Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Just Google him!...Webiro 'Wakazi' Wassira

Kuna wakati wasanii nyumbani walikuwa wanategemea vituo vikubwa vya redio - hasa Clouds FM - kuamua mafanikio ya kazi zao. Kwa maneno mengine, kama kazi yako ikikubaliwa na ikachezwa vya kutosha na Clouds FM basi unapata uhakika wa kupata shows. Wale ambao nyimbo zao zilikuwa zinatupwa kapuni ilibidi warudi wajipange upya au kuhamia kwenye fani nyingine.

Lakini kuna Vijana ambao wamefikiria na wakaona mbali zaidi.

Siku moja nilitumiwa nyimbo inayoitwa 'Mshindi' na mdogo wangu anayesoma India. Akaniambia tu, "msikilize mbongo huyo." Nilikuwa natumia headphones uchwara, lakini baada ya beat kuanza ilinibidi nihamishie mambo kwenye spika kubwa! Nikarudia kuusikiliza mara kibao na nikaanza kufanya utafiti ili nijue nani hasa anayeghani...


Jina: Wakazi!...Nyumbani: Ukonga, Dar es Salaam!...Makazi: Chicago!

Kusema ukweli sikuamini jinsi ilivyokuwa rahisi kupata habari na taarifa zote za Wakazi aka Swagga Bovu; bila kusahau nyimbo nyingine nyingi nilizoweza kuzisikiliza kwenye mtandao.

Wakazi anajishughulisha na mambo mengine lakini ana mapenzi makubwa na Hip Hop. Ukiacha utundu wake wa kucheza na maneno ya lugha ya Kiswahili na Kiingereza, inaonekana amefikiria mbali. Ameona nini kinaendelea kwenye teknolojia (hasa mtandao) na akaamua kuelekeza juhudi zake zote kwa kujitangaza kupitia twitter, facebook na myspace. Na wiki hii amezindua tovuti yake. Idadi ya watu wanaofuatilia kazi zake za muziki inazidi kukua na hii inaasharia kuwa juhudi zake zinaanza kuzaa matunda.

Sitashangaa akianza 'kuwapiga bao' wasanii ambao tayari wako juu kwenye vituo vya redio Bongo pindi mtandao wa fibre optic utakapoanza kutumiwa na watu wengi Tanzania na Afrika Mashariki kwa ujumla. Kama wahenga walivyosema, "Chema chajiuza, kibaya chajitembeza."

Sasa hivi ana Mixtape ya Ukweli Vol. 1* ambayo imeanza kutapakaa kwenye mtandao (click here to download). Na yuko studio akirekodi mixtape yake ya pili na album yake ya kwanza.

Wale ambao wako Dallas, Texas, Wakazi atakuja kuwakonga nyoyo zenu kwenye weekend ya Pasaka. Kama unataka kujua mambo mengine zaidi...Just Google him! Au mwandikie e-mail: wakaziwavina (at) gmail (dot) com.


*Quote from the mixtape review: "If I start quoting his best punchlines or one-lines, then it won't be an ending process as the whole mixtape got those, you can peep wordplay here 'Kimziki wewe ni Cheater (Chettah), unafanana na duma!'"

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Where can you find university application guidance?



Where can East African students go to find help on applying for higher studies? One of the things Vijana FM is trying to do is create a consolidated list of application resources for prospective students, whether they intend to continue their studies in East Africa or abroad.

Some suggestions we have had in the past:
- Friends and family;
- Newspaper advertisements;
- Forums on radio;
- Embassy or Consulate of the country in which the student wants to study;
- School guidance councilors.

How else do they find out? And how can we collectively work towards a more inclusive and comprehensive information source?

Katuni kutoka Afrika Mashariki

Naamini Vijana wengi ni mashabiki wakubwa wa katuni. Bila shaka utakuwa unakumbuka enzi zile jinsi kila Alhamisi ilivyokuwa ina raha yake. Nilikuwa sina budi kuibana hela ya matumizi shuleni ili ikifika Alhamisi niweze kununua nakala yangu binafsi ya gazeti la Sanifu! Kuna siku nyingine kama nina ziada ya jiti, nanunua makala mbili: moja ya kwangu mwenyewe na nyingine ni kwa ajili ya waazimaji (shuleni). Kuna baadhi ya wazazi ambao hawakupenda kuwaona marafiki zangu wakisoma Sanifu. Nilikuwa siwaelewi!

Kulikuwa na kurasa ambazo unaziangalia kwanza kabla ya kusoma vitu vingine. Sura ya wiki, Mwakipesile, Mzee wa Rivasi, Tolu, Ndani ya Nyumba (mambo ya misemo tata)...

Miaka imeenda na nimekuwa mtu mzima lakini sijaacha kufuatilia wachoraji maarufu. Niko kwenye juhudi za kuomba ruhusa na baraka za wasanii mbalimbali ili niweze kupost katuni zao hapa Vijana FM. Mpaka sasa hivi ni mchoraji mmoja tu, Zapiro kutoka Afrika Kusini aliyenipa ruhusa na baraka zake.

Kama una mawasiliano na Masoud Kipanya, tafadhali, itakuwa ni jambo la busara kumuomba awasiliane nasi.

Mchoraji mwingine maarufu ni Gado ambaye anafanya shughuli zake Kenya. Hapa ninawaomba wenzangu tutumie nguvu ya umoja ili tumsihi atupe ruhusa. Tembelea ukurasa wake wa facebook na ukiweza mwandikie e-mail. Juhudi zangu zimegonga mwamba! Pia, kama wewe ni mchoraji na unataka Vijana waone kazi yako usisite kuwasiliana nasi.

Nia na madhumuni hasa ya kuzianika katuni zao hapa ni kuanzisha mijadala ya aina mbalimbali. Zifuatazo ni baadhi ya katuni za zamani kidogo kutoka kwa Gado (Chanzo):



More from DJ Akundaeli

DJ Akundaeli - the Tanzanian DJ in San Jose, CA - sent us some more of his mix sets. All mixes are free to download - enjoy (thanks Akundaeli!).

Reggae Beat (vol 1)

Check Check - Dancehall (vol 1)

Check Check (vol 2)

Contact Akundaeli:
Twitter
Facebook
E-mail: akundaeli (at) gmail (dot) com

Fresh from the SriBuo Ghanaian music vault



SriBuo advertises a new album release from Ghana:

Artist: Castro (see profile on Museke here)
Album: Fayke

Download free album samples:

Monday, March 29, 2010

Nabii hakubaliki nyumbani?


Jina: X Plastaz!...Kazi: Hip-hop!...Nyumbani: Arusha!

Unategemea kijana wa kawaida mtaani kutoka Tanzania - ukiacha Arusha - atawajua X Plastaz kwa ufasaha. Lakini, bahati mbaya si hivyo! Ndio, kila mtu ana ladha yake ya muziki na bahati nzuri Bongo imejaliwa kuwa na wanamuziki wa kila aina. Enzi za kuleta wasanii kutoka Kinshasa, Kongo kila Pasaka, au wasanii wa R&B na Hip-hop kutoka 'Unyamwezini' kila Eid zimepitwa na wakati. Leo hii Tanzania ina wasanii wa kila aina wanaoweza kukuna nyoyo za watu.

Na ni kawaida kwa mtu au msanii kuanza kufanya vizuri nyumbani kwanza; kujikusanyia washabiki na heshima, kisha kuanza safari za kujitangaza nje ya nchi. Lakini hii sio njia Vijana wa X Plastaz waliyofuata. Ukiangalia picha zao nyingi wakiwa jukwaani utaona lugha ngeni kwenye mabango, na hii inaonesha 'labda' hawa wenzetu wanaheshimika na kufahamika zaidi nje ya nchi.

Binafsi niliwasikia X Plastaz kwa mara ya kwanza kwenye miaka ya 2000 mwanzoni nilipoenda kusalimia ndugu zangu Arusha. Kaseti (tape) ya album yao ilikuwa imeshiba nyimbo murua kuanzia mwanzo hadi mwisho (ambayo si kawaida kwenye albums za wasanii wengi)!



Bahati mbaya mpaka leo sijapata jibu la kisa cha X Plastaz kutopewa heshima wanayostahili nyumbani. Bila shaka mambo wanayoongelea kwenye nyimbo zao huwagusa wengi, lakini wamewakosea nini DJs wa Dar na Mwanza?

Miaka minne imepita tangu mmoja wao, Faza Nelly alipofariki dunia. Hakika mashabiki wa Faza Nelly na X Plastaz Tanzania na dunia nzima hatutamsahau. Kwa wale ambao hawajawahi kumsikia, sikiliza wimbo ufuatao kwa makini:



Ukitaka kujua zaidi kuhusu hawa Vijana na kuwafuatilia tembelea website yao na ukurasa wao wa facebook. Nadhani ni muda wa X Plastaz kuanza kupewa heshima wanayostahili Tanzania na Afrika Mashariki kwa ujumla. Pia, wale wasanii ambao wana ndoto za kujulikana ughaibuni hawana budi kujifunza kutoka kwao.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sanaa kioo cha jamii


Msanii Afande Sele alipataga kutunga wimbo uliotwa, “darubini kali”, ambao ulimwongezea umaarufu hadi kumsaidia kushinda tuzo ya Mfalme wa Rhymes. Nyimbo ya “darubini kali”, ilizungumzia mambo mbalimbali ya jamii. Nyimbo hiyo pia ilifanikiwa kuonyesha uhusiano kati ya kazi ya sanaa, mfano sasa Bongo Flava, na jamii inayozungukwa nayo. Katika maneno yake mwenye, Afande alisema, “mimi ni msanii, mimi ni kioo cha jamii”, hivyo kujenga hoja kuwa sanaa ni chombo ambacho kinatumia fasihi kuyaweka bayana matatizo yaliyomo ndani ya jamii zetu.

Hivyo basi, leo hii ninadiriki kusema bongo flava inakibarua kikubwa cha kuzungumzia maswala ya jamii ya sisi vijana. Sanaa hii inatoa moja kati ya nafasi chache ambazo vijana tunazo kuelezea na kujadili matatizo yetu. Pamoja na ukweli kuwa zipo nyimbo ambazo zinazungumzia matatizo haya, lakini ubunifu wa kisanii si wakuridhisha sana. Mimi ninaamini, ili sauti ya msanii iweze kusikika na watu wengi, lazima kazi ya msanii iwe na ubunifu utakaofanikisha kutofautisha kazi yake na kazi za wasanii wengine. Sasa basi, kwakuwa swala ni kuwakilisha vijana na kuwasilisha matatizo ya vijana, nimefurahishwa sana na nyimbo hii ya “samahani wanangu” ya msanii Mrisho Mpoto. Bwana Mpoto amezungumzia matatizo yetu vijana na baadhi ya vyanzo vya matatizo hayo.

Nitapenda sote tusikilize maudhui yaliyomo ndani ya kazi hii ya kisanaa na kuwa makini katika kusikiliza matumizi ya lugha ya Kiswahili katika nyimbo hii.

Mrisho Mpoto na 'Samahani Wanangu"



Mrisho Mpoto akihojiwa na starlink

Friday, March 26, 2010

Tusimsahau Hasheem jamani

Tuliposikia Hasheem kapelekwa D-League Watanzania wengi tulishtuka. Ubaya au uzuri wa tukio hili ni kwamba - kutokana na habari zinavyotapakaa kwenye mtandao kwa kasi - kila mtu alikuwa ana maoni yake, iwe Marekani au Tanzania. Na wengi wetu hatukusita kujadili ingawa hatukujua undani wa suala zima.

Binafsi nadhani alifanya vizuri kwenye kipindi kifupi alichokuwa Dakota Wizards, hasa ukizingatia jinsi kila mtu anayemfahamu au aliyesikia (mambo ya D-League) alikuwa anamtolea mimacho. Inahitaji moyo! Ni wachache sana, hata professionals, ambao wanaweza kufanya alichokifanya; ni mtihani mkubwa sana kisaikolojia. Nakumbuka enzi zile "vidudu" kukariri zile ngonjera za kuwaaga wanafunzi wa darasa la saba ilikuwa 'mbinde'. Lakini baada ya hapo ukiingia darasa la wakubwa mambo huwa mteremko. Kwahiyo ni matumaini yangu kuwa kijana mwenzetu sasa hivi yu tayari kwa vikwazo vingine huko mbele.

Nimekuwa nikiendelea kumfuatilia na bila shaka Hasheem anajitahidi, ukizingatia alipotoka hadi alipo sasa ni safari ndefu sana.


Juzi Grizzlies walifungwa na Golden State Warriors (110 - 128) na Hasheem alijipatia 4 points, 3 rebounds na 3 blocks kwenye dakika 15 alizocheza. Kabla ya hapo alicheza dakika 30 katika mchezo dhidi ya Sacramento Kings ambapo Grizzlies walishinda (102 - 85). Alijipatia 10 points, 7 rebounds na 3 blocks.

Watu mbalimbali kutoka kwenye kikosi cha Grizzlies wamekuwa wakimsifia kwa kuonesha juhudi na maendeleo toka aliporudi kutoka Dakota. Cha muhimu zaidi ni imani ya kocha wake, Lionel Hollins ambayo hasiti kuionesha kila mara watu wa vyombo vya habari wanapomuuliza kuhusu maendeleo ya Hasheem.


Inaonekana vyombo vya habari na blogs zetu zinasahau kutupa habari na fursa ya kujadili au kujifunza mawili matatu pindi mambo yanayotia moyo yanapojiri. Kadri Vijana FM inapokua tutajaribu kumtafuta Hasheem ili atupe picha halisi jinsi anavyojiandaa na mechi za NBA.

Pia napenda kuchukua fursa hii kuwasihi Vijana kuendelea kumpa support Hasheem. Kwa wale ambao ni walevi wa facebook bofyeni hapa.

Nawatakia weekend njema!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Bongo to San Jose: DJ Akundaeli



We recently heard from DJ Akundaeli, a Tanzanian DJ currently based in San Jose, CA.

Presenting Akundaeli: Flava, a 25-track mixset featuring the melodies of Jaffarai, Punjabi Mungra, Chege, Ali Kiba and many more.

Download the mix for free here
.

Catch Akundaeli on:
Twitter
Facebook
e-mail:

How is VijanaFM increasing web traffic?


VijanaFM is a very young blog and is constantly competing for eyeballs among the plethora of content that is available online. That being said, the VijanaFM team is actively working to increase its web presence and gather sustained web traffic from its primary audience group, East Africans.

#1: Content is King
Blogs are about content. The more original, interesting and relevant content that is posted the greater our our traffic. VijanaFM has therefore increased the number of voluntary contributors to its site in order to maintain a steady flow of new content. The VijanaFM team is also very diverse in their experiences which leads to diverse content, again, a plus! We also realized that we need a good balance of Swahili and English content in order to gain greater acceptance among locals in East Africa.

#2: Make it easy
From a usability perspective, we're also trying to make it easier for people to find what they are looking for. We're maintaining a consistent tagging mechanism for all our posts and removing any overlapping and unnecessarily tags. We're also working on categorizing by the three content types (audio, visual, text) that our platform seeks to promote.

#3: Just Google it
We all know Google is the top search engine so how we rank on the search engine is a key priority. Now Google automatically increases your rankings as you have more visitors to the site which #1 and #2 are also helping to do. Each of our postings is also disseminated through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, this increases the number of 'backlinks'(other websites that link back to yours) and thus increasing your rankings. Lastly, we're also monitoring the portion of our web traffic that comes from organic Google searches and optimizing our site for the most actively used keywords for our target demographic.

Do you have any experiences of your own with building a sustainable web presence? Any strategies that worked for you? Please comment.

Cross listed here.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Uharibifu wa mazingira Geita na Mara - Sehemu ya tatu

Baada ya kulivalia njuga hili suala nazidi kupata taarifa zaidi kila kukicha. Na mimi sisiti kuwapa taarifa Watanzania wenzangu na watu wengine wanaolifuatilia hili jambo kwa makini. Nakala hii ya uchunguzi wa kina inapatikana kwenye websites za Business & Human Rights na Africa Files. Na inaangalia mazingira ya sehemu mbili - migodi ya Geita na Mara.

Ingawa ripoti inamalizia kwa kuomba kufanyika uchunguzi zaidi, hasa kuangalia afya za waathirika, kuna dalili kuwa hili suala litafika kwenye vyombo husika vitakavyoweza kutusaidia Watanzania.

___________________________________________________________________


Investigations of trace metal concentrations in soil, sediments and waters in the vicinity of ”Geita Gold Mine” and ”North Mara Gold Mine” in North West Tanzania

The study was conducted by The Norwegian University of Life Sciences in cooperation with the University of Dar es Salaam. Researchers were Åsgeir R. Almås, Charles Kweyunga and Mkwabwa LK Manoko. It was commissioned by the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), Bakwata, and the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT). The results are based on sampling of water, soil and sediments. Samples were taken at 36 different sites around the Geita Gold mine, North Mara Gold mine and control locations. A total of 100 soil and sediment samples and 36 water samples were taken. The samples were analyzed at the University of Life Sciences Norway.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the environmental impact of the mining activity in Geita and North Mara.

Key findings:

North Mara Gold Mine (Barrick Gold)

The mine is situated in the Mara-district east of Victoria Lake in North Tanzania. The closest town is Tarime.

The environmental situation in North Mara is very worrying. For a while people have claimed that the tailing dam is leaking and so fear contamination of the area. Barrick has alleged that people have been stealing the lining of the tailing dam and destroying pipes. The area surrounding the tailing dam is not fenced. In May 2009 a major spill occurred at the mine. Samples were taken both the area of the spill and the tailing dam at various distances.

The study finds extremely high levels of arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, crom, nickel and zinc at the area around the spill. The environment has been seriously contaminated. The arsenic (As) content in the most contaminated water sample were one to two orders of magnitude higher than the WHO drinking water guidelines (10 µg/l). The most extreme water sample contained 8449 µg/l, which is about half a lethal dose of arsenic for a human. Currently, the WHO guideline for maximum As concentration in drinking water is 10 µg/l, but this standard is set to be lowered to 5 µg/l in the near future. This site is currently not being used by the population, but is accessible and represents a very real danger. Also, the extreme levels of dangerous substances found at the site show how toxic the material handled by the mine is and the danger that accidental spills represent.

There are also extreme concentrations of arsenic around the tailing dam itself. Concentrations of arsenic ranging from 1142 to 111 µg/l were found in water samples. One area used for grazing by cattle contained 413 µg/l of arsenic. A nearby area regarded as safe by the population and used for drinking water contained 8 µg/l of arsenic – just below current WHO-standards.

This area also contained high levels of cobalt up to 319 µg/l. WHO has no guidelines for dangerous levels of cobalt in drinking water. The proposed Canadian guidelines for aquatic life state that the level should not exceed 4 µg/l for chronic exposure and 110 µg/l for acute toxicity. In other words aquatic life starts dying above 110 µg/l.

Samples from the soil also show high levels of arsenic at the spill site and higher than normal levels of other minerals. Sediments (top layer) also showed high and very high levels of arsenic. All other metals also have elevated levels compared to the control sample taken well away from the mine. It is therefore clear that the mine is having a sustained impact on the surrounding environment in North Mara.

The study does not speculate on possible reasons for this contamination in North Mara. However, one likely reason is that the tailing dam is leaking.

When dug the earth in this area seems to be saturated with water. The company has placed pumps at various places to pump water back into the tailing dam. Another possible reason is leeching from the rock deposited in the landscape.

Geita Gold Mine (Anglo Gold Ashanti)

In Geita the situation is less acute. The study finds higher levels of arsenic and other metals in sediments compared to natural levels. Water samples were all within WHO drinking standards with the exception of one site in a restricted area. Still, the higher levels measured in sediments is worrying and probably means that pollution has occurred in the past through flooding. When measuring water you are getting a picture of the situation at that moment. Finding arsenic in sediments at various sites is of concern even if the concentration in water bodies were not very high.

Cyanide

Cyanide was not found to be a problem in Geita or North Mara at the time of the study. This could be due to the fact that cyanide quickly bonds with other substances turning into harmless compounds. It is therefore very difficult to measure the level of cyanide in water unless the measurements are taken at the time of a spill.

Consequences

There are many serious health effects resulting from exposure to arsenic. A variety of cancers, birth defects and numerous skin problems are among the effects. People with skin problems consistent with arsenic poisoning can be found both in Geita and North Mara. More research is needed through taking hair, nails and urine samples to confirm that arsenic is the problem.

In North Mara the area where the spill took place is toxic and dangerous for people and cattle – it is a disaster site. The area around the tailing dam and in effect between the two rivers Tighite and Mara might become contaminated and harmful to people unless the contamination caused by the tailing dam is stopped.

And here is the Barrick's response:

___________________________________________________________________

Kwa mtazamo wangu nadhani taarifa kutoka Barrick zinakinzana kidogo na majibu yao hayajaniridhisha. Kumbuka, hawa hawa ndio waliokuwa wanadai wanavijiji ndio wa kulaumiwa; kwa kuiba vizuizi kwenye bwawa la takataka la mgodi. Napenda kurudia, haya yangeweza kuzuilika. Na tuna uhakika kuwa hawa waliofanya huu uchunguzi hawakuruhusiwa kuingia kwenye mgodi!

Kama wachangiaji kadhaa walivyosema kwenye makala zilizopita shughuli hii ni pevu. Kwahiyo tunahitaji umoja na mshikamano. Kama unaweza kusaidia kwa njia yoyote ile, usisite kuwasiliana nasi au Foundation HELP (info@foundationhelp.org); iwe kwa kututumia taarifa unazodhani zitasaidia (kutoka kwenye Wizara ya Nishati na Madini au Barrick Mara).

Natanguliza shukrani za dhati!