The Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaats of Africa
To be presented to the Executive Council Meeting of
The World Federation of KSIMC, in Brampton on 20 March 2004

1.0 EDUCATION

1.1 Current Situation
All eligible school age children of our community in Africa have access to education up to ‘A’ levels. Those who do not have the ability to utilise access of these facilities,  due to the family’s proximity to schools or the family’s inability to pay for their children’s schooling, are assisted by their local Jamaats or the Africa Federation.

Four major Jamaats i.e. Arusha, Dar-es-Salaam, Mombasa and Nairobi have successfully established our own Schools offering education up to A Level (except Arusha).  The Africa Federation has supported the establishment of Nursery and Primary schools in Bukoba and Tanga. Recent reports from our Jamaats in Madagascar indicate that efforts to establish institutions of learning are underway there.  Education scholarships and loans for higher education and grants for Islamic Education given to students from all walks of life, have also gone a long way in improving the living standards of our brothers and sisters. Presently, there are 141 students supported by loans from the Africa Federation, out of which 2 are postgraduate candidates.

The quality of education varies from region to region. In areas where there exists educational institutions run by our community, or by members of other communities of Asian or European origin, the quality of the schooling provided by these organizations can be classified as being good, and is done so at a reasonable cost. Where such schools do not exist, our children have to depend on local government run schools and on comparatively expensive international schools run by Christian missionaries and private businessmen.

1.2 Development Areas in Education
Ideally, each Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri child born to a family residing in Africa should be educated to at least a diploma or a first-degree level. In order to achieve this end across the breath of Africa, good quality learning institutions have to be set up by the community in strategic geographic locations, and an enabling environment created to make these centres accessible to all.

For students who do not wish to pursue further studies after ‘O’ levels, provision for them to enrol into government sponsored vocational training institutions located in most major centres across Africa, as well as our own vocational training institution in Mombasa and Dar-es-Salaam are available. These schools offer condensed, hands on instructor lead training in numerous field and disciplines. Each class is taught by those considered to be experienced experts in their fields.

Development areas in education also include the training of our men and women to specialise in the fields in which we may wish to establish economic projects. Another area that will require educational investment is training of specially selected individuals in business management. We will need qualified men and women in this area; otherwise the success of these enterprises will be in question.   

1.3 Objectives in Education
Launch of Mulla Asghar Memorial Academic Scheme (MAMAS), which would assist students facing financial constraints for primary and secondary education.

The assistance presently available to our students, of US$ 7,500 per school year, does not adequately satisfy their needs at various colleges and universities in the West. While a figure of $ 3,000 per year for undergraduate and of $5,000 per year for postgraduate degrees does suffice for education at local universities, for students who opt to study overseas, we need to examine the possibilities of increasing the education loan amount to a figure that meets their requirements.

The Africa Federation has set, as its target, the provision of education up to ‘A’ levels to all eligible candidates by 2007, and has pledged to support education of our children to undergraduate, as well as postgraduate, degree levels.

Computer literacy, with Internet access at all our schools is a priority to be addressed by the Africa Federation’s Education Board.

The establishment of institutions of higher learning in Africa is quickly becoming a subject of great importance for the members of our community.   

2.0 ECONOMIC

2.1 Current Situation          
We estimate that 40% of our community’s families earn a large enough level of disposable income to own or rent good quality homes, comfortably meet their day to day living expenses, educate their children at good schools, enjoy quality healthcare facilities and have enough money for recreation and travel. These families can also save a portion of their earnings.

Out of the remaining 60%, half are earning just enough to feed their families, pay the rent and utility bills for their medium level dwelling, pay school fees for their children studying in average schools, and pay their medical bills, but they have no money left over for recreation and travel, nor do they have any hope of ever saving a part of their income for a rainy day.

The remaining half are those of our member families who are facing increasing difficulties in meeting their day to day needs, let alone finding the money to educate their children or to pay medical bills. These are the families most deserving of help from the community’s institutions for uplifting their disposable income to a respectable level.

2.2 Development Areas in Economics
The consensus gathered from the leaders of our Jamaats across Africa on this subject is that, on a macro scale, the sectors with the most potential for profitable exploitation by members of our community are tourism, farming for export and mining. On a micro scale, the sectors with the most potential are small scale manufacturing projects. The community should, in order to facilitate increase in personal disposable incomes for its members, investigate possible investments into these areas.     

The capabilities to tap the earning potential in these sectors do exist partially, but not fully, within our communities in Africa. By this we mean that land and expertise is locally available. Thus, finance is usually the stumbling block for such ventures, as far as our community is concerned.

The process that needs to be put in place is, first of all, to educate our young men and women about the potential in these fields for economic upliftment. Most importantly, the community should be programmed to accept and be willing to invest the necessary resources into these projects once they prove to be practical.
 
2.3 Objectives in Economics
First of all, in order to foster entrepreneurship within our community, we need to, for a start, impart the necessary business skills to our young men and women. Once this is achieved, then we need to provide them with adequate resources, namely a place and enough money, so that the business enterprise they venture into, after conforming its viability is assured of success.

To achieve the first objective, the Africa Federation, in cooperation with its constituent Jamaats, should initiate apprenticeship programs whereby our recently graduated boys and girls are placed with established business concerns so that they may learn the dos and don’ts of business.

The second part will be achieved by giving to each budding entrepreneur loans, or grants where workable, of up to US$ 10,000, with which to start their businesses. Together with this, the Africa Federation has embarked on a project to create 20 units of business premises in key areas for our members.

Secondly, by cooperating with experts and investors from the Indian sub continent, the Africa Federation will facilitate projects for our brothers and sisters in Africa, particularly in the farming sectors.

Thirdly, the Africa Federation will continue to encourage the participation of our business people in industry focussed tours and exhibitions.

3.0 HOUSING

3.1 Current Situation          
About 25 to 30% of our community members own their homes, which are, in the majority of instances, of a quality higher than the norm. These houses would usually be made up of three or more self-contained bedrooms, a spacious living room together with an adjacent large dinning area, and an expansive garden with garage facilities for cars.

40% of the member families live in good quality rented houses located within a one or two kilometre radius of the town centre. These homes are mainly flats of around 1200sq feet made up of 2 to 3 bedrooms with a living room, kitchen and dinning room.

The remaining 30% of the members of our community live, due to financial constraints or lack of a better alternative, in conditions that cannot be considered as acceptable. Several young families with growing children and the additional responsibility of aging parents live in localities that are extremely volatile and prone to frequent outbreaks of violence.

Basic amenities like schools, hospitals, community centres and places of employment are few and far between in these areas, with the result that community members who live in these neighbourhoods miss out on opportunities to enhance their social, economic and general well being.

It is therefore necessary to formulate a strategy to uplift the living conditions of these deserving community members.    

3.2 Development Areas in Housing
The requirements of the community will be best served by the construction of flats located in or near the centre of the targeted towns and cities across Africa. These flats typically cost approximately US$30,000 per unit to build, excluding the cost of land, which in most cases is already available to us free of charge through donations made by our forefathers. Thirty units of 1200sq feet each can be constructed on a one-acre plot.   

The location of any housing scheme will be determined by the project’s proximity to the centre of the targeted town, and to its propinquity to the mosque and community centre located there. The project should preferably not fall outside of a one-kilometre radius of these landmarks.

Partnerships can potentially be formed with local housing agencies to develop plots of land within the city limits, and with local government agencies for the purpose of developing land located outside the city boundaries. More research into the assistance that we can get from institutions such as these is necessary, as part of our project recognition process. 

The area that will require the most investment in the housing sector is in the cost of construction. Most Jamaats have land already available for such housing development projects in the vicinity of mosques and community centres across Africa.

These efforts will be made self-sustaining by charging rent for occupancy of the apartments and business premises and also, by introducing tenant purchase schemes for those community members who wish to become homeowners and outright purchase option.

3.3 Objectives in Housing
The Africa Federation, as its target, is committed to meet the community’s housing requirement of 800 units, by 2020. The quality of these housing facilities will largely depend on what the community can afford to provide, but it will certainly not go below what is presently considered as adequate for the African condition.

The aim is to construct 150 units of houses in the next three years. Based on the costing indicated above, the community will have to invest US$4.5M over the next three years to meet this target, excluding the cost of land.   

4.0 NGO Interactions
The most important constraint in interactions with Non Governmental Organizations is that our institutions are geared towards providing assistance to our community members only, while NGO policy calls for the inclusion of all citizens of any given country, when the question of giving assistance is addressed.
        
Secondly, we have learned from the limited contact that we have had with local aid agencies and funding programs that any project proposal that is presented to these organizations for full or limited technical and financial assistance, must originate from the stakeholders themselves. Furthermore, the sponsors should have done some initial investigative work before these proposals can be considered for support.

As such, we would recommend that the initial groundwork of identifying which projects to undertake, and where to do so, will need to be done before any approaches are made to NGOs for backing.