Walimu Mbeya vijijini ‘walamba’ mkopo ...
Walimu Mbeya vijijini ‘walamba’ mkopo wa milioni Teachers in Mbeya rural area benefit from millions in loan.
Date: January 1, 1970
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The story is event based. 900 teachers benefited a CRBD bank loan scheme. At the function, the teachers were advised to use the money wisely and not to “waste it on women.ΓΒ
This article may be used to:
1. Illustrate gender blind reporting, and show that economic related reports are often gender blind and ignore women.
2. As an example of a poorly sourced story.
3. As an example of how gender can be implied, even when not implicit.
Trainers Notes
This report does not give gender disaggregated of statistics i.e. how many male/female teachers benefited from the scheme. It would have good to give a sense of whether female teachers are given equal treatment as their male counterparts. All the readers are told is that 900 teachers have benefited. Although the cartoon image is of women. Mr Leonidas Gama’s warning against using the money for drinking and “every woman you want” implies that he is speaking to men only as recipients. It also perpetuates the stereotype that women are easily bought. This story is single sourced and there is no comment from the beneficiaries themselves. It would have been good to get an idea of how different individuals intend to use their money.
Discussion Questions:
1. How do the text and cartoon fit together ?
2. The text refers to the fact that teachers have lost all respect because of borrowing money. Is it only this profession? The report is also encouraging teachers to start businesses. What does this say about the education system?
Training Exercises.
1. Ask participants to go to the nearest bank and find out what loan conditions are.
2. Ask participants what they feel should have been added to the story to make it better. Make a list of interviewees and the questions that could be asked.
3. Survey men and women. With a similar loan, are there gender differences regarding what people would like to use the money for?
Additional training resources
Whose news, whose views: A Gender and Media Handbook for Southern Africa Media
Translation read in connection with cartoon depiction
[900 teachers have obtained loans for up to Tzshs. 1.647 billion from the CRBD Bank in Tanzania through their Savings and Credit Co-operative Society. The loan disbursement was commissioned by the area representative Mr. Leonidas Gama, at a ceremony at the SACCO’s Mbeya headquarters. The SACCO Chair Mr. Filbert Clement said that he hoped the loan would assist the teachers in building houses, buying cars, educating their children and starting up businesses that would be self-sustaining in the long run.
Speaking after commissioning the loan, Mr. Gama urged the teachers to use their loans to invest in ventures that would improve their lives and regain the self-respect for the profession, which was eroded each time they borrowed from community members.
“These loans should not be drank when you get to your homes or used to impress the everyone you meet… you should not imagine you can now have every woman you want.” He said to the laughing crowd of teachers.
He urged the teachers to use the loans to improve their families’ living standards and quality of life and to ensure they educate their children as because education was the only future inheritance they could leave their children. He also said that the teaching profession had lost all respect because teachers would borrow from people within the community while others would misuse the money through drinking and making a spectacle of themselves in drinking dens within the town.
Ms. Hope Gwimile , the education officer for Mbeya area who was present at the function also urged the teachers to ensure they paid back the loans on time so that the CRDB would give them more money in the future.
“Let us take what we can pay back consistently and on time. Let us also be wise in using the money in ventures that build rather than destroy us,” she said. She also added that if the teachers used the loans in ventures that would reap benefits, they will have achieved the Nation’s goal to realise better standards of living for every Tanzanian. ]
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