Makhirikhiri lives on: The song in East Africa�s heart
Friday, November 18, 2016
Shumba is a surprise household name in East Africa
DAR ES SALAAM: Though most of the (not even a handful) people I conversed with in the former Tanzanian capital were happy to exchange pleasantries, they were not much into chatting about the weather.
My interaction with the legendary Africanist Julius Nyerere’s people, was as limited as my stay in Dar (as the locals lovingly call their city. I was there for only three days, but for some reason magic happened whenever I told people where I came from. I left the place feeling proud. Proud of the potential our culture has in marketing the country abroad.
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...