A slide show told part of the story about life in rural Tanzania.
A group of 4-H members helped tell the rest during a recent gathering in Brandon.
The nine youths from western Manitoba traveled this spring to Tanzania where they found life in a developing country vastly different from their own.
A one-furrow plow cultivated fields near Ukiriguru, the community where the Canadians stayed for most of their visit.
Residents of the area were often limited to only one or two seed varieties when planting vegetables such as cucumbers.
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The houses were small by Canadian standards, said Justin Overand, an Elkhorn, Man., 4-H club member. A home in Ukiriguru is
considered large if it approached the size of a garage in Canada.
In a land where elephants, giraffes and lions still roam, residents are struggling to make a living for themselves and their families.
“If a hammer broke, they’d make one rather than buy a new one,” said Overand. “They’d compromise as much as they could. What they turned out worked quite well.”
Real life training
The trip was part of an entrepreneurship program set up to train young people in business planning and development.
The program, organized by Manitoba Agriculture and the Marquis Project, included the trip to Tanzania where youth from Manitoba exchanged their culture, ideas and friendship with young entrepreneurs in Africa.
Sherri Lamont, a Killarney, Man., 4-H home ecomics club member, said she found the people friendly, outgoing and enthusiastic.
She views life in Canada differently after seeing the challenges that Tanzanians overcome every day.
“They put a lot of work into what they have. They don’t complain. They don’t dwell on the fact that there was a big drought. They just accept that that’s what they’ve been given.”
Part of the trip included a day of exchanging skills between the Manitoba youth and aspiring young entrepreneurs in Tanzania. Computers and marketing were two topics of considerable interest to the Africans.
“Marketing was huge,” Lamont said. “That’s what they found of most value – how to market their product.”
Value-added ideas
The Manitoba youth shared some ideas on how those living in the Ukiriguru area might get more money for their garden produce.
One of the ideas was to sell direct to hotels and restaurants rather than in the open market. Another idea was to add value by processing vegetables into products such as canned tomatoes and salsa.
Zack Gross, executive director of the Marquis Project, accompanied the Manitoba youth on their expedition. It is a non-government organization concerned with sustainable development.
Gross believes the trip was an eye-opener for the Canadian youths and might encourage them to look more closely at their home communities for issues they can act upon.
The people in the Ukiriguru area are hungry for information, Gross said, but they feel cut off from the world. Access to computers, newspapers and other sources of information are limited. The visit by the Manitoba youth helped lower that barrier a little.
“It kind of gives them a sense that people who don’t have to care, do care, and are interested in what they’re doing.”
