COMMUNITY ACTION GROUP TUMAINI UNIVERSITY IRINGA

Saturday, 5 July 2008

Get to know about Community Action Group “CAG”

Introduction of Community Action Group as an organization

Community Action Group (CAG) is a Non-Governmental Organization which is independent, non profit making and apolitical organization dedicating itself to volunteering activities within Tumaini University Community and Iringa Region as a whole. CAG activities include visiting and helping orphanage centers, educating communities on HIV/AIDS as well as helping on different academic matters in primary and secondary schools in Iringa Region, environmental activities and learn social life programme. Community Action Group (CAG) through its members has managed to run its functions and activities with the same goal of serving the society and children who are the future generation. Members of CAG, who are voluntarily committed to doing social services throughout their stay at Tumaini University of Iringa, they participate in real activities in providing social services and giving help to the children and needy people by using their moral and material support.

( above are CAG members with orphans children)

Background of CAG

(Above are CAG members for the year 2004/2007)

Community Action Group (CAG) was established by students of Tumaini University Iringa College in 2001. Member students have a spirit of volunteering to help needy groups within the society in which we live as youths, with the belief that CAG can make them feel happy in the absence of their parents in case of the orphans. CAG also believes that volunteering to help needy groups of people is one of the ways of helping the society at large. People helping people is the way of life, by donating the little they have like financial and moral assistance the member students bring awareness to other students and other people to be the first ones to help the society.

Community Action Group (CAG) is a students’ group that coordinates social and environmental activities, as well as educating on HIV/AIDS in schools and within Tumaini community and helping orphanage centres in Iringa. CAG members donate time, money, equipment, and labour power as charity to orphaned children and sick people.

Where is CAG located?

Community Action Group (CAG) is located within Tumaini University, Iringa University College on the northern edge of the Iringa municipal.

Mailing Address and contacts of CAG
P. O. Box 200
Iringa,

Emails addresses
-communityactiongrouptumaini@yahoo.com
-tu.cag2001@gmail.com

Website: www.communityactiongroup.blogspot.com

CAG Account No.01J2071542700
Tumaini Community Action Group
CRDB - Iringa Branch.

Objective of the Community Action Group (CAG)

CAG has objectives for carrying out its activities within and outside the community of Tumaini University; the objectives are as follows:-

Promoting and assisting the orphanage centre in giving human basic needs such as food, shelter and clothes and also financial donation for fees for the orphan students in school and orphanage centre.
Promoting Environmental conservation by planting trees, creating and maintaining sewage system and cleaning public and universities areas.
Preventing youths and the whole community from contracting HIV/AIDS through education especially to young people.
Visiting and giving help to hospitals and other health centres especially to the sick people who can not afford the expenses of the hospital.
Assisting disabled students in primary and secondary schools as well as their schools by providing stationeries, furniture, and helping in repairing their classrooms and other school buildings. We are in the process of providing them with tap water at Kigonzile Primary School.
Organizing and extending activities of CAG to cover all universities of Tanzania.
Developing the link with other organizations in serving the community.

Vision of CAG

To ensure that all orphaned children and their centres get the same rights and basic needs such as food, shelter, clothes and education.
To have cleaner, more beautiful and a healthier environment for today and the future generations.
To make sure all youths receive education about the spread and control of HIV AIDS and to assist them preventing themselves from getting HIV/AIDS.
To encourage young people to develop the spirit of visiting sick people and supporting them materially and morally.
To encourage members of the community assist disabled student in primary and secondary schools.
To expand activities of CAG to all universities in Tanzania and develop the link with other organization in serving the community.

The CAG has a lot of importance to the society and to youths themselves

(Mr.Peter Simba, CAG's Ambassador donating to Huruma Orphanage Center in Tosamaganga)

(Together we can conserve and change our Environment for a better tomorrow>> CAG members, primary students and contestants for Mr & Miss University Tanzania perticipating in planting trees in Iringa region)

(CAG's Chairman and his fellow member, donating food to the pupils of Kigonzile Primary School in Iringa Municipality)

CAG has a lot to contribute to the society especially to the young generation. CAG helps the society in creating better foundation for future generation in the following ways:-

Helping and supporting orphanage centers in Iringa region, this is done by one of the activities where by CAG donates food, clothes school materials and other basic needs to the orphanage centres to support them to raise the children.

Helping children and needy, sick people admitted in hospitals. When CAG members visit hospitals the main purpose is to reduce deaths among children and the people who are living difficult life by providing mosquito nets, food, clothes and fund for medicines and treatment.

Giving education on HIV/AIDS to the society especially to students in universities. Youths in the society face serious problem of HIV/AIDS, thus the youths must be educated on various ways to avoid lifestyle that will lead them to be infected with this disease. Through CAG there is hope as the purpose is to raise awareness of AIDS.

Helping primary and secondary schools, the pupils get moral and material support as the purpose of CAG is to help disabled and orphans pupils.

Conserving the environment within and outside of Tumaini University Community, CAG plants trees and provide education on how to conserve the environment.

Imparting social life skills to the student members through visiting a lot of areas and meeting different kind of people during doing CAG activities.

CAG to Tumaini University students has helped to create good students who have become potential volunteers on different matters pertaining social lives.

Where does the CAG get its fund to run its operation and functions?

Funding is an important mechanism to run any organization. CAG funds come from its members and other outside support and help from sponsors who are willing and touched in their heart to help CAG carry out its activities to. Also CAG get its fund and moral support from individual person from management of Tumaini University to run its activities.

Donation of funds from member students and staff members is done by volunteering also whereby members willingly donate any amount they have before activities are done. Moreover, there is fund-raising whereby various items from CAG can be sold and the money raised used to run the operation of CAG.

Motto of the Community Action Group organization

“There is nothing stronger than the heart of volunteering” this motto means that without the heart of volunteering in doing social activities which is to help the needy group of people, we will fail to reach the goal, as youths in the society we need the heart of volunteering to help needy people in the society

Executive committee and organizational structure of the CAG

Community Action Group has an executive committee which includes a Chairman and Assistant Chairm an, General Secretary and Assistant General Secretary, Public Relations Officer and Assistant Public Relations Officer as well as Treasurer. Also the executive committee of CAG includes representatives who are known as ambassadors. The executive committee members of CAG are elected by members of CAG according to CAG constitution

(above are excutive committe members of CAG, from left is Emmanuel Shayo Counseling 1st year (General Secretary), Aurelia Kimaryo LLB 3rd year (Assistant PR), Keviln Guninita BBA 2nd year(Vice-Chairman), Linda Mwamkoa BAJ 3rd year (public Relation Officer (PR), Petrida Muta LLB 3year (Tresuarer), CAG Ambassador and Alex Enock LLB 2nd year (Chairman).

Members of CAG

Members of Community Action Group (CAG) are grouped into three types which are as follows: student members, staff members and other people outside Tumaini University.

Student members are the Students of Tumaini University, Iringa University College from different faculties, tribes and religions whereby a member is required to register to be a member of the group. Members should volunteer and dedicate themselves in doing CAG activities.

Staff members are the lecturers and other employees of the Tumaini University who are willing to support CAG morally, materially and financially to run its functions and operations within and outside Tumaini University Community.

Other people outside Tumaini University who are willing to volunteer in helping CAG to run its activities. These could be people who were former students of Tumaini University and were members and now they live far away from Tumaini University but still support CAG to run its functions or any person touched by this group.

Regulation of the organization

According to the constitution of Community Action Group (CAG), all members should be active members in playing their part to the CAG, members must attend and participate actively in CAG activities, members must pay their membership fee at required time, and moreover members of CAG have the right to vote for the executive members.

Members are allowed to give their opinion on any matters relating to the activities of the organization.

Do you want to be a member of CAG?

Becoming a member of CAG is not difficult because any one can be a member of CAG, a person or student who wants to be a member must register and pay the registration fee, moreover the person must participate on CAG activities and he must remember that being a CAG member is volunteering without expecting to be paid.

CAG welcomes any one who wants to be a member

Operations, Functions and Programmes of CAG to the society,

Community Action Group has so far conducted different kind of activities whereby through commitments of the members themselves, using power, money, time to help the society we live as youths, CAG has the following activities and functions to the Tumaini University community and the neighboring community of Iringa;

Visiting and helping orphanage centres;
Community Action Group (CAG) helps all orphanage centres by giving them basic needs as well as moral support and spiritual support. CAG visited some orphanage centres in Iringa Region as one of the program to help those orphanage centres, not only orphanage centres but also individual orphans who are really want to be taken care at that specific time.

Visiting and helping orphans and disabled pupils at primary and secondary schools;
CAG has been visiting primary schools in Iringa to help needy pupils and pupils who are orphans by giving them support for their education. CAG believes that for the needy and orphans to fight for their future that they dream of, is what it can lead them to contribute to the development of the country. CAG also helps primary school to build their classes and provide desks and office furniture for teachers’ offices. CAG does what is important to the society we live in by providing food for lunch and porridge to the primary schools.

Visiting hospitals and helping children and needy sick people;
CAG activities include visits hospitals and giving help to children and people who cannot afford the expenses of treatment. Many times, CAG has been visiting mission and government hospitals and provided help to sick in hospitals. Specific target of this activity is to reduce deaths of children who die from malaria by providing mosquito nets and medicine for those who cannot afford to pay for their medication.
Educate on HIV/AIDS to the University Students and secondary pupils;
CAG gives education on HIV/AIDS to university students within Tumaini University and the neighbouring community including sensitization stigmatization on people leaving with HIV/AIDS. Education on HIV/AIDS is given through concerts or festivals, talking shows, distributing brochures/fliers which educate people on how to avoid HIV infection. Moreover, CAG collaborates with other organisations to give education on HIV/AIDS. Our motto is

"Lets come together to fight HIV/AIDS"

Environmental activities within and outside Tumaini University Community;
Community Action Group also deals with taking care of the environment within the community, this is one of the activities of CAG where it is done by members of CAG by cleaning, planting trees, as well as distributing dustbins and digging pits to bury solid waste within and outside the Tumaini University Community. Environmental activities include creating and maintaining sewage systems and cleaning public and universities areas.

‘Good environment means good health to the people’

Learning social life skills programmes;
CAG is not only going around Iringa region helping orphans, visiting hospitals and helping sick people, spreading education about HIV/AIDS but also its members learn social life skills from different cultures and environment. CAG members enable themselves to learn different social life skills through their activities. Our motto on this is, ‘Nothing is stronger than the heart of volunteering’. We ask anyone who is touched CAG activities to assist the group either financially or through moral support. Doing more things faster is no substitute for doing the right things. By helping CAG directly you help orphans, you feed the needy children, and you save youths from HIV/AIDS.

“Live, Learn and Love”.

Things you must know about CAG activities to the students and community at large.

Community Action Group as an independent organization has provided food, school materials and giving desks to primary schools such as Kigonzile primary school, CAG still wants to help and plans in helping primary and secondary school around Iringa region.

Community Action Group (CAG) through its activities’ like disseminating education on HIV/AIDS to students, pupils and the whole community has reduced the spread of HIV/AIDS providing education on the spread of HIV/AIDS through festivals, concerts, films and door to door sensitization programmes.

Community Action Group has donated food, clothes, and school materials to children in support of orphanage centres.

Does Community Action Group cooperate with other organizations with similar activities?

(Representatives from Community Action Group, COllege Students Against Aids, Family Health Internation, Students Pertnership Worldwide,Ruhaa University,Mkwawa University,Angaza and Population Services International Possing for a snap after a completion of enter-universities anti-aids festival in Iringa region)

Community Action Group can not stand alone to accomplish its operations and activities. It cooperates with other organizations with the same purposes of helping the society through the similar activities as CAG has been doing. CAG opens the room for other organizations and friends to come and work together on any of its activities.

What do the members speak about CAG?

Amazing story of CAG

(Feeding you wont change my interactual>> CAG's chairperson feeding a baby in Huruma orphanage Center)

One woman said “we all have moments when we are inspired by great idea, but without someone believing in us through words of encouragement or outright financial assistance those great ideas often fail to become realities”, In 2001 there was one student of Tumaini University along with his few friends developed one idea to other colleagues, few agreed and others refused to work on that idea. The student who came up with that idea said to his friends “As we are youngsters we must help needy people in our society, lets be warriors to save children from unnecessary deaths”, those students worked on those ideas year after year and spread the ideas to other students within Tumaini University and outside, the idea was given a name Community Action Group. Today that idea has become much stronger and a helper to the society, more than a hundred orphans’ and children in the hospitals, primary and secondary pupils have been provided with food, clothes, medical assistance and school materials. Also the environment is taken care of; and Tumaini Students and other people learn social life skills and get education on HIV/AIDS. This is an exciting time for us to learn more about this Community Action Group as we volunteer and dedicate ourselves to develop the idea for years to create amazing and good stories around the world built on the concept of “People helping people is the way of life”.
This is the story of Community Action Group (CAG).

A Letter from Community Action Group Chairman to the Members

Dear members,

As chairman of CAG it’s my pleasure to encourage and appreciate your commitment, devotion and volunteering in doing social activities which provide help to the needy people in our society through CAG as organization. CAG is dedicated to develop dynamic heart of volunteer and helping the society and also to create future leadership with the same spirit of serving and helping the society we live in.
It’s hard for us as youths to volunteer in doing social services according to our thought, but we have to know those we help are our fellow human beings who need our help. Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self sufficiency. Man is a social being.
To develop our organization we must move on with our spirit and encourage those who want to join us to help the society we live in as youths, as we know not of the future, and can not plan for it much. But we can hold our spirits and our bodies so pure and high, we may cherish such thoughts and such ideals, and such spirits of lofty purpose, that we can determine and know what manner of youths will be whenever and wherever the hour strike that cause to bring difficulty to children, youths and the whole society.
As we are all members of CAG lets live life of togetherness and unite in helping the needy group of people within the society we live in.
I want to thank you all and hope we will be active members and support CAG for the rest of our stay at Tumaini University and thereafter.

Mr. Alex Enock
CAG Chairman
2007-2009