Freeman Mbowe

Freeman Aikaeli Mbowe (born 14 September 1961) is a Tanzanian politician and chairman of Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA – Party for Democracy and Development).

Mbowe Campaigning

Mbowe was elected to the National Assembly in 2000 representing Hai Constituency (Kilimanjaro Region). He won 64.5% of the vote, which was the highest percentage of votes won among constituencies with opposition MP's.
In preparation for the 2005 elections, Mbowe was nominated as CHADEMA's presidential candidate.Jumbe Rajab Jumbe, a Zanzibari was chosen as his vice-presidential candidate. The election was originally scheduled for 30 October 2005, but was postponed until 14 December due to the death of Jumbe.

Mbowe and Komu Campaigning

Mbowe criticized the lengthy postponement, saying a week's delay would have sufficed and that his party cannot afford to finance extra campaigning. Chadema eventually settled on Anna Maulidah Komu to be the running mate.
He placed third out of ten candidates in the 14 December 2005 presidential election, winning 5.88% of the vote. Although there are rumuors that many of the votes in that election were stolen by the ruling part Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) going to their presidential candidate, Jakaya Kikwete.

Care-seeking patterns for fatal malaria in Tanzania

Background

Once malaria occurs, deaths can be prevented by prompt treatment with relatively affordable and efficacious drugs. Yet this goal is elusive in Africa. The paradox of a continuing but easily preventable cause of high mortality raises important questions for policy makers concerning care-seeking and access to health systems. Although patterns of care-seeking during uncomplicated malaria episodes are well known, studies in cases of fatal malaria are rare. Care-seeking behaviours may differ between these groups.

Methods

This study documents care-seeking events in 320 children less than five years of age with fatal malaria seen between 1999 and 2001 during over 240,000 person-years of follow-up in a stable perennial malaria transmission setting in southern Tanzania. Accounts of care-seeking recorded in verbal autopsy histories were analysed to determine providers attended and the sequence of choices made as the patients' condition deteriorated.

Results

As first resort to care, 78.7% of malaria-attributable deaths used modern biomedical care in the form of antimalarial pharmaceuticals from shops or government or non-governmental heath facilities, 9.4% used initial traditional care at home or from traditional practitioners and 11.9% sought no care of any kind. There were no differences in patterns of choice by sex of the child, sex of the head of the household, socioeconomic status of the household or presence or absence of convulsions. In malaria deaths of all ages who sought care more than once, modern care was included in the first or second resort to care in 90.0% and 99.4% with and without convulsions respectively.

Conclusions

In this study of fatal malaria in southern Tanzania, biomedical care is the preferred choice of an overwhelming majority of suspected malaria cases, even those complicated by convulsions. Traditional care is no longer a significant delaying factor. To reduce mortality further will require greater emphasis on recognizing danger signs at home, prompter care-seeking, improved quality of care at health facilities and better adherence to treatment.

How to Cook Sausage in Stainless Steel

Cooking in stainless steel is often recommended over nonstick cookware, according to ConsumerSearch.com, because of its ability to conduct heat evenly regardless of the type of burner used. This will result in an improved sear on the outside part of the meat product, which will ensure a crisper outer sausage casing. As the sausage cooks, the oils from the sausage help lubricate the stainless steel. This eliminates one of stainless steels biggest drawbacks, which is food sticking to the pan.

Step 1

Spray stainless steel pan lightly with nonstick spray. Although the sausage will help with lubrication of the pan, the sausage will not drip oil until it starts to heat up.

Step 2

Turn the heat of the stove top to medium to medium-low. Keep the temperature at this level or lower to ensure the sausage cooks thoroughly on the inside while preventing oil from spattering out of the pan.

Step 3

Place the sausages into the pan so that they are parallel to each other and have some space between them.

Step 4

Turn over the sausages with tongs continuously so that each side of the cylindrical sausage is seared a dark brown.

Step 5

Cook at least 10 to 13 minutes until to allow the internal temperature of the sausage reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 6

Pierce the center of the sausage with the meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. If the temperature is not 180 degrees, continue cooking.

Step 7

Remove the sausages with tongs and place on a plate or dish for serving.

Tips and Warnings

• Sausage patties are cooked in a similar manner to sausage links and must be browned and cooked until the internal temperature also reaches 180-degrees. Patties may take a shorter amount of time to cook because their surface area is larger than the surface area of a sausage link.
• Heat the sausage up so that the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Failing to do so puts you at serious risk for food illness, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Chaga people

The Chaga (also called Wachaga, Chagga, Jagga, Dschagga, Waschagga, or Wachagga) are Bantu-speaking indigenous Africans and the third largest ethnic group in Tanzania. They live on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, as well as in the Moshi area. Their relative wealth comes from not only the favorable climate of the area, but also from successful agricultural methods which include extensive irrigation systems and continuous fertilization practiced for thousands of years. They were one of the first tribes in the area to convert to Christianity. This may have given them an economic advantage over other ethnic groups, as they had better access to education and health care as Christians.
The Chagga descend from various Bantu groups who migrated from the rest of Africa into the foothills of Kilimanjaro. While the Chagga are Bantu-speakers, they do not speak a single language but rather a number of related Chagga dialects. These dialects are related to Kamba, which is spoken in northeast Kenya, and to other languages spoken in the east such as Dabida and Pokomo. The Chagga area is traditionally divided into a number of chiefdoms. The Chagga are culturally related to the Pare, Taveta and Teita peoples. They follow a patrilineal system of descent and inheritance. The Chagga subsist primarily by agriculture, using irrigation on terraced fields and oxen manure. Although bananas are their staple food, they also cultivate various crops including yams, beans, and maize. In agricultural exports, the Chagga are best known for their Arabica coffee, which is exported to American and European markets, resulting in coffee being a primary cash crop

Early history
Early migration patterns of the Niger-Congo Bantu's led the Chagga to settle in the North Pare Mountains. This is the Home of the ancestral chagga. The population growth by about eleventh or twelve century led a number of people to begin looking for a new land on which to live. They found it on the nearby and, in those days, still heavily forested southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The movement of the early chagga banana farmers to Kilimanjaro set off a period of rapid and extensive cultural amalgamation, in which large numbers of the Ongamo people and the Rift Southern Cushites were assimilated into the newly expanding chaga communities. Though apparently growing in numbers and territory, the chaga remained organised in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries into a great many very small and very local social and political units, whose histories are still largely unstudied by Western scholars. But if the Maasai settled in the open plains around much of the chaga country, they presently cannot be credited with great influence on chaga affairs during this period, another people, the Ongamo or Ngasa who were closely related in language to the Maasai, did have much influence in chaga history

Tourism Confederation of Tanzania offers cooperation

The Tanzanian tourism sector apex body Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT) has offered government the cooperation of the private sector in the tourism industry during a recent function, when meeting the recently-appointed Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and saying "kwaheri" (goodbye) to their former long-serving PS.
TCT incorporates the key sectoral associations like the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), Tanzania Association of Travel Agents (TASOTA), Hotel Association of Tanzania (HAT), and Tanzania Air Operators Association (TAOA) and also includes the Zanzibar Tourism Investors’ Association, providing the main private sector platform for dialogue. It is the main private sector counterpart to the public sector. Traditionally, in Tanzania after independence, the public sector chose the tunes and the private sector was to dance to them. However, in recent years, this has changed considerably, as more investments have poured into the tourism industry, arrival numbers have grown, and earnings have multiplied, lifting tourism to the top of the economic performance scale.
Wise words were left by the previous PS Dr. Ladislaus Komba to his successor Ms. Maimuna Tarishi when he reportedly said to her: "Try to seek advice from stakeholders, although they won’t provide all the answers. But they stand a better position to give insight [in]to the development of the sector."
TCT Chairman Gaudence Temu in response had this to say: “The existing public-private partnership has facilitated implementation of strategies to improve services within the industry.
"We will give you every support needed for the sector to achieve successful growth and development, while protecting Tanzania’s natural and cultural heritage. TCT will continue to advise the government on tourism issues relating to fiscal, legislative, regulations regarding standards, environmental, infrastructure, taxation, institutional development, as defined by the National Tourism Policy and other legal instruments related to the tourism industry."
It is yet to be established though how government will eventually react to the outspoken comments made by TATO, and those of other sectoral associations recently in regard to the hugely controversial plans to build a highway across the main migration routes of the wildebeest and zebras in the Serengeti, plans which have been broadly condemned by tourism stakeholders, or other recent issues emerging in the Tanzanian media like the cancellation of the application to UNESCO for World Heritage status for the Eastern Arc Mountains, the plans to convert Stiegler’s Gorge in the Selous into a hydro-electric plant site, the increase in poaching, encroachment into protected areas and illegal logging, all of which are threatening the very foundation of wildlife and nature-based tourism.
Stakeholders in regular contact with this correspondent were unusually reserved over these issues though one did concede that: "It has to be discussed with government; we in tourism cannot just sit still and see all this happen. We must bring our experience and expertise on such matters to government’s attention. They need our advice, because it seems they have not listened very well to others."

Fighting indiscipline at our universities

Students of St. John`s University in Dodoma pay attention during the launch of the Human Rights Association coordinated by the Legal and Human Rights Centre.

It was a special day as educated young people gathered at the St. John`s University to ponder on pertinent issues that would make history in the country, especially the constitutional reforms.

Unlike other meetings, theirs was a well disciplined gathering which respected each one’s opinion and if one was to assess the situation he or she would have judged it right, that the students were eager to learn.

The day began with the launch of the human rights association that would groom them to become good leaders of tomorrow; who will have the conscious and the guts to fight corruption, domestic violence and mob justice just to mention a few.

A legal officer in charge of the human rights monitoring unit at the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) did not mince words when talking to students at the university stressing that being an activist meant abiding to its values by being not only persons but also humans.

“There is a fine line between a human being and a person. Not every person is human. A human being respects the rules of law, human rights and good governance. We don’t expect you as members of the human rights association to boycott without reasons. Neither do we expect members to beat their teachers as they are expected to be humans and not people. Whatever you do you must respect your teachers. We don’t expect you to enter into dubious contracts, or beat your wives, husbands, demand bribes for service delivery in the future that is why we are imparting you the human rights value now,” stressed Laetitia.

These words seem to be directed to the recent events where ministers attending meetings at our higher learning institutions have now been forced to do so with maximum security as if they were going to the DRC.

From the cans, abusive languages, and all you can think of has been the order of the day and no wonder

Professor Eginald Mihanjo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the St. John’s University said human rights are fundamental to all Tanzanians, adding that “we all must take part to.”

“Equality and dignity is very important. Tanzanians seem to forget that justice is fundamental to equality,” said Mihanjo.

The idea of launching human rights association seemed noble taking into consideration of the recent trend where Tanzanians especially the youth seem to have resolved to retaliate into violence whenever they feel dissatisfied with the system.

Sadly, the respect for the right to life seems to go down as time goes by, and according to retired judge Mihayo, Tanzanians ought to search their souls and shun away from mob justice.

Long gone are the days when our youths used to put up with whatever an elder said. Respect towards the elders is becoming a new vocabulary to the many and violence and taking law in own hands seem to be the only thing they can think of.

Police officers have also resorted to the use of excessive powers whenever they are called to ensure there is peace and harmony and we all have seen what happened in Nyamongo, Urambo and in our parliament grounds during the recent discussion on the constitutional reforms.

Something is obvious very wrong no wonder our youths act the way they do. Imparting the values of human rights while in school could help as the student of today is set to be a leader, police officer and a minister of tomorrow.

The violent police officers we see shoot people are our very own children and a student of today is bound to become anything in the future.

Let’s impart the human rights value to enable them learn to respect others instead of booing, to enable question things in mannerism instead of breaking chairs and throwing bottles to anyone who says something they are not happy with.

The association may be a novel idea, but parents ought to breath hard to ensure their young ones behave wherever they are. A crook of today is a nuisance of tomorrow, let us do the needful.

Let other universities keep their students busy by emulating what St. John’s has, for human rights is indeed very fundamental to not only today, but also for the future generation.

What to eat when pregnant

Water is the perfect drink during pregnancy

We all know that teenagers mostly want to feed on fast foods and ignore healthy foods. The situation becomes even more difficult if the teen is pregnant because thus means the life or nutrition of the unborn baby is heavily dependant upon what the mother eats. For this reason, the teen mother has to eat healthy foods in order to take care of her baby’s health.

Being pregnant, and a teenager, doesn’t mean eliminating your favourite foods from your diet. However, pregnancy does mean that you are providing nutrition for two. Both you and your baby are dependent on what you put in your mouth for nutrition. By learning to make healthy food choices you can increase your baby’s chance of being born healthy.

Most teens eat lots of sandwiches and hamburgers. Be sure to put lettuce, tomatoes, and other sliced veggies – the more the better – on your sandwiches and burgers when you are pregnant to increase the nutritional value of your meal.

If you are trapped in a “white bread world,” pregnancy is a good time to learn to use only whole-grain breads and rolls.

Pizza is not always an unhealthy choice for pregnant teens. Make your pizza healthier by adding lots of vegetables and extra cheese instead of fat-laden meats such as pepperoni and sausage.

Fruit juices and milk are an especially important component of a pregnant teen’s diet. Sodas and coffee Children brought up by authoritative parentsconsumption should be minimal during pregnancy. Water is the perfect drink.

And during pregnancy you will want to ensure that you're drinking more water and less of the unhealthy drinks like sodas and coffee. But if you're not a big fan of tap water or even bottled water that is plain, this might be a challenge. Here are some bottled waters that contain flavour that might help you increase your water intake and stave off dehydration.

Eat lots of fresh veggies and fruit when you are pregnant. Just don’t try to make them “tastier” by adding additional fat such as butter, creams, or sauces.

Always a good idea for reducing fat and particularly important for pregnant teens is to prepare meats by baking, broiling, or grilling instead of frying.

Calcium is vital for the healthy development of your baby and the health of your own growing bones and teeth. Instead of eating ice cream when you are pregnant, try eating more low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese.

Baked potatoes without butter or sour cream are a far healthier choice during pregnancy, or anytime, than french fries.Instead of eating candy bars or cookies for snacks, try eating fresh dried fruits or raw veggies.

Pregnancy is a time when you may think about your nutrition more than before. In previous years, we've told women that they were eating for two. This leads to many women consuming way too many calories, not to mention lots of junk food. This puts a strain on their health and that of their babies.

Now research has shown that pregnant moms need about 1 extra snack per day to help grow a healthy baby. Protein is a great choice for a snack because it is the building block for every cell. It also helps many moms when they are feeling fatigued or even nauseated.

Some moms go for fiber to help decrease some of the more common but uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy like constipation. There are plenty of ways to spend the extra calories.

Every morning you could grab an extra piece of fruit for your desk. An apple, banana or orange requires very little thought or preparation.

Carrot sticks and celery are great. But today we often use broccoli and other veggies with dips. Try bean dips, humus and other fun sauces on your vegetables.

Everyone loves desserts, but traditional desserts such as pies, cakes, and cookies are not a healthy choice for pregnancy. Make dessert time a healthy choice by choosing fresh fruit or yogurt next time.

The most important thing to remember when you are pregnant is that you are also taking care of another life, therefore your feeding habits will obviously affect another life thus you have to be considerate when choosing what to eat