Mambo!

Greetings from Tanzania. As Tanzania celebrated her 50 years of Independence on December 9, 2011 everyone was very excited with how far our country has gone since when it became independent. If it were a person, I believe Tanzania would have much to tell  from the experience accumulated over the years. Coming this far is never an easy thing. It requires high level of commitment and patriotism, although wherever there is success, there is also challenges. One of the biggest challenges our country is currently facing is youth disrespect of their culture.

In addressing this challenge Usa River Academy, one of TFFT’s major partner schools, decided to set a special day as Cultural Day where kids make a presentation on various cultural skills from different tribes of Tanzania to help them know who they are and to help them preserve their culture.

Traditional dances, choirs, fashion shows, drama, and gymnastics were some of the observable performances done by our kids in the recent cultural day conducted on July 28, 2012.

Our Scholarship Kids delighted everyone who attended the show and dominated most of the performances. It was very exciting seeing even our little kids performing in a very fun way.

“I have never been this happy since when this school was established…these kids have made me very happy today”… this was the School Director’s statement as he was closing the Cultural Day.

I once heard someone say, “if you want to rule a person, start by destroying their culture.” In order to ensure that our kids don’t fall in this trap, we encourage them to respect their culture by involving them directly in practicing it. This practice helps them identify themselves with their culture and their country at large while giving them a sense of belonging. As a result they will become good and responsible citizens.