Mobhare Matinyi, Washington DC. The
Citizen, Tanzania. Friday, 21 September 2012.
Tanzania, a country so endowed with wealth abundant enough to confuse geography-challenged foreigners, last Saturday took Washington DC by a big surprise when it displayed almost everything that makes it so exceptional in the world. That beautiful Saturday of September 15 was a big day.
The fabulous exhibition took place right at the heart of the United States capital, at Tanzania House where the embassy operates from. Tanzanians came from all corners of the metropolis, various American states, and even Dar es Salaam, to demonstrate to the world how rich, blessed and great the country is, and how friendly, determined and industrious its people are. It was a golden opportunity to show why Tanzania is among the world’s fastest growing economies.
Tanzania, a country so endowed with wealth abundant enough to confuse geography-challenged foreigners, last Saturday took Washington DC by a big surprise when it displayed almost everything that makes it so exceptional in the world. That beautiful Saturday of September 15 was a big day.
The fabulous exhibition took place right at the heart of the United States capital, at Tanzania House where the embassy operates from. Tanzanians came from all corners of the metropolis, various American states, and even Dar es Salaam, to demonstrate to the world how rich, blessed and great the country is, and how friendly, determined and industrious its people are. It was a golden opportunity to show why Tanzania is among the world’s fastest growing economies.
Thanks to the embassy in Washington DC for coming up with such a brilliant idea and for facilitating the worthwhile event.
Gracefully, Ambassador Mwanaidi
Maajar stood at the door to welcome invited guests including 18 ambassadors,
numerous diplomats and business people, while her officials meticulously
managed each detail of the event.
One notable thing was the attire of
the day as practically all Tanzanians wore something unique including the
famous Maasai outfit, kikoi from Pemba, vitenge and khanga wrappings. In fact,
the whole embassy was turned into a little Tanzania in the middle of a big city
with traditional dancers entertaining guests at the back of the building as
Tanzanian disc-jockeys took turns to wow the hearts and minds of the visitors.
The facade of Tanzania House
completely changed the outlook of the place with its display of Tanzanian
fashions that demonstrated why it is so difficult to agree on one national
dress. The famous Tanzanian fashion designer, Asia Idarous, joined hands with
US-based designers, among them Ma Winny Fashion and Kwetu Fashion to decorate
the place with basically every colorful outfit that Tanzanian culture offers.
One unique showcase on that day was the one manned by the team of officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism led by Assistant Director Felix Ndunguru, showing proofs that indeed, Tanzania is the cradle of mankind. The team flew to the US with specimens of the cranium of an early hominin, Paranthropus boisei, aged 1.7 million years, as well as the replica of the 3.6 million years old footprints discovered in Laeitoli decades ago, apparently the oldest evidence of the upright walking man on earth.
Tour operators accompanied by tourism experts laced the main hall with brochures, DVDs, CDs, and a large video screen showing everything from Mount Kilimanjaro to the Ngorongoro Crater, the wonders of wildebeest migration through the Serengeti plains, and the amazing beaches of Zanzibar and Mafia islands. To make things easier for aspiring tourists, a Tanzanian-owned ESM travel agency from Chicago was there to help.
Tanzania is so rich in minerals and gemstones, thus, precious stones such as tanzanite were there to complement the country’s brilliant works of art and crafts. That look made things easier for the trade and investment desk to explain to the business community why Tanzania is an attractive investment destination in Africa.
Tanzanian caterers occupied a place under the tent selling everything that befits the title ‘Tanzanian cuisine’ including pilau, ugali, and kisamvu with grill masters preparing Tanzanian barbeque flavours. Inside, in the Julius Nyerere Memorial Hall, things were more tempting as chefs prepared a table full of sorts of snacks including kalimati, bagia, and vitumbua for visitors to taste. Another table gave visitors the chance to taste the made-in-Tanzania drinks like coffee, tea, beer and wines from the vineyards of Dodoma.
Tanzanians love their motherland and some of them spent the whole day explaining to visitors how their US-based NGOs serve the interests of Tanzanians back home, the likes of Neighbourhood Care that fights poverty and diseases and the Hassan Maajar Trust Fund that focuses on education. Only traditional healers were missing, otherwise everything Tanzanian was there.
Being the home of Swahili, Tanzanian authors like Dr John Rutayuga, interpreters, translators, and professors like Deo Tungaraza, set up a table to talk about the most prominent African lingua franca. Likewise, Tanzanian broadcasters of the Swahili section of the Voice of America didn’t miss the opportunity to explain to their admirers how the 50-year old radio service works.
Last but not least, there was a piece of history of the only successful united republic in Africa, Tanzania, a proud country that has proved to the world how possible it is to have more than 126 tribes that subscribe to various religions living together as one tranquil nation.
Yes, that was the day when Tanzania showcased
herself in style, a country that offers tastes of every kind of tourism. Truly,
the marvelous exhibition was a classic example of what economic diplomacy
means.One unique showcase on that day was the one manned by the team of officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism led by Assistant Director Felix Ndunguru, showing proofs that indeed, Tanzania is the cradle of mankind. The team flew to the US with specimens of the cranium of an early hominin, Paranthropus boisei, aged 1.7 million years, as well as the replica of the 3.6 million years old footprints discovered in Laeitoli decades ago, apparently the oldest evidence of the upright walking man on earth.
Tour operators accompanied by tourism experts laced the main hall with brochures, DVDs, CDs, and a large video screen showing everything from Mount Kilimanjaro to the Ngorongoro Crater, the wonders of wildebeest migration through the Serengeti plains, and the amazing beaches of Zanzibar and Mafia islands. To make things easier for aspiring tourists, a Tanzanian-owned ESM travel agency from Chicago was there to help.
Tanzania is so rich in minerals and gemstones, thus, precious stones such as tanzanite were there to complement the country’s brilliant works of art and crafts. That look made things easier for the trade and investment desk to explain to the business community why Tanzania is an attractive investment destination in Africa.
Tanzanian caterers occupied a place under the tent selling everything that befits the title ‘Tanzanian cuisine’ including pilau, ugali, and kisamvu with grill masters preparing Tanzanian barbeque flavours. Inside, in the Julius Nyerere Memorial Hall, things were more tempting as chefs prepared a table full of sorts of snacks including kalimati, bagia, and vitumbua for visitors to taste. Another table gave visitors the chance to taste the made-in-Tanzania drinks like coffee, tea, beer and wines from the vineyards of Dodoma.
Tanzanians love their motherland and some of them spent the whole day explaining to visitors how their US-based NGOs serve the interests of Tanzanians back home, the likes of Neighbourhood Care that fights poverty and diseases and the Hassan Maajar Trust Fund that focuses on education. Only traditional healers were missing, otherwise everything Tanzanian was there.
Being the home of Swahili, Tanzanian authors like Dr John Rutayuga, interpreters, translators, and professors like Deo Tungaraza, set up a table to talk about the most prominent African lingua franca. Likewise, Tanzanian broadcasters of the Swahili section of the Voice of America didn’t miss the opportunity to explain to their admirers how the 50-year old radio service works.
Last but not least, there was a piece of history of the only successful united republic in Africa, Tanzania, a proud country that has proved to the world how possible it is to have more than 126 tribes that subscribe to various religions living together as one tranquil nation.
3 comments:
Great article, good summary of the event.
Great Article Mr Matinyi! You have nailed to the point all that happened on that day. ATL can't wait for the next one, hope wont be too far away!
Kudos to Mama Balozi and all her team at the embassy!
Tunataka vichwa kama hivi. Safi sana.
Post a Comment