Hon. Mama Salma Kikwete launches Kilimani Sesame’s Malaria Education Outreach Campaign- WAMA Ground Dar es Salaam, June 16, 2011

By Anna Nkinda – Maelezo

In celebration of the Day of the African Child, the First Lady of Tanzania and WAMA Chairperson, Mama Salma Kikwete, launched Kilimani Sesame’s Malaria Education Outreach Campaign. This is a collaborative effort between Sesame Workshop, the producers behind Kilimani Sesame, WAMA and Malaria no More.

The campaign includes four malaria prevention Public Service Announcements (for TV and Radio), in Swahili, which will be aired on Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) and Clouds TV. The children from Genesis nursery school had an opportunity to be treated to a special reading by the First Lady of Chandarua Salama (The Safe Net), a supplemental storybook distributed nationally to support the PSAs.

Over 15,800 storybooks will be distributed to primary schools in the 11 educational zones of Tanzania, overseen by the national Ministry of Education. Additionally, 10,000 posters reinforcing the message of using an insecticide treated bed net will be distributed by CARE and Save the Children at clinics and health centers in Tanzania. Approval of the book was given by; the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, EMAC, National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and the National Kiswahili Council (BAKITA).

“I am pleased to be able to have offered my support to the Sesame Workshop and Malaria no More on this innovative campaign. On this day, the Day of the African child, it is important to remember the devastating impact malaria has on millions of children across Africa every year. Through innovations such as the ‘Chandarua Salama’ book we can come one step closer to fostering a culture where malaria is no longer acceptable in Tanzania” – said the First Lady Salma Kikwete.

“We are thrilled to have the gracious support of First Lady Kikwete, and Malaria No More, to create relevant and age appropriate content that will make a positive difference in the lives of children in Tanzania.” Said the representative of Sesame Worshop, Zainab Kabba.

The Kilimani Sesame PSAs and outreach materials are made possible through the generous support of Mattel, Inc. and Freedom to Create.

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children’s television programming with the landmark Sesame Street series. Beyond this, the Sesame Workshop continues to produce content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues, meeting the specific needs of young children and families to develop critical skills needed for lifelong learning in over 150 countries.

In 2008, Sesame Workshop launched Kilimani Sesame, a multimedia early childhood education initiative in Tanzania.

The project broadcast thirteen thirty-minute television episodes on TBC and Television Zanzibar as well as thirteen original radio episodes and songs reaching close to a million children and caregivers. Outreach materials were also distributed in the form of three bilingual storybooks, and a caregiver guide that reached over 400,000 people across Tanzania. The 2008 initiative was made possible through the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).