A few weeks before leaving for Tanzania, my mother told me to prepare for a different environment and setting. She lived in South Africa for 12 years and wanted me to understand how my experience may be different than how it was for me in Taiwan and China. So far, our trip to Tanzania has been both joyful and eventful. Joyful in the sense that we have two amazing guides, in Ernest and Eki, who have translated and advised from the moment we landed In Kilimanjaro. Eventful in the sense that some arrangements do not plan out accordingly. But this is Africa (TIA), we are told. As such, our group has been as flexible as band-aids when it comes to finding alternatives to what is scheduled on our itinerary.
Today, we visited with government social workers to understand the world through their eyes. Victoria, a lawyer from Inherit Your Rights, offered to translate from Swahili to English. Shijia, a social welfare officer, took time out of his day to explain the role of social workers in Tanzania. Unfortunately, Shijia stated that he could not answer most of our questions because of the lack of data, confidentiality issues, along with questions beings outside the scope of his duties. He started out by stating that Tanzania is not a welfare state. For instance, if relatives fail to take care of an elderly or disabled individual in their family, then the government will step in to assist. Otherwise, the government encourages families to care for each other.
Shija explained that social workers focus on a variety of issues, including domestic violence, mental health of the children (such as education or daily wellbeing), adoption of a child, and people with disabilities. When it comes to adoption, it is mandated that a “home study” period occur in which social welfare officers visit the home. At this point, a “home study” period will occur in which social welfare officers will do their due diligence to conduct a background check on the foreigner. The process and timeframe is not clear-cut and depends on the cooperation of the foreigner’s country willingness to share information. If you are a foreigner adopting a Tanzanian child, you must prove residency in the country for a minimum of three years. Shija stressed that while the residency requirement may sound stringent it is important as the country must ensure that the foreigner adopting the child demonstrates experience of raising a child, along with the challenges associated with adopting a child.
In cases of abuse, Shija explained that social welfare officers conduct home visits to understand the situation. Based on the information they gather, it is shared with the court to act as a neutral-third party. Similar to Western countries, Shija discussed the importance of the national hotline. It empowers people to dial 116 in times of crisis. 116 is known as chatline for Tanzanians. When people call the number, the person answering the phone will redirect the call to the proper authority, such as the police. Once chatline has the information, officials go to community leaders where the concerned individual lives to address the issue. Chatline does not disclose the identity of the individual in order to protect them from any form of retribution from the community leaders. The number is automatically loaded as a contact in a new phone when purchased through pre-installed information on a SIM card.
For challenges, social welfare officers stress the lack of cooperation from the community. In cases of abuse, most people do not show up to court or want to participate as a witness. At the same time, community leaders have influence on individuals to prevent or force them to testify as a witness in a court case. Victoria shared an instance where she collected every possible evidence. The victim was the primary witness, but they did not show up to court. Victoria understood that if the victim showed up to court, community leaders would kill her. Victoria stressed community customs triumph over justice in the law, and as such, there remains a disconnect between customary and statutory rights.
I’ll end with a story Eki shared with us. A long time ago, as he stated, Eki applied for a job at an American company. He went in for the first interview and did so well that he was invited to come back the next day for another interview. The interviewer told him to “think outside the box” for tomorrow. Eki spent the rest of the day figuring out what outside the box means, including speaking to his wife about it. “Do they mean a metal box, paper box, or styrofoam box?” His wife told him to arrive a hour early for the interview to see what kind of box would be by the office. The interview was at 8:00 am, so Eki arrived at 7:00 am. Eki looked through the gates, but before he could find any box, someone at the office spotted him. Thinking that he was caught, Eki began giving up on the possibility of getting the job. At 8:00 am, Eki was called in for the second part of the interview. Then the good news came: Eki got the job. Because he arrived an hour early for the interview, the interviewer told him that he was thinking outside the box. Eki, still shocked about getting the job, asked “so where’s the box?”
//// Austin Willhoft
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