Wadau wa Utalii wa Kielimu Tumekutana

Tarehe 2 Novemba nilikutana na mama Georgina, ambaye anatoka Ghana na ni mmiliki wa kampuni iitwayo African Travel Seminars. Anapeleka wasafiri kwenda nchi za Afrika, kuanzia kaskazini, hadi kusini, mashariki hadi magharibi, na Tanzania imo. Mbali ya kuwaonesha vivutio vya utalii, anawaelimisha kuhusu maisha na tamaduni za waAfrika.

Niliifahamu kuhusu kampuni yake kuanzia miaka ya tisini na kitu, nikaona jinsi shughuli zake zinavyofanana na zangu, ambazo zimeelezwa katika tovuti ya Africonexion. Hivi karibuni nilianza kuwasiliana na huyu mama, na tukapanga kukutana.

Kabla hatujakutana, mama huyu alisoma kitabu changu, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. Ameamua awe anawapa wageni anaowapelea Afrika. Yeye nami tunafahamu kuwa hii itawawezesha wageni kuelewa mwenendo na tabia za waAfrika na pia kujielewa namna wao wenyewe wanavyoeleweka kwa mtazamo wa waAfrika.

Tumejithibitishia kuwa malengo yetu yanafanana. Tunapenda kuendeleza elimu kuhusu Afrika kwa waMarekani na tunapenda kujenga maelewano baina ya waMarekani na waAfrika. Yeye nami tuna uzoefu wa kuongelea masala haya hapa Marekani, kwa wanafunzi na walimu, watu wanaoenda Afrika kwa shughuli za kujitolea, watalii, nakadhalika.

Namshukuru Mteja

Leo nimepita kwenye mtandao wa Amazon kuangalia vinapopatikana vitabu vyangu, nikaona ujumbe ulioandikwa jana na mteja kuhusu kitabu cha Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. Ni mmoja wa wateja ambao baada ya kununua na kusoma kitabu, huweka maoni yao kuhusu kitabu hapo mtandaoni.

Ninaguswa na wateja hawa na ninapenda kuwashukuru. Ninazingatia kuwa hela walizotumia kununulia kitabu changu wangeweza kuzitumia kwa mahitaji mengine. Halafu, ninawashukuru kwa kitendo chao cha kuandika maoni. Wananitangazia kitabu bila malipo bali kwa hisani yao.

Huyu mteja aliyeandika jana, anaonekana ni m-Marekani, na amesema:

Great book to compare things we do in the United States and how it differs in Africa. Some of the differences would be insulting to Africans and I would not have known it Highly recommend this book if you are traveling to Tanzania as author is from there. It is a short, easy read.

Natafsiri

Kitabu bora kwa ajili ya kufananisha mambo tufanyayo Marekani na yalivyo tofauti kwa Afrika. Baadhi ya tofauti hizo zingetafsiriwa kama utovu wa heshima kwa vigezo vya wa-Afrika, nami nisingejua. Ninakipendekeza sana kitabu hiki iwapo unasafiria Tanzania, kwani mwandishi anatoka kule. Ni kitabu kifupi, rahisi kusomwa.

Ninamshukuru mteja huyu kwa moyo wake wa kutaka kuwasaidia wengine wawe katika mstari sahihi wakiwa wageni Afrika.

Filamu ya "Papa's Shadow:" Fursa ya Kuitangaza Tanzania

Nina furaha kuandika kuhusu filamu ambayo imeandaliwa iitwayo "Papa's Shadow," inayomhusu mwandishi maarufu Ernest Hemingway. Katika filamu hiyo, ninaonekana nikiongea na Mzee Patrick Hemingway, ambaye ni mtoto pekee wa Ernest Hemingway aliye hai. Ana umri wa miaka 87. Tunaongelea maisha, safari, maandishi na fikra za Hemingway, hasa kuhusu Afrika.

Sehemu nyingi hapa duniani ambako Hemingway alipita au kuishi na akaandika habari zake, zimejipatia umaarufu. na zinafaidika hasa katika utalii. Mifano ni Cuba na mji wa Pamplona nchini Hispania. Watu wa Tanzania na Afrika Mashariki kwa ujumla tuna bahati hiyo, kwani Hemingway alikuja na kuishi kwetu mara mbili, mwaka 1933-34 na 1953-54, akaandika vitabu, hadithi, insha na barua kuhusu aliyoyaona.

Filamu ya "Papa's Shadow" ilitokana na kozi niliyofundisha Tanzania mwezi Januari mwaka 2013 juu ya Hemingway. Kozi ile ilimhamasisha Jimmy Gildea, mmoja wa wanafunzi wangu, kutengeneza filamu hiyo. Alianzisha kampuni, Ramble Pictures, akaanza kutegeneza hiyo filamu ya kuelimisha. Anaendelea kutengeneza filamu zingine zenye kuelimisha.

"Papa's Shadow" inaitangaza Tanzania kwa namna ya pekee. Kuna kampeni ya kuchangisha fedha za kumalizia malipo ya usajili na taratibu zingine kabla ya filamu kuonyeshwa na kusambazwa. Naleta hapa ujumbe ambao umeandikwa na binti yangu Zawadi, mmoja wa watu wanaojitolea katika Ramble Pictures, unaoelezea kampeni hiyo.

Nitapenda ujumbe huu uwafikie wa-Tanzania popote duniani, hasa wanadiaspora, ofisi za ubalozi, Wizara ya Maliasili na Utalii, Wizara ya Mambo ya Nje na Ushirikiano wa Kimataifa, na wadau wengine wote. Nilitumia miaka kadhaa kusoma maandishi ya Hemingway na kuandaa kozi ambayo ni chimbuko la filamu hii. Ninapangia kuendelea kufundisha kozi hiyo. Nawe m-Tanzania mwenzangu una fursa ya kutoa mchango wako. Tushirikiane. Tutafanikiwa. Sisi tuliokuwepo wakati Tanganyika ilipopata Uhuru tunakumbuka kauli mbiu ya Mwalimu Nyerere ya kuhimiza maendeleo ya Taifa jipya: "It can be done; play your part."

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Hello!

My name is Zawadi Mbele, and I am contacting you today to let you know about an amazing project. Ramble Pictures, a Minneapolis-based, independent film company, recently launched a 30-day "Kickstarter" campaign in order to raise funds for the distribution of our completed documentary, Papa's Shadow.

Papa's Shadow is a personal film about Ernest Hemingway in East Africa. It explores his hunting expeditions and holds key dialogues on subjects such as race, language, and the cultures that distinguish us as citizens of the world. Featuring exclusive testimony by Ernest's only living son, Patrick Hemingway, as well as Tanzanian author and Hemingway scholar, Dr. Joseph Mbele, this documentary explores the integral role of two safaris in their shaping of an author and demise of a legend. 

Over the past four years, hard work and creative energy has been poured into making this feature-length documentary. The film has already been completed, however, we cannot show or distribute the film until we finish paying for copyright licensing. Again, please visit our Kickstarter webpage to learn more about how you can play an important role in bringing this documentary to distribution. Also, with Kickstarter, we are offering exclusive rewards with every donation, such as the new Hemingway Library Edition of "Greens Hills of Africa," signed by Patrick Hemingway. 

If there is someone else from your organization you would recommend contacting, we would be grateful to have our information passed along. If you can, please take the time to explore our webpage and let me know if you have any questions at all. You can email me directly or email Elizabeth Turner at elizabeth@ramblepictures.com.

Thank you for your time, and we look forward to hearing back from you!

Sincerely,

Zawadi Mbele

email: zawadi.mbele@gmail.com