By Charles Mgbolu
Far into the night at a studio in Dar es Salaam’s Kinondoni district, a group of Tanzanian artists and creatives hurdle over pencil sketches and colourings as they create animations that simplify complex topics for young people.
The initiative uses art to inspire behaviour change and awareness on subjects usually brushed off such as mental health as well as boost to academic performance among students.
"As a project team, we used to visit schools and make presentations to inspire young people to stay in school, learn, and improve their academic performances," Ian Tarimo, 35, told TRT Afrika.
Tarimo began with seminars in schools ten years ago with friends, Gwamaka Mwabuka and Alphonce Haule, but formally started the animation group seven years ago.
His Tai Tanzania animation team uses 3D animations, radio dramas and comics to impart knowledge and bridge the gap created by the high number of out-of-school children in Tanzania.
It’s a fair point, as the number of Tanzania children out of school makes for grim reading. Over 1.8 million children between the ages of seven and 13 are out of school, according to a World Bank report in 2020.
Almost 70% of children aged 14–17 are not enrolled in secondary education, while only 3.2% are enrolled for the final two years of schooling.
UNICEF says generally, primary school-aged children from the poorest families are three times less likely to attend school than those from the wealthiest households
"I wanted to contribute my quota to whittling the numbers. It became a personal project to help people live a life not separated from education and not to be put down because they were uneducated,” he said.
Powerful effect
Tarimo’s initial seminars faced the big challenge as he soon realised he was struggling to hold the attention of his audiences.
"I realised that shortly after the sessions began, the children began to drop off, and by the end of the session, a full class was left with only 20% of the number that began the session.’’
It was at this stage that he realised he had to get creative.
"My team and I went the animation route because we realised it was the best way to get the message across because animation has a powerful effect that arrests and enthralls the attention of young audiences," he said.
It took longer than they expected to create a pilot animation film - one three-minute film took six months to create. In October 2017, his pilot animation was eventually released.
''We only had one animator and one director... We decided to use volunteers from the office to do the voiceovers. I actually also volunteered as the father of the main character.
The biggest challenge was to make such complex subjects digestible for young audiences.
"When we produced the animation on malaria, we decided to give the disease a face and voice and tell a powerful story of a human body invaded after meticulous planning by an army of mosquitoes," he said.
Full class
The animations used African characters and were voiced in Swahili - the language across the country. The result was an instant hit among audiences.
Tarimo and his team sometimes also touch on some health issues that are rarely spoken about openly in his community.
He said this is giving his audiences better understanding of diseases and prevention measures as well as how to improve their health.
"My mother was a nurse and my father was a teacher, so teaching health-related subjects is perhaps what I was destined to do,’’ Tarimo said.
“If we could speak openly about coming down with a fever, which is a biological occurrence, why should there be shame or judgment in conversations about reproductive or mental health? It should not be taboo,’’ he said.
"We had more than a full class at each session. Everyone, irrespective of age, was immediately captivated,'' he explained.
Global recognition
"In the storytelling, I wanted it to be proudly ours as a continent, proudly our own identity,'' he said.
The animation has received awards including the best animation film at the 2021 Tanzania Film Festival and the best East African animation film from the Kwetu International Film Festival in 2022.
The team has also collaborated with several organisations under the UN, including UNICEF, UNESCO, and the United Nations Population Fund.
Tai Tanzania animations reach over 12 million people on social media platforms and have over four million views via TV syndicated animation shows. Their audiences cut across countries within and outside the continent.
"It’s very humbling to see that the work you do out of the piety of your heart is so deeply appreciated, and this just makes me want to do so much more. It’s such a fulfilling experience because everyone deserves to live a life of respect," he stressed.
