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The Arusha Declaration Museum: Why it must be thereMany people might be wondering about the role of the Arusha Declaration Museum, which is located at the Kaloleni roundabout junction."Is it really a Museum or just a hall for community meetings?" Since Monday the 18th of May was Museum Day, we went to find out what makes the museum tick. Jackson N. L. Washa, the Conservator, gave us even more details.By Nyamanoko Bwire QUESTION: Why should we have the Arusha Declaration Museum? ANSWER: Because this is where all our national history is being kept in terms of old writings, artifacts, pictures and even tools. Here one gets to see our current position politically economically and technologically not to forget culture. We also train teachers on how to impart historical details to their students, accurately. Q: So what exactly is being kept in the Museum? A: Stone age tools, medieval equipment, old weapons especially those used in colonial times, the history of Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere from his birth until death, the structure of our leadership and Government plus the social life of ordinary Tanzanians. Here one can also get to see early writing correspondences between local chiefs and the first German colonialists backed with pictorial references of major historical events. Q: When did this building became a museum? A: Well, it was initially meant to be a community centre but in 1967 the then ruling party- Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), sat here and declared its "Socialism" and "Self Reliance" policy through which all major economic sectors were nationalized. In1977 President Nyerere declared this to remain a historical archive, thus becoming the region’s first museum. Q: How do you involve elderly people in enriching the historical perspective of this Museum? A: People with historical collections usually come here directly with their recollections, stories and other important details. For instance, we recently received donations of historical medals from one of the veteran soldiers who fought in the 1979 war, against Iddi Amin of Uganda. He was awarded with medals but seeing that he was getting too old, he brought the medals here for safe keeping lest they got lost or stolen at home. You see, museums are for all people, we only take the responsibility of taking care of their historical properties. Q: What are your current efforts in sustaining this role? A: History is always in the making. We’ve been collecting the tools being used in Female Genital Mutilations (FGM), we also visit local villages and collect more cultural and historical details and items. Plus ordering or collecting the relevant event pictures from various sources. We are now thinking of sculpturing or moulding faces of
historical figures like Chief Mkwawa and others. This effort is mainly aimed at
reducing paper pictures replacing them with fabrications that are clearer in
details.
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