Open Mind Tanzania (OMT), Research & Consultancy: 2011

ORGANISATION PROFILE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Open Mind Tanzania (OMT) is a professional, non political, non profit, non religious and service oriented Non Governmental Organization Registered by the Ministry of Home Affairs with Certificate Number SO. 15518, under the Socialites Act CAP 337 R.E. 2002. It is a team of 31 motivated young professionals who are determined to see changes in the economic and social status of the Tanzanian public (especially the youth). From June 2006 to the present, we are fighting to make the Tanzanians able to identify and use the present legal opportunities to achieve moral, social and economic development.

Our Mission

To bring together all the Tanzanian youth to volunteer in fighting endlessly and actively to create a livable world in which all the people can use the available legal opportunities to achieve better life and become well protected against injustice, poverty, ignorance and infections.

Our Vision

To change the world into a better place to live for human beings, where by love and the sense of humanity becomes the core drive towards unity and alliance in fighting to achieve moral and economic development for all the people especially youth.

Our Core Value and Belief

We believe that the world can be changed into a better place to live if each of the able persons becomes ready to install an Alternative Way of Thinking and join us morally and materially to fight towards alleviating poverty, protecting human rights and achieving health in body and spirit. From our belief and value our dictum and motto is ‘Alternative way of thinking’.

Our Approach

We believe in a realistic approach that a starving person must be given both food and hoe. We are therefore committed to fight for achieving sustainable changes.

CORE OBJECTIVES (INCLUSIVE)

I. To provide civic, legal and human rights education to the community especially the youth in order to open their minds, for that it will ensure that the youth get different social and economic assistance which will help in the implementation of the initiatives started by the government in implementing the MKUKUTA and MKURABITA programmes.

II. To sensitize the general public especially youth in using legal services so as to obtain their legal rights. In connection to that, responding to individuals legal complains by giving guidance and counseling consigning law pertaining legal problems especially in legal and human rights, also preparing documents for court presentation. Thus providing legal aid services.

III. To participate fully, materially and morally in fighting against HIV/AIDS, Poverty, and sexual harassment and awareness creation on HIV/AIDS as under the Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, 1998 (SOSPA) Law.

IV. To help create, promote, uphold and maintain upright and respect values of professional, academic, moral and social image of the members and general public, also to deal with peoples’ problems in welfare such as education and medical aspect. Much more, the NGO will promote education of the vulnerable groups.

V. To engage, unite and promote youth from different grounds to participate in various productive projects which will eradicate poverty as well as wealth creation in their respective projects hence solving the critical problem of unemployment by engaging youth within society programs.

VI. To do anything within the ambit of the law and human needs for the purpose of advancing the objectives of protecting human rights and ensuring wise use of the law in safeguarding peoples rights.

PROGRESS OF OMT

Since the inception we have seen significant role in helping the youths. We realize from this trial that it is possible to run more successful projects related to:

Achievable Projects (Members’ Funded)

I. Poverty alleviation through Collective Saving Model – Targeted to the jobless ‘Vijana wa Kijiweni’ house wives and other low income groups.

II. Basic Entrepreneurial Education Support and Business Planning Seminar–Targeted to Beginners who are just entering business.

III. Business creation and development Campaign- Targeted to all small entrepreneurs.

IV. Mobilization of unemployed groups to carry out collective saving and investments.

V. Training youths on entrepreneurship at TYC Youth Activities Centre – Under supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Youth Development.

VI. Publication of a youth guide on the Labour Laws.

Projects in Preparation (On shelf Projects-Awaiting Support)

VII. Constitution understanding for youth in politics and leadership.

VIII. Helping youth in fighting piracy in Music and film industry.

IX. Familiarization of labour laws for youth entering in jobs.

X. Provide civic education and democratic participation for youth in general.

XI. Imparting the knowledge of human rights and children’s rights for workers in children centers or orphanage cares.

XII. Analyzing youths’ contracts for jobs and sports especially football.

XIII. Legal aid in various youth legal issues.

XIV. Opening a youth information and resource centre.

XV. Formalization and registration of youth’s small and medium enterprises.

XVI. Carrier assessment, CV writing and job keeping sensitization.

XVII. Unite youth to participate in productive projects within their localities.

CORE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Apart from community services OMT has received positive feedback and much more people requesting information about our services and modules. The services we provide help us to run self volunteered community service programmes, thus contributing to the overall success of the programmes.

We currently offer the following services:

Civic education and Legal Assistance
Entrepreneurship, Business Creation and Development
Research, Change Volunteering and Professional Consultancy
Carrier assessment and Job Keeping Sensitization
Editing, Paper work and translation Services
Psychological and moral counseling
Cultural Tours Volunteering and Local communities cultural research guide
HIV/AIDS Education and Gender Mainstreaming Sensitization Services

Civic Education and Legal Assistance

We have being aimed at ensuring that people especially youth have sound knowledge of human rights, civic rights and duties, democracy, participation and Development policy. OMT carries out researches, policy advocacy and training services at selected public litigious interests; such as constitutional understanding and human rights.

We have managed to educate a number of ordinary people on their rights as well as duties. Our legal unit, now acting as a paralegal aid unit has advised people with different law issues including;

Labour Matters 32
Land and Renting Matters 10
Business Law 24
Immigration Law and Citizenship 3
Criminal 2
Marriage issues 2
Succession 6
Constitutions

We did all this as a response to the call of the former Chief Justice Barnabas Samatta when he was opening a National Paralegal Symposium in Dar es Salaam. He said… “It is time that the activities of the NGOs providing legal aid and conducting Paralegal training are streamlined for the benefit of the poor and disadvantaged”.

Entrepreneurship, Business Creation and Development

As most of you understand, today the world is moves toward a modern market economy which provides opportunities especially for the youth to achieve their potential, thus, entrepreneurship is a vital tool and mandatory for jobs and small business creation and development.

So far we have trained more than 150 youths on entrepreneurship skills and development.

For that reason OMT has been empowering youths in proper training, laws and regulations, and access to the credit. Furthermore, we have been instilling in youth the spirit of entrepreneurship, arising in them a vision of the future in which they can play an important part in world development, stimulating creativity to visualize new products and new ways of doing things, giving them the determination to take risks, and helping them create small business in groups or as individuals that are the engine of growth in every market economy. We have helped entrepreneurs to prepare business plans like;

Rusha Roho shop
Romana catering services
Nevelin Flavored cakes production and soft drinks sale
Stella Maris tailoring mart
Anna tailoring
Assorted saucers, diets and wine project
SCS secretarial services
Tabata fast services stationary
Quick stationary services
Mtwara corridor wood production
MJF furniture plan
Gold trading project
Organic bee keeping project
Designing and printing expansion project
Technical training to small sales dealers of solar energy systems
Zawadi shopping centre
Expansion for solar systems project

For the young people of Tanzania, we offer the hope of entrepreneurship and bright future that innovation, and vision, and perseverance, and hard work can bring to them a good and quality life.

Research and Professional Consultancy

What better start could we give our young people than to build a future based on values of seeking information by even conducting small simple researches?

A team of multi-displinary researches and research assistants have and still can carefully identify the social sensitive problems that people have been aspiring to explore. We have been making pilot studies and structuring research problems, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting them, thus come up with practical, tangible and sound recommendations which guided youth’s businesses or organizations towards making positive organizational changes. We usually say, “No data no right to start a business”. Therefore, no sound researched knowledge no solutions to problems around us and our organizations.

The following are the researches that we have undertook or participated in.

The concept of consent in the Tanzania law of marriage and its justification: A

Legal critique

Legal and practical problems in implementation of the copyright law in Tanzania:

The case of music industry

Effects of global warming, by Dr. Mari Owa from Japan
The concept of age in Tanzania laws and their effect in administration of justice to

young persons: A case study of Dar es salaam region

Applied market research projects for synthetic and natural juices, and bottles and

bottled Water production

Money management policies and procedures system Development
A small company system analysis
Developing basic Internal Controls
Inefficient business management and its impact on the growth of medium scale

business firms in Tanzania: Seeking the way out; the case study of Dar es salaam

Job Seeking, Carrier Development, CV Preparation and Interview Guide

In helping the youth who have been seeking jobs for a long time without finding one, the OMT has prepared and has offered a special guide for job seekers on the following areas:

CV Preparations 29
CV Painting 5
Cover Letter 13
Interview Guide 4
Job Search Counseling 44

Editing, Paper Work and Translation Services

We are creative artists; who can read your piece of art (music, novel, story, play, and poem). We can assess its marketability and practicability to the context. We assist youth improve or add colour on:

Advertisement 7
Scholarly papers 4
TV Play Scripts 1
Book Scripts 3

Translations 3

In connection to that, we have competent translation expertise, who can translate your work into a language you prefer without eroding its content. Be it from Kiswahili to English, French or Spanish and vice versa.

Psychological and Moral Counseling

The counseling Unit offers psychotherapy verbal treatment related to child nurturing and cognitive development, education-choice of jobs, relationships, economic crisis and bankruptcy, jobs and relations in work places. It costs nothing only open your heart and you will receive a heart healing. We do this by using piagetic approach.

In general, up to know we have provided counseling services for more than 26 persons.

This helps youth in facing the globalized world with a clear mind rather than illusions. It helps too to tackle the uncertainty of life, purify youngsters’ minds from mind pollutants such as TV’s and computers pornographies.

HIV/AIDS and Gender Sensitization

In all the programs that we have been doing, gender issues and HIV/AIDS sensitization are given a high priority because these are matters which cut across. We thus believe that for sustainable youth development these issues are supposed to be taken care.

New Service Line

Many tourists pass though Dar es Salaam each day, probably unknowing of what this City has to offer. That’s why OMT is currently in the process of developing a Dar City Cultural Tour, which will give tourists the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of this town. Contact OMT for further details.

This product will be on promotion and cultural exchange between Tanzania, Japan and the rest of the world. This program will be a mixture of memorable Swahili cultural experiences and a Dar City Hiking and other outdoors activities for the tourists who will be visiting our country for a cultural experience. A part of the profit from the product will be for fostering the education of the marginalized and vulnerable people in the society.

Acknowledgment to Partners

We would like to pass our sincerely gratitude and thank all the people and organizations which we have been cooperating since the inception of OMT. Special remarks are extended to:

. MS. Maria Tagalile, the Coordinator, Hans Sedai Foundation

. Mr. Felix Maganjila, the Senior Consultant, Marketing partners

. Dr. Mari Owa, the Eastern and Central African Camp of Japan

. Mr. Sicksbert Komba, a Freelance Journalist

. Albert W. Kapala, Associate Consultant, Sustainable Access Finance Enterprises

Tanzania

. Universal Group Company Ltd.

. La Reunion Enterprises (LARE)

. Ministry of Labour and Youth Development

. NGO’s – Charambe Mamaz (CHAMAZ)

- Tanzania Orphan Care (TAOCA)

- Tanzania Youth Coalition (TYC)

- French Teachers Association (ATEF)

- Mavuno Improvement for Relief, Community and Development

- Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC)

- Tanzania Gender Network Programme (TGNP)

- Enablis Entrepreneurial Network from Canada

Commitment

We want to maintain the standard that we have set so far and improve things that need to be modified. We must reating quality in services and; together we hope to create a unique form of Center where youths from different cultures have an opportunity to meet and learn from one another. Appreciating other cultures and exchanging experiences of daily life is enrichment more valuable than money.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF THE OPEN MIND TANZANIA

INFORMATION THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS

21 July 2007, During the OMT Management Meeting at our offices at Kijitonyama with Dr. Mari Owa (not in photograph) from Japan.

17-Jan-09, Group Photograph, after cleanness of the Dar Water Front, the organizer of waterfront cleaning day, Christopher Carnovale, a partner in Tourism Development Coordinator from Vancouver Canada was very happy.

17-Jan-09, Group Photograph, many people from different organizations and public offices attended the waterfront cleaning affair.

17-Jan-09 Dominic Ndunguru, coordinator (Middle), Respicius Damian, Head Research Dept (right), and Steven Mkunda during the waterfront cleaning day in Dar es Salaam City.

17-Jan-09, Respicius Damian, head of Research Department steering at the beach after 5 hours of cleanness the waterfront was now clean.

11-January 2009, we also visit the entrepreneurs who have received business constancy and training from Open Mind Tanzania, Rita- one of hundreds of entrepreneurs appreciates the business solutions we provided her with.

The famous multilingual French translator in his office, Open Mind has a young team of translator which is well guided by the old man in the photograph.

We Plan well all our programs, 12-January 2006, During the O.MT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, The members analyzing the OMT Strategic Action Plan 2009-2013. The 3rd annual General Meeting was conducted at Collubus Hotel in Dar es salaam.

Out of Collubus Hotel, The3rd Annual General Meeting had hot agenda to the extent that it ended during the night, one of the most potential matters was the policy presentation discussion.

Our ACTIONS are not haphazard; it took us about two years to develop our organization’s comprehensive policy. Policy and controls development need extensive research to ensure that efficiency, objectivity and performance are maintained. Respicius Damian Head of Research, publication and information also responsible for policy development and compliance integrating the policy inputs contributed during the GEA.

OMT trainer during Entrepreneurship session at the Youth Activities Centre-Kijitonyama, DSM.

A member of OMT(Center) together with Dr. Mari Owa during a Cultural Visit in Japan.

A team of OMT trainers in black suits conducts a workshop to youth in Iringa one how the local government works.

OMT Coordinator Dominic Ndunguru (center) representing Tanzanian youth together with other NGOs Stakeholders during the Technical Workshop on advising UN changes ‘Delivering as One’ at DSM International Conference Center.

Assistant Coordinator of OMT Mr. Raphael Mbiiji educates the youth from Ruaha Community College on how to graft siblings. This is one of the parts of our activities to educate the youth in environment.

A cross section picture of Judges of BBB-Believe Begin Become – the National Business Plan Competition. The Coordinator of OMT Mr. Dominic Ndunguru (right) was one of them.

With a great concentration, Head of Legal Dept Verynice David and Coordinator of OMT Dominic Ndunguru when attending the Youth National Workshop on designing an Action Plan for implementation of Millennium Development Goals

in Tanzania (MDG’s) Youth focus.