The Toa Nafasi Project

The project began with weeks of planning from a distance, with a primary focus on adapting an existing child rights curriculum to fit the needs of our target audience and the current status of child rights and protection in Tanzania. We also paid special attention to how to engage female teachers in an intensive training on such a serious topic and help them recognize their power to change the lives of children in their schools and the broader community. 

The culmination of the project was a two-day in-person child rights and protection training for grade 1 school teachers in Moshi Municipality, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We conducted the training at the NSSF building, adjacent to Moshi Municipal Council office, a venue at the heart of Moshi town that all teachers from the area could access easily.

The training was based on a child rights curriculum developed several years ago by and for Tanzanian professionals working with young children. (Note that Dr. Erickson was a principal writer of that original curriculum and a facilitator of that project, traveling to Tanzania several times from 2008 through 2010.) Included in the updated training for our current project were key principles and specific rights covered by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; specific strategies for child protection and abuse prevention;  and practical ways teachers can advocate for child rights and abuse prevention in their schools and the larger community. Each training session started at 7:30 AM with breakfast and social networking, and ended at 5PM.

Project Goal

To improve child protection capacity through a child rights training delivered to at least 65 primary school teachers in Moshi, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Day 1: The first day of the training, teachers learned about similarities and differences between children’s needs and rights, as well as critical experiences for healthy childhood development in the early years. Next they learned about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), basic principles of that international treaty, and various categories of rights included in the treaty.  Participants also discussed the extent to which child rights currently are protected in Tanzania, as well as groups of children whose rights most often are violated in Tanzania, including for example children with disabilities and/or female children. Even though Tanzania ratified the UNCRC in 1991, putting the treaty into law and practice is an ongoing process, and teachers have much to contribute.

Day 2: The second day of training began with discussion of a child’s right to be heard, with participants generating ways to give children a voice in things that matter to them, even at very young ages. Throughout the day we also addressed the complicated principle of always considering “the best interest of the child,” as well as situations in which a child’s rights and parents’ rights may be in conflict.

Late that morning of the second day, teachers were divided into two groups and visited two schools, Jamhuri Primary School and Korongoni Primary School, to observe the following: 

a) Examples of teachers respecting child rights; 

b) Children respecting or advocating for the rights of their peers; 

c) Opportunities in classrooms to respect and promote the rights of children.

Observers also were encouraged to reflect on their own practices of respecting and promoting childrights in their classrooms, considering ways they could more effectively create a rights-based classroom environment.

The final two modules of the training curriculum followed immediately after feedback from the school observation and practice session. Module 4 began with a short storytelling session where Marti and Nova briefly talked about their own experiences of sexual abuse as children. Marti’s story emphasized the positive impact of her fifth grade teacher at that difficult time of her life, even though the teacher had no idea how much Marti needed her support. Marti highlighted that every teacher in this training was touching the lives of children in their schools, whether or not they always realized it. She urged participants to think about how they could be the “Mrs. Louise Silver” that her teacher had been to her. 

This was followed by a session focused on teachers as both direct practitioners and advocates for young children and children with disabilitiess considering concrete, practical ways teachers can respect and promote a child’s right to protection from violence, to education, to information (provided in an age-appropriate, understandable way) and to play, a primary way children build their cognition, social skills, self-regulation and other crucial qualities and abilities. This session also emphasized the power of teachers to provide support and encouragement to help parents understand their own role in promoting child rights and protection, including  helping children learn self-protective behaviors that can reduce their risk of being victimized by adults or older children.

Finally, guided by Module 5 of the child rights curriculum, teachers identified policies relevant to child rights, how these policies promote or breach child rights, and what changes and reforms are needed in terms of protecting child rights more fully. We discussed this within the context of values and strengths drawn from family, community and the broader culture that ensure child protection. We all have a responsibility to be sure that children’s needs are met and their rights are upheld.

Day 3: On day 3, the training facilitators (Nova, Marti and Haika) met for a recap session where we recorded a short video about the training. The video highlights our experiences of the project, from planning through implementation, as well as our perspectives on the effectiveness of the training for the 75 participants. 

Methodology

The training had three facilitators: Marti Erickson, U.S participant;  Novatus Marandu, Executive Director of Toa Nafasi and Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumnus;  and Haika Motta, Toa Nafasi tutor and peer educator. Training methods included short PowerPoint and flipchart presentations; storytelling; role-plays of situations faced by young Tanzanian children and their families; school visits and classroom observations of primary teachers and children; group discussions in both small groups and all together; and individual  reflective work.

Impact

We had 75 participants in total, based on attendance sheets. There were 37 grade 1 public primary school teachers from all 37 public primary schools in Moshi, including teachers of 2 schools of children with special needs. There also were 28 Toa Nafasi tutors who support early grade children with learning difficulties in 11 of the 37 schools. Beyond the teachers, we had attendees from other partner NGOs such as Songambele Initiative, Edpowerment, and MVIWAKI (A Network of Farmers Groups in Kilimanjaro). The training was officiated by District Education Officer of Moshi Municipal Council, Mr. Nicholaus Ngonyani, and was also attended by community development officer of the council.

Teacher’s feedback from the trainings was overwhelmingly positive. Teachers reported that they enjoyed the teaching methodology of the training, learned a great deal about child needs and rights, developed practical ways to respect and promote rights in their classrooms, and gained confidence in advocating and promoting child rights in their schools and beyond. Teachers expressed the wish for another day of training and more time to cover topics and material. They also expressed their wish that their fellow teachers take a training like the one we provided.

Impact on Toa Nafasi Foundation, NGO partner

This training helped reach all public primary schools in Moshi Municipal Council, something Toa Nafasi has not been able to do since its inception. Although it did not establish Toa Nafasi organization’s presence in the schools in terms of establishing a safe and inclusive school program and tutor placement, but it went a long way to empower those who are currently serving at the schools to make their schools safe and inclusive through the child rights and protection training. Furthermore, Toa Nafasi tutors now have tools and resources to support not only grade 1 and 2 children with learning difficulties in our 11 partner schools, but also students in all grades, their parents and the larger school community.

Sustainability

In order for the Tanzanian teachers to keep learning and practicing promotion of child rights and protection of children, we are implementing the following programs.

Ongoing Support for Teachers: We are updating our website to include further resources based on our training, as well as chat rooms and online meeting spaces for our teachers to continue to learn and share best practices. To the extent that material is culturally relevant and understandable, we also will link to Mom Enough’s weekly podcasts, TV appearances and free downloadable print materials on child development and parenting. If there is interest and capacity within Toa Nafasi, brief resource material from Mom Enough could be translated into Swahili. 

Key Stakeholders Training program: Nova, in cooperation with Marti, is beginning to work with Moshi Municipal Council Education and Community Development officers to create a key stakeholders program that would expand the child rights-based training beyond teachers to other village leaders, law enforcement, the judicial system and parents. The heart of this initiative will be a structured two-day training program similar to that used with the teachers in our initial project. But it will be tailored to the unique needs and strengths of these additional groups, with a goal of empowering both professionals and parents to promote child rights, protect children, and advocate for practices and policies (local and national) that further advance child rights and protection.

Publicity and Public Education about this Project in the U.S; Within days of returning to the U.S., Dr. Erickson launched an outreach effort to inform different stakeholder groups and the general public about the Reciprocal Exchange project in Tanzania, with an emphasis on the importance of child rights throughout the world, the long-term impact of child abuse and neglect, and the pressing need for all people to stand up for child rights and protection. Here are components of this outreach effort already achieved or in process:

9/20/23 Brief presentation about our project to 20 national leaders in the field of early childhood mental health gathered at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

9/21/23 Nova was the featured guest on a Mom Enough podcast hosted by Dr. Erickson and her daughter, Dr. Erin Erickson. The podcast will be posted on 9/25/23 the Mom Enough website, as well as other major podcast distributors. Mom Enough, LLC also will promote the podcast via various social media outlets throughout that week, and the podcast will remain indefinitely on the Mom Enough website for people to listen when and where they wish.

9/23/23 Dr. Erickson will appear live on KARE TV (NBC) to talk about the Reciprocal Exchange project, the importance of bringing child abuse out of the shadows, and the power of teachers to be advocates for child rights and protection. The segment will include several photos of Nova, Marti and participants in the Tanzania training.

Other ongoing media outreach includes; MShale Newsletter for Minnesota’s African communities; College of Education & Human Development News, University of Minnesota; University of Minnesota Alumni News; Southwest Voice, Minneapolis neighborhood newspaper; Star Tribune, Minneapolis Newspaper; Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health; National Council on Family Relations

Funding Provided By: • Reciprocal Exchange Grant: Component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, U.S. Department of State • Dr. Marti Erickson • Toa Nafasi Foundation

Greetings from the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest ice-caped mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. I’m again excited to write to you and share about our program supporting vulnerable children in public schools in Tanzania. In this newsletter, you’ll read about our cohort of students for the year 2023, our achievement with the 2022 cohort and our plans climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness on child sexual abuse and violence and of course partners and opportunities we’re meeting along the way.

The 2023 Cohort Matriculation

This year we observed 1120 students for their cognitive, physical, behavioral and learning challenges.  Then we conducted a first test of the students grouping students in three tiers. From the two assessments, the data our tutors collected was analyzed and we conducted parent’s interviews to help us corroborate it.  After this process, we were able to identify 422 students in two Tiers – those that have mild and severe developmental challenges. These students will continue to receive support for the rest of the year – to include learning support, medical treatment and psychological support in our partner hospitals and centers.

The 2022 Cohort Graduation

The journey with the students enrolled in the 2022 academic year has finally ended and we’re glad to report a whopping 85 percent graduation rate. The 292 students enrolled in Toa Nafasi’s tutoring program received initial four months of support where 71 percent moved into tier 1 after the second of three assessments. This March, and after three months of tutoring, medical treatment, nutritional, and psychosocial support, the students who were found to be flagging behind considerably sat for the third and final assessment with their cohort peers and 248 students graduated. The remaining students will continue to receive support along the 2023 cohort. “The Toa Nafasi program impact in the reading, writing and counting skills of students and on their health and wellbeing is remarkable. ”  Says Mr. Athumani Msuya, head of Jamhuri Primary school, one of our partner schools in Moshi, Kilimanjaro.

Partnering with Learning Different

We are happy to announce our partnership with Learning Different - a students led nonprofit organization based in the United States. Learning Different and Toa Nafasi have a shared mission - to support students in need who are struggling in classrooms with education, nutrition and medical treatment. Asha Dukkipati, founder of Learning Different is a freshman and presidential scholar at University of South California and together with her team all students across the US, are supporting us fundraise to help our cohort of 2023 students learn at the pace of their peers, get a nutritional cup of meal every day of school and get medical and psychological support. You can join this cause by visit Learning Different website.

Tutors Going for Protective Behaviors Training

Starting this July, Toa Nafasi tutors started receiving Protective Behaviors for Children training from Citizen for Change. Tutor Haika Motta travelled to Dar es Salaam for a two days Training of Trainers (TOT) session on June 21and 22. She has returned and is now training her fellow tutors on the Protective Behaviors Methodology. Tutors will continue to be empowered on this methodology in the subsequent training in Arusha and Kilimanjaro in the next few months.

But what is this Protective Behaviors, one may wonder? Children are not given an opportunity to learn about body autonomy and safety at home or in schools putting them at risk of abuse and violence. Toa Nafasi wants to use its platform to provide an opportunity for children to learn and unleash their self-protective skills. Protective behaviors is a practical approach to personal safety. It encourages self-empowerment and brings with it the skills to avoid feeling and being victimized. It will help children recognize and trust their intuitive feelings (Early Warning Signs) and to develop strategies for self-protection.  Like teaching children how to use a crosswalk, this teaches children how to keep themselves feeling safe and develop a protective culture that helps others to feel safe with us. We believe this practical tool will empower our tutors with the right tools to better support vulnerable children and addressing the risks they face in and out of school.

Reciprocal Exchange Grant from the Mandela Washington Fellowship

A few months ago, we partnered with Dr. Marti Erickson from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA on a project proposal to empower early grade teachers of 35 public schools on a child rights curriculum in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We are elated to share that the proposed project has been selected for funding as part of the Reciprocal Exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. The Reciprocal Exchange grant will finance the in-person training of teachers by Dr. Marti. I attended the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders – the flagship program of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). The grant is therefore, first and foremost, an opportunity to build stronger ties with American professionals. Secondly, it’s an opportunity that’ll benefit over 3500 vulnerable children in grade 1 in its first year in our community. The program will train all of the 30 Toa tutors and staff and an additional 35 grade 1 teachers of all public primary schools in Moshi, Kilimanjaro. The 65 women teachers will equip children with a curriculum on child rights but with a focus on learning differences and abuse and violence prevention.

The Campaign to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro

I wake up every day in Moshi to see a gigantic rock covered in snow – the magnificent Mount Kilimanjaro. I was born and raised here and therefore I am used to seeing its beauty from a far. But one thing that happened under its watch is, I was sexually abused multiple times by three neighbors from the age of six. That was over 20 years ago. As a survivor, I have tackled the mountains of pain, guilt, silence, and shame. Yet today, more children are continuing to experience abuse and violence due to the silence, stigma and shame involved. This situation is also exacerbated by a lack of age appropriate education, tools and resources for children and teachers in our community. According to a 2009 national survey, at least 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will experience sexual violence before they are 18 years old. We think these rates have soared because our tutors hear reports of children and see from behaviors of children every day. Recent reports from a Human Rights organization confirms this showing reported cases in the police and media are increasing. This has to stop. And we are taking this on our own hands launching a three months campaign to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Children. Our goal is twofold, to raise awareness on the issue of child abuse and violence and mobilize the public and stakeholders to take action to prevent and respond to such incidents. Secondly it is to raise funds for Toa Nafasi to provide the protective behaviors curriculum in schools.

Write us an email at info@toanafasi.org to learn more and join us in Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this November. You can also Donate to this cause to help us keep children in our schools and communities safe.

Finally, I am excited about this year’s student cohort and the initiative to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Children because of what it means for the education and safety of children in Kilimanjaro. The 2023 cohort is our continuous effort to improve the learning outcomes of children with developmental disabilities as we attend to their academic and social emotional well-being. The latter, Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for Children Campaign, is the kind of effort that will help over 6700 children be safe and help 35 public schools make their environments safer for children. And it will help our community be a leader in promoting children’s safety in schools. Our tutors, children, parents, participating schools, and our community as a whole will be at the forefront of the protection of children, keeping their bodies and environments safe, and it’s great to be working on this initiative in the community in which I was born and raised.