The resilience of a people; my lessons from Tanzania – Part I

BY WAZARI JOHNSON

Growing up I was always fascinated with Africa and longed to visit its shores. Initially the desire was born from wanting to see majestic animals in the wild while on a safari. Over time though, my interest became much broader. The older I got the more I realized there was much more to Africa than I had previously been exposed to. I became interested in its history, its geology, and its people.

In 2017, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit the east African nation of Tanzania. I was a part of a project organized by the ACP (African Caribbean and Pacific Nations) The EU (European Union) and The UNDP (United Nations Development Program). The program was about making the best of development minerals in the ACP regions (development minerals are non-precious minerals that still have economic value e.g. marl, gravel, sand, clay etc.)

When I got word that I was going to Africa I was over the moon with excitement, then I started to research Tanzania to get a better idea of where I was going. It was so unfortunate that the greater portion of the stories that I came across were of a negative nature, and to some degree this caused my excitement to lessen.

I was already on board so I decided to make the best of it. When I finally got to Tanzania I was surprised by what I saw. I never expected the area I was staying to be so developed based on what I read; we stayed in Dar es Salaam, which in Swahili means “Haven of Peace.”

This place truly lived up to its name, it was one of the most peaceful places that I have ever been to in my life and the people are such beautiful people, they were friendly, industrious, respectful and kind folks. I found it so strange that what I saw in Africa was not as it was so often portrayed in mass media. It appeared to me that there was definitely an agenda in place against this country.

In the mornings when I set out on my daily journey, I would see the people from their respective districts come out and clean the roadways, and believe me as far as I could see throughout Dar es Salaam, it was kept very clean. The people saw themselves as stake holders in their own society and invested their own time into keeping it clean without the government having to urge them to do so, or without needing financial compensation to maintain their community. I am not saying I do not believe that persons should be paid to keep communities the world over clean, and that their jobs are not needed, but I was deeply impressed by what I saw in Tanzania, because I have never seen it elsewhere.

This theme of civil responsibility was seen in different areas and on different levels. One of the prominent features that I saw in the region was these plant nurseries on the sidewalks with a variety of healthy, beautiful plants. I was told by a taxi man that a lot of the people I saw running the plant nurseries were one time street beggars, and that they became street beggars because in the 1990s the economy was not doing well. It probably had to do with Tanzania’s transition from being a command economy to a market economy.

These persons decided that they had to take initiatives for their own personal improvement and just stopped begging. They made use of the “lowest hanging fruit” they could find for economic freedom and starting the plant nurseries was the first stage. This they could do because they had access to a variety of flora at low prices, or in many cases free. They recycled six litre plastic water bottles and turned them into plant containers.

Through their consistent efforts their little industry flourished and ignited other complimentary industries. Over time, community potters started producing colourful ceramic planters and displayed them right beside the plants. It never stopped there, soon after sculptors contributed to the thrust.

What I find amazing is that the quality of work that these sculptors produced, many of the animal sculptures they produced were anatomically proportionate to their actual life models. I would see zebras, baby elephants, and giraffes. They were made from metal armatures, overlaid with chicken coup wire and finished off with concrete and paint. They were a wonder to see and what impressed me the most is that these artists were self-taught; people who just honed their gifts and pushed themselves.

I believe these are vital lessons for other developing countries. The wellbeing of any nation to a great degree rests upon its citizens to take up the responsibility of bettering themselves. Yes, the government has its place, but it is not the duty of government solely to solve all our problems, there must be personal effort on the part of the citizens.

All over Tanzania there were evidences that testified to the resilience of its people. What I experienced was nothing like the stereotypical Africa that I am always seeing in the news, I felt at home there and I felt safe. I have never left my island home of Jamaica and felt any desire to stay in the other countries I have visited for any period longer than two months maximum. Tanzania is the exception though, since being there I miss it every day; it has made an indelible impression on me. I will continue to share more about Tanzania in another article and I hope you will stop by for it.