Community Needs Assessment by Children

Here are excerpts from a needs assessment carried out in 2008 in a slum in Morogoro, Tanzania, by two dozen children and young people. The assessment was part of a Participatory Community Development project funded by the Baring Foundation and the John Ellerman Foundation of London. The local partner is the Faraja Trust Fund, primarily an HIV and Aids prevention NGO. The focus was on how to stop or slow down the migration of children and youth to the streets.


COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT:
KWA MAHITA STREET, CHAMWINO SLUM AREA, MAZIMBU WARD, MOROGORO MUNICPALITY


INTRODUCTION

This report summarizes the findings of the study conducted in Kwa Mahita community of the Chamwino slum area. The primary objective was to identify the reasons/factors that cause children from Kwa Mahita to move from their homes onto streets.

Kwa Mahita is one of 12 streets in the Chamwino slum area. Chamwino is located in Mazimbu ward which is within the northwest suburb of Morogoro Township; it is the most densely populated area in Morogoro municipality. To the north, Chamwino is bordered by Lugal village, Kihonda and Modecco wards. To the southwest Chamwino is separated from Mafiga ward by the Dar Es Salaam-Iringa highway.

Kwa Mahita community is bordered by Misufini, Tupendane streets, Ngerengere River and Modecco ward. Kwa Mahita Street has a total population of 1,636, in which 919 are adults and 717 are children under 18 years of age.

Kwa Mahita residents are faced with various social and economic problems such as poverty, lack of health facilities, poor roads, poor housing conditions, and lack of electricity to many houses/families, the problem of street children, robbery and petty thieves. Other problems include; child sex work, early pregnancy among girls, drug and substance abuse, lack of clean and safe water, domestic violence and outdated traditions and culture. The community is not secure because of the absence of a police post in the area. Kwa Mahita residents admit that among all these problems, the major one is the presence of street children.

The major objective of Neema ya Mtoto Project was to identify a specific area within Morogoro Municipality that is the most highly impacted by the presence of street children for the implementation of a multi-year pilot project. Stakeholders selected Chamwino slum area in Mazimbu ward in Morogoro Municipality for project implementation. Within Chamwino area, Kwa Mahita community was the most affected and has more vulnerable children who are at risk of becoming street children than other streets at Chamwino. In September 2007, community leaders came to a consensus that the project should be implemented firstly at Kwa Mahita community and then move to other streets at Chamwino.

The Neema ya Mtoto Project aims at preventing children who are at risk of becoming street children from going to the streets. The project has gone through several phases. The first phase was the establishment of the stakeholders committee. The committee was composed of 14 community leaders from Kwa Mahita, including community leaders, OVC caregivers, vulnerable children, religious leaders, widows and members of Kwa Mahita neighboring streets. The committee’s role was to conduct a study in order to find out the factors that influence Kwa Mahita children to leave their homes and go to the streets. Before carrying out the study, the committee was capacitated on research methodology.

The Neema ya Mtoto Project will be a participatory project in the sense that it aims at enabling the community to identify their problems as well as look for solutions by using resources from their own locality. The Neema ya Mtoto Project will fully involve the community during planning, implementation and the participatory evaluation phase. This will bring about community involvement, participation and ownership in order to ensure the sustainability of the project. The Neema ya Mtoto Project will be implemented within the Kwa Mahita Community for three years from 2008 and will be funded by the Consortium for Street Children (UK).

STUDY METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION

Data and information collection took place from 17 December 2007 to 8 January 2008. Data and information was gathered through the following methodology: direct observation, focus group discussions (FGDs), questionnaires and participant observation. The last methodology was used especially while collecting information from special groups of youth such as drug and substance abusers and child sex workers.

Two groups of community members were involved during data and information collection: adults and children. The first group was divided into two categories. The children’s group was under the guidance of an adult for security purposes. A total number of 64 children and 105 adults from Kwa Mahita community participated in the study. The interviews and FGDs were conducted mostly under the shade of trees or at an open space or at one of the community members’ house.

RESPONDENTS

Recruitment of community members for participation in the study was on a voluntary basis with oral consent of the individuals given. Respondents were assured of anonymity. The photos in this study were taken with the consent of individuals in them. The names used here have been changed. The interviews and FGDs were conducted in the Kiswahili language.


STUDY OBJECTIVES

This study had the following objectives:
To assess the social, economic and cultural environment of residents of Kwa Mahita Street
To find out the reasons/factors that influence children from Kwa Mahita Street to go to the streets.
To assess the readiness of Kwa Mahita residents for involvement and participation in the Neema ya Mtoto Project in their community.
To identify the priorities of Kwa Mahita residents concerning interventions be implemented in order to prevent children from going to the streets.