First of all, I would like to thank my dear colleague Amin Abdallah for all the hard work and effort he put on hosting me and arranging all the meetings. The programme was well planned and very succesful! I was very happy to meet everyone involved in the project and get to know our project coordinator better.
All in all it was a great journey and very useful! Now I'm very motivated to do my best for the benefit of the project! Here you can read a brief travel report from my journey:
Mwanza 25.5. – 8.6. 2013
25.5.
Departure from Tampere
at 9 am and travel to Helsinki-Vantaa airport by bus. Flight to Mwanza was
through Istanbul and Dar es Salam.
26.5.
Arrival to Mwanza at
7:30 am where the Project Coordinator Amin Abdallah received me at the airport
and took me to Vizano Hotel, where I stayed. I rested for a couple of hours
after which we went to do all the necessary arrangements for my stay.
27.5.
First day at work! First thing in the morning
me and the coordinator Amin Abdallah went to the City Council of Mwanza where
we had a courtesy call with the City Director. The City Director is new in his
post so it was important to explain to him briefly about the project and to
present myself. He showed much interest towards the project and was happy to
continue the co-operation with Tampere.
Next, we went for a
courtesy call at the Mayor of Mwanza, who is also newly elected. He was looking
forward to the collaboration with Tampere, as well, and very interested in meeting
the Mayor in Tampere as part of the co-operation.
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| PST meeting. Picture by Saara Pakaslahti |
In the afternoon the
Mwanza Project Steering Team (PST) had a meeting and I had a chance to take
part to it. It was seen important that on this project period a special
attention needs to be put in monitoring and evaluating the results of each
activity. We discussed especially the methods to implement the knowledge and
new practices learnt in the work exchange by different officials. The Chair of
the PST, Mr Mlinzi, suggested that each officer will hold a training to his/her
colleagues upon return, then they will form a work plan together after which
the coordinator in collaboration with the department in question will monitor
the implementation of that work plan.
The PST also told me
about a new plan, where Mwanza City wants to plant 10 000 000 trees
in order to turn Mwanza a green city. They were asking if Tampere could assist
Mwanza in this target in any way.
Mwanza PST suggested
that they would want to arrange a big 10-year anniversary for the co-operation
and wish to receive some funds for the arrangement. This is especially to raise
awareness on the project and for the PR
28.5.
We had a meeting with
the Academic Officer and a few teachers about the teacher training, exchange
and guidance counselling co-operation. The Officer as well as the teachers
considered the ideas of the project plan good and plausible. I brought some
greetings from our Schools Co-operation Sub-Group from Tampere and a wish that
the Mwanza teachers coming to Tampere should contribute to the global education
activities in Tampere. This was seen as a good idea and special attention will
be paid in the recruitment of each teacher in the fact that they can deliver
global education activities.
In the afternoon we
visited Igoma Primary School and had a discussion with the teachers who have
taken part in the previous trainings arranged by the project. The teachers are
implementing methods learnt in those trainings both in teaching as well as in
guidance counselling. They have also seen a positive change in the pupils due
to these new methods applied. Composting is also in a good stage in Igoma and
during this project period they are ready to spread the knowledge to the
surrounding community.
29.5.
We met with the
Finance Department of Mwanza in order to discuss the implementation of the
recommendations of the Special Audit conducted in 2012 and the new guidelines
from AFLRA. Seemingly all of the Special Audit recommendations are under implementation
and special consideration in Mwanza and the new guidelines were taken in a
positive way.
In the afternoon we
visited Sahwa Primary School. It is a rural school in the surrounding of
Mwanza. The teachers are applying many of the methods learnt in the trainings and
have sessions of guidance counselling to pupils who are in need of it. It has
brought good results and they have managed to help many pupils with learning
challenges through this activity. Composting in Sahwa is being implemented
remarkably well and they have grown vast areas covered with trees through a
school tree nursery. They are able to sell some of the wood they produce as
construction material and collect some funds from it.
30.5.
In the morning we had
a fruitful discussion with the Financial Planning and Statistics Department
which will take part in the administration exchange activity. We managed to
discuss about the needs and core development areas that they want to address
during the exchange. They told us that they want to learn monitoring and
evaluation skills so that Mwanza can do better evaluation on its activities and
development projects. This will help them monitor the use of funds as well as
improve financial management.
In the afternoon we visited Kirubma Primary
School where we discussed the same issues with the teachers as in the previous
schools. The teachers are implementing the skills learnt in the trainings and
the school results have improved. They also have an active Environmental Club
implementing the composting and other environmental activities.
31.5.
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| Meeting with Kirumba teachers. Picture Amin Abdallah |
The Kirumba teachers
had invited us to join them in a home visit to a certain pupil’s home. Kirumba
has a class for kids with special needs and they visit these pupils’ homes
regularly in order to discuss with the families the progress of each child. The
family we visited have a daughter who has Down Syndrome and we had a chance to
meet with her family and see the connection that the school has with the family
of the child.
After that we went to
the Fire Brigade of Mwanza to do a small evaluation on the impacts and results
of the co-operation. The Fire Brigade has developed tremendously and has learnt
many important skills during the co-operation. For example the fire inspections
are now an important part of the firemen’s job as well as fire prevention
campaigns and awareness raising. Capacity building of the Fire Brigade has
managed to decrease the fires in the city which has had a positive impact on
the city’s safety.
1.6.
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| Clean up campaign in Mwanza. Picture Amin Abdallah |
The Mayor of Mwanza
has launched a massive campaign and celebrations around the World Environment
Day. The campaign kicked off on Saturday the 1st of June with a big event for
the cleanliness of the city. The launching of the clean-up campaign took place
close to the central market of Mwanza. The population was gathered around the
square where there was a stage where different authorities of the city gave
speeches and encouraged the population to keep the city clean. The music was
loud and the atmosphere high! After the official part, the crowd left the
square following the Mayor and sweeping the streets. The media was widely
present and taking pictures of the Mayor and other authorities cleaning up the
city. They showed good initiative and hopefully we will see Mwanza very clean
in the future!
3.6.
On Monday we took the opportunity
to sit in the office together with the coordinator and go through all the
project plans for the new project period. We discussed widely the timetable and
discussed about the implementation of each activity. We also went through
monitoring and evaluation plans.
During the day, the
Environmental Officer of Mwanza sat down with us to discuss the environmental
activities in the project. The previous trainings on environmental management
have been well received in the trained industries and during this project
period city officials will also be trained on this topic. The composting
activity will continue as planned and waste will be transported from the
markets to the schools for composting as well as directly to farmers.
4.6.
On Tuesday we had the
whole day scheduled to visit two different Wards (Neighbourhoods). The first
Ward visited was the Mbugani Ward where we had the chance to meet with
different Ward Officers. We discussed about the new project activities,
trainings and composting. The Ward Officials are looking forward to receiving
the information and passing it on to the population living in the Ward.
After the meeting we
rushed to Mirongo Primary School, which will start as a new project school in
the co-operation. We had a discussion with the head master about the needs and
expectations of the teachers in joining the project. They wished to be trained
especially in ICT-skills as well as learn new tools to deal with the kids with
special needs.
In the afternoon we
went to Butimba Ward and had a chance to meet with a wide range of different
officials, as well. We received the similar message from Butimba as from
Mbugani Ward. The co-operation is well received in the community and activities
will be accepted with pleasure.
5.6.
It was the World
Environment Day! In the morning we had a meeting with the Urban Planning
Department of Mwanza. We discussed the needs and development areas that they
want to address during this project period through the exchange programme. Their
priority is in developing the new City Plan which expires in 2013. Mwanza city
center needs to be developed in the areas of infrastructure, construction,
roads etc. The population is growing fast so the city has to grow in the same
phase. This is a big challenge and assistance in the new planning is needed.
Since it was World
Environment Day, the city had arranged a big event to present different
environmental actors in the area and their work. Different officials gave
speeches and there was traditional dancing and drumming as well as a surprise
snake show that blew everyone off their feet!
6.6.
On Thursday we had an
opportunity to meet the head master of the SAUT University. We discussed about
the business component in which we are expecting to increase collaboration with
TAMK and SAUT and to create a platform for businesses in Tampere and Mwanza to
join their efforts. We will also be providing training in cooperative business
model to private small-scale entrepreneurs. The discussion was very fruitful
and gave a lot to think. There is definitely a lot of business potential in
Mwanza for any industry in Tampere for partnership.
7.6.
This was my final day
and it started with a quick meeting at the City Council, with the City
Director. He is interested in developing the procurement of Mwanza City and
wants to learn from the models in use in Finland. This will be part of the
administration exchange. We also had a final debriefing meeting with the PST in
order to go through all the things done during my stay. I went through the
programme and gave a brief overview on the next project plan as well as
challenges that rose from the conversation with different people.
I departed from Mwanza
airport around 21 pm.
8.6. Arrival in
Tampere after a long and exhausting journey
ASANTE SANA!
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