Tanzania

The Tanzania YMCA Mission Statement was formulated by 14 local Branches. The National Executive Committee ratified it in 1998 and it was adopted at the National Council Meeting in June 2000. Our Mission Statement as under mentioned summarises the basis existence of Tanzania YMCA and what we do, to meet challenges we have identified. “YMCA seeks to manifest the Christian message for a genuine involvement to Young Men and Women with the vision of sustaining God’s Creation and the wholesome of man, the family the Community and promote people’s awareness towards their potentialities for self initiative in development and culture”.

YMCA in Tanzania came about through the efforts of the Churches in the town of Moshi, Kilimanjaro led by the Late Bishop Stephano Moshi. There was an exchange of correspondence between the Bishop and the World Alliance of YMCAs at Geneva in the years of 1957 and 1958. During this time young people from rural areas were migrating to the growing town of Moshi looking for white colour jobs. This trend encouraged unemployment and other social vices. Mr. Hugo Cedergren, one of the Vice Presidents of the World Alliance of YMCAs and President of the Swedish YMCA visited Moshi, Tanganyika, convened at the KNCU Building with 26 founder members, witnessed the group ratifying the Paris Basis Manifesto on 28 April 1959, an action which founded the YMCA in Tanzania on that date. The Swedish YMCA assigned a fraternal Secretary to the new Movement in 1961: Carol Carlson. He trained YMCA Secretaries for the new Movement. Since the inception of the Movement, three National General Secretaries have served the Movement, Justin Maeda 1961 – 1962, Jacob Mallya 1963 -1988, Stewart Lyatuu is in the office since 1988. National Council Presidents include Bishop Stephano Moshi, (1959 -1976) Herman Sarwatt,(1977 -1984), Bishop Eliewaha Mshana (1984 -1991), Bishop Samson Mushemba (1991 – 1994) and the current President as from 1994 is Bishop Francis Ntiruka. The YMCA in Tanzania has 14 Branches in the Country. Branches form the National Council which meets once in three years. It is the decision-making body of the Movement.

Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar’s semi-autonomous status and popular opposition have led to two contentious elections since 1995, which the ruling party won despite international observers’ claims of voting irregularities. Population: 41,048,532 Age Structure: 0-14 years: 43% (male 8,853,529/female 8,805,810) 15-64 years: 54.1% (male 10,956,133/female 11,255,868) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 513,959/female 663,233) (2009 est.) Birth Rate: 34.29 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) Death Rate: 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) Infant mortality Rate: total: 69.28 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 25 male: 76.24 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) Life Expectancy: total population: 52.01 years country comparison to the world: 206 male: 50.56 years female: 53.51 years (2009 est.) HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate: 6.2% (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.4 million (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS – deaths: 96,000 (2007 est.) Ethnic Groups: mainland – African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar – Arab, African, mixed Arab and African Religions: mainland – Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar – more than 99% Muslim Languages: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic total population: 69.4% male: 77.5% female: 62.2% (2002 census) Government Type: republic Capital: Dar es Salaam Geographic coordinates: 6 48 S, 39 17 E Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: legislative offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital; the National Assembly now meets there on a regular basis Independence: 26 April 1964; Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became independent 19 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964 Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Currency: Tanzanian shillings (TZS) Population below poverty line: 36% (2002 est.) Transnational Issues: Disputes – international: Tanzania still hosts more than a half-million refugees, more than any other African country, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the international community’s efforts at repatriation; disputes with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 352,640 (Burundi); 127,973 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2007) Illicit drugs: targeted by traffickers moving hashish, Afghan heroin, and South American cocaine transported down the East African coastline, through airports, or overland through Central Africa; Zanzibar likely used by traffickers for drug smuggling; traffickers in the past have recruited Tanzanian couriers to move drugs through Iran into East Asia. **Information retreived from CIA – The World Factbook: www.cia.gov

National General Secretary: Stewart Lyatuu, ymcatanzania@gmail.com Tanzania YMCA Kilimanjaro Road P.O. Box 85 Moshi Tanzania Tel: (255 27)2752923 Fax: (255 27)2751734 Office Email: tanzaniaymca@gmail.com