Govt assures support to strengthen child welfare
DAR ES SALAAM : THE government has pledged to continue supporting the private sector in all efforts aimed at strengthening the welfare of Tanzanian children.
The remark was made on Sarurday by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa after taking part in a charity run organised by Maendeleo Bank held at Farasi grounds Oysterbay in Dar es Salaam as part of activities to mark the bank’s 10th anniversary.
He equally said that the government on its part has been taking various steps to ensure the welfare of children and ensure access to education for children with special needs.
The Premier said the society should take part in protecting children, especially those who are physically challenged by reporting violent acts done against them.
He said the government has ensured that all district hospitals provide services to newborns and services for premature babies. “This is a special service for caring for premature babies and under weight infants,” Majaliwa said.
“The government is implementing the provision of services to children with autism so that they can be able to speak (speech therapy) and occupational therapy,” he said.
The PM further called on Tanzanians to have a programme of doing physical exercises in order to prevent themselves from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) which have been a major threat to the society. “Join various groups for physical exercise so that you can be motivated to do physical exercises.”
He also urged organisers of the charity run to see the possibility of disseminating information to the public on the benefits of the charity run so that more people will be motivated to participate.
For his part, Maendeleo Bank Executive Director, Dr Ibrahim Mwangalaba said in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the bank, they decided to organise the charity run with the aim of raising 200m/- to support two centres with special needs.
“The aim of this charity run is to raise funds for renovating buildings at Mtoni Maalum Orphanage in Dar es Salam which takes care of children with Down Syndrome and autism and purchase equipment for caring for premature babies at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC),” he said.
Maendeleo Bank Plc is the result of a strategical decision made by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania-Eastern and Coastal Diocese in 2008. Maendeleo Bank Plc. (MB) was registered as a Limited Company in February 2011, later changed to Public Limited Company in June 2013.
On September 9th 2013, Maendeleo Bank PLC started business as a regional bank. The bank was issued with a licence number NBA 00026 to carry out banking business.
Maendeleo Bank became the first company and bank in Tanzania to be listed at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange Plc (DSE) through the Enterprise Growth Market Window and hence became a Public Limited Company (PLC) from its start.
Since then, the bank has been targeting micro, small and medium enterprise markets in Dar es Salaam.
Since its launch of operations in September 2013, MB has maintained the underlying vision of building a Tanzanian bank for Tanzanian enterprises.
