This article by Jacob Mugini first appeared on allafrica.com on 09/18/2015.
Gabriel Dan Ford (19) comes from a poor family in Tarime District. He would have been in Form Three today but, has been forced to drop out of school and become a small scale miner in order to survive.
He is among some primary and secondary school students from villages surrounding North Mara Gold Mine, who have abandoned their studies to engage in artisanal and small scale mining activities, citing hard life.
But even after struggling to search for gold for about eight months, things have not changed in his favour. “I started going to the mining area in January this year because I had no other option for survival.
“I had no place to sleep and food was also a problem,” Gabriel said in an exclusive interview with the ‘Daily News’ early this week. Gabriel says that he was abandoned by his parents and was thus forced to drop out of school in January. “Working in artisanal and small scale mining areas here is a dangerous job.
It is life risking,” he pointed out citing frequent clashes between artisanal and small scale miners locally known as intruders and use of mercury without protective gear as some of the serious problems facing children and youth working in artisanal and small scale mining in the villages. But there is hope at the end of the tunnel for Gabriel and other students facing similar problems.
A new initiative is set to help them realize their educational dreams, thanks to Search for Common Ground (SFCG), for starting up an ambitious project aiming at rescuing the children from artisanal and small scale mining areas in villages surrounding North Mara Gold Mine.
The project called Youth in Transformation of Conflict in Artisanal and Small- Scale Mining (YTCASM) is being implemented by Bwirege and Ingwe secondary school peace clubs under close coordination of Search for Common Ground officials based in Tarime District, Mara region.
SFCG is a non- profit making international organisation that has been striving to transform conflicts around the villages surrounding the North Mara Gold Mine since 2011. The presence of the international organisation has played a significant role in making the villagers realize the importance of solving conflicts through win-win approach. The secondary school peace clubs, established with the support of SFCG are made up of 80 female and male students, trained on research and common ground journalism techniques.
They have also been provided with modern data collection equipment such as digital cameras, tape recorders and laptops to mention a few. The students in the recent months, have been researching on school drop outs, perception and knowledge of local community on children and youth, seen working in artisanal and small scale mining areas.
The good news is that many children who had been reached and interviewed by the students, have agreed to go back to school if they would be supported in terms of school fees, uniforms and stationeries from well wishers. Gabriel is one of them, according to the chairperson of Ingwe Secondary School peace club, Samson John. “We were shocked to meet Gabriel who was working in artisanal and small mining areas at Nyangoto village.
He was one of the students in our school. After a long conversation with him consequently, he said he was ready to return to school if he got financial support,” Samson, currently a Form Three student at Ingwe Secondary School, which accommodates students hailing from mainly low-income families said.
Gabriel says his encounter with Ingwe peace club students a glimmer of hope despite that he was yet to know the whereabouts of his parents who have been away for nearly one year and why they decided to abandon him.
“I never thought that I would get people to give me messages of encouragement like students of Ingwe Secondary School peace clubs. They are doing a great job which could save many children suffering in artisanal and small scale mining areas”, Gabriel who dropped from Ingwe secondary school when he was about to join Form three said. Gabriel says he was born at Nyangoto village in Tanzania’s gold rich district of Tarime.
Werema Daud, 16, is another student who dropped out of school soon after joining Form Two at Ingwe Secondary School early this year. He also tells a sad story, almost similar to that of Gabriel. “I found myself working in artisanal and small scale mining areas after my parents shifted from Kewanja village to Bunda district and left me helplessly.
It is me who would struggle to know what to eat and how to pay house rent,” Werema, a second born in a family of three children told the ‘Daily News.’ Kewanja is one of the villages located close to North Mara Gold Mine while Bunda is one of the district found in Mara region and is situated over 150 kilometers away from the mine . Werema says he doesn’t see any progress gained for the eight months he worked as an artisanal and small scale miner.
“It is eight months of loss. You could even be injured by rocks, or drop into ponds that contain dangerous water, many youth have been seriously hurt,” he narrates. After he was reached by students of Ingwe secondary peace club a few weeks ago, Werema changed his mind and stopped working in artisanal and small scale mining areas. “I was expelled from school because I had no school fees and other equipment but, I am ready to continue with my studies and I believe it is education that will change my life, “he said.
SFCG Project Manager at Tarime Office Mr. Jacob Mulikuza says a number of bright but disadvantaged students indentified under the project will be assisted to go back to school as soon possible. ” We are currently communicating with relevant schools to establish the kind of requirements and see how to help them,” Mr. Mulikuza said yesterday.
More students have also been identified by students of Bwirege Secondary School club under the same project which is seen by local leaders and parents as a good start and right approach that will eventually help to stop children working in artisanal and small scale mining areas.
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