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Daily woes non-resident UDSM students endure
2005-11-09 09:38:12
By Pacifique Nkeshimana
Water shortage, insecurity, lack of public transport and poor sanitation are a daily nightmare non-resident University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) students endure in their search for prized educational papers.
During an investigation conducted at Mbuyuni residential area, about two kilometres from the main campus, The Guardian witnessed the misery the students live through at a tenement (name withheld) that accommodates more than 200 students.
They are crammed in tiny unhygienic rooms that are poorly lit and without water.
The Guardian also established that the students are perilously vulnerable to communicable diseases such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera because of the poor waste discharge systems.
The latrines at the tenement overflow with human waste, not to speak of the foul smell that wafts from the decomposing waste, which render the premises unfit for human habitation.
Commenting on how they survive without running water, one of the students who preferred anonymity said the proprietor of the house fetches water for them, which she sells at 100/- per bucket.
The water-stressed students blame negligent authorities and the affluent neighbourhood for their woes.
When asked for comment on the real hygienic situation at the place, the owner of the house( name withheld) said that there is a problem of water at the place and in the entire Changanyikeni locality.
’You know, the water scarcity in Changanyikeni is a big problem… The people you see carrying buckets of water from the University premises are residents of Changanyikeni and some of them are students,’ the house owner said.
The proprietor however, admitted that the latrines at the tenement are overflowing but was not ready to hire a truck to empty the latrines, unless the students also contributed some money.
’I have a big number of clients (students) who are staying here… They are the ones who use the facility but are not ready to share the cost in case I hired a truck,’ the proprietor said.
On the lack of public transport, The Guardian established that while the road is far from being different from any other in the Dar es Salaam, it is not served by daladalas (commuter buses) that ply the University Road.
Some students attributed the problem to rich people who live in the area, most of who own cars.
A resident however, claimed that a University lecturer ( name withheld) living in the area, engineered a ban on commuter buses, saying the touts were noisy and chaotic.
Amid the chaos, robbers and muggers have always had field day when they raid the tenement. When they strike, the students part with mobile phones and money.
Mary Barthazar, a third year student in the Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration has been a victim once.
She narrated how a knife-wielding man at around 4.00pm pounced on her, just a kilometer away from Hall VI as she was returning to Changanyikeni after classes in July.
’Someone accosted me and threatened to decapitate my head if I refused to surrender my mobile phone and the purse. A man, who was in front of me, saw whatever was happening but he just walked on, not bothering to help me,’she said.
’When I reported the incident to the police, I was given an RB form and they promised to investigate. No one has been arrested or measures taken to root out the insecurity menace,’ she added.
Balthazar Awe, a fourth year education student who lives in the tenement said concentrating in class has been made difficult by water scarcity and lack of transport.
’Water is scarce. We get it at 200/- per 20-litre bucket.
I have never seen water being sold so exorbitantly,’ he lamented.
He said that those who cannot buy water are forced to trek to the university premises, where they get it for free.
He added: ’Women walking from the university are always at risk of being mugged, robbed or raped as the area is infested by hoodlums.’
Efforts by The Guardian to contact DAWASCO and the Dar es Salaam Regional Transport Licensing Authority for comments are on.
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