VSO in Tanzania

VSO Tanzania aims to reduce poverty by working with government and non state agencies to develop their capacity to improve access to, quality and relevance of education and HIV and AIDS services and to strengthen the ability of disadvantaged people to make a viable living.

VSO Tanzania Mission Statement

Why does VSO need to work in Tanzania?

These are just some of the factors which form the basis for VSO's presence in Tanzania:

• Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world with 50% of the population living in households officially classified as poor.
• The Tanzanian economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, mostly in subsistence and small-scale cash cropping. This means the economy is highly vulnerable to climate conditions and environmental factors (e.g. declining soil fertility) and constrained by a lack of access to markets
• The quality of health and education services is poor and access is biased to urban centres
• Infant mortality rates are amongst the highest in the world.
• Rates of HIV infection continue to pose enormous problems, with an estimated 20% of women who give birth already infected with the virus
• Young people, who make up around 65% of the population, have limited access to education and training resulting in an increase in social problems such as unemployment, drug abuse and drunkenness.
• There are currently an estimated 1.1 million children orphaned as a result of AIDS and 9% of the adult population is HIV positive. Heterosexual intercourse is the main form of transmission and major education campaigns are underway in Tanzania on HIV/AIDS prevention.
• There is huge gender inequality in society: 10% of girls are circumcised, many impoverished women are forced to sell their bodies in order to survive, and abuse in the home is not uncommon with frequent cases of rape and domestic violence. Girls are taken out of schools to care for elderly family members or parents with AIDS. There is in fact, a general consensus that women are not given the rights they deserve despite the fact that they are the breadwinners of Tanzania. Women work long hours and they constitute the majority of the farm labour force.

How long has VSO been working in Tanzania?

VSO has been in Tanzania for just over 40 years, traditionally in education and health roles and widely distributed throughout the country. In that time we have managed to build a good general reputation and to learn a great deal about the needs and demands of a development programme in Tanzania. Our current programme is considerably more focused on sustainable development.

Between 2005-2007, VSO will also have a short-term BESO project in Kilimanjaro as well as the Tanga region.

It seems like people in Tanzania face many problems; if crippling poverty, HIV/AIDS and lack of available education affects the majority of the population - how can VSO attempt to combat this?

The problems facing Tanzania are indeed widespread and in order to make quantifiable impact, VSO has limited projects to three specific areas:

• Education
• Livelihoods
• HIV and AIDS

The reason for concentrating on these areas rather than any other are numbered but include there being a number of NGOs already working in other fields (such as policy and governance for example), and the fact that in the chosen areas, there are partner organisations available to facilitate VSO's work.

A strategic plan was put together to form the focus of VSO's work. It proposes that VSO Tanzania (VSOTz) will use its limited resources to reduce poverty and disadvantage in Tanzania.

The VSOTz programme has been developed in order to tackle issues of disadvantage by building partnerships with local organisations and government institutions. Increasingly, our work benefits particularly disadvantaged groups such as women, children and people affected by HIV/AIDS or disabilities.

Why does VSO work in these areas and what are VSO's aims?

Education

In the 1980s and 1990s, Tanzania experienced deterioration in education development. The Tanzanian education system was suffering from lack of funding, leading to dilapidated schools and poorly trained and under-motivated teachers, teaching, where possible, irrelevant curricula with no teaching resources. The Primary Education plan, brought in to ensure that all children benefit from primary education, has gone some way to alleviate this problem. Yet there are still huge discrepancies between rural and urban schools, as well as an overwhelming gender bias with many girls still receiving limited or no education.

An effective education curriculum can equip people with the skills that will enable them to secure a livelihood and sensitise them on HIV and AIDS.

VSOTz aims to maximise development opportunity for poor and disadvantaged people through improved quality, accessibility, relevance and equity of education.

Livelihoods

Although the national economy of Tanzania appears to be improving, levels of poverty experienced by the majority of Tanzanians, especially rural small holders engaged in subsistence agriculture, are very high. The weak link between broader economic growth and conditions faced in most households means that there has been little reduction in the number of people living below the poverty line, especially in rural Tanzania.

Effective livelihoods work can generate the income that allows an area to become more prosperous and thus invest in both education and HIV and AIDS work. The less poor that people become the more likely they are to take an interest in educating their children and also taking more of an interest in their health.

VSOTz's aim is to improve the economic & social conditions faced by vulnerable people, increasing individual capabilities and bringing disadvantaged groups together to improve options for making a dependable living.

HIV and AIDS

HIV and AIDS prevalence is currently estimated to be 7% of the population, approximately 1.1 million Tanzanians. Women and girls make up an increasing proportion of infected people, due largely to widespread violations of their rights. The Participatory Poverty Assessment concludes that HIV/AIDS is the single most severe impoverishing force in Tanzania today.

Effective HIV and AIDS work can reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS within the education system and enable more people to secure a livelihood by reducing the number of people who are unable to work.

Aim: To enable women, men and children to adopt lifestyles, which maximise their well-being and help reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS.