The Magic of Mirror Therapy

Access to rehabilitation services has not been a priority in Eastern Africa, but things are slowly changing. I have been working with The Cedar Foundation Tanzania in the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) project for several months now. Most families cannot afford to buy therapy equipment. So as an occupational therapy practitioner in the villages of Nyamatongo ward, my main challenge is to bring affordable therapy to the village level. One way I do this is by adapting local materials, such as rocks, sand, mirrors and boxes, to make equipment that can be used for therapy. And my vision for the Community Based Rehabilitation project is to promote the use of adapted therapeutic equipment for the benefit of my patients in order to give them the highest chance possible to retain their existing skills and to develop new skills too. In this way the patients will increase their daily activities and therefore enhance their levels of independence in the community.

As part of the outreach program I encountered Issa* - a 59 year old male patient, who had sustained a right hemiplegic stroke in 2016 (paralysis of the muscles of the lower face, arm, and leg on one side of the body), due to hypertension. On our first meeting, I conducted an initial assessment and found that Issa had contracture in his right arm due to being in a flexion pattern for such a long time. The right hand had grade 1 muscle strength and the motor skills were all intact (both fine and gross motor skills). His cognitive and sensory abilities were all fine with the exception of his vestibular system (the sensory system that provides the leading contribution to the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance.), which was weak and thus affected his balance. My two month objectives with the patient were the following;

• To achieve full passive range of motion to the affected arm

• To increase muscle strength and to activate motor skills to the affected arm

At the end of one month’s therapy, the patient was able to achieve full range of motion passively, without experiencing pain. It was at this stage that we introduced the Mirror Therapy box, for motor activation. I had designed and constructed the mirror box by using local materials. I found that the patient really enjoyed this therapy, and soon began to improve in his fine motor skills in the affected arm.

MIRROR THERAPY EXPLAINED

The mirror therapy theory is the use of a mirror to create a reflective illusion of an affected limb in order to trick the brain into thinking movement has occurred to the affected limb. It involves placing the affected limb behind a mirror, which is sited so the reflection of the opposing limb appears in place of the hidden limb’ says G. Moseley.

A mirror box is a device that gives opportunities to the therapist to easily create this illusion. It is a box with one mirror in the centre where on each side of it, the hands are placed in a manner that the affected limb is kept covered always and the unaffected limb is kept on the other side whose reflection can be seen on the mirror. The activities that are mirrored are those performed by my patients in their daily lives, for example writing, grooming, eating and even catching a ball.  

This theory is based on the neuro-plasticity mechanism/principle. It activates the brain’s mirror neurons, to create a mind illusion that then activates the motor ability of the patient’s missing limb and aids in pain management.

The patients that benefit most from this technique are those who have had amputations. This technique has been found to reduce phantom pain sensations in amputees. Stroke patients also benefit greatly from the mirror technique to reactivate motor skills.

Take Action and be part of the drive to bring occupational therapy to Nyamatongo Ward.

* For privacy, the name Issa has been used but it is not the patients real name.

by Daniel Samwel, Occupational Therapist, Cedar Tanzania.

Visit from Australia

My name is Nina Hjortlund, although most people in Mwanza know me as Mama Nina; a combination of a surname that is next to impossible for non-Danish people to pronounce and cultural respect in Tanzania. I lived in Tanzania for 13 years and Tanzania still has a part of my heart and soul. I am a mother of four children and a crazy puppy.

I was born in Denmark but have always enjoyed traveling and besides Tanzania, I have also lived in Egypt for a number of years. I now live in Perth, Australia, since August 2018, which is where I founded Australia for Cedar Tanzania, ACT!

Australia for Cedar Tanzania is working to raise funds, awareness and attract volunteers for Cedar Tanzania. Our aim is to enable Cedar Tanzania to continue current projects, and potentially expand into new areas as well.

We do this through grant applications, social media, fundraising campaigns, events, communications, networking and partnerships.

In the short time we have existed, we have achieved quite a few milestones: We have conducted three crowdfunding campaigns securing lifesaving medical equipment for Kamanga Health Centre, secured partly funding for our TackleAfrica project and we are able to provide funds for our upcoming Clean Water project.

We have also received a grant in social media marketing and been shortlisted to UK Aid Directs Community Grant – we are holding our breaths as results are coming out any day now.

Currently, we are developing a partnership with Western Australia’s Department of Health to conduct an up-skilling training programme for our midwives and nurses. The project is called GHAWA (Global Health Alliance Western Australia) and was formed as part of a partnership with World Health Organisation (WHO).

GHAWA will provide Australian midwives to teach a midwifery programme that is tailored to the needs of Kamanga Health Centre’s staff. This will ensure that the health centre is able to provide the highest level of service and care to its patients.

Many new projects and events are on the schedule for 2020 – make sure you are signed up to our newsletter to be the first to know.

What are your main roles as Director of Australia for Cedar Tanzania!

Australia for Cedar Tanzania is still a small entity and I am the only employee so far.

This means I get to wear all the hats! – CEO, bookkeeper, marketing, report writing, fundraiser, writing grant applications, secretary, stall holder, web designer, and everything else in between.

As a Founding Director, I am ultimately responsible for ensuring that the company adheres to the laws of Australia and that all reporting is done in a timely manner. It is also my responsibility to ensure Australia for Cedar Tanzania is financially sound, and that all taxes and fees are being paid.

Australia for Cedar Tanzania is a not-for-profit, which means all profits we make goes straight into Cedar Tanzania.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Although it can sometimes be stressful, I enjoy wearing all the hats and the diversity that comes along with it.

In one day, I can be keeping books and attending a webinar in the morning, updating social media and our web page in the afternoon, and meeting politicians and stakeholders by the evening.

I find much satisfaction in knowing every little thing I do has the aim of helping the Nyamatongo community to be stronger and more self-sufficient, and that they will gain more opportunities and improve their overall living standards.

I enjoy being my own boss, setting my goals high and aiming for the stars. I work alone, which takes lots of self-discipline and organisation but it also has many benefits. One of them is that I can move my hours around my children’s schedule. This often means that many of my work hours occur in the evenings after my children have gone to bed.

What do you find most challenging about your role?

Working alone. As I mentioned above it has its benefits,but it also has its downfalls. Being well aware of them makes me able to counter them before they become a problem.

Luckily thanks to today’s technology I can stay in daily contact with our team in Tanzania – WhatsApp, Skype, FaceTime and Messenger make communicating easy and accessible.

Linking with other similar businesses here in Australia is another important aspect of my tasks, which helps to know how to go about running a business here. Meeting with like-minded people for inspiration and collaboration on a regular basis is vital for growth and overcoming challenges.

Oh, and bookkeeping is just not my favourite thing to do…

Tell us about your most recent visit to Cedar Tanzania

I have just returned from a three weeks visit to Tanzania. Needless to say it was AMAZING!

I loved being able to see the Cedar Tanzania team face to face and it was a pleasure to spend the first week both in the office in Mwanza and with the team in Nyamatongo Ward.

All our projects look fantastic and I am so proud of all the achievements our staff has accomplished. I am humbled and impressed with the dedication and passion every single member of the Cedar Tanzania team shows every single day. It truly warmed my heart to see.

The project manager for the GHAWA project, Sally Dawit, came from Dar es Salaam to inspect Kamanga Health Centre and was highly impressed with the level of standards we deliver every day.

I also met with a couple of our long-term Corporate Social Responsibility partners such as Sandvik Mining and Construction Tanzania and Bamboo Rock Drilling. We are proud to have a well-functioning and positive CSR approach where all involved benefit from the partnership.

I miss Tanzania every day – and I feel very lucky being able to have both Australia and Tanzania in my life all at once.

How can people take action?

There are many ways you can be part of our journey.

First and foremost, sign up to our newsletter to know about our projects, the amazing people we meet on a daily basis and learn how changing lives happens every day.

We have a donation option on our website – in Australia all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

You can volunteer with us – send me a mail and hear how.

Does your company have a CSR or workplace giving programme? Contact us and hear how we can collaborate.

And something as simple as commenting and sharing our posts on social media (find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter) helps us enormously. So next time you see a post: give us a shout and share it on!

Beena - Beautiful, Brilliant, Bighearted

This year, we will, every month, introduce you to one of our passionate and amazing members of our team.
You will learn a little about themselves and their day-to-day jobs at Cedar Tanzania.

Please meet Beena. She is our amazing Office Manager. She is efficient and organised, and always has a smile for everyone.

Match day in Kamanga!

After the holiday break Cedar Tanzania started sporty into the new year. On the 18th of January 2020, we hosted the Cedar Tanzania-TackleAfrica tournament for all our coaches and young players who are participating in the initiative which combines football with sexual and reproductive health and rights education.

The Cedar Tanzania team was off to an early start: crossing Lake Victoria from Mwanza to Kamanga together with tents, chairs and a sound system. Some coaches and their teams were already on the pitch warming up when we arrived. You could feel already that the teams were keen to start playing–and eager to win. To make it easier for the teams who live far to reach the field, a small bus was hired to pick them up and bring them to the pitch. Due to heavy rains and soaked soil, the bus got stuck next to the pitch – fortunately, the driver managed to pick up all teams before he got stuck.

When all 14 coaches had registered their teams with 20 players each – a total of 280 participants – the first of 18 matches of the group phase was kicked off. Throughout the day, the Cedar Tanzania team raised awareness on the importance of knowing one’s HIV status. Because once someone knows that she or he is HIV positive, they can receive proper follow-up care and benefit from life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment. To that end, a dedicated team from Kamanga Health Centre offered free voluntary counselling and HIV-testing services all day long. It was a huge success with 218 people tested, mainly young people participating in the programme.

The whole Cedar Tanzania team participated in the tournament, everyone was involved in one way or another. Our Accountant Steve and Project Manager Dylan demonstrated their skills (and stamina!) as referees, our medical volunteer, Dr. Vasanth, was able to follow-up on his regular profession by supporting us as First Aider and most importantly, our Field Officers, Abdul, Wakili and Mussa, did a great job in coordinating the event from linesman to lunch.

After 18 matches the group phase was over and eight teams remained in the fight for the championship. The games were only interrupted by a herd of cows and goats that were led to their respective feeding grounds – with a shortcut through the playing pitch. Whilst the matches were being played, the bus was still stuck in mud, even after multiple attempts to pull it out by various other vehicles. And as the day went on, the poor driver managed to dig the bus even deeper into the ground.

In the late afternoon, the two finalists were determined: Kamanga A United against Mkolani FC. We saw a thrilling final that was only over after penalties and won by Mkolani FC. The winning team was rewarded with brand-new football shoes from adidas who generously donated them to Cedar Tanzania. The players accepted their prizes with proud smiles and celebrated their win with loud chants. After a long day, Cedar Tanzania’s Field Officer Abdul, who was the man in charge of keeping the ball rolling that day, concluded: “It was exhausting, but everyone seemed to have fun and to enjoy the day. So it was absolutely worth it.” 

In the end, even the bus driver managed to get his bus out of the mud, with the kind support of a community member and his truck, and was able to return all the kids back safely to their homes.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

January 18th 2018 was a very special day for Kamanga Health Centre and the whole Nyamatongo Ward. Two years ago the Regional Commissioner Mr. Mongella together with the Country Director and Founder of Cedar Tanzania, Mark O’Sullivan, stood shoulder to shoulder with Chris Eskdale, Friends of Cedar Tanzania board member, and declared Kamanga Health Centre ‘Open!’ The health centre soon after began serving the community of Nyamatongo Ward, with an approximate population of 30,000 people.

In the last two years Kamanga Health Centre has experienced many joys, such as the acquisition of the neonatal resuscitation table which was purchased with donations from Cedar Tanzania supporters, the installation of solar power panels, and the establishing of Kamanga Health Centre as a volunteer destination for European medical staff.  Paulina Urassa, the Director of Health Programmes is still at the helm, and the biggest challenge she faces is working within the line of the private-public partnership between Kamanga Health Centre and Sengerema District Council. But in spite of this challenge the figures coming from Kamanga Health Centre over the last two years are encouraging indeed. By the end of 2018, 4,607 new patients had registered at the health centre for the first time and exactly one year later in 2019, 6,546 new patients had joined the health centre. This was an increase of 142%. By the end of 2018, 201 babies were born at the health centre and by December 2019 517 babies were born resulting in an increase of 257% of births in the last two years. The top three diagnosed illnesses changed slightly from upper respiratory infections, UTIs and non severe pneumonia in 2018 to non severe pneumonia, UTIs and a surprising increase in severe cases of malaria in 2019. The reduction of governmental disinfection of high mosquito populated agricultural lands has been suspected to be the reason for such a high rise in figures of severe malaria cases in 2019. 

Cedar Tanzania is proud to say that two years on Kamanga Health Centre is still striving to bring high levels of heath care to the villages in Nyamatongo Ward.

Cedar Tanzania goes green

It took only two days to transform the electricity grid of Kamanga Health Centre (KHC) to a more reliable and greener option. From unreliable electricity and costly back-up diesel generator to freshly installed solar panels powered from the sun, of which there is plenty of in Tanzania, most of the year round.

Paulina Urassa, Director of Health Programmes at KHC, recounts a harrowing story of what happened one evening in a neighbouring village of Karumo. Eleven people were injured in a suspected revenge attack, in which a group of men targeted a few households and brutally hacked the occupants with machetes. The injured were rushed to KHC, only to find it in the dark. The village electricity had switched off, and the back-up diesel generator was due to be fixed the following day, as the technician had to make his way from Mwanza town via the ferry. But the dedicated staff got down to work and tended the injured by torch light. No lives were lost, but this situation was far from ideal and Cedar Tanzania knew that a far more reliable power source had to be implemented at the health centre and soon.

Three solar companies were approached of which Chloride Exide was chosen. They promptly undertook an onsite visit and diligently calculated the electrical load needed based on the identified equipment and appliances which were supposed to be powered by the solar system.  It took just two days for Chloride Exide to install the 6 solar panels on the roof of KHC. The 7,336 Watt electrical load generated by the solar panels means that the maternity ward’s neonatal resuscitation table as well as other essential equipment will continue to be used when the electricity inevitably goes out in the village of Kamanga.  The solar system is designed in such a way that it can produce power for twenty-four hours a day. And on the days that the sun does not shine and the rains come there is a back-up system which enables batteries to be charged from the village electricity grid. In this way, it is hoped that the health centre will always have power when it is needed.   

It is thanks to the Irish Embassy’s generous donation together with Friends of Cedar Switzerland’s gala donation that secured the funds needed for the new solar system in KHC to be installed this November.

And are there any plans to install any more solar panels in the future at KHC? Caroline Bernard, Executive Director, says  “We would ideally like to equip the entire health centre with solar panels and completely “go green” since it is not only cheaper and more reliable, but also better for the environment. However, we are conscious that completely switching the power supply from electrical to solar power is an expensive exercise, so we will start looking for funding opportunities in 2020.”

Join us as we transform Kamanga Health Centre completely green!

The one thing you don't think about

Keflen’s life has been changed. She lives in Nyamatongo ward, and is visited regularly by the Community Based Rehabilitation team from Cedar Tanzania. She has a disability that means she has to walk on her hands and knees. Last year Cedar Tanzania brought her a tricycle. But this year they brought her something less glamorous, but nonetheless meaningful. A toilet.

You see for Keflen, going to the family toilet means going there on her hands and knees. But in a village without running water or indoor plumbing, using an outside latrine, come rain or shine, is the only option. Until now.  Jackie Mantandiko and the CBR team, with the funds from Kamanga Health Centre, became creative. A ‘mobile’ toilet was crafted, together with steady handle bars that could be secured to the floor. This new unit has a removable bucket which can be emptied, disinfected and replaced. This means that Keflen can use the toilet in the comfort of her home, in private and with dignity. It’s a small change but it sure means a lot.

Another patient, with similar disabilities to Keflen, receives a ‘small’ gift, that also means a lot.

We are spreading the message

At the end of October, the Community Based Rehabilitation team started training community health workers about the best way they can educate the community on issues of HIV/AIDS. Spreading the right information about how the virus is contracted, spread and treated, is vital in communities where misinformation and prejudice is rife.

During this same meeting 50 of the health workers decided to get tested for the virus and to find out their status too. They were able to experience firsthand what it is like to be counseled, tested and told the results in a respectful and dignified way. Now they are ready to spread the word to the rest of the community about what they should expect when they come to get tested at Kamanga Health Centre.

And across the school fields, football coaches were doing a similar thing, informing young people about how HIV/AIDS can be contracted, spread and treated. Cedar Tanzania, in partnership with TackleAfrica, continues to use football drills to educate young people about this disease. We are spreading the message and slowly but surely breaking down misinformation, stereotypes and prejudice.

Friends of Cedar Tanzania 2019 Gala

Cascading sounds of the sultry female voice and guitar filled the atmosphere as the gala guests milled around the casino balcony with wine filled flutes in hand and enjoyed the picturesque views of sunset, welcoming the commencement of the third Friends of Cedar Tanzania Gala in Zug, Switzerland.

Over a hundred special guests of the Swiss community turned out, on the evening of the 13th of September, to show their support to Cedar Tanzania. They were entertained with an assortment of performers including a poignant reading by bestselling author Katherine Ann Lee of her story ‘Peruzi’s light’, which received a rapturous round of applause.

Mark O’Sullivan, Country Director for Cedar Tanzania took the stage and introduced the cause of the evening’s gathering – financial support for Kamanga Health Centre, especially of its growing need for solar power. 

An amazing 60,000 Swiss Francs was raised during the evening. Cedar Tanzania wishes to send all the generous donors a huge thank you, for they are indeed Changing Lives!

The medical team that keeps on learning

“Promote community-based rehabilitation (CBR) to facilitate access for disabled people to existing service”, this is what the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlighted in its article about the promotion of improved health care for people with disabilities.

Just as WHO advices, Cedar Tanzania takes the already existing good quality medical care of Kamanga Health Centre on the road by bringing it directly to people with disabilities, in the rural areas of Nyamatongo Ward. It’s been doing this tirelessly for two years now, with the help of generous donors. But Cedar Tanzania is also addressing another one of WHO’s recommendation - to “Integrate disability education into undergraduate and continuing education for all health-care professionals.”

On the 19th of September Kamanga Health Centre (KHC) hosted a day of training led by volunteer doctors Naidu and Wong as well as CBR Field Officer Jackie and Clinical Officer Neema. Together they presented the Reproductive and Child Health staff and labour department of KHC with specific information about the early identification of pre-natal symptoms of possible impairments and the possible causes and management of these impairments. As Jackie says, “the main objective is to reduce the occurrence of impairments… because some of them can be prevented either during pregnancy or during birth and delivery.”

Implementing community based rehabilitation to deliver healthcare to rural areas and retraining the Reproductive and Child Health staff to identify pre-natal symptoms of possible fetal impairment, are two of the ways suggested by WHO in which medical care-givers can improve medical services for people with disabilities. Cedar Tanzania is not only implementing both of these practices but is also going a step further – by holding community events in which families and village members can be informed about the best ways of caring for people with disabilities, thus reducing the social stigma and prejudice that often plagues them in Tanzanian communities.

Change lives with Cedar Tanzania as a volunteer doctor, medical teacher or therapist (occupational and physio). 

Contact us now.

We want YOU!

Are you an Occupational or Physio Therapist, who loves travelling and changing lives?

Then Cedar Tanzania wants you!

Watch Cedar Tanzania’s appeal for an Occupational or Physio Therapist Volunteer, to join its Tanzania team.

Let the games begin!

On Saturday the 17th August 2019 Cedar Tanzania celebrated International Youth Day for the first time, in the village of Kamanga.

It took the Cedar Tanzania team a lot of time to set up the party tents, chairs and tables around the edges of the school football field. But time is relative here in Kamanga, where the event that was meant to start at 12 noon got under way closer to 2pm, with nobody even batting an eye-lid at the much later start. But the party mood was helped along with the blasting of bongo flava music from giant speakers, which would inspire a dance move or two from one of the Cedar Tanzania team members, much to the amusement of his or her neighbours.

Members of the village began to trickle in at the sound of the attractive music and the intermittent loud microphoned invitations from a SASA! community activist welcoming the youth of the village to come and celebrate their day. Children on over-sized bikes rode around the field, a few young boys began to play with a balloon that had gotten loose from a corner of one of the tents, and food vendors settled themselves on the outer circle of the field ready to sell their wares of samosas, sodas and iced lolly-pops. And in time, which as you’ll remember is very relative, there gathered a crowd, which the community activist felt sizable enough to commence the day’s planned activities.

An elderly gentleman entered the centre of the field and entertained the gathering youth with his dramatic and flamboyant dance moves, announcing that the day’s fun had indeed begun. The ever increasing crowd, which maximised at around three hundred, continued to be entertained by choreographed dance groups and by individuals having dance offs. And in the midst of the games that followed - egg and spoon races and tug of war contests -  the youth also got to hear about Cedar Tanzania’s many projects in the district. Paulina Urassa, Kamanga Health Centre manager, spoke about the different medical services on offer at the health centre and once again reassured the crowd that the health centre was not a private entity but a government run medical facility that charged local rates. Paulina also announced that the school classrooms, on the far side of the field, were opened and hosted a medical team from Kamanga Health Centre that was ready to test anyone desiring to know their HIV status. Throughout the course of the day 107 young adults were tested for HIV and all got to know their HIV status by the end of the day.

The SASA! teams were also able to facilitate discussions through displaying posters and drama performances about the link between the increase of HIV infection and violence at home and encouraged the listeners to not keep silent if they were experiencing violence but to go to the village representatives and report the incidents. The different SASA! village representatives stood up and introduced themselves. Cedar Tanzania is so proud to have introduced the SASA! initiative to the village of Kamanga, as it has now seen a slow increase of women reporting incidents of violence, breaking their silence. And now these women can begin to get the help and support that they desperately need from the village leaders and police domestic violence unit.

Other Cedar Tanzania projects were also presented like the Tackle Africa program that uses football drills to discuss issues of respect and sexual health to young people and the Nguvu ya Binti project, which teaches young women to sew reusable sanitary pads as part of them learning about entrepreneurial business management.

The first ever International Youth Day in Kamanga was indeed a success, as it managed to deliver very important information about sexual health and safety and community empowerment with fun and games to the youth of Kamanga village and the surrounding district. Cedar Tanzania is Changing Lives! 

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"It has made me a better doctor"

Dr. Vasanth Naidu from UK tells about his experiences volunteering at Kamanga Health Centre with Cedar Tanzania

Get more information about how YOU can volunteer here

ACT now and start Changing Lives.

Football in ACTion

We have set our goal, and we are almost halfway there already. We are NOT stopping until we get all the way!”

- Nina Hjortlund, Founder and Managing Director, Australia for Cedar Tanzania

The 1st of July Australia for Cedar Tanzania launched ‘Football in ACTion’. Our goal is to be able to take 400 teenagers through a full year of sexual health education taught using football drills.

We are using Tackle Africa’s amazing format that we did a pilot on last year over a 3 month period.

This year we are building and expanding on those experiences training 20 local coaches in the specific methodology and specialised drills utilised in the Tackle Africa programme.

We don’t just teach in between breaks in a football game. We use the specialised football drills as visual aids to exemplify consequences of good versus poor decision making, whilst creating a safe and welcoming environment to discuss and ask about sensitive subjects.

Sex, menstruation and Sexual Transmitted Infections (STIs) are not often spoken about in families in Tanzania. HIV/AIDS is now the biggest killer of Tanzanian adolescents between 15-24 years old. Young girls get coerced into sex in return for gifts or favours and this has resulted in high teen pregnancies. In Tanzania, a pregnant teenage girl can no longer continue her education.

STIs are not a subject that is widely spoken about and as a consequence most teenagers don’t know the symptoms or how to effectively prevent themselves from getting them.

Many teenagers have no knowledge about menstruation and what it means, and some girls get shocked the first time it happens to them. Oftentimes young girls miss out on school while having their period due to lack of hygienic washrooms and lack of affordable pads.

Football in ACTion changes the level of knowledge and encourages all participants to know their HIV status. Only once your status is known is it possible to seek counselling and treatment, and learn how to prevent passing it on to others.

Changing the lives of these young boys and girls begins with you! Our goal doesn’t come without a price tag. It costs only $30 to take one teenager through this programme for a full year. Our goal is to raise enough money to take 400 children through this programme which amounts to $12,000

With you, and other fantastic supporters, we are nearly halfway there. If you, your neighbour, your work colleagues, your nephew or aunty, your school class or local soccer club would like to help us reach our goal you can do so by supporting us here:

https://chuffed.org/project/football-in-action

Every time you sponsor three children you can choose to get a ticket in the draw of our two amazing prizes: 

A Juventus 2018/19 team signed t-shirt including Ronaldo and Dybala

A Manchester United T-shirt signed by Beckham



Handing over the reins

The Cedar Foundation Tanzania will soon be bidding farewell to its Executive Director, Claire Michelotti, as she finishes her time with us.

The Cedar Tanzania team

Hello everyone!

I’m Claire and I have been working as Executive Director of Cedar Tanzania for just over a year and a half (since January 2018).  Prior to that I was the Operations and Funding Manager from when the organisation began in 2014.

What part of the job have you most enjoyed?

That’s easy – the people. It may sound cheesy but working with a team of inspiring, energised and enthusiastic people is infectious and is what has made this job so incredible for five years. The nature of our work as a development organisation can be hard, and there are days where progress does not happen as fast as one would wish.  Working with a team of passionate individuals who persevere in the face of adversity makes all the difference and has been awe inspiring. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from the team, not just professionally but about life in general too.

What part of your job has most flummoxed you?

Kiswahili flummoxes me daily!  Although this doesn’t stop me from trying and subsequently sounding like an idiot on a regular basis! After five years of being here, I had high hopes of being close to fluent by this time, but embarrassingly I am nowhere near. Luckily people here are very understanding and appreciate it if you try. Plus my pigeon Swahili has conveniently broken the ice on a number of occasions so it’s not all bad.

What has been most challenging for you leading a non-profit in Tanzania?

One of hardest parts of the job I think is working out where it is appropriate for Cedar Tanzania to step in and help a person or a situation directly, and where we should step back and instead try to empower a community or an institution to step in.  Oxfam’s campaign based on the saying “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime” is an approach that runs through Cedar Tanzania. This is the only way that we will reach our goal of helping people help themselves in a sustainable way. However, this approach takes time, and when you’re in a place where life can be brutal and unforgiving and where there is suffering, it can be very hard not to want to help directly. As such, although our overall approach to development is to build capacity, we sometimes do also step in and help directly if we deem it appropriate. The process of establishing this however can be difficult and painful, especially if the outcome is not to reach out directly.

What will you miss most about working at Cedar Tanzania?

Apart from missing the Cedar Tanzania team, I will of course miss the people from the communities we serve. I will never forget the elegance, strength, humour and hospitality of the community members I have met and known since being here, despite some of the heart wrenching challenges they face.

Weirdly enough, I will also miss the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the job – like when a law is introduced overnight and you have to put things in place quickly to comply as an organisation, or when we have to deal with crocodiles on the shores of the lake close to the health centre. Obviously, these things are also challenges, but they make the job exciting and different which I enjoy immensely. 

Can you write a brief introduction of the three managers that will be replacing you?  

Please meet the three formidable individuals who will be replacing me – Paulina, Vivian and Caroline. 

Paulina will be Director of Health Programmes, leading on all aspects related to healthcare including the significant task of overseeing Kamanga Health Centre.

Vivian will be Director of Projects assuming responsibility for our broad portfolio of field projects.

Caroline will preside over central office functions including finance, HR, communications and fundraising as Director of Central Operations.

We are very fortunate to have these three inspiring women on board and I am excited about Cedar Tanzania’s future with them leading the way!

Why three?

Well, three is the magic number no?

Jokes aside, when I started working at Cedar Tanzania, we were just starting out. As is common in many start-ups, people’s roles were typically broad and covered a number of aspects – including mine. The size of the organisation meant I was able to work across multiple areas, from project work to fundraising, from finance to operational delivery. However, as the organisation has grown, the workload has equally grown and I think we have now reached a point where my role can easily be split between three clearly defined roles.

The other reason is because we had three very talented people whose strengths were in different areas and who complemented each other beautifully. It made sense to give all three more responsibility so they could work as a team and support each other.   

And what of Mark O’Sullivan? Is he still around?

Oh yes, he is definitely still around! As our intrepid founder and Country Director, he is key in ensuring that we continue to deliver our work with vigour and flair! I have no doubt that Mark and the three new directors will take Cedar Tanzania to new and exciting places!

What legacy do you think you will leave behind?

Wow that’s a hard one. Hopefully a tidy desk although I haven’t got there yet!

None of what will remain when I leave Cedar Tanzania has been as a result of just my work – it’s all been because of team-work so it’s not strictly ‘my’ legacy. However, I’ll admit I feel happy at the thought of leaving an organisation that is growing and thriving, much like the communities we work in. I suppose I also feel a certain sense of achievement when I think that now, there is a health centre providing key healthcare services to people in a place that badly needed one five years ago.   

What are your hopes for Cedar Tanzania?

Strategically, I hope that Cedar Tanzania and its projects will continue for decades to come, lead by Tanzanians with the full support of the Government of Tanzania.

My ambition hopes are that once The Cedar Foundation is well established in Tanzania, it will go on to achieve the same somewhere else. With Cedar Bulgaria shining bright as the very first ‘Cedar Foundation’, and now with Cedar Tanzania as the second, I see no reason why the organisation could not continue to grow globally.

From a more emotive perspective, I hope the spirit of Cedar Tanzania lives on throughout its future, whatever form this may take. ‘Changing Lives’ is not a motto that was chosen lightly. Cedar has certainly changed mine.

Jackie and Neema's adventures

Jackie is a Community Based Rehabilitation Field Officer. Together with Neema, the clinical officer, they travel from Kamanga Health Centre to the neighbouring villages of Kamanga on their trusted motor bikes. Watch the latest episode of their adventures!
Watch Jackie and Neema as they do their rounds in the village of Kamanga as part of Cedar Tanzania's Community Based Rehabilitation program, to bring care to people with disabilities.

Girl Power

Cedar Tanzania’s volunteer from US Peace Corps, Dylan Parkin, has been hard at work these last few months, investigating potential educational and entrepreneurial projects that could be implemented in the village of Kamanga. This May has seen Dylan venture out on his very first pilot entrepreneurial project called “Nguvu ya Binti” (Girl Power)!  This has resulted in him putting into use, for the very first time, the Community Centre that Sengerema District Council kindly donated to Cedar Tanzania to support us in our community projects. In mid May Dylan together with Cedar Tanzania’s field officer Jackie held their first entrepreneurial meetings with seven young women between the ages of 18 -24 years old.

Dylan writes, “The aim of the project is to facilitate the setting up and running of a women-owned social enterprise that manufacture reusable cloth sanitary pads to help girls and women of Nyamatongo handle their periods safely, hygienically and inexpensively. The approach entails to train a group of girls on entrepreneurial skills, menstrual health and hygiene, and sewing classes to equip them with what is needed to be able to produce and sell the pads economically."

The pilot phase started on May 13th and is planned to be reviewed after 10 weeks. It is hoped however that the project will be able to continue until mid-September. The training has been divided into 3 parts: Training on entrepreneurship, sewing classes, education on menstrual hygiene. 

After the topic of generating business ideas, we started on the topic of analyzing the idea's potential. Upon finishing this, the girls were sent into the village to do market research. Through this, they have found that the women of Kamanga are indeed interested in reusable cloth sanitary pads.

Now the only research which remains is the cost analysis. We have recently covered the topic of costs and pricing. The girls will soon be going to shops in Mwanza to price the needed materials. This means that within the next week we should know if we will continue with the reusable cloth pads business idea, or if we need to go back to the drawing board and find a new business idea.
We felt it was important to do things this way so the girls could get first-hand experience of doing the research and of taking ownership of the business they are developing.
 

ACT is excited to find out how these amazing young women will fare and we wish them, Dylan and Jackie the best of luck.

SASA! What it means to be aware

The Awareness Phase, the second of four phases in the SASA! methodology, was implemented from April 2017 until April 2019.

Before we start the third phase " Support" we would like to share with you some of the amazing results we have had during the Awareness phase.

Impact on the Community

For the majority of the community we have seen a change in knowledge and attitudes with regards to balance of power and Violence Against Women. More people break the silence and speak up about these important and pressing issues. This is due to the effort the Community Activists have been putting into their facilitations by encouraging the community to think critically about their own actions. The Community Activists are well respected members of the community and are directing victims of violence to the suited support provider. The establishment of a functioning referral system is to date the greatest challenge we face: partly, because the needed support providers are simply non-existent, partly because the local government authorities with which we always aim to cooperate are somewhat unreliable. We believe the Community Activists' role is to be a facilitator and to spark critical thinking within the community by asking questions without judging and telling what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’.

Knowledge

The community knows the different types of Violence Against Women and the negative consequences that come with it. They can link Violence Against Women to HIV/AIDS and understand that Violence Against Women is a cause as well as a consequence of HIV.

Attitudes
Women and men in the community agree that Violence Against Women is never acceptable and that balanced power between men and women is healthy, safe and beneficial for both. The community agrees that everyone has power and that women are not to be blamed for the violence that is directed towards them. Moreover, it is understood that Violence Against Women is an issue affecting the whole community and not merely a private matter.

It is such a great success to see that the community is much more outspoken when it comes to Violence Against Women than it was before the implementation of SASA!. This shows that the community understands the urgent need to act and speak out about the abuse of power which leads to Violence Against Women and girls.

The increase of almost 30%  from the baseline to Awareness Assessment for this questions shows that Violence Against Women is increasingly seen as an issue that affects the whole community and is not just a private matter. This decreases the stigma surrounding Violence Against Women and reduces the shame women often feel when reporting abuses.

The SASA! project is slowly but surely changing attitudes in Kamanga about how violence against women and girls is an unacceptable act.