Browsing by Author "Matunga, Benta N."

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    Contextualizing citizenship in Tanzania
    (Routledge, 2019) Nguyahambi, Ajali M.; Matunga, Benta N.; Kilonzo, Rehema G.; Kontinen, T.; Chang`a, Haji H.
    This chapter describes selected features of the contemporary Tanzania that form the context for learning of citizenship in civil society. The chapter grasps the contextual conditions and circumstances of citizenship in Tanzania by looking at historical evolvement of the notion of development, maendeleo, over the period from colonial eras to the postcolonial single-party system to the contemporary multiparty democracy. The chapter continues with analyses of the moments of donor enthusiasm for civil society and NGOs and the recent debates on the shrinking space of civil society. Essentially, different stages present different idea of an ideal citizen and also different efforts in order to shape citizens by state and civil society organizations. It further reflects on how the traces of these developments might show in today’s citizenship habits including patterns of participation and citizenship identities, not only vis-á-vis the state but also other groups and forums where rights and responsibilities are negotiated, and thus, active citizenship is constructed.
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    Habits of contributing citizenship: self-help groups in rural Tanzania
    (Routledge, 2019) Matunga, Benta N.; Chang'a, Haji H.; Kontinen, Tiina; Kilonzo, R. G.
    The chapter examines self-help groups in rural Tanzania as practices in which citizenship habits are formed. Self-help groups are referred as locally organized groups established to address the needs and challenges of the members. From the point of view of pragmatism, self-help groups provide concrete examples of a specific form of associated life and of a general human activeness in addressing shared problems. Based on interviews and focus-group discussions conducted in Kondoa district with local self-help groups, the characteristics of these practices are analyzed through three themes: the kinds of shared problems the groups address, the governance of internal interaction of the groups, and the sorts of participants included. Based on our analysis, we suggest a habit of contributing citizenship emerging out of the participation in self-help groups.