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BUDA HOME PAGE | Our Activities | Contact | Recent and Upcoming Events | Kagera Situation | Getting Involved | Members Page | Links | Photos about Kagera
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BUDA OFFICE IS NEAR BY LAKE VICTORIA KAGERA TANZANIA
Email:budakagera@yahoo.com
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INTRODUCTION.
BUDA stands for BRIGHT UNIVERSAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION. The Association
is working for sustainable development of the grassroots communities in Kagera region.
Kagera
Region is situated in the northwestern corner of Tanzania. The regional capital is Bukoba Municipal, which is about 1,500
km from Dar Es Salaam by road. Kagera Region shares borders with Uganda to the North, Rwanda and Burundi to the West, the
Kigoma and Mwanza Regions to the South and Lake Victoria to the East.
Kagera
Region covers a total area of 40,838 sq. km. Out of the total area, 28,953 sq. km. is land and 11,885 sq. km. is covered by
waters of Lake Victoria, Lakes Ikimba, Burigi, and Ngono and Kagera rivers. Kagera region is Tanzania’s 15th largest
region and accounts for approximately 3.2% of the total 883,749 sq. km. land area of Tanzania. Kagera lies at 3,750 feet above
Sea level. It has reasonably fertile old soils but over used in some parts of the region has lead to soil exhaustion and a
need for the use of fertilizer.
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THE NEED FOR INTERVENTION:
The self sustaining lifestyle of the people is being destroyed by continuous degradation of
their natural environment and habitat due to changes in agricultural practices with no regard for soil or moisture conservation
and uncontrolled exploitation of ground water.
Some area no longer grows its basic food needs. There
is a dependency on commercial/cash crops and chemical fertilisers. Moreover,
the traditional water harvesting systems have not been preserved. The Common
lands (both Revenue and Forest lands) have been and are still being destroyed by uncontrolled cutting of trees for making
charcoal used in homes, overgrazing, fire, etc.
The Common people own small pieces of fragmented, degraded, dry stony lands. The main occupation
of a majority of the people is agriculture labour and marginal farming. Their
survival, especially during drought and lean seasons, is threatened almost irreversibly by the rapid degeneration of the environment.
These problems are also linked to the fact that the village communities lack the skills and
resources to act on these problems. Natural/common resources are not seen as
common resource/property but government property. The socially and economically
marginalised poor, especially women, are not involved in planning or implementation of Government programmes. Lack of control over resources, literacy, etc lead to further marginalisation of the poor. Subsequently, their role in the existing local bodies is of no consequence.
The worst sufferers are of course the Common people. The family systems/relationships have
changed with the advent of cash economy.
The literacy rate in interior villages is low.
Though the government has set up primary schools, they are understaffed and lack basic minimum facilities, they also
lack the will to provide children a learning experience and give them the required assistance in life.
Children are also unable to attend schools due to economic reasons, as they have
to contribute to the family income at a tender age. Youths have no any assistance regarding
on vocational skills and income generation progrmmes for them, they are iddle and engaging themselves in marjuana/bhangi smoking.
I have witnessed a youth
at the age of 27 years slaughted her mother by seperating the head from the body due exccessive smoking of marjuan in Bukoba
Rural Area in Kagera region.
Safe drinking water, nutritious
food, clean surroundings, proper sanitation and waste disposal facilities are non-existent.
The Primary Health Centres set up by the government lack basic minimum facilities and are not easily accessible.
2.1. The Response of Bright Universal Development Association:
The
Association was formed to respond to this situation with the following focus:
Rejuvenation of village communities by means of organising the common people to take responsibllity of village
development;
Regeneration of the natural resources by organising the common
people to manage their own natural resources;
Revitalisation of cosmologies and sustainable life styles by encouraging the common people to talk about their
old stories and do their cultural art forms;
Organisation and Empowerment of women by means of setting up an alternative banking system, learning to start and control small
business for income generation, talk about issues that pertain to women and their problems in particular;
Creation of Youth Centres for Youths so that they can be trained in different disciplines of skills like carpentry, Bricks
making, Welding, Electronics Equipments repair, Computer application, Computer repair,
Computer networking, Agricultural projects and animal husbandry by means of alternative learning systems; and
Creation
of Primary Health Care Centers so that the common people who are living in
remote areas can get primary health services easier
All
these with the hope that they can be of inspiration to others
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MR.Nyikirira Kachene MR.Maadhi
A.Rutajwaa
is BUDA Secretary General is BUDA Chairman
Contacts:
Secretary General,
BUDA,
P.o.Box 910,
Bukoba,Tanzania.
Mobile Phone:0748648061
Chairman,
BUDA,
P.o.Box 910,
Bukoba, Tanzania.
Mobile:0748796084
E-mail:brightuniversal@yahoo.com or maadhi24@hotmail.com
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