CHILDREN TO INTERVIEW PRESIDENT KIKWETE

Children Prepared for Interview with President Kikwete

Child abuse, teenage pregnancy, quality of education and disability among the many topics to be covered

11 June 2010 Children representing the Baraza la Watoto (Children’s Council) are well‐prepared for their interview with HE The President Jakaya Kikwete which will take place in Dar es Salaam on Monday 14 June. Ten children will meet President Kikwete for the interview, which will be broadcast on national television and radio on 16 June, The Day of the African Child.

 The broadcast is planned to coincide with the official launch of The Children’s Agenda that will take place in Dodoma also on 16 June. The children’s interview with the President is the culmination of preparations that began months ago when hundreds of children across the country began debating their top ten questions for the nation’s leaders.

 Last week, more than 20 child representatives from Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar met in Dar es Salaam to choose the final set of questions that they will pose to the President. These cover a wide range of topics, including HIV and AIDS, child abuse and exploitation, the quality of education, early pregnancy, and more. The children also elected who among them would be lucky enough to meet the President and ask him the questions that are most important to Tanzania’s children.

The children represent a diverse group – including some who have been orphaned, children living on the streets, and children with disabilities.

Twelve year old Nasra Twalib from Yombo, Temeke District said "I feel great and so happy to have this opportunity to ask the President questions about children's issues and rights, because not too many children get this opportunity. I am really eager to ask him about disabled children ‐ this issue is very close to me because I also live with a disability."

Fadhili Abdul, aged 15 added that he was looking forward to asking the President about what he planned to do about corporal punishment in schools and also about the issue of transportation because so many children find it difficult to get to school. Twalib and Abdul are among many children who regularly participate in the Baraza la Watoto or Children’s Council in Temeke District. The Baraza la Watoto is supported by the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children with the assistance of many children’s organizations and operates in about a quarter of districts across the country.

It provides a way for children to elect representatives who raise and represent children’s issues with local councils. This year, the Baraza la Watoto is scheduled to receive legal status as a trusteeship. The members hope that this will enable the Baraza to become a truly national representative body that is accessible to children across the country.

The interview with the President forms a key event in the historic launch of the Children’s Agenda which will be announced by Hon Margret Sitta, Minister of Community Development, Gender and Children. The launch will take place on 16 June, Day of the African Child, at the Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma. The Children’s Agenda is an initiative of the leading children’s organizations in Tanzania who are working with the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children and the Baraza la Watoto to ensure children’s issues are well reflected in the 2010 elections and in the commitments of the future government.

Justa Mwaituka, spokesperson for The Children’s Agenda, stated that “Children represent more than half the population of Tanzania but they have no vote and must depend on others to ensure their rights are fulfilled. Investing in children is not just the right thing to do, it makes good economic sense. If we want to fulfil Vision 2025, we have to put children at the centre of the nation’s agenda. They are quite literally all of our futures.”

The ten children who will interview the President are:
Faustina Robogati, aged 17 Dodoma
Esther Philipo, aged 16, Dar es Salaam
Fadhili Habibu, aged 15, Tabora
Fadhili Abdul, aged 15, Temeke
Zulekha Kipupwe, aged 12, Pwani
Linus Faustin, aged 16 Bukoba
Imran Salehe, aged 17 Dar es Salaam
Rehema Abbas, aged 13 Dar es Salaam
Frank Daudi, aged 17 Dodoma
Nasra Twalib, aged 12, Temeke