The aim of the Kisa Project aligns well with the themes for International Women’s Day 2017. These themes are “Be Bold for Change” and “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030,” which was the United Nations slogan.
This year, my colleague Chausiku Mkuya (Kisa Mentor) and I represented AfricAid at the International Women’s Day event organized by the East African Community. Receiving this invitation was a big achievement for AfricAid and Kisa Project, because it shows that people recognize what we are doing. It identifies AfricAid as an organization actively pursuing the vision of Planet 50:50 by 2030. This event focused on celebrating various achievements towards this year’s UN theme. The event also addressed the challenges that still impede the full realization of women’s potential.
The event started with a women’s march from the East Africa Community headquarters to the Central Market of Arusha, where all the invited guests participated in cleaning the area around the market. Afterward, the EAC secretariat donated proper cleaning tools to the Market management. These tools will help a lot of women who work as cleaners at the market to do proper cleaning, while keeping them healthier.
During the event, women from different organisations in East Africa gathered together to share their success stories, the challenges that are still facing women in the region and to suggest solutions. One woman spoke about women who are doing small business at the borders of East African countries. The main challenge they encounter is lack of knowledge about the revenue system. This keeps them poor because they get deceived by tax officers and pay a lot of bribes.
International Women’s Day is very important to me because it marks the beginning of the women’s revolution. Celebrating it every year shows all the progress toward achieving women’s rights and also is in appreciation for all the work done by all the women in the world.
Chausiku said, “I am so happy to be able to participate in this event because it opened my eyes about how much effort is made to accomplish women’s rights. The event also encouraged me to keep on working hard to unleash girls’ potential. The best part of this event was to see men who are doing their best to support women and appreciate them and all the work that they do.”
When introducing the event, the deputy Secretary General (Finance and Administration) Hon. Jesca Eriyo called for all women to be bold and use their talents to bring changes in their communities. She said “There is so much to celebrate on this day, but also there is so much still to be done. Women are very talented but some women still sit on their talents. And, there are still other people sitting on women’s talent”.
Although not all AfricAid’s Kisa Mentors were able to attend this event, they observed the day by celebrating their work of unleashing the potential of girls in Tanzanian communities. We would like to thank everyone who is supporting AfricAid and the Kisa Project. Your support is not only improving girls’ lives in Tanzania, but also creating a generation of even more powerful women in the future.
Celebrating International Women’s Day in Arusha, Tanzania with a dance!
Devotha cleaning at the International Women’s Day event.
Contributed by: Devotha Festo Mlay, Kisa Project Manager
