Children at the Tripod Media Exhibition, Dar es Salaam

As I wrote in a previous blog post, on June 24-25, I participated in an educational and careers fair in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, organized by Tripod Media. I sought, among other things, to introduce Africonexion, my small consulting business, to Tanzanians.




One of the most exciting experiences I had was observing the children who came to the exhibition. These were mostly school children. It was pleasant to watch them as they moved from booth to booth, alone, in pairs, or in groups. Like children everywhere, they openly displayed their excitement and curiosity. They made Diamond Jubilee Hall come alive.


The booth of the Tanzania House of Talents was a popular spot for the children, especially when the live music was on.










Those who came to my booth enjoyed browsing through my books. They were particularly interested in CHANGAMOTO, my Swahili book, since they could read it.







It was touching to see how genuinely interested these children were in books. I kept thinking why, as the children grow up and become adults, they lose this attachment to books. Our society is failing these children.






For the two days I participated in the exhibition, I talked with these children. I sought to inspire them, encouraging them to study hard. I told them to read widely, not just for the exams. They listened and I hope they will follow my advice.





One of the exhibitors was the Furniture Center. The children had a great time trying out the desks and chairs, pretending they were in a real classroom. When I saw this, I thought about the many schools in Tanzania which lack desks, chairs, books and other facilities. There is no valid reason for a country like Tanzania, rich as it is in resources, to have this problem.

The woman in a red head covering impressed me very much. She came with her son to the exhibition, and she asked me some questions. I wish all parents would do the same, accompanying their children to such educational events. It is good for the children and for the future of our country.

Tripod Media Exhibition, Dar es Salaam

On June 24-25, I attended an educational and careers exhibition at the Diamond Jubilee Hall in Dar es Salaam. It was organized by Tripod Media, a company with a broad portfolio ranging from event promotion to video production. I do not remember how I came across the information about this event, but I saw it in the USA. I looked for more information and discovered Tripod Media and its founder, Dorothy Kipeja.

Tripod Media did a great job of organizing and advertizing the event. A number of companies and organizations participated. I got to know several. One of these was the Tanzania House of Talents (THT). I had heard about this organization but had not had the opportunity to meet them. I visited their booth, where they had live music and talked with their coordinator and got their brochure.

I saw school children who visited the the THT booth coming on stage to sing some songs. This was a pleasant thing to witness. It reminded me of a similar thing I witnessed on Tanzanian TV a few weeks earlier: children joined artist Mrisho Mpoto in singing his songs as he was performing in the street. What a remarkable display of synergy between artist and audience.

On this day, I also got to know the Proactive Employment Solutions, which describes itself as “a private labour recruitment agency based in Dar es Salaam.” I also got to know the Tanzania Schools Collection, an enterprise that seeks to list and profile educational institutions in Tanzania, with the intention of extending the coverage to East Africa and beyond.

I took this opportunity to present Africonexion, my cultural consulting company to the Tanzanian public. I had a booth where I displayed my books and talked with people about the work of this company and its vision for the future, which includes establishing itself in Tanzania, East Africa and elsewhere.

I was impressed by the diversity of the people who did come: different races, ages, and backgrounds. I hope that in the future more people will attend such events, including government officials, professionals, graduates, entrepreneurs and job seekers.