Speaking of Fashion...

...what's your safari style?

Early European settlers in African were apparently terrified of of the effects of sun on both physical and mental health, as a result, a good hat ordered from the Army & Navy Stores catalogue was deemed essential.

Beyond the essential hat to protect from the sun, early safari adventurers were often accompanied by an entourage of cooks, a surgeon, and a train of wagons loaded with more "essentials" including items such as a piano, cases of gin, and crates of vintage champagne. In this way the term "safari" was adopted to describe the expatriate elite's adventures in the Kenyan and East African wilds, while in Swahili, the term simply means journey or trip. Go figure.

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References and Photo Credit:
Beddow, Tim and Natasha Burns. Safari Style. Thames and Hudson: London. 1998.

Thoughts on Polygamy.

A recent attention-grabbing headline in African news on CNN read, "Kenyan polygamist with 100 wives dies." According to the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Ancentus Akuku, known for marrying 100 wives and reportedly had over 160 children, died at the ripe age of 90"something". This notorious Kenyan man was nicknamed "Danger" because of his alleged charm and ability to woo women. His family was so large, he built a church and a school for them in the western town of Kisumu, and Akuku himself admitted that the size of his extended family made it impossible to keep track of them. Akuku married his first wife in 1939 and his last wife in 1992, and had reportedly divorced as many as 30 wives during this time.


Although polygamy was the norm in Kenya during Akuku's time, the article cites that this practice has died out over the years. To whatever extent that claim is true in Kenya, this practice decidedly persists in Tanzania. We have seem many, many examples of polygamous marriages during our time here. Not only does polygamy continue to happen on an informal basis, it is actually sanctioned by Tanzanian law. Upon registration, a marriage license must be filed according to one of three classifications: polygamous, potentially polygamous, or monogamous. Incidentally any declared status can be "converted" to polygamous or monogamous by joint declaration at any time. As it exists, polygamous relationships are permitted only with the consent of the first wife, in fact maintenance of the other wives becomes the first wife's duty in cases where the husband is incapacitated or otherwise unable to earn a living. Given that Islamic law allows for men to take up to four wives, it is presumed that all Muslim marriages are polygamous or potentially polygamous unless proved otherwise, and Christian marriages are the reverse. A man is only allowed to take a second or third or even fourth wife provided that he can "afford" to support them, therefore polygamy is often a defacto status symbol, indicating great wealth.


This past weekend we were hanging out in South Beach with a newfound friend, Shannon, otherwise known as The Kristen Replacement, and were greeted with swarming numbers of Pakistani naval officers on shore leave. They approached Andrei in a steadfast manner and invited him for a friendly chat by the poolside. He got up to join them alone. Shannon and I were more than content to continue drinking our beers by the bar. No no, they beckoned, everybody should come. By the poolside Andrei explained, these are both my wives - Wife #1 and Wife #2. This statement received barely scant notice and jovial conversation continued. Once their rudimentary English skills had run their course, they asked to take a group picture with us and then politely excused themselves for further exploration. As they walked away one man looked back and with a wink and nod of the head he remarked, "You are a very lucky man to have two wives."

And so it seems, sometimes the path of least resistance, in terms of explaining away circumstances, is the most amenable and easily understood mode of communication, especially when working across such varied and value laden cultural norms.

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References:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/07/kenya.polygamist.100.wives/index.html?hpt=T2


http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/tanzania.htm

Ace of Spades?

I am feeling lucky today. Are you?

Do You Rue?

The hugely anticipated Rue Magazine opens on line this week and it promises to be good. For those lacking patience, here is a sneak peak. 

So, do you rue?

Giraffe Manor.

Its reputation precedes it, for better or worse.


In September, before even landing in East Africa, I was told by a fellow penniless intern in DC, "You must visit the famous giraffe hotel in Nairobi." My curiosity was piqued.

After my arrival here, I stumbled across a feature on this same "very special hotel in Nairobi" in one of my favorite blogs. The author's desire to visit Kenya was confirmed after seeing the movie Out of Africa. As someone who described staying in a tent as neither her idea of fun nor a proper vacation, her dream vacation to Africa centers around "fabulous" 5 star accommodations, including this one. My interest began to wane.

Momentarily breaking ourselves free from the rather aggressive pursuits of tourist touts at Jomo Kenyatta airport, we asked a local man for his ideas of what we must see and do during our one day in Nairobi, "Oh, you must go to the Giraffe Center." He was the 3rd person within 20 minutes time to tell us we must visit this place. My waning interest turned to outright aversion. This has got to be a tourist trap we both agreed.

Despite this, later that day we ended up face to face with a family of giraffes, allowing them to lick pellets out of the palms of our hands. After a long trek through Ngong Hills, followed by a leisurely lunch, we still had several hours ahead of us before needing to return to the airport, and so we ended up at the Giraffe Manor. Our visit actually proved quite an interesting diversion.

The Giraffe Manor was built in 1932 by David Duncan of the "Macintosh Toffee" family, and is modelled on a Scottish hunting lodge. This mansion is complete with views of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the south and Ngong Hills to the west. This seemed an apt follow-up to our tour of Karen Blixen's home. In 1974, the grandson of a Scots Earl, Jock Leslie Melville and his American wife Betty bought the Manor to use as their home. Shortly thereafter, they moved two highly endangered Rothschild giraffe onto the estate where future generations have continued to thrive and live today. The Rothschild giraffe lost much of their natural habitat in western Kenya and faced extinction. Jock and Betty founded the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW), and the Giraffe Center was built on their property to provide a venue for Kenyan schoolchildren could learn more about conservation and ecology, complete with the ability to feed giraffe eye to eye. During our visit there, we were surrounded by excited and curious children in purple uniforms.

Profits from the admission fees paid to the Giraffe Center support various conservation projects in Kenya. When Jock died in 1984, Betty returned to the US and opened her house to visitors and it has continued to delight visitors ever since.

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References:

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html

Photo Credit:

last photo: http://www.giraffemanor.com/docs1/history.htm

Shopping with a Conscious: Bantu.

I have long grown tired of increasingly grandiose attempts to get consumers to consume more under the thinly veiled guise of saving the world. But this Vanity Fair headline really seemed to take the cake, "Buy a Swimsuit, Save Africa". Its a simple claim really, but yet, so loaded. A swimsuit that can save a whole continent, please let us not oversimplify rather complex development challenges that professionals have been trying to tackle for decades. But as I read on, my skepticism gave way to tentative support. Perhaps a swimsuit purchase will not save an entire continent, but here is what shopping with a consciousness may do.

Despite the often reported horrors of the continent, the founders of this swimsuit line, Bantu, seek to promote an often overlooked side of the African continent - Africa's amazing beaches and vibrant beach culture from Dakar to Cape Town to Zanzibar to Casablanca. Amidst stories that reach the American shores of the despondent and helpless peoples of African nations, this family business with African roots attempts to promote the sunnier side of this so called "dark" continent.

Yodit Eklund is the mastermind and visionary behind this new swimsuit line. Together with her brother, Yohannes Mekbebe, she is launching this swimwear line inspired by their childhood roots in Kenya, Egypt, and Bangladesh with strong influences from the low-key surfing vibe of the African coast.

So how exactly does this swimsuit purchase "save Africa"? Well, beyond, the bold efforts to rebrand Africa from "forever backward" to "full of vitality and life," their prints are sourced from sub-Saharan artists, and then cut and sewn in factories from Ethiopia to Cameroon, bringing industrial and economic development to some of the world’s most needy communities.

Bantu recognizes that we as consumers have the ability to make a difference, one purchase at a time, even in the seemingly far flung reaches of Africa. What Bantu does not provide is charity nor does it produce one off goods that consumers neither need nor want with a mere fraction of the proceeds supporting one cause or another. Rather their model is one of empowerment. Bantu does not create communities dependent upon aid, but gives them the opportunity to work and provide highly desired consumer goods (at least that is the goal of course).

Perhaps, not so ironically, you can find her collection at high end retailers across the U.S. including Barneys, Fred Segal, and Steven Alan boutiques (allegedly at Anthropologie as well, although I could not find online proof of that).

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References:

Vanity Fair, June 2010.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/09/buy-a-swimsuit-save-africa.html

http://www.africansurfer.com/?p=852

http://www.bantuwax.com/mission.html

Adventure Seeking with a Twist.

One of the main reasons I travel is because of the people I get to meet along the way. Some, of course, are more impressionable than others. But there are a select few I have met along the way that have left me so inspired that I have been moved to search for more consequential meaning in my own life. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to meet two such people. And I would like to take the opportunity, in turn, to introduce them to you.

Their names are Gwyn and Ryan. Gwyn is from the UK. Ryan is from South Africa. Gwyn is driving Ryan home. Although this is hardly an ordinary drive. For starters, their journey begins in London and ends in Capetown. Their journey began on 11th October 2009. We met them nearly 8 months later on the south coast of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania at the bar of Mikadi Beach, a well known stop for overlanders in Africa. Gwyn was quite chatty and pumped with excitment for the pending U.S. v. England World Cup game, while Ryan, who appeared to be a bit shyer by nature, remained in the background reading the "Getting Started" Section of their Southern Africa Lonely Planet guide. We could not help but laugh at this fact, especially since 8 months into my year's long journey in Dar es Salaam, I still feel like I am "getting started." If only someone had penned a neat summary I could read to better equip me for this experience. 

Both Gwyn and Ryan share a sense of adventure. But their shared adventure is one with a unique twist. Namely, their overland route is being undertaken in a 1989 Toyota LandCruiser partially powered by solar technology. Gwyn’s keen interests in solar energy and development in Africa combined to create OverlandintheSun. The OverlandintheSun trip is an opportunity for Ryan to combine his journey home with a real world adventure that will aid in capitalizing on the potential of solar power and technology to bring benefits to some of the world's poorest communities. OverlandintheSun is raising money for SolarAid, a charity that fights global poverty and climate change by coordinating projects in rural Africa that bring solar power to schools, community centers, and health clinics. SolarAid augments their introduction of solar power technology by training beneficiaries to make and sell their own solar powered products and chargers.

The OverlandintheSun trip itself will be producing less CO2 than they would otherwise living in the UK. How you ask, can driving an energy inefficient car, over such a vast distance produce less CO2 than simply staying in the UK during that time?

Well, a trip of this kind takes a serious amount of preparation, and Gwyn diligently worked for over two years to make his dream a reality. But these two years of dedicated preparation work consisted not only of outfitting the vehicle to make it a place they could call home for the coming year, but also, reconfiguring the vehicle to make it partially fueled by solar energy. This has been achieved through the use of Solar Photovoltaics, a technology that has been around for 20 years, but is only now maturing and becoming economically viable. This technology will allow them to capitalize on the potential of the equitoral sun to fuel the vehicle's fans and water pump to keep them cool, the power steering to give them a helping hand, and the alternator to provide such amenities as lights, stereo, mobile satillite navigation system, as well as in-vehicle entertainment in the form of a solar powered kettle, solar powered mobile phones and personal computers and cameras, and the ultimate luxury - hot showers - via solar powered "heat" aka shower bags warmed in the sun.

While they recognize that by walking or biking they certainly would have consumed less fossil fuel burning energy (although perhaps more physical energy!), driving was in fact part of the mission. They were driven (no pun intended) to demonstrate to people in general and car manufacturers specifically the power of Solar Photovoltaics. While it is now widely accepted that using cars less, carpooling more, and driving more efficiently are all laudible goals, they realize that draconian policies restricting car usage is something no politician would dare to dream of and also changing the behavior of the "average Joe" is usually quite an impossible feat. Therefore, part of their mission is to take a bold stance in demonstrating the power of technology to help reduce the impact of climate change.

Many others with a similar sense of adventure have joined them along the way, as surely a trip of this magnitude would be impossible with two people alone, however we only had the pleasure of meeting Gwyn and Ryan.

Are you feeling inspired yet? Play your part in helping them arrive into Capetown and complete this dually inspirational journey.

Donate money for a good cause: Help OverlandintheSun reach their goal in raising money for Solar Aid.

Show your support on Facebook for OverlandintheSun:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/OverlandintheSun-London-to-Cape-Town-for-SolarAid/119064302706

World Cup Fever.

The excitement has been mounting for weeks and months, years even. And now after long last it is officially on!

Every four years the world comes together to celebrate the World Cup. This single event captivates more people around the globe than any other event in the world, sporting or otherwise. During the World Cup, people gather in large numbers to cheer for their heroes around televisions and transistor radios. While the settings vary from pubs to corporate boardrooms to thatched huts to flophouses, the excitement is the same. The setting for this year's tournament, South Africa, where apartheid was the law of the land until 1994, only adds to this year's heightened sense of celebration.

The First World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930 to mark the country’s centennial. The hosts won beating their neighbors, Argentina 4 to 2. Since then, there have been 18 tournaments—1942 and 1946 were canceled on account of larger global concerns—and only seven countries have ever won. The Germans have won the World Cup three times (1954, 1974, and 1990) and have been in more finals than anyone else. Brazil has won the title five times, more than any other nation, the current runner-up is Italy with four titles, they are in fact the defending champion of this year's tournament. The best the US has ever done was in the first tournament in 1930, where they came in 3rd.

The author of the blog "Stuff White People Like" jokes that part of the excitement for Americans is that this world event allows them "to pretend they are European for a few weeks, and more importantly, it allows them to get drunk at odd hours." Yes indeed, that may be part of the fun. But the importance of the game surely transcends beyond the ability to drink Brazilian caprihinas at early morning hours without a sense of shame while watching Brazil take on their next opponent.

It has long been recognized that the World Cup is about a whole lot more than just soccer. For most people around the globe, these players are more than just showstoppers -- they are gods. And they enjoy the personality cult and salaries to match. In fact, some call it the "most important sport in history," and the numbers are telling of its elevated importance.

It has been estimated that more than 715 million people watched the cup final in 2006, notably 10 times the number of people who watched the Super Bowl that year. Known as a "lingua franca," for most nations around the world, the game becomes an expression of national identity, in fact, 204 nations tried to qualify for 32 spots in this year’s World Cup, while there are only 192 states in the United Nations. This startling statistic is in part fueled by examples like this: the British use it as an excuse to dissolve their union and play as four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Despite the astronomical salaries of football’s greatest stars and the marketing and manufacturing of the whole sport, there is a powerful link between the boys kicking a ball around on the beach to the stars in the stadium, in a way no other sport can claim. There is a purity at the heart of the game, especially as players rarely come from the middle classes, rather their heartlands are the slums and shantytowns, the favelas and the mean backstreets.

But perhaps the real reason people get so engulfed into the World Cup every four years, is because countries seem to play in line their national identities as though these often referenced stereotypes are sewn into their uniforms. The stereotypes live large and provide much fodder to the bar banter.

An excerpt from the Vanity Fair's "authority" on football claims the following (note - this information has neither been confirmed, nor denied in other credible sources):
“The Germans are disciplined, ruthless, and relentless, always with a huge impenetrable goalkeeper. The Italians are vicious, vocal, and cheat. It was an Italian who provoked the Algerian-French Zinedine Zidane to a reactionary foul in the 2006 final by telling him that his sister was a prostitute. This is typically Italian. The Argentines, who are half Italian, play much the same way. The French are terribly inconsistent: one moment glorious and attractive, the next petulant and confused. Portugal and Spain are Europe’s underachievers. In America, “soccer” is still considered a children’s game in many respects, so they are still in the process of growing up. African football is marvelously exciting. No African country has ever gotten past the quarter finals, but they play with eager, individualistic enthusiasm, often without any apparent defensive strategy.”

For the June issue of Vanity Fair, Annie Leibovitz set out to capture some of soccer's biggest stars, including Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Ghana’s Sulley Muntari, the U.S.A.’s Landon Donovan, Brazil’s Kaká and Pato, Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, Serbia’s Dejan Stankovic, England’s Carlton Cole, and Germany’s Michael Ballack.

Yum. Annie’s revealing portraits make it easier to decide where your patriotic allegiances may lie.

And as always in the interest of remaining balanced, here is some eye candy for those of a different persuasion.

South Africa opens the World Cup against Mexico on June 11, as is tradition for the host nation's team. Must-see games include England vs. U.S.A. (June 12) as well as matches within the so-called Group of Death—Ivory Coast vs. Portugal (June 15), Brazil vs. Ivory Coast (June 20), Portugal vs. Brazil (June 25).

Let the games (and bar banter!) begin.

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References:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/05/world-cup-cover-story.html

Photo Credits:

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/05/world-cup-cover-story.html

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/fairplay/2010/06/footie-booty-sex-and-the-world-cup.html

The perfect balance.

The "perfect" balance. Is this even possible?

I recently reconnected with a friend who I had long since fallen out of touch with. She offered the following by means of explanation, "I have allowed myself to spend the past several months wrapped up in a new relationship - it has been fantastic, and new. I am still working on how to balance him with needing my own time, time with my friends, and time with my family. To be honest, I feel I have not done the greatest job at making sure that I am as connected as I normally prefer to be with all of my friends. I am hoping that as I seek to reconnect and rebalance in the upcoming months that my friends understand." Surely I understand. In fact, isn't a sense of balance the essence of what we are all seeking in life? Perhaps it is easier said than done.

I recently discovered Elements of Style - an inspirational blog written by Erin Gates, an interior and fashion stylist based in Boston.

She is cute as a button. Her blog is even better. She introduces topics related to fashion, interior design and pop culture, with a sense of charm and sophistication, but perhaps more importantly, with a welcome sense of humor, making these often high end topics highly accessible to everyone. I am not alone in my praise for her, she received accolades from the Washington Post, as one of the “Top Ten Design Blogs of 2008." She admittedly has a fabulous job, designing homes, being her own boss, writing her blog, penning a column in a local Boston magazine and doing some fashion styling on the side.

Despite all of this, she writes, "I know I have it pretty good. Yet, there are days when it doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Or that its right. Or that there might be more for me - more depth, more meaning, more something. I think constantly about all the things I want to try and do and be and it’s dizzying to say the least. I don’t feel cursed by the urge to expand my horizons, but I do feel pressure and the head spinning speed of passing time as I hurdle into my thirties. I wonder about doing other things with my life; other things that interest me greatly like writing a book, focusing on painting again, opening a store, opening a bakery, teaching yoga, teaching art or giving into the rumored bliss of motherhood. The thing is, I know in my heart I can try all these things, and some of them might be failures. Failure is something I historically feared more intensely than anything else in this world and I’m starting to find I am less and less afraid of it. But it is hard to let go of old habits. My worst one is trying to be what everyone else wants me to be (or what I think everyone else wants me to be). Being yourself and owning it - the good and the bad - is a really tough thing to do, but so worth the fight. I have accepted that I will never be (and probably shouldn’t be) a doctor (despite my penchant for self-diagnosing on WebMD), a business exec, a talk show host, a lawyer, a shrink, a “save the world” type, a vegetarian, an actress, a blonde.  Other people were born to be those things, I wasn’t. Following your passion and bliss won’t always bring you fame and fortune, but it might just bring you a little peace of mind."

A self-described, "grass is greener type of person", she concludes, "Now, back to the shallow stuff…. :)"

As some of you may have noticed, I have spent a great deal of blog space focused on home design and fashion, all the while sharing stories on the realities and challenges of living in what is one of the poorest countries in the world. Perhaps my musings on home design and fashion are entirely at odds with my current environment, or perhaps I am subconsciously yearning for these things, otherwise unavailable to me here? But maybe at the end of the day, these seemingly disconnected streams of thought represent a balanced picture of my wide ranging interests. Yes, seeking meaningful, worthwhile work is important to me, and I have squarely placed myself on a career track dedicated to advancing the interests and realities of some of the world's poorest, but my interests admittedly delve far beyond that. 

While Erin was quick to call her design-focused profession "shallow," I on the other hand do not believe that design and aesthetics are mutually incompatible with helping the world's poor. In fact there is a growing movement of designers dedicating their talent and energy to developing low-cost solutions for those not traditionally served by professional designers. Design for the Other 90% represents a collection of entrepreneurs, engineers, students, professors, and architects from around the globe coming together to devise cost-effective ways to improve access to basic services, including water, food, energy, education, healthcare, revenue-generating activities, and affordable transportation. This movement demonstrates how design can be a dynamic force in saving and transforming lives, at home and around the world. And so it seems, someone in the higher end fashion and design world can unknowingly provide the inspiration to bring life saving design and technologies to the world's poor and traditionally underserved.

For those of you in the DC area with an interest in balancing "form" and "function," I highly recommend checking out the Design for the Other 90% exhibit at the National Geographic Museum at 1145 17th Street NW. This exhibit will be up through September 6th of this year. For others not in the DC area, the book is available for purchase here.

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References:

http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/exhibits/2010/04/28/design-other-90/

http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/resources/

The Right Tools for the Job.

One billion people around the globe do it. And more and more people join them each day.

I am talking about smoking. The negative effects of smoking and tobacco use are indisputable -- smoking kills. It causes cancer. It causes emphysema. It causes heart attacks. It causes increased blood pressure and heart rate. It causes adverse reproductive outcomes. During pregnancy, it decreases gestational age at birth and decreases birth weight. Sincerely, the list goes on and on and on.

Tobacco is the only legal consumer product in the world that kills when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer. In fact, there are more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer. 

Despite this knowledge, the effects of this addictive habit are staggering. Smoking-related illnesses claim more American lives than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs, combined. Globally, tobacco kills more than five million people a year, or an average of one person every six seconds. Smoking accounts for one in every 10 adult deaths. Smokers enjoy a 50-50 chance that they will eventually die of a tobacco-related disease, that is, if they are not killed by a bus or in a freak accident otherwise. The annual death toll is projected to rise to eight million by 2030 barring effective controls to stem the global tobacco "epidemic." In sum, tobacco use is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.

To confront these harrowing statistics, the World Health Organization adopted the global Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003, which has since become one of the most widely embraced treaties in UN history with 168 country signatory parties. Yesterday, May 31st, commemorated World No Tobacco Day, one among many days designated by the organization to bring global focus and attention to a particular health issue. As its name indicates, the goal of World No Tobacco Day is to bring global awareness to the problem of tobacco use and to encourage users to quit.

Nice idea, but here is what they are up against.

Despite indisputable proof that smoking kills, World Health Organization studies show that few people truly understand the specific health risks of tobacco use or know that it even holds negative health consequences at all. While numbers of tobacco users in high-income and upper middle-income countries continue to decrease, where presumably knowledge of these latent risks is more generalized, total consumption of tobacco products continues to increase in other parts of the globe. More than 80% of the world's one billion smokers live in low-and middle-income countries, where very little knowledge exists about the inherent dangers of smoking, and accordingly, the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is the heaviest. As if an example is needed of the dangers of people being wholly unaware of the negative health consequences of using or smoking tobacco, a video surfaced last week on the UK Sun's website of a reporter's footage of an "addicted" cigarette smoking 2 year old in a Sumtran village in Indonesia. First introduced to this habit by his father at the young age of 18 months, this toddler now allegedly smokes up to 40 cigarettes a day (ie: close to two packs). His addiction manifests in angry burst of screaming and hitting his head against a wall, when cigarettes are withheld from him by his parents.





As the Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams rightly points out, while a "child's welfare is still first and foremost his parents' responsibility," perhaps those of us in the western world who know better should not "get comfortable in the knowledge that we'd never even expose our own babies to cigarettes, let alone hand them a pack," but rather "redirect a little of that indignation toward a profitable industry that's worked so hard to pour smoke down those little lungs." I concur. But also, I reserve some of my sense of indignation over this story towards public policy and civic leaders lacking the vision and political will to utilize the arsenal of tools available and proven effective in curbing rates of tobacco usage. 

It is now widely accepted as fact that there is no safe level of second-hand tobacco smoke. Under the guiding ethos that every person should be able to breathe smoke-free air (as well as adding an extra hurdle to smokers partaking in this habit themselves), there was a recent title wave of smoke-free laws to protect the health of non-smokers in many American and European cities, including the recent extension of these indoor smoking prohibitions in bars (gasp!). It felt like a step back in time to land in Dar es Salaam where there are no such prohibitions to smoking in bars and restaurants. Unfortunately, this is more the rule than the exception. Globally, only 5.4% of people are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws. Of the 100 most populous cities only 22 are smoke free. This is a sad demonstration of public policy leadership, given that second-hand smoke causes 600,000 premature deaths per year, and what's more depressing, in 2004, children accounted for 28% of the deaths attributable to second-hand smoke.

Beyond this unwelcome second-hand smoke when enjoying a cocktail, I was shocked to learn how cheap cigarettes are here. Following cigarette packs with an average price tag well over US$8 in most American cities, a pack of cigarettes here runs under US$2. It is proven that tobacco taxes are the most effective way to reduce tobacco use, especially among young people and poor people (dare I remind you Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world). A tax policy that increases tobacco prices by 10% decreases tobacco consumption by about 4% in high-income countries and by up to 8% in low- and middle-income countries. In other words, a "vice tax" is an effective way to curb usage rates. Only 21 countries, representing 6.2% of the world's population, have tobacco tax rates greater than 75% of the retail price. Shockingly, in countries with available information, tobacco tax revenues are 173 times higher than spending on tobacco control.

Hard-hitting anti-tobacco advertisements and graphic pack warnings reduce the number of children who begin smoking and increase the number of smokers who quit. Following the use of pictorial warnings in Brazil, Canada, Singapore, and Thailand, studies consistently demonstrated the use of these pictures significantly increased people's awareness of the harms of tobacco use. Despite proof that pictures are more powerful deterrents than words on tobacco packaging warnings, only 19 countries, representing 24% of the world’s population, mandate pictorial warnings. Just 15 countries, representing 7.6% of the world's population, meet the highest standards for pictorial warnings, which dictate that these color warnings cover at least half of both the front and back of cigarette packs. Bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship are also proven to reduce tobacco consumption. Only 26 countries, representing 8.8% of the world’s population, have comprehensive national bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and moreover, 27% of the world's population live in countries that do not ban free distribution of tobacco products.

Those that are aware of health risks related to tobacco use, usually state their intention and desire to quit. Where this is the case, counseling and medication doubles the chance that a "quitting" smoker will succeed. However, national comprehensive health-care services supporting cessation are available in only 17 countries, or rather, are only available to 8.2% of the world's population. There is no cessation assistance at all in 29% of low-income countries and 8% of middle-income countries. 

This year's World No Tobacco Day was focused on gender and tobacco, using the day to draw particular attention to the harmful effects of tobacco marketing and smoke on women and girls. To curb the "sex" appeal of industry advertising, the World Health Organization developed a series promotional and educative posters aimed at debunking this perception. While creative and slick, I am not sure these anti-smoking advertisements stand a chance against the powerful promotional advertisements of the tobacco industry.

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References:

http://www.mediaforfreedom.com/readarticle.php?AID=16880

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8GGfpZFmwc

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/05/27/smoking_toddler_outrage/index.html

http://www.stop-smoking-tips.com/dangers-smoking.html

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2009/no_tobacco_day_20090529/en/index.html

A Day at the Races.

After reading tantalizing tales about one of my long favorite spring time traditions in the U.S. - horse racing at Foxfield in Charlottesville, I am pleased to share my stories about a day at the races - Tanzanian style.

The parallels with this charming American tradition were many. People came out dressed in their best UK Royal Ascot horse racing inspired, neo-colonial attire. Striking sun hats were the star of the show. Champagne and other select booze were flowing like the miracle of wine the Wedding at Cana.

The stakes were high with cash prizes ranging from 600,000 Tsh to 2,400,000 Tsh (approximately US$450 to $1750). Amidst the cheers of celebrations and mirth and merriment of the winners' circles, some tears were shed among those with less than favorable results.

The event enjoyed high level sponsorship from the Dar elite, all under the guise of supporting over a dozen small Tanzanian organisations that use these charitably raised monies towards their aims of making significant and sustainable impacts and benefits within the wider communities where they work.

But the one key difference here is that these were not horse races, but rather goat races!

This East African tradition of Goat Racing got its start in Uganda several years ago when some enterprising members of the business community were seeking unique ways to raise money for charity. The theme "Ascot with a Difference" began to take shape. The example of a pig race, held in Zimbabwe in 1991 for the 50th birthday of a well-known horse breeder with insufficient garden space to host a fully-fledged horse race, eventually morphed into the Goat Races. The abundance of goats in East Africa made this animal the perfect choice to model a typical horse race with a special and fun twist. As with horse racing, betting is a central feature of the day. Ten goats compete in each race, with jockeys (behind, infront, beside, under...) needed to bring forth every drop of persuasive skill and mental creativity to cajole their steeds towards the finishing line in a fair and proper manner. Before each race, the goats parade proudly around the ring, giving spectators and betters alike the chance to seek visual signs of genius or winning prowess and augment their chance of winning!

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References:

http://www.goatraces.com/