Newsletter, September 2012
The first part of the Education Tour
finished with the last viewing in Kibisi on August 31st. Since then
Bongodox has been preparing itself for the second part of the Education Tour,
which is to take place at 12 secondary schools in the Mbeya Region. With that
said, final remarks on Bongodox’s visits to the villages are deemed necessary
before shifting attention to the second part of the Education Tour. The remarks
read as following:
Is it possible to measure happiness?
From our experience Tanzanians
generally do not complain much about life compared to how much they ought to
complain, seen from our privileged point of view - the Danish perspective. In
Tanzania, there are different kinds of greetings depending on one’s age and
status. The more common greetings are: Hujambo? (Hello! How are you?) or Habari gani?
(How are you doing?). Being a significant social conduct that, if used correct,
will influence your interaction with other people, posing the right question is
considered more important that the substance of the answer itself. The right
answers to the above greetings are always: Sijambo
(I’m fine) or Nzuri (Good/Fine). If you happen to encounter a Tanzanian who
is careless enough to confess that he or she
is having a bad day, you most often will be provided a good explanation,
such as for example sickness or even death of a relative or close friend. Without
a deeper analysis of the cultural context, and a disregard to the question - if
and whether it is at all possible to measure happiness? One would presume that
Tanzanians are the happiest people in the world, and not the Danes as suggested
by a recent international survey. However, the truth is, that unless one comes
from a wealthy family, everybody else is also struggling to make a living, so
it is customary that even the most underprivileged Tanzanian - and there are
many - will reply “I am fine” (nzuri).
Villagers express concerns about HIV/AIDS
It is in this framework that Bongodox
has taken the task to provide villagers with a forum in which they can express concerns
about the spreading of HIV/AIDS in their respective village. Even though many
did not feel free to speak openly about their problems, the few who did, gave
an insight into the problems villagers are dealing with on a daily basis. For
example, an elder woman’s remark remains clear to us several days after. As she
embraced the chance to speak to fellow villagers, she begged for used condoms
to be thrown far away from the streets, so that children wouldn’t find them and
mistake them for balloons. Another woman, whose problem seemed to be shared by
many, informed that she had not been tested for HIV/AIDS due to lack of finance.
For some reason, even though we are told that the test for HIV is provided
without charge, it seems that some still face financial difficulties depending
on where they live and the distance they have to the nearest hospital/clinic. Moreover,
several questioned why people with HIV/AIDS hide their condition by avoiding
purchasing the HIV medicine at the nearest hospitals/clinics, and instead
depend on their ability to buy the medicine safely shielded by the anonymity
granted by bigger cities. How does one explain that these people fear stigmatisation
from their very own neighbours and friends? - The very same people speaking on their
behalf. It was not easy an easy task.
In the spirit of Edutainment
To sum up, the viewings were
successful in that many villagers showed up at the different events and dealt
with questions not often spoken about in the public sphere. At the same time,
they enjoyed seeing the documentaries and felt that they were being listened
to. However, the fact remains that Bongodox is not able to solve all the
problems related to HIV/AIDS, but only educate in the spirit of Edutainment
(educational entertainment) on how to minimise the chances of getting HIV/AIDS as
well as provide a forum for a discussion of HIV/AIDS related issues by using
local voices. The problem with HIV/AIDS still remains far from being solved. In
Mbeya, it happens that a person dies due an unspecified category of “he or she was hurting” from an
unspecified disease. In two of the villages we visited two people had this
uncategorised disease to blame for their death. One can only wonder whether it
was due to HIV, cancer or other diseases.
Sexually active teens are neglected
As for the second part of the Education Tour, according to the law of Tanzania the legal age of consent for
sexual activities is 18 years. Scholars are forbidden to be active sexually during
their enrolment - at school or at home. According to the ones we spoke with, the
well-known fact among scholars that some are sexually active already in their
early teens is simply neglected by the institutions. According to the schools
guidelines – this is a non-existent problem, and therefore matters related to
HIV/AIDS are taught accordingly. HIV/AIDS is dealt with as part of the biology
course in an old-fashioned manner inefficient in addressing the important issue
on how to prevent getting infected if one is sexually active. As one of the
scholars admitted today “we learn more
from our friends than at school”. Another scholar pointed to the fact that
the school’s curriculum is strict and does not leave much space for organisations
such as Bongodox to fill the gap.
The balance between reality and an imagined community of untouched scholars
Though Bongodox has managed to pass
through the barriers of an ancient and uncompromising institution, the group
will have to plan well in order not to offend the institutions as well as the
parents. A successful co-operation is best conducted in in terms of mutual
respect. One of the challenges Bongodox will have to overcome during the
education tour is: How to speak about HIV/AIDS to students who most probably,
considering their age, have encountered and recognised sexual behaviours, but
who publicly have to maintain their sexual innocence in order not to be
expelled from school. Luckily, if you can say so, there are other ways of
getting transmitted with HIV, but let us be real; sexual activity is the main
cause of transmission, and therefore this aspect must not be neglected. Therefore,
Bongodox will have to balance between reality and an imagined community of untouched
scholars.
/Mathias & Catherine
