After Sufra, putting young people first in Tanzania. Guest post by Mohammed S Mamdani

There was surprise when it was announced that Mohammed S Mamdani, the dynamic force behind Sufra Foodbank was leaving. Mohammed has given Wembley Matters permission  to repost his blog post about the new project in which he is involved in Tanzania LINK.

Here he reflects on his experience:

Kijana Kwanza (Young People First)  is a new youth organisation based in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. Our aim is to empower a new generation of Tanzanian youth to acquire the knowledge and skills that will enable them to succeed in life.

 

Whilst I have worked in the not for profit sector for over 15 years, until now my experience has been limited to projects in the UK. But following a trip to Tanzania in July 2017 to meet my uncle who had fallen unwell, I was reacquainted with a part of my heritage that I have not always recognised. My paternal great-grandparents moved from India to East Africa at the turn of the 20th century and my father was born in Moshi, a small mercantile town at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest summit.  

I had not visiting Tanzania since I was a child. Twenty year later, as I set foot on the tarmac of Kilimanjaro International Airport, I felt a certain affinity to this part of the world. And as the days passed, I began to recognise that so much of my upbringing - my mother tongue and the food we ate at home - had been influenced by the cultural traditions of East Africa. 

But I was also conscious of a less pleasant truth. Since the middle of the 19th century, hundreds of thousands of Indians escaped poverty in their home-country to build a new life in East Africa (and other parts of Africa), at the invitation of the colonial powers. Soon, many began to prosper and acquire huge wealth, often to the neglect, and dare I say, exploitation of the local African population. 

I have no idea what role, if any, my ancestors played in this project, but when I look upon the graves of my grandparents in Moshi's cemetery, I know that the privileges I enjoy today, bear some relation to the opportunities they discovered in Africa. And possibly, at the expense of local Africans. 

Throughout my short visit to Tanzania, I was deeply moved by the plight of so many local Africans and humbled by their hospitality and willingness to share what little they had. This was despite the racial inequalities (that continue to this day) between East African Indians and locals, and the stubborn contempt that some Indians continue to display - whether openly or discreetly - for natives. 

Whilst such a public critique may offend some within my community, it would be dishonest on my part to perpetuate the romanticised history of Indian minorities in Africa, which I was fed as a child. 

Motivated and determined to right the wrongs of the past, I made several further trips to Tanzania over the next year or so - visiting NGOs, meeting charity leaders and volunteering in different organisations. And through these trips, I made new friends who invited me to their homes and villages to better understand the cultural context of poverty in Tanzania.  

On my last trip to Tanzania in July 2018, I sat down with my good friend Mujibu and proposed some ideas for a new project, based on my critical assessment of the needs of Tanzanian youth and the gaps in current provision. Mujibu affirmed the conclusions of my research and responded with great enthusiasm. He promised to help me setup the project. From that day, Mujibu become my partner in crime.  

Mujibu is an impressive young 'leader' with his own story of growing up in poverty. After completing a vocational course in ICT, he invested in a library pass and taught himself the full A-level syllabus, without the help of a tutor. And a few years ago, he graduated from the University of Dodoma as a qualified teacher. Initially he worked as a manager at the same NGO in Moshi that had sponsored his vocational education, but now he works as a civil servant in a nearby village. In everything he does, Mujibu has a can-do attitude. He's an ambitious grafter, a prolific networker and much more sensible (and tactful) than me!  

After the summer, we continued our conversations on WhatsApp, speaking almost every other day. The first few opportunities just passed, as I hesitated on how to go proceed. How could I hold a full-time job in the UK and setup a charity abroad? 

But eventually, I decided to take the risk. Last month, Mujibu rented a house in Njoro, one of the most deprived districts of Moshi Town, which will soon become the base of our new project - a hostel that will be home to a small group secondary school students. Aside from sponsoring their education and providing for all their welfare needs, we will deliver a diverse programme of extra-curricular activities and life skills training to help our young residents make a successful transition into adulthood. A future where they have the means to overcome all the social, cultural and financial barriers they face in order to become skilled, globally aware and economically independent members of society. 

This is our goal. And I look forward to sharing our story with you. 

Mohammed S Mamdani

You can donate to the project HERE

Urgent appeal as Sufra Food Bank demand rockets as a consequence of new benefit cuts

Mohammed S Mamdani, Director of Sufra NW London, writes a lively Newsletter to supporters of the food bank and food growing project. His personal message is often humorous but beneath the humour lies anger at the injustice he sees through his work at Sufra.

Here is his latest message:

 Forgive my sarcasm, but I can just imagine the Department for Work & Pensions’ delight, three weeks into the latest round of benefit cuts. Cuts that will save mere pennies in the big scheme of things and penalise thousands of children with a life of poverty.

So what's it all about this time round? Until recently low-income families have received child tax credits to support the upbringing of a new generation. Now that we’re chucking out EU migrants, we desperately need to start reproducing so that we have a home-grown crop of economically active workers to pay for the social care of our elderly folk.

However, as of 6 April, families will only receive tax credits for their first 2 children, with no regard for any additional children in the family. It's a kind of state-sponsored baby sanction! The only consolation is that victims of rape will be entitled to additional tax credits - but you’re going to have to prove it!

I can just hear you sniggering. Most rape victims can hardly fathom reporting their violation to the police. Now you've got to tell the random dude who sits in the job centre too.

It's a double whammy since Her Majesty has also cut widows allowance (and the accompanying payments to a child who has suffered the bereavement of a parent). So, when your darling suffers a heart attack and drops down dead, don't grieve for too long. Wipe away those tears and be in work by Monday morning.

But why should British tax-payers pay for the upkeep of other people’s children?

Because children who grow up in poverty perform less well in school and have a lower life expectancy than their peers. And with the NHS crisis and a new funding formula for schools that will result in teacher redundancies, it will end up costing the nation more to deal with in the long-term.

Let’s not forget that hundreds of thousands of WORKING families rely on child tax credits. Parents who slog day and night, often in service industries or low skilled work. With almost all their wages covering the rent, child tax credits put food on the table.

And why are we subsidising working parents? So that we can continue to enjoy cheap take-outs, cheap clothing and cheap entertainment. Since we won’t pay more for goods and services, employers refuse to pay a sustainable, living wage. It is impossible to support a family, whilst earning the minimum wage (which equates to an annual income of £13,650). We’re paying for other people’s children, because we’re screwing them over in the work-place.  

I accept that some parents are ‘irresponsible’ in their life-style choices (they are far fewer than the tabloids would make us believe). But why should we punish their children?

OK, I’ve got that off my chest now.

URGENT FOOD APPEAL

As you can imagine, demand at the Food Bank has skyrocketed. Looking around our storage facility, all you see are empty shelves. We’re surviving from one week to another.

I have no shame in dropping to my knees and begging you for your generous food donations. We need practically everything: long-life milk, tea (we’ve never been short on tea before!), biscuits, juice, rice, jam, cereal, instant noodles, soup, tinned fish, fruit and vegetables, toiletries, nappies… you get the drift.

The only items WE DON’T NEED are pasta (but yes to pasta sauce), baked beans and tinned chick peas.

If you can’t be bothered to head down to Lidl, like me, you can place an online order for delivery to us, or make a donation here towards our food budget. We promise that any donation made on this page will be restricted to food bank supplies. No admin costs.

VOLUNTEERS FOR SUPERMARKET COLLECTION

We’ve scheduled two emergency food collections at local supermarkets, but we need volunteers who can help for a few hours on the day to distribute ‘shopping lists’ to guests, smile profusely and guilt them into making a food donation at the end of their shop.

Saturday/Sunday 13/14 May 2017
Sainsbury’s Willesden Green – Register here.

Saturday/Sunday 20/21 May 2017
Waitrose Brent Cross – Register here.

Fahim and Saba, who will oversee the collections, will be working across two weekends. That’s 19 days in a row without a day off. So please pity them, and help out.

Also, our youth volunteers, who normally assist with our supermarket collections, are all revising for exams, so it’s time for the oldies to step up.

INTERFAITH FOOD WASTE ‘IFTAR’

To mark Ramadan, we would like to invite members of the community to an interfaith ‘food-waste’ iftar (the fast-breaking meal at sunset) at Sufra NW London on Saturday 2 June from 8:00pm.

The event will be an opportunity to see our work first hand, and celebrate our strong relationship with all of North-West London’s faith communities who sustain the food bank operation. Faith leaders from all denominations will also share their faith-inspired, ethical perspectives on food waste.

The event will conclude with a meal prepared entirely from food waste! And it’s free to attend. You can register here.

AND FINALLY…

We need to borrow a cement mixer for a couple of weeks on the garden, so if you have one handy (like we all do), please get in touch.