President’s Corner:
A message from Dr. Ndaga Mwakabuta
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Dear Diaspora Member:
I
hope you had an enjoyable summer and safe Labor day Weekend. As we
move into the Fall, we are quickly approaching the Election of our new
Executive Committee Officers. The candidate slate has been announced
and on September 26th
, all candidates will join Bandio's Jukwaa Langu radio program to
discuss the reasons why they are running for their respective roles, so
please tune in. We hope that after you get to read their bios and hear
them live on the radio program that you will take the opportunity to
help set the direction of DICOTA’s future by
registering/renewing your membership on/by September 26th (midnight Eastern) so you can vote in the election on October 1 & 2, 2016.
Beside
planning for, and executing the election process, since we all met at
the 2016 convention in Dallas, we have been actively focused on
implementing our virtual and regional programming. To that end:
• In
July, we heard from Mr. Rakesh Rajani, Director of Government and Civic
Engagement at the Ford Foundation, who spoke on the 7 fundamental
principles required to successfully organize and implement social
change.
• In
August, we got an update from Mr. Tuntufye Mwambusi, Marketing Manager
at the National Housing Corporation (NHC) of Tanzania on the new
projects that are being built in Dar es Salaam like Safari City, and
around the country. He also discussed methods through which the
Diaspora could obtain financing to support purchases.
• In
September, we participated in a regional event by co-sponsoring the New
York Tanzania Community's (NYTC) educational Networking mixer that was
done in collaboration with Kupona Foundation, CCBRT Disability Hospital
and Curious on Tanzania. A number of local Tanzania talent also
participated in the event. I would like to extend a special thanks to
the Tanzania Mission in New York for providing the event space, artist,
Tina Kakolaki for the entertainment, caterer, Duna Salim of Mwanamkai's
Kitchen, Dr. Temba, of Temba Photos and NY Ebra of Vijimambo for their
support in making this event a success. We plan to partner with other
Tanzanian Communities around the country in the future for similar and
differing causes and interests.
Our
hearts go out to the Kagera Region, Tanzania and all the people
affected by the recent devastating 5.7 magnitude earthquake that caused
19 deaths of our fellow Tanzanians, injured over 200 people and
extensive damage to property. We encourage all members and friends of
the Tanzania Diaspora community to join relief efforts in whatever
capacity that you can. You are welcome to visit our website where you
can find contact information for the various Tanzanian Associations
across the U.S. (www.dicotaus.org). Also check the Embassy’s website for associations’ contact information.
Administratively,
DICOTA has completed the filing of its financial reports, which are now
available on our website for anyone who has an interest to review.
While you are visiting our website, don’t forget to register yourself
into our Diaspora Database,
you don’t need to be an active member of DICOTA to register. Diaspora
Database is meant for all Tanzanians in America, yes anyone in the
United States with origin from Tanzania.
This
month, DICOTA's Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee convened
in Washington D.C for a strategic retreat. During this session, DICOTA
was able to refresh it strategic plan, meet with a representative from
the Tanzania Embassy to provide them with an update on the
organization’s progress, and adhere to one of its goals of supporting
Tanzanian businesses in whatever city DICOTA meets by
commissioning Farida Catering, to provide delicious Tanzanian food for
this event. The DICOTA team is now busy compiling the results of the
retreat including future action steps, and will provide a broader update
soon.
Finally,
we are just about to unveil the location of our next convention, which
is targeted for the Summer of 2018. We are communicating with the local
Tanzanian Community leadership to get more information before we make it
public. Stay tuned as very soon you will hear where our next
convention, "DICOTA 2018 Convention" will be hosted.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Ndaga Mwakabuta,
DICOTA President
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DICOTA expresses
its deep sadness on the devastation caused by the 5.7 magnitude
earthquake that struck the Great Lakes region of Tanzania, with Bukoba
being the worst-hit city.
DICOTA
sends its condolences to family members who lost loved ones, a speedy
recovery to those injured and its best wishes to the region and
country's rebuilding efforts.
For the full statement from DICOTA click Here!
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Executive Committee (EC) Election Updates
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As
previously communicated, the nomination process for the 2016 Executive
Committee was completed a few weeks ago. 46 nominations were received
in total, and each of the open positions had between 5 - 7 nominations.
The Returning Officers prepared the final candidate slate by vetting
the nominees against the eligibility criteria, and reached out to the
nominees to obtain their acceptance of the nomination and permission to
be placed on the final ballot.
On September 20th, the candidate slate was announced. Click here for that announcement.
Following is the timeline of the remaining events that will take place through this election cycle:
• September 26: Cut-off for individuals to register/renew membership by paying dues in order to be eligible to vote in this election cycle
• September 28:
Email with voter id and password sent to all individuals that paid
their membership dues in full on or before September 26, 2016.
• October 1- 2: Voting window opens and members now cast votes using the voter id and password they received
• October 4: Election Results announced
For
more information or with any questions about the election process, do
not hesitate to contact the 2016 Returning Officers at
election@dicotaus.org
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Bandio Radio's Jukwaa Langu Program
will feature the DICOTA Executive Committee Candidate Q& A Session.
When: Monday, September 26, 2016
Time: 5:00pm EDT - 6:30pm EDT
Where: Call in # 240-454-0093
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Vote for the next DICOTA Leaders.
Register / renew membership today!
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Are you a Member of DICOTA?
Do you want your voice to be heard? Do you want to be a part of the
movement that gets to set the direction DICOTA takes in the future by
playing a part in selecting the new leadership?
What are you waiting for? Renew your membership or join today and let your voice and vote be counted.
Plus, as a special one time bonus, if you register between September
21st and September 26th, your DICOTA membership will be valid through
December 31st, 2017. That's three extra months of membership for FREE.
So don't wait, click Here to join or renew your membership
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LUNDA ASMANI
Becomes Norwalk, Connecticut's Director of Management and Budgets
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In
this new role, Lunda Asmani will work at City Hall in the Department of
Finance, where he will be responsible for helping prepare the city's
annual operating budget, and reviewing revenues and expenditures
line-by-line.
Lunda will also help the city prepare its Plan of Conservation and Development that’s due every 10 years.
To read the full article about Lunda's recent appointment, Click Here.
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Nasibu Sareva
Goes to Harvard
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Nasibu
Sareva, one of DICOTA’s board of trustees is one of 50 leaders selected
from all over the country for the NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence
Program, conducted at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
It is an 18-month program that equips executives with the skills to
advance their organizations’ performance. Each participant identifies
and clearly defines a specific challenge critical to their
organization’s success then spends the program addressing that
challenge.
The only comprehensive training of its kind, Achieving Excellence
includes formal sessions at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School
of Government, as well as executive coaching, intensive peer learning
and guidance from author and consultant Douglas K. Smith.
Achieving Excellence has graduated 325 executive directors, CEOs and
other senior leaders since the program began in 2002, with astounding
results from each class. Independent evaluations have shown tremendous
results for organizations that have participated in this program. In an
impact evaluation of a recent class of the NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program, 72
percent created positive change in their communities, 77 percent raised
staff performance and morale, and 100 percent improved organizational
strength and results.
Congratulations Nasibu for being selected to participate in such a prestigious program.
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DICOTA,
in collaboration with the New York Tanzania Community (NYTC), Curious
on Tanzania, Kupona Foundation and CCBRT Disability Hospital, hosted an
educational networking mixer at the Tanzania Mission on September 15th
2016. Over 56 people were in attendance, where they had the opportunity
to listen to CCBRT CEO discuss insights from the field, listen to, and
participate in entertainment by Tina Kakolaki and Curious on Tanzania,
and enjoy authentic Tanzania bites courtesy of Mwanamkasi's Kitchen.
Vijimambo (click here for photos) and Temba Photos (click here for photos) were also on hand to capture the moment.
DICOTA plans to collaborate with other regional
partners to host other events around the country. Events will be
announced as schedules are finalized.
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Africa Products Expo Event Hosted by the Investment Consortium of Tanzanians in the USA (ICT)
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“African
Products expo” was organized by ICT, LLC. (Investment Consortium of
Tanzanians in USA). ICT is the registered company in Maryland, USA. ICT
is managed by its CEO, Iddy Sandile, who is supported by an excellent
executive board consisting of Asha Hariz, Joha Nyang'anyi, Mayor Mlima,
Jasmine Rubama and Asha Nyang'anyi. One of the main things ICT,
LLC. does is to be the liaison company between businesses between USA
and Tanzania. ICT believes that the potential for international
business is boundless. You can visit ICT's website and learn what they
do at http://itzconsortium.com/.
This
was the first African products expo to be hosted here in Maryland and
ICT was pleased with the outcome. The goal is to expand the trade
between USA and Tanzania so that entrepreneurs in both countries have
opportunities to expand their market and increase production. ICT works
with entrepreneurs from different countries in Africa who owns
businesses here in USA and are interested to work with them to showcase
and Market their products here in USA through ICT.
ICT
is planning to make this a yearly event based on feedback it received
from its vendors. ICT's vision is to strengthen a long term partnership
among investors and strengthen ties between two countries, USA and
Tanzania. Its main effort is to empower and create partnerships with
other investors while continuing to build ties between USA and Tanzania.
In the meantime, you can buy Tea and Coffee from Tanzania in any of the
stores below or you can reach ICT and they will be happy to ship to
your address:
• Bismillah Halal Meat Market at International Plaza and Bay Street, 1401 University Blvd E, Hyattsville, MD 20783
• Savanna International Market Inc at 117 N Frederick Ave # 4, Gaithersburg, MD 20877
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