AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE World Vision Tanzania (WVT), in collaboration with Arusha regional authorities, has initiated a project to raise public awareness of the coronavirus pandemic among livestock keepers’ communi- ties in Kitumbeine Division.
Officers have been visiting house to house and by last week they had covered 72 households of Maasai communities, with each having about 10 members.
Regional Community Development Officer Blandina Nkini said the logic behind the campaign was to ensure they controlled the spread of the deadly virus that caused Covid-19.
Longido District bordered Kenya and there was a movement of people from either side.
“We are raising public awareness in several districts of Arusha Region: Arumeru, Karatu and Longido and these were chosen because there is high interaction of people due to auctions of livestock and due to the fact that this district borders Kenya,” said Ms Nkini who said they were also working in line with instructions from the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children.
Longido is the first district to be reached in the campaign and it is expected that those who are enlightened will share with others to ensure the disease does not spread to them by ensuring they adhere to health guidelines issued by the ministry and other senior government officials.
WVT Coordinator of a project at Kitumbeine, Peruzi Daudi, said they had covered 19 villages out of 32 they targeted.
Daudi said they had been facing a challenge of a long distance between one household and another, between markets, auction markets for goats, cows and lambs.
“Some people wear facemasks for more than three days without washing them.
This is dangerous to their health.” Longido District Community Development Officer Atuganile Chisunga said there was great emphasis on children’s protection, especially girls against violence, saying it was a challenge given the coronavirus pan- demic.
“Some parents have turned out to be obstacles to their children, especially girls, in acquiring education.
The girls are married off and this makes them drop out of school.
Many girls at sec- ondary school level are more vulnerable as they walk long distances to and from school.
It is between seven and 16 kilometres in some places,’ said Ms Chisunga.
