Some months back, I was visiting this East African city, and we were stuck in traffic. And this vendor suddenly approaches my window with a half-opened alphabet sheet. I took a quick look at the alphabet sheet, and I thought of my daughter, how it would be nice to spread it on the floor and just play all over it with her while getting her to learn the alphabet. So the traffic moved a bit, and I quickly grabbed a copy, and we moved on.
Miezi kadhaa iliyopita, nilitembelea jiji moja lililopo Afrika Mashariki, na tulikuwa tumekwama kwenye msongamano wa magari. Na mchuuzi mmoja alikuja ghafla kwenye dirisha langu na karatasi ya alfabeti iliyofunguka nusu. Niliangalia kwa haraka ile karatasi ya alfabeti, na nikamuwaza binti yangu, ni namna gani ingekuwa vyema kuitandaza kwenye sakafu na kucheza juu yake nikiwa nae wakati nikiwa ninamfundisha alfabeti. Msongamano ukasogea kidogo, na nikanunua ile nakala haraka, na tukaendelea na safari.
When I had time to fully open the alphabet sheet and take a more detailed look at it, I knew I was not going to use that to teach my daughter. I regretted my purchase. Why so? Looking at the alphabet sheet reminded me of the fact that not much has changed in the education curricula in Africa. Some decades back, I was taught out of a similar alphabet sheet. And because of that, I struggled for years. I struggled to reconcile my reality with the formal education I received in school, in the schools I attended. I had identity crises. I looked down on my reality. I looked at my ancestry, I looked at my lineage with disrespect. I had very little patience for what my life had to offer around me.
Nilipopata muda wa kuifungua ile karatasi ya alfabeti na kuiangalia kwa makini, Nilitambua ya kwamba sitaitumia kumfundishia binti yangu. Nilijutia ununuzi wangu. Kwanini? Kutazama karatasi ya alfabeti kunanikumbusha ukweli kwamba mambo mengi hayajabadilika katika mtaala wa elimu barani Afrika. Miongo kadhaa iliyopita, nilifundishwa kutoka katika karatasi hiyohiyo. Na kwa sababu ya hilo, nilitaabika kwa miaka. Nilitaabika kuweza kukubali uhalisia wangu kutokana na elimu niliyokuwa nikipokea shuleni, katika shule nilizosoma. Nilikuwa na janga la utambulisho. Nikitazama kuangalia uhalisia wangu. Niliangalia mababu zangu, nilitazama kizazi changu bila heshima. Nilikuwa na subira kidogo kwa yale ambayo maisha yangeweza kunipa kutoka katika mazingira yangu.
Why? "A is for apple." "A is for apple." "A is for apple" is for that child in that part of the world where apples grow out; who has an apple in her lunch bag; who goes to the grocery store with her mom and sees red, green, yellow -- apples of all shapes and colors and sizes. And so, introducing education to this child with an alphabet sheet like this fulfills one of the major functions of education, which is to introduce the learner to an appreciation of the learner's environment and a curiosity to explore more in order to add value.
Kwanini? "A ni kwa ajili ya Apple." "A ni kwa ajili ya Apple." "A ni kwa ajili ya Apple" ni kwa ajili ya mtoto katika pande ya dunia ambayo wanalima Apple; nani aliye na Apple katika mfuko wake wa chakula cha mchana; nani ambaye huenda dukani na mama yake na kuona apple jekundu, kijani, njano katika kila umbo na rangi na ukubwa. Kwa hiyo, kumpa elimu mtoto huyu ukitumia karatasi ya alfabeti kama hii inatimiza moja ya kazi kuu katika elimu, ambayo ni kumkutanisha msomaji kuridhika na mazingira ya msomaji na udadisi wa kuweza kutafuta zaidi ili kuweza kuongeza thamani.
In my own case, when and where I grew up in Africa, apple was an exotic fruit. Two or three times a year, I could get some yellowish apples with brown dots, you know, signifying thousands of miles traveled -- warehouses storing -- to get to me. I grew up in the city to very financially comfortable parents, so it was my dignified reality, exactly the same way cassava fufu or ugali would not regularly feature in an American, Chinese or Indian diet, apples didn't count as part of my reality. So what this did to me, introducing education to me with "A is for apple," made education an abstraction. It made it something out of my reach -- a foreign concept, a phenomenon for which I would have to constantly and perpetually seek the validation of those it belonged to for me to make progress within it and with it. That was tough for a child; it would be tough for anyone.
Nikijiangalia mimi, wakati na mahali nilipokulia Afrika, apple ni tunda hadimu. Mara mbili au tatu kwa mwaka, Nilikuwa napata apple za rangi ya njano zilizo na alama ndogo ndogo za rangi ya kahawia, unajua, ikiashiria maelfu ya maili yaliposafiri -- ghalani, katika upangaji kunifikia mimi. Nilikulia katika jiji kwa wazazi ambao wanajiweza kiuchumi, kwa hiyo ulikuwa ni uhalisia wangu wa kuheshimika, kama vile vile mihogo au ugali kwa kawaida hautakuwepo katika mlo wa Kimarekani, Kichina au Kihindi, apple hazikuwa katika uhalisia wa maisha yangu. Kwa hiyo hii ilinifanya nini mimi, kunipa elimu kwangu ya "A ni kwa ajili ya apple," imefanya elimu kuwa ngumu mno kuelewa. Imefanya kitu ambacho kipo na upeo wangu -- kitu cha nchi za nje, jambo ambalo ningekuwa nikilitafuta mara zote uthibitisho wa yale yanayohusiana kwa ajili yangu ili kupiga hatua ndani yake na pamoja yake. Hiyo ilikuwa ngumu kwa mtoto;
As I grew up and I advanced academically, my reality was further separated from my education. In history, I was taught that the Scottish explorer Mungo Park discovered the Niger River. And so it bothered me. My great-great-grandparents grew up quite close to the edge of the Niger River.
Nilipokuwa kiumri na kuelimika, uhalisia wangu uligawanyika zaidi na elimu yangu. Katika historia, nilifundishwa kwamba mtalii aliyeitwa Mungo Park aligundua mto wa Niger. Na hili lilinikwaza. Mababu wa mababu zangu walikulia karibu na kingo za mto wa Niger.
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
And it took someone to travel thousands of miles from Europe to discover a river right under their nose?
Na ilichukua mtu mwingine kusafiri maelfu ya maili kutoka Ulaya kuja kugundua mto ambao upo karibu nao kabisa?
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
No!
Hapana!
(Applause and cheers)
(Makofi na shangilio)
What did they do with their time?
Walitumia vipi muda wao?
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
Playing board games, roasting fresh yams, fighting tribal wars? I mean, I just knew my education was preparing me to go somewhere else and practice and give to another environment that it belonged to. It was not for my environment, where and when I grew up.
Kucheza bao, kukaanga magimbi, kupigana vita vya ukabila? Namaanisha, nilijua ya kwamba elimu yangu ilikuwa ikiniandaa kwenda sehemu nyingine na kuitumia na katika mazingira mengine ambayo inahusiana nayo. Haikuwa kwa ajili ya mazingira yangu, mahali na muda nilipokua.
And this continued. This philosophy undergirded my studies all through the time I studied in Africa. It took a lot of experiences and some studies for me to begin to have a change of mindset. I will share a couple of the remarkable ones with us.
Na hali hii iliendelea. Na hii philosophia iliimarisha masomo yangu muda wote nilipokuwa nikisoma barani Afrika. Ilihitaji uzoefu mwingi na baadhi ya mafunzo kwa mimi kuanza pata mabadiliko ya mtazamo wangu. Nitawaambia baadhi ya mambo makubwa mazuri.
I was in the United States in Washington, DC studying towards my doctorate, and I got this consultancy position with the World Bank Africa Region. And so I remember one day, my boss -- we were having a conversation on some project, and he mentioned a particular World Bank project, a large-scale irrigation project that cost millions of dollars in Niger Republic that was faltering sustainably. He said this project wasn't so sustainable, and it bothered those that instituted the whole package. But then he mentioned a particular project, a particular traditional irrigation method that was hugely successful in the same Niger Republic where the World Bank project was failing. And that got me thinking. So I did further research, and I found out about Tassa.
Nilikuwa nchini Marekani katika jimbo la Washington, DC kusomea masomo yangu ya shahada ya uzamivu, nilipata nafasi ya kuwa mshauri katika Benki ya Dunia ukanda wa Afrika, Kwa hiyo nakumbuka siku moja, mkuu wangu wa kazi -- tulikuwa tukiongelea kuhusu mradi fulani, na alitaja mradi unaohusiana na Benki ya Dunia, mradi mkubwa wa umwagiliaji unaogharimu mamilioni ya dola katika Jamhuri ya Niger uliokuwa unasuasua uendelezaji wake. Alisema mradi huu haupo imara, na unawakera wale ambao waliupa mamlaka. Lakini aliutaja mradi fulani, namna ya umwagiliaji wa kitamaduni ambao ulikuwa na mafanikio makubwa sana katika nchi hiyo hiyo ya Jamhuri ya Niger ambapo mradi wa Benki ya Dunia ulikuwa ukifeli. Na ikanifanya kuwaza. Kwa hiyo nikafanya utafiti zaidi, na nikagundua kuhusu Tassa.
Tassa is a traditional irrigation method where 20- to 30-centimeter-wide and 20- to 30-centimeter-deep holes are dug across a field to be cultivated. Then, a small dam is constructed around the field, and then crops are planted across the surface area. What happens is that when rain falls, the holes are able to store the water and appropriate it to the extent that the plant needs the water. The plant can only assimilate as much water as needed until harvest time. Niger is 75 percent scorched desert, so this is something that is a life-or-death situation, and it has been used for centuries. In an experiment that was conducted, two similar plots of land were used in the experiment, and one plot of land did not have the Tassa technique on it. Similar plots. The other one had Tassa technique constructed on it. Then similar grains of millet also were planted on both plots. During harvest time, the plot of land without Tassa technique yielded 11 kilograms of millet per hectare. The plot of land with Tassa technique yielded 553 kilograms of millet per hectare.
Tassa ni namna ya umwagiliaji wa kienyeji ambapo mashimo yenye upana wa kati ya sentimenta 20 hadi 30 na kina cha sentimeta 20 hadi 30 huchimbwa katika shamba ambalo linaelekea kulimwa. Kisha, bwawa dogo hujengwa kuzunguka shamba na mazao hupandwa ardhini. Kinachotokea ni kwamba mvua itaponyesha, mashimo huwa na uwezo wa kutunza maji na kupelekea kiasi kwamba mmea kuhitaji maji. Mmea unaweza pata maji mengi unavyohitaji mpaka muda wa mavuno. Niger ni asilimia 75 jangwa, na hii kitu cha maisha au kifo, na imekuwa ikitumika kwa karne. Katika utafiti ambao ulifanyika, mashamba mawili yanayofanana yalitumika katika utafiti, na shamba moja halikutumia njia ya Tassa. Mashamba yanayofanana. Lingine lilitumia njia ya Tassa. Kisha mbegu sawa za mtama zilipandwa katika mashamba yote mawili. Wakati wa mavuno, Shamba ambalo halikutumia njia ya Tassa lilizalisha kilogramu 11 za mtama kwa hektari. Shamba lililotumia njia ya Tassa lilizalisha kilogramu 553 za mtama kwa hektari.
(Applause)
(Makofi)
I looked at the research, and I looked at myself. I said, "I studied agriculture for 12 years, from primary to Senior Six, as we say in East Africa, SS3 in West Africa or 12th grade. No one ever taught me of any form of traditional African knowledge of cultivation -- of harvesting, of anything -- that will work in modern times and actually succeed, where something imported from the West would struggle to succeed. That was when I knew the challenge, the challenge of Africa's curricula, And I thus began my quest to dedicate my life, concern my life work, to studying, conducting research on Africa's own knowledge system and being able to advocate for its mainstreaming in education, in research, policy across sectors and industries.
Niliangalia ule utafiti na nikajitazama. Nilisema, "Nimesomea kilimo kwa miaka 12, kuanzia elimu ya msingi mpaka kidato cha sita, kama tuitavyo kwa Afrika Mashariki, SS3 kwa Afrika Magharibi au darasa la 12. Hakuna aliyewahi kunifundisha namna yoyote ya maarifa ya Kiafrika katika ukulima -- katika mavuno, katika chochote -- ambayo itafanya kazi katika nyakati za kisasa na hakika kufanikiwa, pale ambapo jambo fulani lillotolewa nchi za Magharibi limehangaika kufanikiwa. Hapo ndipo nilitambua changamoto, changamoto ya mtaala wa Kiafrika, Na kisha nikaanza lengo langu la kujitolea maisha yangu, kujali maisha yangu ya kazi, katika kusoma, kufanya tafiti kuhusu mfumo wa maarifa ya Kiafrika na kuweza kuyawakilisha katika njia kuu katika elimu, katika tafiti, sera katika sekta na viwanda.
Another conversation and experience I had at the bank I guess made me take that final decision of where I was going to go, even though it wasn't the most lucrative research to go into, but it was just about what I believed in. And so one day, my boss said that he likes to go to Africa to negotiate World Bank loans and to work on World Bank projects. And I was intrigued. I asked him why. He said, "Oh, when I go to Africa, it's so easy. I just write up my loan documents and my project proposal in Washington, DC, I go to Africa, and they all just get signed. I get the best deal, and I'm back to base. My bosses are happy with me."
Maongezi mengine na uzoefu niliopata nikiwa Benki ya Dunia Nahisi umenifanya nichukue uamuzi wa mwisho wa wapi nitaelekea, ingawa haikuwa tafiti yenye matunda makubwa ya kuielekea, lakini ilikuwa kuhusu jambo ambalo nililiamini. Kwa hiyo siku moja, mkuu wangu wa kazi alisema kwamba angependelea kwenda Afrika kwa ajili ya kujadiliana kuhusu mikopo ya Benki ya Dunia na kufanyia kazi miradi ya Benki hiyo. Na nilihamasika, nikamuuliza kwanini. Alisema, "Oh, nitapoenda Afrika, ni rahisi. Ninaandika tu nyaraka za mkopo na dhumuni la mkopo nikiwa Washington, DC, Ninakwenda Afrika, na kisha nyaraka zote zinasainiwa. Ninapata mpango mzuri kabisa, na kisha narudi ofisini. Wakuu wangu wa kazi watanifurahia."
But then he said, "I hate going to Asia or ..." and he mentioned a particular country, Asia and some of these countries. "They keep me for this, trying to get the best deal for their countries. They get the best deal. They tell me, 'Oh, that clause will not work for us in our environment. It's not our reality. It's just so Western.' And they tell me, 'Oh, we have enough experts to take care of this. You don't have enough experts. We know our aim.' And they just keep going through all these things. By the time they finish, yes, they get the best deal, but I'm so exhausted and I don't get the best deal for the bank, and we're in business." "Really?" I thought in my head, "OK."
Lakini kisha akasema, "sipendi kwenda Asia au ..." na alitaja nchi fulani, bara la Asia na nchi baadhi. "Huwa wananifanya nikae kwa muda mrefu, wakijaribu kutafuta mipango bora kwa nchi zao. Huwa wanapata mipango bora. Wananiambia, 'Oh, hicho kipengele hakitatufaa katika mazingira yetu. Si uhalisia wetu. Kimekaa katika mfumo wa Magharibi sana.' Na wananiambia, 'Oh, tuna wataalamu wa kutosha kwa ajili ya kushughulikia hili. Huna wataalamu wa kutosha. Tunafahamu lengo letu.' Na wanaendelea kupitia haya mambo yote. Ikifika muda wa kumaliza, ndiyo, wanapata mpango bora, lakini nakuwa nimechoka na sipati mpango mzuri kwa ajili ya benki, na sisi tupo katika biashara." "Kweli?" Niliwaza akilini, "Sawa."
I was privileged to sit in on a loan negotiating session in an African country. So I would do these consultancy positions during summer, you know, since I was a doctoral student. And then I traveled with the team, with the World Bank team, as more like someone to help out with organizational matters. But I sat in during the negotiating session. I had mostly Euro-Americans, you know, with me from Washington, DC. And I looked across the table at my African brothers and sisters. I could see intimidation on their faces. They didn't believe they had anything to offer the great-great-grandchildren of Mungo Park -- the owners of "apple" in "A is for apple." They just sat and watched: "Oh, just give us, let us sign. You own the knowledge. You know it all. Just, where do we sign? Show us, let us sign." They had no voice. They didn't believe in themselves.
Nilipata kipaumbele cha kupata nafasi ya kuwepo katika kikao cha kujadili kuhusu mkopo katika nchi ya Kiafrika. Kwa hivyo ningefanya kazi ya ushauri wakati wa kiangazi, unajua, ukizingatia mimi ni mwanafunzi wa shahada ya uzamivu. Na nilisafiri na timu, na timu ya Benki ya Dunia, kama mtu ambaye ningesaidia katika masuala ya upangaji wa majadiliano. Lakini nilipokuwa wakati wa majadiliano. Niliokuwa nao wengi ni toka Ulaya na Marekani, unajua, wakiwa na mimi kutoka Washington, DC. Na nilitazama katika meza nikiwaangalia kaka na dada zangu wa Kiafrika. Niliona uoga katika nyuso zao. Hawakuamini kama walikuwa na chochote cha kuwapa vilembwe wa Mungo Park -- wamiliki wa "apple" katika "A is for Apple." Walikaa na kutazama:"Oh, mtupatie, tuweze tia saini. Mnayo maarifa, mnafahamu yote. Wapi tunatakiwa kutia saini?Tuonyeshe, tutie saini." Hawakuwa na sauti. Hawakujiamini.
Excuse me.
Mniwie radhi.
And so, I have been doing this for a decade. I have been conducting research on Africa's knowledge system, original, authentic, traditional knowledge. In the few cases where this has been implemented in Africa, there has been remarkable successes recorded.
Na kwa hiyo, Nimekuwa nikifanya hivi kwa muongo. Nimekuwa nikifanyia utafiti kuhusu mfumo wa maarifa ya Kiafrika, asilia, halisi, maarifa ya Kiafrika. Katika mambo machache ambapo hili suala limehusishwa, kumekuwa na mafanikio makubwa ya kusisimua yaliyorekodiwa.
I think of Gacaca. Gacaca is Rwanda's traditional judicial system that was used after the genocide. In 1994, when the genocide ended, Rwanda's national court system was in shambles: no judges, no lawyers to try hundreds of thousands of genocide cases. So the government of Rwanda came up with this idea to resuscitate a traditional judicial system known as Gacaca. Gacaca is a community-based judicial system, where community members come together to elect men and women of proven integrity to try cases of crimes committed within these communities. So by the time Gacaca concluded its trial of genocide cases in 2012, 12,000 community-based courts had tried approximately 1.2 million cases. That's a record.
Nawaza kuhusu Gacaca. Gacaca ni mfumo wa kitamaduni wa korti wa nchini Rwanda ambao ulitumika baada ya mauaji ya kimbari. Mnamo 1994, mauaji yalipoisha, Mfumo wa mahakama wa taifa la Rwanda ulikuwa hafifu katika utendaji: hakuna majaji, hakuna mawakili kuweza fanyia kazi mamia ya maelfu ya kesi za mauaji ya kimbari. Kwa hiyo serikali ya Rwanda ilipata wazo hili kufufua mfumo wa jadi wa korti unaofahamika kama Gacaca. Gacaca ni mfumo wa jamii wa mahakama, ambapo wanajamii hukutana pamoja kuchagua waume kwa wake walio na uadilifu kusimamia kesi ya jinai zilizofanyika katika jamii yao. Kwa wakati Gacaca ilipomaliza kutoa hukumu ya kesi za mauaji ya kimbari mnamo mwaka 2012, mahakama 12,000 za kijamii ziliweza simamia kesi takribani milioni 1.2. Hicho ni kiasi kikubwa.
(Applause)
(Makofi)
Most importantly is that Gacaca emphasized Rwanda's traditional philosophy of reconciliation and reintegration, as against the whole punitive and banishment idea that undergirds present-day Western style. And not to compare, but just to say that it really emphasized Rwanda's traditional method of philosophy.
Muhimu ni kwamba Gacaca ilihimiza philosophia ya kitamaduni ya Rwanda na majadiliano ya amani na kuungana pamoja tena, kupingana na mawazo ya mateso na adhabu ambayo yanatumika katika mifumo ya nchi za Magharibi hadi siku hizi. Na sio kwa kulinganisha, lakini kwa kusema tu kwamba ilihamasisha sana Mfumo wa jadi wa philosophia ya Rwanda.
And so it was Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania --
Na kama ilivyokuwa kwa Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, raisi wa kwanza wa nchi ya Tanzania --
(Applause)
(Makofi)
who said that you cannot develop people. People will have to develop themselves. I agree with Mwalimu. I am convinced that Africa's further transformation, Africa's advancement, rests simply in the acknowledgment, validation and mainstreaming of Africa's own traditional, authentic, original, indigenous knowledge in education, in research, in policy making and across sectors. This is not going to be easy for Africa. It is not going to be easy for a people used to being told how to think, what to do, how to go about it, a people long subjected to the intellectual guidance and direction of others, be they the colonial masters, aid industry or international news media. But it is a task that we have to do to make progress.
nani amesema huwezi kuwaendeleza watu. Watu watatakiwa kujiendeleza wenyewe. Nakubaliana na Mwalimu. Nimekubaliana kwamba mabadiliko zaidi ya Afrika, maendeleo ya Afrika, yapo katika utambuzi, uhalalishaji na kuweza njia kuu tamaduni zetu wenyewe, uhalisi, asili ya maarifa katika elimu, katika tafiti, katika utengenezaji sera katika sekta. Hii haiwezi kuwa rahisi kwa Afrika. Si rahisi kwa watu waliozoea kuambiwa namna ya kufikiri, nini cha kufanya, jinsi ya kukifanya, watu ambao kwa kipindi kirefu wamekuwa katika muongozo wa maarifa na dira za wengine, wawe wakoloni, mashirika ya misaada au vyombo vya habari vya kimataifa. Lakini ni jambo tunalotakiwa kufanya ili kupiga hatua.
I am strengthened by the words of Joseph Shabalala, founder of the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He said that the task ahead of us can never, ever be greater than the power within us. We can do it. We can unlearn looking down on ourselves. We can learn to place value on our reality and our knowledge.
Ninaimarishwa na maneno ya Joseph Shabalala, muanzilishi wa kundi la kwaya la Afrika Kusini liitwalo Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Alisema kwamba kazi iliyopo mbele yetu haiwezi kamwe, kuwa kubwa kuliko nguvu iliyopo ndani yetu. Tunaweza kufanya. Tunaweza kuacha kujidharau. Tunaweza kujifunza kuweka thamani katika uhalisia wetu na maarifa yetu.
Thank you.
Asante.
(Swahili) Thank you very much.
Asante sana.
(Applause)
(Makofi)
Thank you. Thank you.
Asante. Asante
(Applause)