A social entrepreneur in Tanzania

HOW SHE USES SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO HELP DESPERATE YOUTHS IN TANZANIA

Mama Sharode from Kibaha Tanzania

In this complex liberal economy which comes up with a lot of challenges to many people in their ongoing life, the only solution which seems to solve a lot of social problem or challenges is doing business while doing good to a prevailing society. Social entrepreneurship is a kind of business with a social goal in it, a business that add value to a society, it normally intend to solve a certain devastating social problem around the community where it is ran.

Social entrepreneurship builds people’s capacity

This kind of business is good and preferred as a tool for social change because it builds vulnerable people’s ability to run their life independently. Social entrepreneurship doesn’t work like a charity organization instead it teaches people how to fish for them to stand independently instead of depending on aids or being given always, it helps people to make their own income from what they do or from their own work so it builds people’s capacity.

Sharode entertainment a social enterprise in Tanzania

This social enterprise was established by SHARODE popularly MAMA SHARODE (mother Sharode) she is talented in acting, she likes so much doing arts specifically acting. After living in Kibaha one of the small towns in Tanzania for some time, she discovered a big problem of a number of desperate youths around that community. Most of them were street vendors, drug abusers, young ladies prostitutes and most of them are so young. Their parents do know what to do to solve this problem, these youths becomes a problem in their community because they some of them engage in robbery hence their community is not safe anymore.

A social enterprise business opportunity 

These youth problems in Kibaha became a social enterprise opportunity to mama Sharode, she started thinking of how she can help solving this problem by using what she has in hand, her idea became to start a club where she could mobilize these desperate youths and teach them how to act, and do drama then benefit out of what they earn after their performance in different events.

She grabbed this opportunity and not delayed to start implementing it, she started searching for these youths and the response was very positive, boys and girls joined her at her home place. She didn’t have any capital to start with, what she had was a talent, a brilliant idea, a passion to help youth through such kind of business and a small place at her home to use a training platform.

Sharode youths at practice

All youths who joined mama Sharode started toS be changed their attitude about their life, almost every day in evening they go to mama Sharode spend their time there discovering their talents and start acting and at the end of the day they earn some money out of what they do. Most of them stopped completely practicing their previous negative behaviors like drug abuse, prostitution and street vending; asking them what made it successful they will tell you that mama Sharode teaches them good morals and they do not have any reason to continue living like before while now they have their own job, a job which they love doing.

Social enterprise is normally supported by many people.

Since mama Sharode started this business, it has become a point of interest to some people in the society, some people like supporting her in different ways; I think is because her business helps youths and solves a big problem which has been growing in their community. One of the stake holders in Kibaha offered mama Sharode a very big and conducive building for her to use as an office and working area. In this building she can make a camp with youths and stay there during camping practice. She also got some new teachers who joined her to teach youths other talents like dancing variety of dancing like Tanzania traditional dances etc, this attracted more youths in her club, so recently you can hire actors and actress together with dancers from Sharode entertainment.

Social entrepreneurship goes with challenges 

Mama Sharode said that since she started this business, she faced a number of challenges, the biggest challenge was lack of support from her community, most of people complained that she was doing prostitution kind of business where she used to sell young beautiful girls and boys to shuga-mammies but because she knew what she was doing and believed in it she persisted. The government which was pressured by people in the society tried to burn her club but she persisted and survived. After sometime the same society started to understand the importance of what she is doing and now are supporting her in different ways.

Talking to all youths at mama Sharode club they witness that their life have changed a lot, most of them are now confident, positive in their life, they feel like entrepreneurs or workers because they earn money out of their own work, they morally feel successful than before.

Mama Sharode herself feels successful though she is still facing a number of challenges including lack of enough teaching facilities in her platform but her hope is in future to have everything because her passion is still high.

Mama Sharode is building youths capacity to earn money out of what they are doing and not giving them money so she is teaching them how to fish which is better than giving them fish.

 CONGRATULATION MAMA SHARODE!

Good luck as you are learning and getting inspired by mama Sharode.

By Erick Chrispin