/shortcomings that happened in this year elections the Body will be helping in building trust between them and youths of this country. Lets remember without that trust the youths might be easily exploited to cause political unrests in the near future. Lets avoid all that by doing our best in ensuring that True and Fair Elections are always practiced in this beautiful nation!

God Bless Africa,
God Bless Tanzania!

The Children of Somalia; A Lost Hope?

"Terrorist attacks, suicide bombings, and ongoing violence are taking place in the Horn of Africa country of Somalia. What makes young Somalis engage in such cruelty, what drives them, and what principles do they stand for?

Some are drugged, others are brainwashed, and some get paid a few dollars for every month they fight.

Child soldiers are often used in frontline combat, serve as human mine detectors, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, and sex slaves. The use of child soldiers is on the rise in Somalia, and schools are being used as recruitment centers.

Most Somalis are frightened to speak openly about the recruitment, but those who can afford to do so are sending their children out of the country to safety.

Hundreds of Somali youngsters are recruited and trained in camps in southern Somalia by the al-Shabaab, a Somali insurgent faction embracing a radical form of Islam similar to the harsh, conservative brand practiced by Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
Its fighters, numbering several thousand strong, are battling Somalia's weakened government and have been branded a terrorist group with ties to al-Qaeda by the United States and other Western countries.

The insurgent group allegedly uses young Somalis to terrorize the region and pays them $50 for every month they fight.
Fifteen-year-old Mohammed Ismail Hassan fled to neighboring Kenya after he was forcibly recruited by al-Shabaab in the central Somali district, Ceeldhere. He narrated to The New American about his ordeal at the hands of the Islamist group.

“It was one year ago when I was recruited to al-Shabaab. We were around 20 youngsters. Our Quranic teacher convinced us that when the Ethiopians are gone [from our country] … Somalia would be in the hands of an Islamic government, so we, youngsters were needed much in terms of defending that government,” he said.

“But after several months, I realized that I was fighting Somalis in every battle, and whenever I asked why are we fighting our brothers? Our Amir [leader] would reply, ‘They have deserted Islam [Murtad] and are fighting for the enemy of Allah.”

“Before I escaped this group, we fought with forces loyal to Ahmed Islam [a Hisbul Islam high-ranking official] in Dhobley [a southern Somali border town]. We defeated them, so I decided to flee with [their remaining members] to a border point, and there I joined hundreds of Somalis waiting to enter Kenya.”

Prior to his escape, Somali and foreign instructors showed the child-soldiers how to use weapons and set ambushes. The boy said before battle he was sometimes given drugs that made him feel like he could kill anyone without any fear........." http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/world-mainmenu-26/africa-mainmenu-27/4367-somali-youths-sold-to-be-soldiers

What is being done to address this issue? What is the International community doing? Are we just seated enjoying the show? There is a need for this problem to readdress and solved, a lasting peace has to be restored in Somalia, and if it can't then there is a strong need to give asylum to thousands of children trapped in this bloody land!!!

Tanzanian youths and what we can do in the coming General elections.

Our nation is passing through a unique era. An era with spread of politics popurality with major interest from from the young population too. Our youths generation of today is much educated than any generation since the independence.
Realising this I look forward for great changes in election atmosphere of this year.
I argue my fellow young people to go to ballots and use this unique opportunity to influence the changes we all need. Its time to insure the MPs and Presidential candidates are not going to rob our present and future, we should believe our votes can make a difference. Its time to stand tall and walk tall, ensuring in these elections we dont vote for 'a better future' promise BUT A BETTER TODAY! Not overshadowed by parties but by people, people who can influence changes and a better today!