In lieu of lying on a beach and sipping piña coladas this summer, a group of ASU students will go halfway around the world to better the lives of Tanzanian people.
Global studies professor Eric Hartman is organizing a new study abroad program, co-lead by political science professor Elizabeth Wheatley, that gives students an opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the Tanzanian nation and culture.
Having been to Tanzania several times and experiencing where the country is in terms of water resources and women’s rights, he wants to not only see change but make change.
“It’s important to connect university resources to the effort of making a better world,” Hartman said.
Hartman will be taking those students who are interested to the rural Karagwe District in Tanzania, which is in east Africa.
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Students will be required to take classes that combine studying with being active in community organizations such as the Women Emancipation and Development Agency, which advocates for women’s rights and sustainable development. Organizations like WOMEDA are vital to the advancement of this country, Hartman said.
“It is almost unheard of to have running water inside a home,” said Tanzania native and global studies sophomore Julia Pierre-Nina, who will be joining Hartman on the trip.
“People must collect water from either a local pump or dirty rivers — the same rivers they wash themselves in and the same rivers their livestock drink from, contaminating water with urine and feces,” Pierre-Nina said. “Even under those circumstances, people still have to walk several hours to reach these sources.”
Rural people, like those in the Karagwe District, collect water wherever it naturally gathers, Hartman said.
Because water sources are scarce after the dry seasons, the people are often forced to gather water from stagnant pools that are rich breeding grounds for mosquitoes and a perfect platform for spreading Malaria.
Students will be making efforts to improve the situation by assisting with the installation of a large water tank that collects water off of the roofs during rainy season, and provides a source for the villagers during dry season, Hartman said.
Tanzania and most of east Africa has two rainy seasons and two dry seasons, Hartman said. The dry seasons are in the winter and summer, while the rainy seasons are in fall and spring.
Since it’s mostly the women who are responsible in the Tanzanian household for gathering water for cooking, cleaning and consumption, the project will be focusing on improving the lives of women in the country as well.
Hartman, who conducted interviews with Tanzanian women year ago, knows what these women hope to have in the future. In these interviews, nearly all women said they wanted to share their workloads with their husbands, and have more cooperation in the household.
All of these women told Hartman they had been hit by their husbands. The same husbands often partake in polygamy, Hartman said.
“Most women in Tanzania are born into a society that does not allow them to pursue a life of independence,” Pierre-Nina said.
The women who are fortunate enough to make it to school often only make it to sixth grade, the grade required by the law. They are essentially forced to drop out because of their duties at home, which were taught to them at a young age to be their only purpose.
It’s because of these time-consuming chores — ranging from cooking to walking several hours to obtain water — that Pierre-Nina said she has no time to pursue an education.
“The biggest difference between American women and Tanzanian women are the opportunities and choices their societies presented them with,” Pierre-Nina said. “Tanzanian women do not have the luxury of exploring either choice or opportunity.”
Students will be working with WOMEDA, which advocates women’s rights within the context and local tribal traditions of the Karagwe District, making the message more acceptable.
“Advocating women’s rights is so vitally important, because around the world we see rights taking root once they’re understood in a particular way and in a particular tradition,” Hartman said.
The study abroad program to Tanzania, sponsored by the School of Politics and Global Studies, is running in the summer of 2011 from May 29 through June 27. After three weeks of connecting with and helping the Tanzanian people, the students’ adventure concludes with the quintessential African experience: a safari in the Serengeti.
The Serengeti is located in the northwestern portion of Tanzania, and offers some of the most rare and spectacular sights of African wildlife.
“For Americans in particular, I think it’s important that we see a life that is not nearly as convenient as ours,” said global studies junior Kari Bynum, who said she is looking forward to the trip. “Experiences like this can teach so much more than books or newspaper articles, and we all have a lot to learn about our world and about others.”
Information meetings for this study abroad program will be held on the Tempe campus today at 3 p.m. in Coor Hall room 6607, and also on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. in Coor Hall room 6605.
Reach the reporter at ktenagli@asu.edu
