Jali Watoto Initiative Anti-Stigma and Discrimination campaign for youth and children Launch

On 20 June, 2006, Pact Tanzania, USAID and Roots and Shoots launched the Jali Watoto Anti-Stigma and Discrimination campaign for youth and children.

The event was held at the Don Bosco Youth Center in Upanga, Dar es Salaam and featured addresses from Dr. Jane Goodall, Ms. Pam White, the USAID Mission.

Director and Dan Craun-Selka, of Pact Tanzania. Over 200 children, members of Roots and Shoots clubs in 7 Dar es Salaam schools attended and joined in the festivities.

Copy of Craun-Selka's speech:

It is a great honor for me to be here today and address you at the launching of a very important anti-stigma and discrimination campaign led by Roots and Shoots. This activity is supported by the Jali Watoto Initiative - a project funded by the American people through the US Agency for International Development and managed by Pact Tanzania.

The goal of Jali Watoto is two fold. First - to provide resources and capacity to Tanzanian community and faith base organizations so that they may provide quality services to orphans and children who are living in very difficult situations. There are many dedicated organizations and courageous individuals working all over this country to care for children whose lives are affected by poverty, by HIV and AIDS, by abuse and exploitation. We will work to help them. Jali Watoto!

The second goal of our program is to reduce the effects of negative attitudes on the less fortunate and to train and educate people, primarily young people on anti stigma strategies and messages. People living with HIV, people with disabilities and children living in difficult situations are frequently victims of stigma. This stigma leads to various forms of discrimination and in many cases the discrimination discourages the people experiencing that stigma and discrimination to seek help and support.

The reasons for stigma are many - from fear to misunderstanding to lack of awareness. The Jali Watoto program is working to help reduce the ill affects of stigma, to help correct negative attitudes, to show people what are the causes of stigma and to share how stigma damages people. Children who have lost one or both of their parents; or who have to leave school to care for their family; or who are forced to live on the street, suffer many things - one of them should not be stigma. We need to treat them with care and respect. Jali Watoto!

Pact and USAID are very pleased to be working with Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots program as a partner in this battle against stigma. Roots and Shoots is a national program with clubs in more than 600 schools all over Tanzania. Many of the children here belong to a Roots and Shoots club.

Roots and Shoots provides knowledge and raises awareness on a number of topics that promote peaceful communities, a healthy environment and a reason for hope for over 100,000 children and youth. Yesterday, a number of Roots and Shoots Regional Coordinators began a Pact training on how to teach others about stigma. They will be provided with skills, techniques, resources and positive messages to teach youth and children about stigma.

Children are great communicators. We know that the anti-stigma messages that are given to our young people will be spread to their families, their friends and throughout the community. Many of Dr. Goodall's lessons and messages on the environment and peace have been spread by children through their participation in Roots and Shoots. We know that it will work with stigma also. It is the youth that are the future of the Tanzania and it is the youth that will bring about change - and the end to stigmatizing the less fortunate. Jali Watoto!

Pact is an international NGO, based in the US, with offices in 20 countries around the world. Like in our other countries, Pact Tanzania strives to build the capacity of local groups and provide them with resources so that they are better able to serve their communities. The Jali Watoto anti stigma program will also be implemented with other Tanzanian partners - Iringa Development of Youth, Disabled and Children - the Karagwe Youth Development Network - The Zanzibar HIV and AIDs NGO Cluster - the Tukolene Youth Development Center and the Community Initiative Support Organisation. These organizations, like Roots and Shoots have the capacity to reach many children and it is our goal under Jali Watoto to train over 2000 Master Trainers who will help train others and spread the reach of this program.

We are pleased to also be working with all of these organizations, especially our good friends at Roots and Shoots and USAID.

It is in an honor and pleasure to be the first to announce this program and we know that Roots and Shoots and all of you children out there and across the country will be messengers of hope to those who need it. Thank you Dr. Goodall. Congratulations and best of luck.