Elieshi Ndesandjo, A Flame of Tanzania

Written by Nasra Aldawi of Oman & Amias of USA

Oman, May 2007 - There are many types of "everyday heroines". They come from all walks of life. Some go unnoticed by most, and others are recognized by many. Every woman is an everyday heroine, whether they are field workers, maids, mothers, business owners, or a president of large corporations, or just everyday women helping others because they care.

Today, the sisterhood of LiquidPlastic.net takes great pride in giving honor to Ms. Elieshi Ndesandjo, who clawed her way to the top in the business world of men, by sheer will and talent. She became a very successful business woman and a very unique mentor for her fellow sisters.

My first encounter with Elieshi was by telephone. I was on my way to Dar es Salaam Tanzania to meet her. I felt comfortable with her from the moment we spoke. It was if I had known her for years. What was even more amazing is that neither of us had to cross the bridge of awkwardness; where two strangers meet for the first time.  We bonded straight away. 

Elieshi Ndesandjo is a proud Tanzanian Lady. She is the seventh child in a family of nine, where only eight survived. She has three sisters, and four brothers. Her father died when she was five years old and she was raised by her mother. 

“We were brought up by a strict mother (stick & carrot disciplinarian) but a religious and faithful one too,” said Elieshi. “With my mother a child was a child. A boy should cook, wash, and clean up dishes and house, iron and wash clothes just like a girl. This made me competitive with males all my life.  I used to tell men anything you can do I can do it ten times better because I am an African Woman. These were not just words I meant them.”

Elieshi is a fifty-eight year old divorcee with four children; two daughters and two sons. “I was good in school and in life, but not as a wife. Sometimes to be a wife you have to go down (this is what I know now) but I do not regret being a divorcee.   A harmonious life is better than to live in pieces.” 

Elieshi once worked for the National Bank of Commerce and afterwards with the State Mining Corporation in the Accounts Department. Elieshi said, “I started my own business early because the salary I was getting was not enough for the up bringing of my children, I started with making Tie and Dye clothes which I sold to friends and colleagues with whom I was working.”

In 1984, Elieshi received hair dressing training in Nairobi, Kenya. She was the first local black woman to dare to enter into this profession within her community.  She became a pioneer for other women, and when she opened her shop, she hired other black women that use to work for the European hair dressers. Her clientele consisted of executives, wives of court leaders; wives of senior government leaders and mostly women whom she said desired change.

Elieshi had this to say about her experiences as a hair dresser. “At that time there were only three Salons in Dar es Salaam and they were all run by Europeans. I am proud to say that I employed the same ladies who used to work for the white salons, and I paid them decent salaries. I also used my skills to train other black women to become hair dressers.”

Ms. Elieshi Ndesandjo has received many awards and recognition from around the world. Her accomplishments read like a Who’s Who. In 1986, she was elected “Mother of the Year”. During that same period she attended a leadership summit organized by “Business Women’s Network” which is based in Washington, D.C.  At the conference she received one of the “Entrepreneurs of the Year” awards. She also received an award from Tanzania, for her networking abilities.

She served as the Representative of Preferential Trade Area Magazine (PTA) for three years. The Magazine represented Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius and Tanzania. Her role was to provide advertisements and information from Tanzania. “I attended annual presidential conferences just to pick up information for this paper. While I was with PTA, the Tanzania’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture was created and I became a member of the Information Committee; then I was elected Councilor of TCCIA for six years, I also served as the Vice Chairman of Dar es Salaam Zone of TCCIA for three years,” said Elieshi.

In 1995, Elieshi joined with other business women and they formed an organization call FAWETA (Federation of African Women Entrepreneurs Tanzania). Elieshi said, “I was Client member and a Coordinator with the experience of working with the Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture.  We arranged with TCCIA, and created regional Offices at every Branch of the Chamber. We managed to have 24 branches, one in every Region in the Country.”

During that same period, Elieshi organized matchmaker partnerships, investments and technology transfers locally and internationally.  She coordinated and established seventeen branches nation wide in all sectors; such as mining, handicraft, tourism, food processing, packaging, media, lawyers, environment, which included disseminating information on availability of funds, markets, conventions, and training exhibitions.

In 1997, Elieshi, with several other people, started a media consultant business called “Green Eyes Production”. Apart from doing advertisements and commercials for Radio/TV, they also designed clothing and made arrangement for Women and Men’s fashion shows. “I coordinated local/foreign business events, and act as liaison with relevant government Ministers and NGOs,” Elieshi said.

In 1999, Elieshi joined the 1^st Tanzania business delegates who accompanied President Benjamin William Mkapa of Tanzania to the United States of America with his than foreign Minister, who is currently President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. As busy as she was, she said with joy in her heart, “This was a blessed year. Later the same year, US AID covered my expenses to attend Global Summit of Women in South Africa, Johannesburg.”

In 2000, she was selected by the Canadian Embassy to join the Government and business delegates in Canada, to participate in “Africa Direct” which included Algeria, Ghana, Jordan, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania– Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. All expenses for this trip were paid for by the Canadian government.

Even with such a busy life, Elieshi still took time to participate in her beloved Rotary club, where she had been a member since 1991. The invitation to join the “Rotary Club International, Mzizima” in Dar es Salaam, was very dear to her heart. “This Rotary Club use to be all male, it was the first club in Africa to accept women.  I became a Charter Member, and was later elected as President of the Club,” said Elieshi.  The Rotary Club allowed her to put together outreach programs, not only to help the community, but to serve as a mentor for those wishing to go into business.

When asked about her tenure with the Rotary Club, Elieshi had this to say, “I could have been a President way back but have always been a very busy person. I thought one day I will be less busy. But the older I become the wiser I become (I think).  More and more people come to seek advice and try to be closer to me. The same time I found this time is the right time for me to be a President of my Club as with age people intend to go up (mentally), but than you come downhill as memories start to overlap.”

“We started with thirty-two members,” Elieshi continued. “Of which seven were women. A lot of women dropped out. Among the Charter members only 10 remained. A female Judge of the High Court of Tanzania became the first woman to be named the “Rotary President.”

“Rotary,” said Elieshi, “Is about giving, and giving willingly.  All you get back is a smile from those whose lives is touched by your giving whether it is your time, money, love, and even blood which we donate to help others.”

Like all members of the Rotary Club, Elieshi subscribes to the principles and philosophy of her Club, which operates by these four simple test questions:

• Is it the truth?  What ever you say must be the truth.  
• Is it fair to all concerned? Whatever you do must be fair to everyone.
• Will it build good will and better understanding?
• Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

The objects of the Rotary Club are to encourage and foster the ideal of service as basis of worthy enterprises. In particular to encourage and foster:

• The development of acquaintance as an opportunity of services.
• High ethical standard in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all use full occupations as an opportunity to serve society.
• The application of the ideal of services in each Rotarian’s personal, business and community life.
• The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship, world of business and professionalism. Persons united in the ideal of service.

Needless to say, Elieshi has been very successful fulfilling her duties as Rotary president. The Rotary has many community projects. Normally they have a couple of on-going projects in a term, but under Elieshi’s term they have more on-going and new projects, which are as follows:

• Computer Library and Training to a School of 50 (disabled) (On-going project at Jangwani Girls Secondary School)
• Water for orphanage Centre  (New project at Malaika)
• Monograph Machines for 4 regional Hospitals (On- going project)
• A Hospital for Burn Victims (New project at Turiani)
• School and Hospital (New project at Mafia Island)

“I can not thank God enough for this”, said Elieshi. “The Rotary club members have been very supportive of each other, and all members play their part well.  We have had a lot of visitors this time from within Tanzania and from abroad, and all of them have been a blessing to our club. I can recall a guest who came just to visit and see what we do. I knew he could be of a help to my country. I introduced him to an orphanage with 750 children. He started his project right way. God has his ways of bringing the right people at the right time to the right place. Now, he has found another orphanage of 700 plus orphans; he is also assisting these children with accommodation, food, education, health and their future plans.”

The Rotary has another new project called “Collective Development Corporation of Tanzania” (CDCT), which was started by a number of people. Elieshi said, “the CDCT has not been very active, due to a few people who are not ready to give (time, money and love), but like always God has ways. He led me to meet with a young lady who is dedicated and is giving part of her life to poetry – a young lady who gives her time and spend money in making sure she reaches out to the needy.  Nasra Al Adawi is a Tanzanian, living and working in The Sultanate of Oman. She has worked on poems, and has now come up with her latest book “Brave Faces - The Daring Stand Against Cancer”. The poems will be published in English which will be translated in Kiswahili. The book will be sold and the proceeds of which will be used by CDCT to create awareness and strengthen the fight against cancer, especially for women.  The book will not only be for Tanzanians, but for every Cancer patients who can read English and Swahili.” (You can read about this project here)

Elieshi hails on the change in the lives of women in Tanzanian, beginning in the schools, in the homes, and communities as a whole. “The Courts have shown a good example by paving the way for women. In Tanzanian there are many Women Ministers of the Court. The Directors and leaders show that women in Tanzania can do better. There is the minister for Foreign Affairs, the Honorable Asha Rose Migiro who is now the Deputy of UN, the Honorable Zakia Megji Minister for Finance, the Honorable Mary Nagu Minister for Justice, and many more dealing with issues of poverty, Aids and other illness and literacy,” said Elieshi.

Elieshi believes that her success in life comes from being humble. “In life I have learned to listen, and to lower myself,” Elieshi said. “I leaned to be humble to people and to listen to sounds of the world. Most of all I learned to listen to my inner self, listen to nothing (meditate).” She also believes in the sisterhood of all women. “A sister in Tanzania can be any woman friend who is very close to you (family friend) or an elder woman you respect; this can expand to International sisterly mood.”

Her pride in her country and its people can be heard in every word she speaks and in all her actions.  She is a loving and giving person, who uses all her talents to help others. She not only believes that Tanzanians are cable of helping themselves, she witnesses it everyday. She attributed the success of the Tanzanians’ to their willingness to stand up for each other.

“Tanzanians help each other so much. In fact we assist in our extended families. You start with your parents and then your brothers and sisters also their children; these are part of your family. With the community this is very common; people lend money to each other to start micro projects. We Tanzanians have started Micro Banks of which you do not have to have collateral, but five people guarantee each other and you get loans from Micro Finances. This process works very well.”

Elieshi believes that charity begins at home, and you don’t have to be rich to give. Giving has been a big part of her life and she enjoys it on many levels. “Giving is shinning (I was brought up as one of 10, in a big family), so shinning to me is happiness. I can’t eat and enjoy while others around me have nothing. I can’t fathom or live with the idea that my kids attend school and my neighbor’s do not. That is how I was brought up, and I can never stop. You live and let live and not let die.”

Ms. Elieshi Ndesandjo is an amazing woman. Having such a busy schedule does not keep her from spending time with her beloved family and friends.  “I love children, these are my best friends, I take them to the beach or picnics and we have fun playing, laughing and share our times together. That is, my children, my grand children and their friends.”

What a wonderful thing it is to travel with an “everyday heroine” and witness the evolution of a winner. In my eyes, Ms. Elieshi Ndesandjo is indeed the “Flame of Tanzania”. She stands tall and with her light she put hope in the core of human mountains. She supple our hearts and help those of us who may have lost some part of our humanity, to become better human being.

Elieshi wisdom has touched my heart. I recall one incident that revealed she is more than an “everyday heroine”; she is also a peace keeper. An old man came into the State House where we were waiting to go into one of the offices. This old man was not sure where to go and a guard was being very rude to him. Elieshi politely told the young guard that he needs to be more patient and respectful to all persons, and especially those at an old age and to explain to them in slower pace, and to guide them instead of shouting and showing off his position. This is an incident I will never forget, because in that brief moment she showed how much she cared about her fellow human being, and had the courage to speak her mind, where many would have ignored the situation.

I would like to take this opportunity, along with my sisters at LiquidPlastic.net, to stand up and give a big warm sisterly welcome to Ms. Elieshi Ndesandjo. As for me, whenever I think about Tanzania, I will remember that Elieshi is a flame, alive and burning. Her message is clear, and her actions speak louder than her words.  She is one of the most active women I know, and she has put words into action. She believes that it’s high time for all Tanzanians to march forward and to depend on them selves.  Nothing is impossible and she has proven it by her many accomplishments.

I dare say, I hope you have enjoyed your visit with Ms. Elieshi Ndesandjo, as much as I have enjoyed traveling with her. She is indeed a woman who wears many hats.

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